Santa Marta hotellia

Plussat: Great Location.Staff was very accommodating. Breakfast was great.

Miinukset: Pool was too small and located by check in.

Plussat: The general manager Nelsy was awesome! she went out of her way to help us with all of our needs.

Miinukset: Better english speaking staff

Plussat: This is a fantastic boutique hotel in Santa Marta. The building is very beautiful, you basically stay in a beautiful colonial villa with a small swimming pool in the patio. The place is perfect to relax (one of the few places in Colombia where the music was actually relaxing and quiet in the background as it should be). The rooms are fantastic, and bed is amazingly comfortable. One of the biggest assets is the staff who are all very professional, very friendly and helpful.

Miinukset: The only thing that could be improved is the breakfast which was just ok (but in a hotel of this class one would expect better)

Plussat: I loved everything about this hotel! Great for couples getaway. The rooms and the staff are top notch. The restaurant there is excellent! Definitely can't wait for a chance to return!

Plussat: very nice overall

Miinukset: there was a booking.com event with super loud music until late - very annoying for us who were expecting some calm to rest. Disappointing

Plussat: Good location. Down town

Miinukset: Everything is wonderful

Plussat: Hyvä sijainti ja siisti hotelli! Hyvä aamiainen.

Plussat: Cleaning staff was helpful and friendly

Plussat: Excellent location and service.

Miinukset: None

Plussat: Very clean and confortable room, they acomodated us in a top floor which was nice. Breakfast was very good and the hotel is well located with lots of restaurants and shops in the area.

Plussat: Muy bonito, bien diseñado, cómodo buen servicio personal muy atento buen desayuno limpio pensaron en todos los detalles

Miinukset: No incluyen el impuesto en la compra entonces el valor resulta ser mayor

Plussat: Breakfast adequate: Great central location, friendly staff, close to beach

Miinukset: Great central location also brings its own problems (late night music from bars); Not resorts fault just something to be mindful of (especially if you don't like air conditioning & need to keep windows open)

Plussat: Great spot, friendly staff and in a good location. Breakfast was really good!

Plussat: Location was excellent. The breakfast was delicious and fresh. The exterior of the building was beautiful and the roof top deck was awesome...

Miinukset: The room was small and rather plain. Lobby could use a make over.

Miinukset: The first of my three night stay I was transfered to another hotel. This is unaccepatble.

Plussat: Helpful staff on hand to help when needed. Fantastic breakfast 12 different fruits every morning. The hotel looked after our bags whilst we did the Ciudad 4 day trek which was very helpful. Great location.

Miinukset: Everything was great, the only exception was the splash pool on the roof. The pump was not working and the local pigeon population were making use of the pool. Sadly it had a huge amount of pigeon droppings in it. Judging by the high standards elsewhere it was normal.

Plussat: Good location and very helpful staff

Miinukset: Could hear what was happening outside

Plussat: Really loved the rooftop area!

Miinukset: We had a confirmed family room reservation at this hotel. When we arrived, the staff told us our room had been given to someone else. The staff couldn’t communicate to us what was going to happen. When the manager arrived, she offered no explanation. She tried to blame the issue on power failures that had occurred the day prior, but we asked guests staying at the hotel in lobby if there were any such power failures and they said no. We were given a much smaller room at a completely different hotel, which was unmarked and unnamed. The hotel did not have the same amenities and our room was not family-sized as booked. We had to carry our luggage between hotels both there and back (for breakfast at the original hotel). The whole thing was quite bizarre and unhelpful, especially after arriving from a long day of transit. In fairness, after we raised concerns and disappointment, the hotel did drop their fee - however the situation was still inconvenient, uncomfortable and an unneeded obstacle to an otherwise great trip in Colombia. This was literally our only negative experience in this great country, where we stayed at a half dozen great hotels in several cities.

Plussat: Great staff, facility, and location.

Miinukset: The pool was not that clean.

