Ecuador’s leading coastal resort, Casa Ceibo Boutique Hotel & Spa, has been coined the jewel of Manabí. Hidden along the Spondylus Trail, a tourism initiative that celebrates Ecuador’s wonderful coastal attractions, Casa Ceibo sits like an undiscovered pearl, found only by those who know what they are looking for: exquisite, coastal luxury.
But just as wonderful as the pearl, is often the clam in which it is discovered. In Ecuador, the sea offers an opportunity not just for frolicking, but for tasting some of the riches cuisine on the continent.
Food is now all the rage in Ecuador. Universities are doubling the size of their cooking schools, new books about food are launched every month, and chefs are garnering attention like never before.
Last year, as part of this great gastronomic trend, Casa Ceibo, and four additional luxury hotels and restaurants in Ecuador launched “Ecuador Enriched,” a tour designed especially for seeing and tasting Ecuador, of which Casa Ceibo Boutique Hotel & Spa, is an important part.
Recognizing that great travel is inseparable from great food, Casa Ceibo has taken extra care to offer a distinctive menu that is surprisingly traditional and contemporary at the same time.
Casa Ceibo is the only group member located on the coast, home to Ecuador's most flavorful cuisine.
Award winning chefs at Casa Ceibo provide guests with never before seen culinary encounters: Manabítan cuisine with Peruvian influences, combining the tastes and traditions of the coast with a touch of signature cuisine.
Casa Ceibo offers a different menu every night taking into consideration the preferences of its guests. The hotel's restaurant also features tasting menus where diners will encounter dishes created only at Casa Ceibo.
The Coastal Serenade is part of Ecuador Enriched – a welcoming meal of hors d'oeuvres served on the Casa Ceibo dock. Champagne soup is served with mustard foam. Pears in wine syrup are offered with a mixed cheese fondue. Finally, “tiradito”: thin layers of freshly cut fish with cream of red pepper.
For the international clients who want something more landlocked, the Carpaccio of thin tenderloin filet on basil pesto is followed by the barbeque steak with fig sauce. Then, a return to the coast: shrimp in a flaky, potato crust with passion fruit sauce. And for dessert: banana cheese cake and black and white chocolate truffles.
Casa Ceibo believes in pairing just the right wine with every meal. For the Serenade you will try all of the following: Concha y Toro, Trio Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Riesling Concha y Toro, Trio Merlot, Carmenere, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
When people come to Manabi, they come not just to be surprised, but to find what they have always known and loved. Casa Ceibo offers traditional flavors such as a shrimp ceviche served with white rice, accompanied by green fried plantain. It is paired with Morandé Pionero Suavignon Blanc.
The main course of their “Manabi Tradition” includes the tonga tradition of serving chicken with peanut sauce wrapped in a banana leaf. It is served with a glass of Montes Merlot.
To give clients some variety, Casa Ceibo likes to look outside the region for dessert: Plum Soufflé bathed in English passion fruit sauce and accompanied by Porto Familia Zucardi Malamado.
These are just two beginning meals at Casa Ceibo, which will offer many more encounters during your stay, but not just at the dining table. The resort is tucked away in the estuary, a place that offers both luxury and adventure. Choose one or the other, or both.
Co-owner Daniel Jacome says the hotel offers its visitors an enticing opportunity to sneak away from the pool — if they wish. Kayaking, bird watching, and exploring the surrounding ecological and wildlife reserves are all part of the Casa Ceibo experience. But the area of Bahía de Caráquez offers other treasures, such as archaeological history and artisan crafts.
As Jacome, a long-time Galapagos tour guide says, "The concept was to have a similar experience as in the Galapagos with many customized activities to do and sights to see."
Much of what makes Casa Ceibo so valuable is not only the luxury or the food, but also its status as a Five Star Green Diamond Award winner for the past three years, a recognition given by the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences. Casa Ceibo is the only hotel on the continent to be recognized both for its high level of service and commitment to the environment. They are also certified by Smart Voyager, another acknowledgement of its continuing green practices and social consciousness.
Casa Ceibo sits among the natural mangrove forests of the coast, which saw immense human destruction in past decades but is now being reforested with the hotel's help. Casa Ceibo works together with the local Portovelo community and the Environmental Ministry to preserve the mangroves and educate visitors about their importance with trips to Isla Corazon Reserve.
The resort also works with the Fundación de Agua Muisne and the Unidad Educativa Satiasay, the latter of which is developing a water purification project that offers clean water at a fraction of the price provided by municipal sources.
Casa Ceibo has a relationship with the local Catholic University to provide scholarships and internships in the areas of ecological tourism, marine biology, and business management, so that one day Casa Ceibo will become merely part of a larger picture of a self-sustaining community that offers so much more than great food.
Casa Ceibo Spa and Boutique Hotel is located 75 minutes, by taxi, from the Manta Airport at Km 5 ½ on Avenue Sixto Durán Ballen in Bahía de Caráquez. Contact them at their Quito office, 02-224-2913, Bahía office, 05-239-9399, visit the website at www.casaceibo.com or write to [email protected].
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Ciudad Bahia de Caraquez