Hotel Caribe By Faranda

Had a great time here, not my first visit to this amazing clean friendly hotel. And will be back for more memories in Cartagena. All staff is friendly, the pool is large and the atmosphere is very relaxing. Safe to stay as always. Breakfast is always fresh. T The manager went far a beyond to make my stay at Caribe Hotel memorable. I will be back!! Thank you!

Wonderful staff, vey friendly, clean rooms, great breakfast and outside pool superb. The freedom of the birds, deer was amazing. Close to the beach and all other amenities. Travelling alone I felt very comfortable and safe.

I traveled with my family to Cartagena and we stayed in this hotel and I really liked the stay in this hotel, it had many green areas, it had parks for children, many areas to walk, different spaces to do different activities, it had a gym, it was comfortable, the Rooms were large, the food was very tasty, the pool area was large and in a very open space, I also liked that there were guacallas and bambies, it was very close to the beach and other places, the staff were very friendly, the hotel had A part to make reservations in tours that I liked because my family and I did not have a tour booked and the hotel helped us with that and I really liked this hotel and I would definitely return.

We stayed at Caribe for one week in March. Laguito building 7th floor initially, and were moved to the colonial building, 4th floor, as Laguito needed some overdue repairs. Most rooms on the property are ocean or lagoon view, higher floors in particular. If you can upgrade, ask for the colonial building – it was recently renovated and rooms are considerably nicer. Keep in mind that the elevator is old, small and man-manned in the colonial building. We usually took the stairs. Property features a variety of mature (labelled) trees, lush greenery, large swimming pool, etc. immaculate landscaping. Wildlife residents on the property including 2 pairs of noisy parrots, a toucan (usually appears during breakfast time in the breakfast area), a herd of miniature deer and 2 sloths (in the tree near the main staircase of the colonial building, best spotted from the 3rd or 4th floor terrace or staircase windows). Plus a variety of other local thieving birds (do not leave you food unattended). Hop-on bus stop is across the road, ticket is good for 2 days, good city overview offered in multiple languages. Restaurant offers excellent pizza after 5 pm. Convenient Bancolombia bank machine is on site (steep 18,000 peso transaction fee plus whatever fee your own bank charges). Credit cards are usually accepted in many restaurants and businesses in Cartagena (ask if they do) and this is the better exchange option. Front desk can exchange money too, although you could do a bit better with most Casas de Cambio. Hotel staff appeared genuinely nice, but did not speak much English, with the exception of the front desk. North Americans, other than cruise ship passengers, appear not to be a major tourist group in Cartagena and many menus are in Spanish only. Historic town is only 8,000 (day)-10,000 (night) peso, 15 minutes cab ride. Do confirm price before taking the ride to avoid surprises, and also keep in mind the ride costs less than 3 USD. Airport taxi is 18,000 – 20,000 peso. Taxis are generally safe and everywhere. Hotel is walking distance to various restaurants, stores, coffee shops, souvenir market etc. We preferred Carrera 3 which is quieter and has some good restaurants and coffee shops. Hotel is in the beaches area and the black sand beaches are OK. For better beaches I would suggest taking a day trip to one of the Rosario islands or Playa Blanca. Street vendors are everywhere, trying to earn a living, not overly aggressive, just say “no thank-you” or bargain for some interesting jewelry, a hat or whatever catches your eye. Not different from any other South American countries we have been to. There is a visible police presence in the walled city and Bocagrande, we never had to worry or feel unsafe. Just use common sense. Beer – BBC (in Serrezuela mall) and 3 Cordilleras brands offer excellent IPA (Mestiza), popular Club Colombia (Roja/Dorada/Negra) is also OK. For the best sunset, instead of the overcrowded Café del Mar, try 51sky bar on top of hotel Estelar next to Bocagrande mall. Truly amazing views of the city.

Trip advisor doesn’t answer phone calls and the fandango hotel Caribbe in Cartagena does not answer their Colombian number or us phone number. Multiple emails sent, no response. It’s been a week. I paid over 300 dollars for a threeo night stay. Colombia shut down its borders on Monday before my trip and internal flights in Colombia canceled on Wednesday. Very bad service. These hotels should just refund hotel stays where no one shows up given the circumstances. I’m disputing all my airline and hotel stays with my credit card. Now the us number says this is not a valid number