Plussat: Comida, ubicación y playa

Plussat: Really slow service and outdated property. Food wasn’t great either. We chose to transfer to the Marriott. Much nicer property, newly built, great food and service!

Miinukset: Really slow service and outdated property. Food wasn’t great either. We chose to transfer to the Marriott. Much nicer property, newly built, great food and service!

Plussat: Pool area was nice

Miinukset: No mattresses on the sun beds - not very comfortable laying on a plastic sun bed.

Plussat: I need to start by saying that I think the price we got for the timing of our stay was luckily very cheap. The main pool in the resort was being renovated and I think this caused the extremely low price. We payed roughly $5000 AUD less than we would have for the same duration on a later date. That being said, the place was amazing, it has plenty of things to do. Lots of restaurants and bars, and all quite reasonably priced. The pools aren’t overly busy, and are very clean. They even have two water slides! We really enjoyed playing tennis and using other facilities here. The service was amazing, everyone was nice and we felt comfortable the whole stay. We payed slightly more for a larger room, and it was huge. They even accommodated our fussy request to move to a room with a better view. Really great service and phenomenal staff.

Miinukset: If I had to give some negatives or constructive criticism, it would be that the lobby could use some re doing, it doesn’t do the resort justice for how amazing it is when you first walk in (this is a very minor issue). The only other issue was the breakfast not having bacon (again very minor issue). The breakfast was large and had a huge selection of buffet options, but not once was the option bacon, just found it a bit strange. You can however order omelettes with bacon included, so it definitely isn’t a bit deal. This place is great.

Plussat: The room was OK and overall clean.

Miinukset: Terrible terrible terrible service! I stayed for 4 nights and no day or night was good! Always something happening. First we got to the hotel, and they didn't want to let us in through the gate to get checked in because we didn't have a room#..hey! Hello? How am I going to give you a room# if I haven't checked in? Then we got to the restaurant and they say we couldn't sit inside because they were closing but we would still receive the same service outside: and we had to wait. For half an hour for someone who would take our order. Every time we went to the restaurant, the service was so slow. We had to wait even like an hour for a small dish of fruit. Did they went to grow the fruit or what? One time that we ordered. Meat, the meat was bad! It even caused us a stomachache. Also, I asked for this room to be next to my family's room and they said when I was going to check in that I never mentioned that before. Also, we went to eat outside, and they were 5 rooms represented in the car, and they didn't want to let us in. Furthermore, one time I ordered an ice cream, and the girl never brought it; when I asked for it, she said she never got clarification on the flavor, but hey if you were confused you didn't ask for clarification either and decided to ignore it. additionally, we went to the pool one afternoon, and the odor was extremely disgusting!!!! This is nowhere near a 5 star service hotel!! Please look for a different one for your stay if you want to get good service!

Plussat: It was a big enough hotel, with a nice beach area and plenty of swimming pools. There were a few restaurant options, which were very tasty and the staff was very friendly. The view from the rooms was gorgeous and the rooms were very comfortable!

Miinukset: It was overall nice, but it was quite a way away from the Rodadero and the small shopping plaza.

Plussat: - The facilities were beautiful - The pool was nice - The beach was clean, very well kept - Door men were very attentive - Away from the main stream beaches but close enough for a short drive to Santa Marta and Rodadero for food - 5 minutes from airport

Miinukset: - Front desk service was awful and not welcoming. (The entire lobby is quiet and an awkward first experience) - Food - Room service has awkward times - Can't buy basic things anywhere after hours including water! - Breakfast food was ok - Bar at pool makes horrible beverages. We had their margaritas and coconut beverage. - WiFi coverage was bad in room. Fine on balcony.

Plussat: The hotel is well located on the coast, plenty of swimming pools spread about the property so always found a sun lounger .

Miinukset: Service friendly but a bit more relaxed than we are used to.

