Carlota Design Hotel

A French-style home from the 1900s set just blocks from Quito’s main landmarks and sites, Carlota was created as an urban lifestyle design experience to fully immerse guests in the treasures of a UNESCO-listed city. An intimate 12-room, family-owned hotel, Carlota, was recently named the World Travel Awards’ Design Hotel of South America.  Set in a renovated, turn-of-the-century building, Carlota has been transformed seamlessly from a private residence to a gathering point for local creatives.

The building maintains its two original levels, with an elevated deck added to the terrace level. Accessible through a modern steel staircase connecting the terrace and the wine cellar, the terrace provides 360-degree unobstructed views of the historic district. The recovered interior courtyard serves as an open lobby/reception area, creating a visual connection from the main entrance of the hotel to the back patio, which itself presents a well-preserved stone staircase and a beautiful planted backdrop that is inspired by the traditional Spanish gardens in Quito.

Carlota’s interior design complements subtle architectural intervention, with geometrical patterns and color palettes unique to each room, creating a modern ambiance within a historical shell. Each bathroom presents its own tile design, which matches the patterns of the room and evokes a more elegant era. The colors in the guestrooms were selected to reflect the variety of the tones found among the birds in Quito, thus connecting the property to the magnificent flora and fauna that surrounds it.