The Art Scene of Loja Ecuador

Monte Sueños upon approach Artist Designed House - Meredith Miller's Monte Sueños Monte Sueños, or "Mountain Dreams," is the passion project of artist Meredith Miller and her deceased husband Brian O'Leary.  Open to the public as a quest house in nearby Vilcabamba, the "new age" retreat center's publicity says it is "dedicated to the values of peace, sustainability, and the creativity of art and new science." In 2004, O'Leary and Miller purchased one hectare of land overlooking the village of Vilcabamba along with a complex of old farm buildings.  By 2011 the property had grown together into a 10-room accommodation built according to the couple's unique vision.   A view from the interior of Monte Sueños Located in Vilcabamba, Loja Provence (about 1 hour travel south of Loja city) Phone:  +593 098 812-0712 facebook.com/monte.suenos

You will find art on all three floors - in hallways, common areas, and bedrooms! Foreground sculpture by Bayardo Cuenca. ART VENUE - Boutique  Hotel  -  La Casa de Manuel.  It makes perfect sense that Loja, touted as the arts capital of Ecuador, would have an art hotel of its very own.   La Casa de Manuel's interior is very much what you would expect to see in the arts section of Toronto, or Chelsea in NYC, where some of the first art hotels came to life.  The small independent hotels around the world are decorated with works of contemporary artists, often with a different room devoted to each.  The edgiest of these is an art hotel in Palestine decorated by famously elusive graffiti artist Banksy. La Casa de Manuel is a reclaimed antique building with a sweeping four story atrium.  The rooms are arrayed around the atrium perimeter, which is pleasantly filled with contemporary works of local artists, and a blend of old and new furn...