Quite simply, Cartagena's Ciudad Vieja has too many hotels to choose from, but once you employ your own personal filters on budget and location, you can start culling down the options until you arrive at the accommodation that is right for you and your family. Remember, by looking around in the Old Town you are confined to the barrios of the Centro, San Diego and Getsemani. Bocagrande is not included here.
Boutique Hotels in Cartagena
The usage or over-usage of the term Boutique Hotel has spawned so many variations on the theme that in Cartagena's exclusive old town barrio of San Diego it is hard to keep track and take stock of what's on offer. In theory, if we were to remain strictly within the actual true meaning of the term Boutique Hotel we would be able to refine the search down to a small number of contenders. Cartagena possesses many fine hotels, smaller hotels and a few true to the terminology as boutiques. The standouts amongst this last group are of course Hotel Agua, Delirio, Tcherassi Hotel, La Merced and the Casa Pestagua to name just a few.
Top of the Range Hotels
There are obviously further boutiques to add to the list but this would be doing some of the larger hotels are disservice by leaving them out. The best of the bunch in the Ciudad Amurallada or Walled City that retain their colonial or republican elegance are the Sofitel Santa Clara and the Charleston Santa Teresa, the latter being preferred by former US President Bill Clinton. Like a young upstart in a new building and only opened recently is the Hotel Cartagena de Indias, ideal if you are looking for modernity within the old town.
Smaller Upper Mid Range Hotels
Leading the pack in this category would be the Hotel Tres Banderas, long popular with visitors from North America due to its location on one of San Diego's prettiest streets. Then you can choose from dozens of establishments. What makes the selection process tough is that there are a number of other hotels bustling to be considered as boutiques and charge the same high prices, but that do not merit that category. Please choose carefully; looking at review sites such as TripAdvisor can definitely help.
Hostels and Economic Hotels
There are few hostels in San Diego but this number is growing steadily to include El Viajero, the Chillhouse and the traditional Hostal Santo Domingo. If you are looking for cheaper digs you are better off looking outside the fortifications of San Diego and crossing the park to the traditionally more down at heal barrio of Getsemani. Things are looking up here regarding security and you can find what you are looking for in the shape of the Casa Villa Colonial, more elegant and pricey than its sister establishment of the Hotel Villa Colonial, or any number of historic hostels from the eternally popular Casa Viena to others such as San Roque, Media Luna and Hotel Holiday.
How to Book Hotels and Hostels in Cartagena
Once you have taken the plunge you'll need to make a deposit. Most of the upper ranking establishments take credit card payments online while smaller ones will be just as content doing this service over the phone. For hostels things are a little trickier; some choose to receive payments via PayPal and others into Colombian bank accounts. This last option is far from ideal for those travelers booking from overseas and you are recommended to look into Hostels that fall under the banner of "Colombian Hostels." Here you can make payments in any one of their affiliated members and your reservation is re-confirmed.
Richard McColl - I am a freelance writer from deepest darkest London but for the past 10 years or so I have been maintaining my extended "writing break" in ...
