I started my journey in El Salvador a couple days earlier than the rest of my group and decided to cash in some hotel points to stay at the lovely Quality Hotel Real Aeropuerto for a couple nights. Only a few minutes from the airport, I was so grateful for this choice because as I exited the airport at nearly 3am and there were no taxis to be found and I did not yet have a local SIM card. As I waited outside, starting to lose hope, I saw a taxi drive up and I waved to get his attention. He held up a sign with my name on it and I literally jumped for joy. Luckily, I had advised the hotel of my check-in time and they must have known I would need the ride. This was just the start of my lovely experience with the hotel.
Check-in was easy, and I was able to take a hot shower before passing out for 6-7 hours until my alarm woke me up to catch the tail end of breakfast. This breakfast was not your typical hotel breakfast buffet. There were platters of fresh cut fruits, fresh juices (including my beloved green juice), plus other hearty vegan-friendly options like potatoes and beans and different salsas. In the daylight, I could appreciate the beauty of the hotel’s architecture and landscaping. The pool area felt like a little paradise, with palm trees, and birds flying around. Even the view from my first-floor hotel window of the manicured yard and palm trees made me feel warm and fuzzy, like I had arrived in paradise.
I didn’t bother leaving the hotel that day (first of all because I took a long nap after breakfast to recover from my long night of travel) and second of all because I didn’t have to! There were several food outlets on-site, so I chose the more casual dinner option after spotting some vegan specials on their blackboard at the door. They serve local and international food in a bar/restaurant setting with indoor and outdoor seating plus they have local craft beer and a pool table! The service at the hotel blew me away, and I was allowed a late checkout so I could rest up before meeting up with the group of six flying in the next day. If you need a hotel near the SAL airport, I would highly recommend the Quality Hotel Real Aerpuerto *(you can book through my affiliate link here at no extra cost to you) https://www.booking.com/hotel/sv/quality-aeropuerto.en-gb.html?aid=898409&label=affnetawin-index_pub-1548930_site-_pname-Earth%20N%20Oven_plc-_ts-_clkid-6776_1707403965_d0633f0a4dec9d95c7e5e34cd80589e7&sid=ecf3c043b971dd40fb56415239fc14b1&dest_id=372651;dest_type=hotel;dist=0;group_adults=2;group_children=0;hapos=1;hpos=1;no_rooms=1;req_adults=2;req_children=0;room1=A%2CA;sb_price_type=total;sr_order=popularity;srepoch=1707404000;srpvid=e0a868af4cba0132;type=total;ucfs=1&#hotelTmplhttps://www.booking.com/hotel/sv/quality-aeropuerto.en-gb.html?aid=898409&label=affnetawin-index_pub-1548930_site-_pname-Earth%20N%20Oven_plc-_ts-_clkid-6776_1707403965_d0633f0a4dec9d95c7e5e34cd80589e7&sid=ecf3c043b971dd40fb56415239fc14b1&dest_id=372651;dest_type=hotel;dist=0;group_adults=2;group_children=0;hapos=1;hpos=1;no_rooms=1;req_adults=2;req_children=0;room1=A%2CA;sb_price_type=total;sr_order=popularity;srepoch=1707404000;srpvid=e0a868af4cba0132;type=total;ucfs=1&#hotelTmpl
This was just the beginning of a great trip, more to come soon!
Just in case you were wondering, the water is not safe to drink from the tap in El Salvador, so I recommend using Joypur Filter Water Bottle to be able to fill up your water bottle wherever you are and drink pure, filtered water without contributing to the growing disposable plastic problem.