Plussat: It is excellent for kids , there are a lot of activities and swimming pools design esxclusively for them. Breakfast is good and staff is very nice

Miinukset: Rooms were a lit of bit noisy , fridge made weird noise that wake us up during night . Sometime we had smoking smell in the room

Plussat: the swimming pools, the location, the beach

Miinukset: food is not good and very expensive, cleanliness in some areas, not many activities for kids

Plussat: The attention of all the personnel was excellent, always helpful and gentle. The rooms and facilities were excellent as well. I had a great time.

Miinukset: The price of the food was very high.

Plussat: Great activities for kids, nice pools and very large three room apartment with balcony all around that allows for a great ocean view .

Plussat: The facilities were great and the staff very friendly.

Miinukset: It's a more a family resort that for couples.

Miinukset: Saavuttaessa hotelliin, kuljetus lentokentältä toimi erinomaisesti. Veivät kuitenkin toiseen torniin, joka on kauimmaisena Irotaman palveluista. Huomasimme sen vasta, kun olimme jo kirjautuneet sisään ja ollessamme allekirjoittamassa viimeistä paperia, huomasin eron. Sen jälkeen vaadimme, että saamme huoneet Irotama XXI:stä, johon meillä oli varaus ja varausvahvistus. Siitä alkoi 1,5 tunnin kiivas taistelu oikeudestamme Irotama XXI:n huoneesiin. Vastauksena saimme, että kaikki muut tornit Irotama XXI, Irotama del Sol ja Irotama del Mar ovat täynnä. Vaadittuani saada keskustella johtajan kanssa, siihen ei suostuttu. Lopulta 1,5 tunnin kiivaan kamppailun jälkeen vaatimukseemme suostuttiin. Huoneissa oli lisävuoteet eli ne oli ilmeisesti tarkoitettu ja varattu myös muille. Kaikki muut palvelut toimivat hyvin, mutta alkutappelu vei pisteet Irotamalta, jossa olen ollut ensimmäisen kerran jo 1970-luvulla.

Plussat: Our private Jacuzzi

Miinukset: Excellent scenery. Staff amazing and great breakfast. Looking forward to my next stay at Irotama del Mar

Plussat: Fab pool, super comfy modern room and amazing friendly staff.

Miinukset: Nothing it was fabulous!

Plussat: Staff was extremely helpful and kind. Food was delicious. Beach was close, clean and perfect for walking. A near shopping center has good restaurants and cozy shops.

Miinukset: Air conditioning was a little dirty so the room got a humid smell.

Plussat: the pool is not good as there is almost no sun being able to reach because of all the tall buildings around.

Miinukset: a better pool with área for sun tanning...

Plussat: Really perfect front office work. Very helpfull, nice and professional. Also very good food. Close to beach. Best buy. See you next time. From our trip we were in 3 hotels, but this was absolutely the best.

Plussat: I loved the comfort of the rooms and the lobby vibes, the welcome drink was a nice touch! Very clean place

Miinukset: I didn't like that we had to buy breakfast or be charged the IVA fee... that wasn't in the prior booking advertisement

Plussat: Everything!

Miinukset: The elevator was full all the time!

Plussat: Friendly staff. Modern and clean.

Miinukset: construction around, a bit noisy.

Plussat: the room, the cordiality of the staff, the pool's lifeguard was helpfully and very kind with our baby

Miinukset: the food , ( not breakfast) could be better

Plussat: A peaceful little haven from the hustle and bustle of the city. Well located to restaurants etc.

Miinukset: Downstairs rooms were a little dark, could have done with brighter lights.

Plussat: Comfortable and clean, accommodating staff, nice breakfast and reasonably priced

Miinukset: Construction meant there was noise all day and no wifi, pool was tiny

Plussat: Location and staff

Miinukset: Nothing

Plussat: everything perfect, when travelling through Colombia - this hotel was my favourite, very helpfull owner and his staff, delicious, complete breakfast (eggs, fruits, juices, coffee!!, toasts, cereales) - this is how every hotel should be managed - congratulations to the owner!

Plussat: Beautiful location in the center of Santa Marta, peaceful and good service.

