No such complaints in the property's lounge and dining room,which are housed in two wings of a striking glass-fronted conservatory. The lounge's stone floors and exposed brick walls have been softened with comfortable sofas,modern lighting and antique furniture. The adjacent dining room features elegant white wooden tables and chairs interspersed with pot plants and family heirlooms.
The property's chef spent 12 years in Quito before moving here to create a menu that blends Ecuadorian cuisine with international influences. Highlights during our two-night stay include a succulent fillet of salmon with tarragon sauce and a traditional seafood stew with homemade garlic bread.
Despite the addition of the contemporary lounge and dining area,the property still has a wonderfully evocative air of faded grandeur. After entering through a crumbling stone arch flanked by white columns,guests pass a small white chapel built in 1720. It's one of the few buildings that wasn't destroyed by a violent earthquake that shook the entire Imbabura province in August 1868. So ferocious was the tremor that it flattened the nearby city of Ibarra and killed around 40,000 people.
The property's lush garden is especially enchanting – a whimsical medley of manicured squares and meandering pathways that was designed by a French landscape artist in the 19th century. It's home to an exotic mix of palms,firs,lucuma and araucaria (monkey puzzle) trees,many of which are elegantly draped in Spanish moss. As such,it's a magnet for birdlife,particularly hummingbirds,eagles and owls.
The lodge used to run expeditions to the El Angel Ecological Reserve,a 15,000-hectare protected expanse of high-alpine tundra and forest that's home to condors,kestrels,wolf and deer. Unfortunately,it lies within the 20-kilometre exclusion zone along the border of Colombia,which most travel advisories (including Australia's Smart Traveller) claim is too dangerous to visit.
While it would have been magical to see a condor in the wild,I'll happily settle for a spectacled bear. And after 20 minutes of scanning the hillsides with Vasquez,our patience is finally rewarded. A mother and her two cubs emerge from the undergrowth and amble along a mountain path,occasionally stopping to sniff the air. We watch spellbound as they feed,forage and playfight,clearly oblivious to the six pairs of binoculars that are trained on them from the opposite side of the valley.
Vasquez is especially thrilled at their appearance. Not only does it mean his 95 per cent success rate is still intact,but it also shows his efforts to protect this diminutive bear are paying off. Paddington would be proud.
FIVE MORE THINGS TO DO IN THE REGION
VISIT BLOOD LAKE
After the Incas defeated the indigenous Caranqui tribe in the late 15th century,they massacred all the surviving men and dumped their bodies in Lake Yawarkucha,turning it blood red. Despite its violent past,this two-kilometre-long lake is now a peaceful sanctuary for boaters and birders.
RIDE THE FREEDOM TRAIN
"La Tren de la Libertad"skirts plunging canyons and passes through seven hand-dug tunnels on its 30-kilometre journey from Ibarra to Salinas. On arrival at Salinas,passengers are greeted with an enthusiastic dance performance by the local Afro-Ecuadorian people. Seetrenecuador.com
DISCOVER ANCIENT PETROGLYPHS
Thought to be made by the Caranqui in the 15th century,these swirling petroglyphs carved into boulders can be seen on a short hike from the community of Shanshipampa. The trek also delivers spellbinding views across a buckled,mountainous landscape towards Colombia.
SHOP FOR HANDICRAFTS
Often touted as South America's largest outdoor market,Otavalo is famous for its weaved woollen sweaters,scarves,tapestries and ponchos. Saturday is the main market day but you'll find stalls in the main square selling handicrafts all week.
TAKE A HIKE
Imbabura's mountainous terrain make it a hiking hotspot with treks ranging from easy lakeside strolls to challenging high-altitude sections of the original Inca trade routes linking the Andes and the Amazon.
TRIP NOTES
Rob McFarland was a guest of Chimu Adventures.
TOUR
Latin America specialist Chimu Adventures can create a tailor-made Ecuador itinerary including flights,accommodation,transfers and tours. Phone 1300 784 286 or seechimuadventures.com