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Author Topic: Where to stay in Medellin?  (Read 2869 times)

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Offline Hector_Lavoe

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Where to stay in Medellin?
« on: August 23, 2016, 09:36:22 PM »
Very likely heading to Medellin for a short (4 nights) and first time visit.

Trying to decide between:El Poblado or Laureles/Estadio as the neighborhood to find a place to stay.

Based on what I've read these are some of the pros and cons to each:

El Poblado
Cons: Gringo central, a bit hilly in places
Pros: Nicest and most central part of the city with tons of restaurants, nightlife, etc., also considered very safe;

Laureles/Estadio:
Pros: No hills, much less likely to run into Gringos, lots of trees, safe area and still has a decent nightlife;
Cons: Not as much concentrated activity, fewer nightlife options, less people walking around (?)

Open to suggestions for other neighborhoods and/or specific places to stay. No hostels but other than that I am open.



 

Offline Elexpatriado

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Re: Where to stay in Medellin?
« Reply #1 on: August 24, 2016, 12:36:30 PM »
So why this aversion with hills, are you out of shape or something?

Offline Elexpatriado

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Re: Where to stay in Medellin?
« Reply #2 on: August 24, 2016, 05:26:46 PM »
Stay in Envigado or Sabaneta (preferably). Less plastic than Poblado, and a bit less conjested and pollutedthan other places in Medellin.


But then may be too "hilly"for you.


I like hills, thats why I am in Manizales (among other easons). Just spent an hour running up and down them,

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Re: Where to stay in Medellin?
« Reply #2 on: August 24, 2016, 05:26:46 PM »

Offline mudd

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Re: Where to stay in Medellin?
« Reply #3 on: August 24, 2016, 08:30:21 PM »
envigado or sabanetta is best

Offline cajunito

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Re: Where to stay in Medellin?
« Reply #4 on: August 26, 2016, 05:06:17 PM »
I'm with Laureles or Estadio.. not far from most of the city, and close to the setenta.

Offline Dan Las Vegas

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Re: Where to stay in Medellin?
« Reply #5 on: August 26, 2016, 05:53:02 PM »
If you don't mind staying in el Poblado, the Hotel Medellin Royal is a nice place to stay, up the hill a short walk from the Hard Rock Cafe, perhaps five minutes.  They have a swimming pool, two jacuzzi's and the service is quite good.  They also have a few English speakers at the front desk in case your Spanish is not too good. 


Have fun!


Dan LV

Offline Rschnb67

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Re: Where to stay in Medellin?
« Reply #6 on: August 27, 2016, 03:10:44 AM »
Why don't you just google what are the best hotels safest areas etc.  unless your into the hostel scene. There's  A new thing called the Internet ha ha you can look at pictures read reviews etc.

Offline Hector_Lavoe

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Re: Where to stay in Medellin?
« Reply #7 on: August 27, 2016, 08:10:05 AM »
I'm with Laureles or Estadio.. not far from most of the city, and close to the setenta.

If you don't mind staying in el Poblado, the Hotel Medellin Royal is a nice place to stay, up the hill a short walk from the Hard Rock Cafe, perhaps five minutes.  They have a swimming pool, two jacuzzi's and the service is quite good.  They also have a few English speakers at the front desk in case your Spanish is not too good. 

Dan LV

Dan/Cajunito: Thanks for the input.

I am not opposed to staying in either Laureles or Poblado. An English speaker at the front desk is not a must have as my Spanish is decent enough. From my research Poblado is primarily an Estrato 6 neighborhood and Laureles is mostly an Estrato 5. Both are nice, safe, etc.

A few follow up questions for you (or anyone) with experience in Medellin:

1. From a pure physical standpoint are you more likely to see hot/attractive women in El Poblado vs. Laureles? Or is it about the same?

2. How about street life/pedestrian activity ?  I like an area where you might have a chance to meet people/ladies just walking around or at a sidewalk cafĂ©, etc. From what I've read it sounds like El Poblado has a more active street life (at least at night)? Laureles is more residential other than Calle 33 and La 70?

A guy on TripAdvisor with a lot of experience in Medellin made the point that while El Poblado might be gringo central, you can still avoid that scene if you stay in the right part of El Poblado. Essentially, he said Medellin gets more gringos than Cali or Barranquilla but it is still a far cry from a truly international tourist destination like Rio or Costa Rica, etc.