Plussat: The staff was particularly friendly and helpful, and the property was a tranquil respite from the noise of the city

Plussat: Good food and great beach area. Rooms within the main hotel building have great wifi. Amazing staff!

Miinukset: Front desk can be a little slow when checking in and out.

Plussat: Staff is helpful & friendly. Air conditioning was excellent which is important. Breakfast was good.

Miinukset: The property could use some renewal. Things look somewhat worn. Pools have a lot of chlorine. Sand on the beach gets very hot. Breakfast while good is not as varied as it could be. It’s a 20 minute taxi ride to center or bay.

Plussat: Friendliness of staff

Miinukset: Birds flying around and taking food off tables while eating on the patio

Plussat: Good hotel, with friendly staff, although no one spoke English, luckily my husband who spoke Spanish was able to communicate with them. Rooms were big and spacious, clean and good air conditioning. The room service was very expensive. Good hotel for family and children as they had lots of activities for them.

Miinukset: The food and drink was on the expensive side. The beds were not very comfortable. The main swimming pool was on the small side too.

Plussat: Staff is very friendly. The facilities are beautiful and they have a great variety of options for breakfast.

Miinukset: The check in process is a little slow.

Plussat: They stated that the hotel was located in the Rodadero, the hotel is located over 15 min away by taxi.I booked the hotel based on being located in the Rodadero region. I requested a refund with no luck..

Plussat: The hotel is very well managed. Rooms are large, spacious and comfortable with plenty of things to watch on the tv and a well-stocked refrigerator. The hotel is spotless, well staffed and there are plenty of amenities onsite. Pool and poolside bar were lovely. It is a place to go to relax before your flight home - there's not too much else around. If not for the incident below, I would have rated my stay as "very good" or even "excellent".

Miinukset: As soon as I arrived at the private beach, I walked into a circle of approx 15 men in blue shirts which said "authorised vendors". They immediately started cat-calling and making lewd and disrespectful comments. I am not fluent in Spanish, but I understand enough to know what these mean: "Reina morena", "Negrita","Mamacita". I was pretty horrified that authorised personnel were making these kinds of sexualised comments on the hotel's private beach?! I was not impressed that so many comments related to me being black. I decided to just go to the water to get away from these men and enjoy my holiday. When I returned a short time later, the comments restarted and one of the vendors wolf-whistled at me... I complained to the security guard in broken Spanish (is there a sexual harassment section on Duolingo?). I came out with: "the men on the beach in blue shirts are not nice!" The security guard seemed to get the gist and did offer to call the police immediately. I really needed someone who spoke English so I went to reception to discuss the issue with a manager. The manager was very sympathetic. She said (all Spanish, so I may be wrong) that because the vendors are hired by the person who owns the beach and not the hotel, all she could do was complain to the board of vendors. Otherwise her hands were tied. I escalated my complaint because to me this was a pretty serious incident. I understand the hotel met with the leader of the group of vendors after I left. Apparently they did not mean to offend me and were just trying to flatter me...perhaps it's a cultural difference. I thought the hotel's initial response was a bit weak, but the follow-up was well-handled. I was taken seriously and I doubt this would happen again. Note too that I only came across one English speaking member of staff - a waiter who came to help translate. Everything else from check-in to check-out required Spanish.

Plussat: Great pool. Quiet beach. Relaxing atmosphere. Great staff.

Miinukset: Everything good

Plussat: In general, it was good. Staff, size of the pool, beach. Biggest kid pool.

Miinukset: Location is far from everywhere. Nothing around. Pool is big and comfortable but i guess they never change the water. There were ants in the rooms. And nobody speaks english at the hotel. High chair for babies at the restaurant is always dirty, nobody cleans it.

Plussat: Nice breakfast in an open air restaurant. Amazing view from the room. Safe guarded beach, protected from vendors.

Plussat: Very cheap, you get a a considerable good service for what you pay!

