
Gary's Tours at La CasaBlanca
Tena, Napo, Ecuador
How to talk to us or get here!
Call us: 480-327-9812 (free from the US)
Email: lacasablancahotel@yahoo.com
WhatsApp: (+1) 480-760-5961
or (+1) 480-327-9812
Want to buy the place?
Rent to own available! It's a house and a hotel combined.
Click here to read more.
We are not currently renting rooms or giving tours. Sorry!
Reservation Deposits, Methods of Paying your Balance
Check in and out Policies, Cancellation Policies, and Tour Deposits
Tour Deposits:
The Overnight Jungle Tour and Day Jungle Tour are confirmed with a 50% deposit. We don’t charge fees on deposits, but the balance can be paid in cash for no additional fee on the day of your tour. You can also pay the balance via PayPal, sometime during the week prior to your tour, for an additional 4% fee. Please note that we do not accept $50 or $100 bills. Tour deposits are fully refundable if canceled within 90 days of the tour, 50% refundable if canceled within 60 days of the tour, and not refundable less than 30 days of the tour. Travel insurance, which can be purchased to include coverage of tour deposits, is something you may want to look into. Read more on travel in the section below titled, "More on the travel insurance".
The 8-Day Amazon Tour. A lot of wo(man) hours go into the planning of the 8-Day tour along with a number of non-refundable deposits on hotels, transportation, etc. Last minute cancellations not only impact our business, they also affect the businesses and people we have made reservations with. They have also saved your spots! Additionally, there is the problem of there only being a slim chance of being able to fill the limited spots on the tour at the last minute. We also charge less when 8 or more go, so if someone cancels, that could mean us eating the new price difference. All this considered along with the fact that most travel insurance policies include reimbursement for losses regarding canceled tours, brings us to the conclusion that the best answer is to rely on that.
Travel insurance is a requirement for the 8-Day Tour for a couple of reasons. One is so that you can cancel at the last minute if need be without impacting yourself and everyone else involved. A second reason is that having health insurance coverage is technically required upon entrance to Ecuador. Airport personnel in Ecuador are not currently enforcing the law, but it is better to be on the safe side so as not to get denied entrance to Ecuador (or exit out of your country by the airline in your country following the rules). Then the best reason, if something should happen, knock on wood, and you need the insurance for, you have it!
The official policy on the 8-Day Tour is that the tour is not confirmed, your space is not reserved, until the tour is fully paid for. Then as long as we are still within 3 weeks of the tour start date, we'll give you a one-week "buyers remorse" period, during which you can cancel for a 100% refund. After that, you'll need to get reimbursement from your travel insurance company.
More on the travel insurance:
Check with your insurance company to see if you are covered or can easily add international travel insurance. If so, bring that proof to the airport with you. It needs to cover all medical costs and cover the entire time of your stay.
If not, and you are only traveling short term, you can follow this link to an insurance company that we’ve found is very reasonable. You can choose medical insurance or trip insurance that includes medical insurance. They have a quick quote calculator, so you can see how much it will be without providing any identifying information.
For example, a family of 3, aged 49, 43, and 15 yrs., coming for a 1-week vacation, could buy the most basic health insurance for as low at $35, or trip insurance, with the trip valued at $2000 each, for $158 if you are a US resident, $321 if you are not a US resident. (That's total, not per person.)
The following is not in effect now as we are not currently taking daily or weekly reservations in the hotel.
Reservation Deposits
A deposit is needed in order to confirm your reservation. Except in the case of groups or Ecuadorian holidays, a reservation for rooms at the daily rate may be secured with a deposit equal to the first night's stay.
The deposit is usually paid through a credit card taken over the phone or through PayPal.
Methods of Paying your Balance
Once here, the balance may be paid in cash with US dollars (Ecuador uses the dollar) for no fee. You may also pay the balance via PayPal for a 4% fee for this. FYI, ATMs are abundant in Ecuador and a great way to get cash while here.
Please note that we do not accept $50 or $100 bills.
Check-in and check-out information
Official check-in time is 2pm to 9pm. However, if your room is available and clean (if it hadn’t been occupied the night before or it has already been vacated and cleaned) then you can check-in earlier. You may check into the hotel as early as 9am. Even if your room isn’t ready, we can secure your bags in our storage room and you may use the rest of the hotel or go do something until your room is ready. In the event of a late arrival: Once you have paid the reservation deposit, if you plan to arrive after 9pm, please communicate that with us and we will make arrangements for you to get the key, so you can let yourself in. If your transportation arrives later than planned, just ring the hotel office bell and we will come let you in, there's an outside light switch there, too, you won't need to stand in the dark! And rest at ease, we are in a safe neighborhood. Please note, you may need to give us a few minutes to get dressed.
Official check-out time is 11am. As with check-in times, we are flexible on this point. You may check-out of your room by 11am and secure your bags in our storage closet. Then you may use the rest of the hotel as needed until you are ready to go. Also, you may check your bags into our locked storage closet for as long as you need if you are going on a trip somewhere and don’t want to take everything with you. Pending availability, you can also arrange for a late checkout for $19 (even if there are more than 1 of you in the room) for all but our family room. A late check out is $35 in the family room.
Cancellation Policies
Except for Ecuadorian holidays, groups reserving 3 or more rooms at a time, and discounted extended stay reservations, room reservation deposits are fully refundable when the reservation is canceled within 7 days of the check-in date.
Deposits for groups booking 3 or more rooms at a time or at the weekly rate are 50% of the total bill and are nonrefundable. Due to a very high rate of no shows and last minute cancellations on Ecuadorian holidays, reservations made on those days are only confirmed with payment of the total bill, which is nonrefundable.