Santa Monica Hostal was upscale hotel in Cuenca. I don't speak much Spanish, and sometimes it was difficult communicaing with staff, but that's more my problem then theirs. However, since there are a number of Americans visiting Cuenca, they may consider some English lessons for their staff. The room was very nice, however, I couldn't find any thermostat, ergo A/C or heating controls. Apparently, since the weather is cool there year-round 60-75 degrees, I guess they figure just open your patio slider to cool off the room. The only problem is that apparently Cuenca is "car alarm" capital of the world(I've been to 21 countries so I have some expertise in this). There was a constant barrage of alarm beeps thruout the weekend, some even beep continuously while they're in the alarm mode. I was on the 5th floor, but it was still very annoying. Maybe, nothing the hotel can control, but something Cuencanos might consider controlling, i.e."noise pollution" just as damaging as other types to "livability index".