Miinukset: No cameras in the beach, some items where stolen and no security was available.

Plussat: Everything was perfect.!

Plussat: Nice pool, very kind service, nice breakfast, clean and spacious.

Miinukset: A little bit difficult to get to the city by public transport. Overpriced taxi rates, but that's not the hotel fault.

Plussat: Everything

Plussat: The room are good!!

Miinukset: The smell in the bathroom was horrible!!! Even I tried to find where the smell come from but I couldn’t identify!!

Plussat: Staff very helpfull. Rooms clean. Good beds. Cleaning staff super!

Miinukset: Way to crowdy at breakfast. You had to fight for a seat or a plate. This cant be acceptable for a Hilton. At the swimming pool exactly same story.

Plussat: 1. Staff were polite and helpful 2. Food was tasty 3. Great location 4. Room was clean and smells good 5. Generally clean hotel 6. You have tour packages available from external agency

Miinukset: 1. Night hours - Exceptionally less staff even at 8pm 2. Swimming pool is very small 3. Most uncomfortable thing was I had booked a ocean view king room and I had got room in 5th floor which you can see only a balcony, they are charging extra money for the ocean view room but actually it works may be nice the 9th floor, lower floors are blocked by other buildings. 4. There are 2 types of Kings rooms and price is same, but one type have a very small bathroom compared to other type. 5. There is no bathtub and in the smaller bathroom type had no shower curtain to separate wet and dry area 6. The one which had a big bathroom had a curtain but very stained 7. Bathroom and bedroom have same flooring 8. Many movie channels are not subscribed or blocked by the hotel, which makes you available a very channels. 9. There was nothing in the room fridge,if you want something you should buy and put it in the fridge from the reception 10. If you want a water bottle ordered in room, they charge more than a dollar extra. But you should know there is no complimentary water, there is no water in mini fridge. 11. Hotel room key card is fussy, most times it won't work in the elevator.

Plussat: It had a good location for the city centre. The breakfast was quite good. The staff in general was very nice especially Christian in reception was very helpful.

Miinukset: The swimming pool was really disappointing! It was very small for such a big hotel and it didn't have enough sunbeds! The service of food at the restaurant was unbelievably slow and they always were short on the items on the menu, no octopus, no cokes one day, no hamburger on the other and so on!!!!

Plussat: The room was very spacious and clean. The breakfast was a good value. The staff were very welcoming and accommodating. The hotel is located close to the city center but with enough distance to remain quiet at night.

Miinukset: The pool had very limited seating. When we tried to spend an afternoon there, 2 families had managed to take all the seats. Considering my stay occurred during high season, there needs to be a re-evaluation of the facility to add more seating.

Plussat: The hotel in general is just awesome and easily lives up to the Hilton standards: the staff is super-helpful, the rooms are new and clean and a rooftop pool, despite being small, is a must visit.

Miinukset: Despite the hotel and staff being awesome, the location is somewhat doubtful. Being understandably situated near the city centre (which is a plus for city tourists and night party lovers) the hotel does not have access to a descent beach within walking distance.

Plussat: Room but rate was high.

Miinukset: Staff was not very accommodating

Plussat: Super nice place to chill for a couple of days!

Plussat: Size of the rooms Decoration Staff Location

Miinukset: Breakfast was minimal A bit noisy from the nearby club

Plussat: Nice building with a beautiful roof terrace. If only our room would have been nicer.

Miinukset: For 55€ a night you should get more than an old, smelly room with squeaky doors and mold on the walls (especially behind the air conditioning). The shower head was broken and the overall condition was just below standard. We told the staff but didn’t receive an apology.

Plussat: I loved its swimming pool. The bar is good as well. Good room. Good mattress. Great location if you wanna stay inside the old-downtown. A lot of bars and restaurants around the hostel.

Miinukset: Nothing!

Plussat: the roof terrase

Miinukset: the rooms are dark and bad maintain and was not clean properly. The location is horrible!

