by Sarah Kuta
Last updated: 9:10 AM ET, Tue September 22, 2026
Casa Gangotena has opened a new interpretation room designed to give guests a deeper understanding of Quito’s geography, history and culture before they head out to explore the Ecuadorian capital.
The new space, called “Quito: A City in the Andes,” is located on the ground floor of the boutique luxury hotel, steps from its serene glass-covered inner patio. Guests can explore the space independently or use it as an introduction before joining a city tour with Metropolitan Touring’s guides.
“We built this space because context changes the way you travel,” says Renato Vásconez, hotel manager at Casa Gangotena. “Once guests understand the geography and history behind it, every street, every dish and every view mean something more.”
The centerpiece is a large topographic relief map of the Andes that illustrates Quito’s unusual setting. The city of nearly 2.5 million people sits at high altitude in a narrow Andean valley, almost directly on the Equator and surrounded by volcanoes, with Pacific cloud forests to the west and the Amazon basin to the east.
An augmented reality layer allows guests to scan icons on the map to access short videos about the region, including Cotopaxi, pre-Hispanic Yumbo traders, the discovery of the Amazon River and the 18th-century French Geodesic Mission.
The interpretation room brings Quito's geography and history to life (Photo Credit: Casa Gangotena)
The room also features a timeline of Quito’s history, with artwork and archival photographs covering the city from its earliest human settlements through the Quitu-Cara and Inca periods, Spanish colonization and the independence movement. Later sections trace the influence of figures including Prussian naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, as well as the development of Ecuador’s railway, electricity, automobile infrastructure, airport and metro system.
Some of the exhibits incorporate the history of Casa Gangotena and its location on Plaza San Francisco. Archival images show the plaza's earlier role as a major trading market, while photographs document the original two-story house that occupied the site before a 1914 fire. The Gangotena family subsequently built the mansion that now houses the hotel.
The room also connects guests with places they can visit during their stay. Casa Gangotena guests receive free admission to the nearby Casa del Alabado Museum, while the hotel offers a daily 6 p.m. mansion tour and a podcast episode exploring the property's history.
The interpretation room is included as part of Casa Gangotena’s welcome introduction and is open to hotel guests. Audio guides for independent exploration are also in the works.
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