« Last Edit: August 27, 2016, 08:18:07 AM by Hector_Lavoe »

Offline Dan Las Vegas

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Re: Where to stay in Medellin?
« Reply #8 on: August 28, 2016, 10:55:30 AM »
There are beautiful woman everywhere in Medellin, but I would forget about trying to meet the hotties in Poblado for the most part.   While El Poblado has a reputation as gringo central, if you avoid parque Lleras, you will hardly see any.    El Poblado has a reputation as safe, but a tourist was shot in a robbery just in front of the Oviedo mall on avenida poblado  a few weeks ago, so be aware of your surroundings no matter where you go.  There are good looking women in all parts of the city, so don't worry about which is best. I can't speak for the night life in either Poblado or Laureles, but there is plenty to do and see in both areas.


Sabeneta and Envigado are interesting areas, I also have spent quite a bit of time in Bello.  If you have time and want to see a beautiful place, go and spend a day visiting El Penol and Guatape. It is about a two hour bus ride from the northern bus terminal but worth the time. 


Just my humble opinion


Dan LV



Offline Hector_Lavoe

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Re: Where to stay in Medellin?
« Reply #9 on: August 28, 2016, 12:01:57 PM »
    El Poblado has a reputation as safe, but a tourist was shot in a robbery just in front of the Oviedo mall on avenida poblado  a few weeks ago, so be aware of your surroundings no matter where you go. 

Dan: Thanks for the detailed reply.

I also read a Danish tourist was shot one block from Parque Lleras in June. Pretty scary stuff. So that is a good reminder to be careful.  The homicide rate in Medellin in 2015 was lower (20 per 100,000) than some U.S. cities but you just never know.


There are beautiful woman everywhere in Medellin, but I would forget about trying to meet the hotties in Poblado for the most part.   

Why do you say forget about meeting hot women in Poblado?


Offline Dan Las Vegas

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Re: Where to stay in Medellin?
« Reply #10 on: August 28, 2016, 02:24:00 PM »
I was in Medellin when the Danish tourist was shot, something was very strange about that robbery,  rumor had it that there were other things involved aside from the robbery and he was specifically targeted... But who knows, he was actually the one of three foreigners shot in a couple week period, there was an Israeli who was said to be involved with sex tourism and drugs, the Danish guy and the robbery in front of Oviedo.


Why do I say forget about the hotties in Poblado?  You will be fine as long as you have a bottomless wallet...  Forget them and look in other areas of the city.


Dan LV

Offline Hector_Lavoe

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Re: Where to stay in Medellin?
« Reply #11 on: August 28, 2016, 04:28:44 PM »
I was in Medellin when the Danish tourist was shot, something was very strange about that robbery,  rumor had it that there were other things involved aside from the robbery and he was specifically targeted... But who knows, he was actually the one of three foreigners shot in a couple week period, there was an Israeli who was said to be involved with sex tourism and drugs, the Danish guy and the robbery in front of Oviedo.

Ok, good to know the guy was likely involved in illicit activities and it was not just some random shooting.


Why do I say forget about the hotties in Poblado?  You will be fine as long as you have a bottomless wallet...  Forget them and look in other areas of the city.

Ok, thanks for clarifying.

Offline Awesome

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Re: Where to stay in Medellin?
« Reply #12 on: August 30, 2016, 09:57:43 AM »
If I were you I'd stay in one of the hotels right on la 70 in the Laureles/Estadio area.  The whole street is full of bars/nightclubs and restaurants, and it's a nice, safe area. 


Poblado/Parque Lleras is a great area too but the situation with the women might be too complicated.  The women you'll want to talk to might not respond as you'd like them to because they have other gringos hitting on them every day, and the women you'd like to avoid(prepagos) will gladly be very receptive but for the wrong reasons.  One great thing about Parque Lleras area that gets overlooked is that you can meet some very hot and friendly foreigner tourist women from other parts of Latin America, Europe, Asia, and N America.  I was there on NYE and the whole park was full of hot chicks, most of them gringas.


I don't know Envigado but I've only heard good things about it.  Sabaneta is nice.


If you want the "Awesome" experience you can stay in the El Centro/Manrique areas but it's not for the faint of heart.  :)


Another tip is I recommend riding buses or the metro as much as possible as opposed to using taxis.  On a bus or a train you're with a lot of other people and you have opportunities to meet women.  Think of it like hey we're stuck on this bus together for the next 10-15 minutes we might as well have a nice conversation.  Find a pretty lady and start up a conversation, just some basic small talk and see where it leads.  In a taxi it's just you and the taxi driver, usually some old guy.  You might have a great conversation with the taxi driver but you didn't go all the way to Colombia to meet other men.

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Re: Where to stay in Medellin?
« Reply #12 on: August 30, 2016, 09:57:43 AM »

 

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