Top 10 Plaza de la Merced Hotels

Last night I entered Casa Pestagua wishing to spend only a few minutes while having an appetizer. However, the atmosphere of the place and the kindness of the staff was so wonderful that we decided to stay for dinner. Only a few minutes in the placed and we were surprised by a phenomenal concert of Classic Guitar by Maestro Roberto Angulo. It truly was a delight. I also would like to express my gratitude to Mr. Orlando who took care of us and made the night the highlight of our trip to Cartagena. We were so glad that he took such a good care of us. His attention and service in my opinion 6 stars. The food and everything was wonderful. This place is a must see by anyone looking for a tropical and elegant night in Cartagena.

The hotel is very comfortable and made my stay in this small town unforgettable.

This is a very hard review to write. I had dreamed about going to Las Islas for quite some time and ultimately was disappointed. I would ideally rate this hotel at 3.5 stars, but the amazing location tipped the review to 4. The location itself is an easy 5 stars. The property is amazing as you truly feel engulfed in the natural setting. The beach was not very large but was absolutely gorgeous. The accommodations were more like 4 stars. We stayed in the oceanfront casita and were generally happy as it was nice but not perfect but did fit well into the setting. We had our own pool but were hesitant to really use it since you are unable to see the bottom (and it is not deep). I am not sure if this is due to a lack of cleaning or them using sandy seawater (or both), but it was a bit unsettling. The food was also a solid 4 stars. As far as Colombian cuisine goes, it was elevated conceptually and delicious. Unfortunately, the service was 2 stars at best. Since the property is so large, it is necessary to call for a ride from a golf cart to many of the hotel's locations (especially at night). This was never fast. Our waits would generally take about 20 minutes, and one night we had to wait 40 minutes for a cart to arrive. Further upon arrival, we sat in a front ”lobby” for about 25 minutes before we were picked up and driven to our room. At the breakfast restaurant, our orders were wrong either by item or quantity 100% of the time. I would like to blame this on a language barrier, but my wife is Colombian, and I speak fluent Spanish. The beach/lunch service was also frustrating. Unlike other beach locations that we have visited across the world, you had to go and ask the server on the beach anytime you wanted something to eat or drink. This was pretty frustrating. At dinners, the service seemed to be a bit better but was still slow and certainly not perfect. The issue seems to be a lack of management, as I don't believe that we saw a single person that appeared to be acting in a managerial capacity at any point. I honestly think that a bit of training and accountability could make this place what we thought it would be. Unfortunately, for us, once was enough.

This is a stunning property in the heart of the old town. The rooms are nice and the staff is super friendly. One factor you may want to know and we learnt the hard way is that language is a major issue in Colombia. No one really speaks English and google translate was our best friend. Even in a top notch hotel like Sofitel this may be an issue. Just something to be aware of which came as a surprise to us. Just a FYI The breakfast was fantastic. The fruit choices are exotic and amazing I do want to put in a shout ouut to Carlos Jesús, Jaison , Jose and Jorge who were our servers in our 4 wonderful days at the hotel. I would definitely come back here!!

Very good location of the hotel, in a very quite street but close to all important sites. Extremely comfortable room, big, bright, with nice balcony, extremely comfortable beds and pillows, nice bathroom, really boutique style, because the hotel has only few rooms and guests are treated like very special persons. Breakfast served personally. The hotel staff is increadibly kind and helpful and friendly. Good wifi, perfect fan and air con. Special thanks to Mr John and Jeimy for kindest and professional service and Mrs Luisa for mouthwatering breakfast. Personal advise: if you need any kind of transfer use Uber which works very well in Cartagena. Do not use a taxi from the street. My experience with the taxi no FXT 827 was like this: discussed the price before a trip, but on the way a driver increased the price twice and did not let to go until I payed.