Plussat: Two pools which were clean, friendly staff, comfy beds, program for every day/night, reasonable prices on happy hour

Miinukset: More people at the reception would be good. Had to wait quite long sometimes when it got busy. More activities like table tennis would be great. I've only seen pool on the rooftop. Also A/C gets turned off in the morning, after that it gets too hot if you want to sleep a bit longer.

Plussat: Masaya is a great place! the rooms are confortable, it has 2 pools and a great bar! The breakfast is fresh and balanced, as well the location is very convinient, in the same block of "La brisa loca" perfect for some dancing and drinks and very close to the restaurants zone. The hostal has activities everyday to get guest to meet and share. Love it all! i will definitely come back!

Plussat: Excellent Staff and excellent location..

Miinukset: The beds where little hard, and the energy saving method would make you walk in to warm room always.

Plussat: Decent facilities.

Miinukset: The music too loud. Didn’t stop until midnight.

Plussat: Beach front rooms

Miinukset: In fact a lot to list in this section: unfriendly reception and 30 min to check in snd to know that room is not even ready... 3 times changed the room as wrong number assigned... very basic accommodation (really basic!), very noisy all the night and uncomfortable bed. Breakfast is very poor, only 3 types of fruits ... you don’t feel to be in Colombia. We paid about 200 usd per night so expectation was different. I would not pay more then 50 usd in this hotel.

Plussat: Love the staff, location, the pool was kick butt, the breakfast was great, and the view was very nice.

Miinukset: I did not like the bed and they need to do something about the window. Even with the blinds, way too much light gets in at night. Also, fix the shower doors so they stay closed.

Plussat: Breakfast was awesome.

Plussat: Near the beach. Nice pool. Front desk staff speak english and were very friendly and helpful. Secure area from beach vendors.

Miinukset: Pool very busy and is shared with another hotel. Windows at the pool looking towards the beach were hard to see through (it would be nice to be clean and clear to be able to look at the ocean from the pool). The bathroom in our hotel room had floss hanging from the roof when we got there and after the few days we were there cleaning staff did not remove although we did not mention it. Dust under the beds therefore it's not cleaned under the bed. Room had a large gap above the door which would allow bugs and other critters. The last day they did not clean the room and when asked about it at the front desk they said we put out a sign not to clean it and I looked at the sign they provide it says "please come back later". We had that sign on the door for about an hour then we put the sign that says "please clean room" and then we went to the ocean and pool for the remainder of the day. The front desk staff told us they would get someone to come clean the room so we went to the pool for an hour and when we got back to the room at 8pm they put towels and soap in the bathroom and that was cleaning the room. These are all nitpicky items that could be improved upon. Overall we enjoyed our stay but it is an expensive hotel so we expect it to better then a cheap hotel or hostel.

Miinukset: I have stated on other reviews of this hotel that I believe the pool staff and now management need an attitude change. First off, the pool staff isn’t very helpful or even seem to want to wait on people at the pool. We had to go to the bar to order drinks and food and pretty much felt ignored by the wait staff. Now onto management. I had booked a DIRECT shuttle service to Cartageña with Tamaca Tours. What I RECEIVED was a direct shuttle to Barranquilla, drove around Barranquilla for two hours dropping other people off, and then we were put on another shuttle for the final two hours to Cartageña. We were told something about a bridge dedication in Barranquilla that was causing traffic delays and that we needed to leave at 8 am instead of 10 am, which was the time that we reserved. Management is posting that they told us these details, which they did NOT, and even stated on my TripAdvisor review that I had booked the shuttle service to Barranquilla, which I did NOT. (See attached photo) They just can’t admit that they made a mistake or didn’t give us the correct details. It’s really disappointing that they are so defensive and are shifting blame like it’s somehow my fault. Truly sad and I can’t recommend this resort if this is their attitude toward their guests when they make a mistake.

Plussat: Christian and the front desk was extremely helpful.

Miinukset: Too many people, overpriced, room very uncomfortable and noisy.