Good hotels in Cartagena ???

[Ricky]

Looking for a few references on hotels in Cartegena for a week for two persons. Prefer something on the beach in better neighborhoods.

[michaeljay]

... in response to Good hotels in Cartagena , posted by Ricky on Sep 18, 2002

I have been to Cartagena 4 times and I'm going again
next Friday.  At first I was staying at the Almirante.  It's a
nice 5 star hotel that I paid about $70/night.  Later I
found that you could stay in a beautiful furnished
apartment, with a full kitchen, right in front of the beach with an
amazing ocean view balcony, all for $24-$48/night depending on
the month.  The main difference is you don't have daily room cleaning
service, although I have a phone number of a young lady who
cleaned for us (entire day $15000 pesos = $6 USD) and she did an
amazing job.  I wish I could find someone like her here in Michigan.  
The building is called Mar Adentro and it's one of the most attractive
on the beach.  It's in a very safe area walking distance to numerous
great restaurants and a first class movie theater.  The woman to talk
to is Julia and I would need to call me fiancee to get her number.  Let
me know if you're interested.

[bogota vet]

... in response to This is the place ..., posted by michaeljay on Sep 19, 2002

OK I need the number,  thanks

Also where in Caratgena is Almirante located?

Also do you really have to stay on the beach?  are there good hotels in the main city part?  Most of the nightclubs discos are in town or on the beach?

How about any good hotels near airport?  How far is the airport from the beach hotels?  how far firm the main downtown area?

[michaeljay]

... in response to Re: This is the place ..., posted by bogota vet on Sep 19, 2002

almirante is located in boca grande.  it is the safest part
of Cartagena and in the heart of that district.  I wouldn't
feel comfortable staying downtown and in my opinion
the best place to meet women is on the beach.  when i
went to mr babilas disco downtown, i found it very
difficult to communicate with the women because it
was so loud.  also the girls at the club seemed like
more of the bad girls.  I prefer the conservative more
home loving type myself.  the beach is a fine place to
pluck your beauty ... are you looking for a wife or just to
get laid?  better wife material on the beach ...  there are
discos in boca grande as well as in downtown.

this area is about 10 minutes from the airport and a
cab is $4 (10,000 pesos).  it's 5 minutes from
downtown.  and 5 minutes from the airport to
downtown.  there is a naval base in boca grande so
you'll feel extra safe, remember it is colombia ...

if you insist ondowntown, you may want to stay at the
Santa Clara.  it's the best i believe, but i hear a bit
expensive for colombia.

good luck ...

mj

[bogota vet]

... in response to Re: Re: This is the place ..., posted by michaeljay on Sep 21, 2002

ok thanks.  sounds like everthing beach, downtown, ariport, is with 15-20 cab ride.

[Jebster]

... in response to Re: This is the place ..., posted by bogota vet on Sep 19, 2002

It is on Ave San Martín at the corner of Calle 6, in Boca Grande, across the street from the beach. A very good location.

[bogota vet]

... in response to Almirante Info, posted by Jebster on Sep 20, 2002

OK thanks jebster

Also do you really have to stay on the beach? are there good hotels in the main city part? Most of the nightclubs discos are in town or on the beach?

How about any good hotels near airport? How far is the airport from the beach hotels? how far firm the main downtown area?

[Jebster]

... in response to Re: Almirante Info, posted by bogota vet on Sep 20, 2002

Here are some answers:

Also do you really have to stay on the beach?
No, you can stay many places, but the beach area is the preferred location by most visitors.

are there good hotels in the main city part?
When you say "main city", that generally means the old city, behind the fort's walls, which is quite charming. But the good hotels are very expensive there. The Santa Clara and Charleston are very shiek, high end locations.

Most of the nightclubs discos are in town or on the beach?
Both areas have lots of restaurants and discos

How about any good hotels near airport?
Only one hotel adjacent to the airport and that is "Las Americas" which is a resort type property.

How far is the airport from the beach hotels? how far firm the main downtown area?

First of all, everything is relatively close in Cartagena. The airport to the beach hotels is no more than 12 to 15 minutes. It is 8 minutes to the main, downtown area which is around the old city. You would be advised to stay in the Boca Grande, Old City area for security reasons. In those areas safety is very, very good.

Hope this helps.

[Pete E]

... in response to Good hotels in Cartagena , posted by Ricky on Sep 18, 2002

If you want to put beach and Cartegena together stay at the Las Americas.They have a private beach.Its about $100 a night.With a good travel agent you might get it with meals for about that.
Vendors will hound you so bad on the public beaches you will soon leave.Cartegena is better for historical interest.You can stay at nice hotels for $50 or less and do your beach somewhere else,like San Andreas or Santa Marta.

Pete

[Jebster]

... in response to Good hotels in Cartagena , posted by Ricky on Sep 18, 2002

The hotel Almirante. It is a Marriott quality hotel and well located. The Hilton is best, but a tad pricey. It will also depend on when you go. There is a high and low season and there are many conventions that are held in Cartagena and all the better hotels will be filled.

The number for the Almirante is 011-575-665-8811. You can go to the Hilton International web site to learn about the Cartagena Hilton.

Enjoy yourself.

[AlexG32]

... in response to Good hotels in Cartagena , posted by Ricky on Sep 18, 2002

One of the nicest hotels in Cartagena is not on the beach, its the Hilton, most of the beach hotels run along the same strip.  There are nice ones as well as so so ones.  The one we stayed in was fair.  The most impressive thing which stood out in my mind was the service.  The service was great from top to bottom.

[Patrick]

... in response to Good hotels in Cartagena , posted by Ricky on Sep 18, 2002

I used "hotel cartagena" (with no quotes) and found six hits in the Latin forum by searching on message.  Three of them looked like they provided information you'd be interested in.

[LouieB]

... in response to Good hotels in Cartagena , posted by Ricky on Sep 18, 2002

the beach in Cartagena is nothing special, although it is wide but somewhat dirty.  it can get crowded though. and expect to be harassed by vendors selling everything.  there are plenty of hotels.  I forget the name of the hotel I stayed but it was only like $30 bucks a night for a package deal for 5 nights.  but it was only a 2 star although right on the beach and next to the 4 star hotels.