Location in historic center, fair price, helpful staff,clean rooms, coffee in rooms, balcony overlooking park, relaxing rooftop plunge pool
I chose Hotel Casa La Fe based on the excellent reviews it earned, its location, a relatively reasonable price, A/C (a necessity in Cartagena year-round), offering some rooms with a balcony, preserving the stule of a traditional colonial home & having the bonus of a small, but pleasant rooftop plunge pool, bar & chill-out terrace to unwind at the end of the day. I enjoyed my 4-day stay so much that I plan to return.
I recommend Hotel Casa La Fe if you are looking for a traditional well-maintained colonial house-turned-hotel within Cartagena’s walled city & don’t want to break the bank staying at one of the more pretentious larger hotels. And, by the way, if you are going to Cartagena stay in the historic center; nowhere else. Cartagena’s beaches are average, at best. The beaches are crowded, deep & plagued with annoying hawkers trying to sell everything. Even the plastic chairs & coverings are expensive & substandard. Think PLASTIC dark umbrellas; HOT. If you want a great Caribbean beach, go elsewhere. What makes Cartagena special & breathtakingly beautiful is its historic center& the Hotel Casa La Fe is right in the middle of it all.
The staff at Hotel Casa La Fe is well-trained & kind; EVERYONE. From the guys at reception to Ari at the rooftop to Arledis responsible for breakfast & housekeeping, to the hotel general manager Mr. Reyes who has trained a great team; everyone did their job with professionalism & enthusiasm. The breakfast is made-to-order & varied. I had something different each of the four days. Breakfast is served in the beautiful open air courtyard in side-by-side tables where one can meet other guests (if you so desire) or eat without being disturbed.
In order to preserve the original architecture & colonial style of the 3-story Casa La Fe, only the rooms facing the Fernandez de Madrid Square have an outdoor balcony (or even a actual window). All other rooms do have a small glass window that opens to the interior patio. Most of the windows I saw were kept closed because of the A/C & to provide privacy to the guests inside. I was in room 206 which has a very comfortable semi-private balcony (shared with room 207) where we sat throughout the day (in very comfortable outdoor chairs and a small folding table) to watch & listen to the sounds of the horse-drawn carriages parading below & the many street performers showing off their talents at the cafes & restaurants that line the square below the balcony. We ordered take-out from nearby restaurants & enjoyed a casual dinner overlooking the park & listening to the carriages passing below. Bam’s Burgers a few doors down make excellent reasonably priced beef & grilled chicken burgers (but skip the doggy fries). At night, the balcony doors & wood shutters provided excellent soundproofing & were nearly black-out. The A/C is controlled by guests as is the ceiling fan. Rooms are equipped with bottled water AND an awesome automatic coffee machine that we put to use each day. Coffee capsules are provided. The bed was spacious & comfortable & the linens were just OK (could be better). My sheet had that feeling you get when an under-sheet is worn & it feels a bit rough). I probably could have asked for the under-sheet to be changed, but didn’t. The rain shower had excellent water pressure & hot water. Nice Toiletries were provided daily as were towels.
The upstairs terrace is lovely. We used it each day after the sun & heat got the best of us walking throughout the historic center. It was a nice way to transition from the hot afternoon to evening. The plunge pool is nice just to soak. It is more like a large Jacuzzi than an actual swimming pool; but it was quite nice. It was also a place to get recommendations from Aris who runs the terrace & to meet other guests. We ordered drinks but you can just choose to soak, relax & unwind. Only one day was the bar music unnecessarily loud.
Hope this review helps. If I missed anything you consider important, let me know. I’ll be glad to answer your questions. I’ve also attached a number of photos.