We have been travelling about 4 times a year to the Caribbean and South America for the last 10 to 12 years and have been going predominantly to AMR Resorts (Zoetry, Secrets and Dreams). We are familiar with the brand and like what they offer in terms of high end resorts with unlimited luxury, extensive amenities etc. We have just returned from Dreams Karibana Cartegena Golf and Spa Resort and were very disappointed. The food options and variety available are extremely limited and there is absolutely no top shelf drinks as claimed on the web site. Same with cocktails. The Coco Café here did not have the usual snacks (sandwiches etc), yogurt, different cookies, parfaits etc. They had same three types of ice creams (chocolate, vanilla and mango) which were also iced up. We went preferred but it was a complete waste of money. I would say that it is a scam to gouge extra money for below services claimed to be provided. • Daily continental breakfast service • Afternoon hot and cold hors d’oeuvres • Exquisite desserts and premium liquors • Access to Preferred Club lounge and bar All the above services are there but only in name, or at best skeletal. The only good thing they have going is the customer service which is excellent. Special mention of Yirley at Oceana, Margarita, Fabier and Rosmery at the Buffet, Yineth and Jose at the Lounge Bar, Mauricio at the Learn Spanish Class and Janivis and Luis at the Coco Cafe. The room service is also prompt and good. I would like to mention my experience at the Portofino. I was not allowed entry since I was in sandals, which was fine since they have a dress code which requires men to wear closed shoes. But this was not consistently followed. The hostess and the Restaurant Manager, Samir were very selective since we did see men being let in wearing sandals. When I brought this to the attention of the same hostess I was told these were patrons with foot issues but strangely we seen the same patrons in runners later during the trip. I also bought this to the attention of the senior manager available that evening, David (Sales Manager), who had what seemed like a friendly chat with both, the hostess and the restaurant manager Samir but failed to apprise/respond to us. David gaveme a talk about how important communication in this industry but failed to get back to us.

This hotel is quite nice and close to the beach but was lacking service. We had to go get our own drinks at the bar and we’re not asked if we would like more at all. Even taking our own dirty glasses up to bar and get refills. Bartenders did not know how to make many drinks and each bar was a different experience The food was excellent every night and had a great variety of different food options every day ,and the scenery and sights were awesome. There were very few workers who spoke English and they lacked restocking guests fridges The rooms were clean and maid did a decent job. There was very little entertainment other than dj and one evening had a singer for a couple hours. They seem to cater much more to the locals that were coming in. The one light was a young girl named Laura who was very helpful. She had to help the air Transat rep sell our excursion as the rep spoke very little English. You had to find all of your own transportation they had nothing going on a regular schedule to the city or the marina for excursions.it would be better to be picked up at the hotel for these. I would go back to Columbia again in the future as it is quite beautiful. Near the end of our visit some owner and managers showed up and things seemed to get a bit better. Finally had the cards for food names with English as well They didn’t have a good selection of options for beer and absolutely no rye whiskey and had to fight for cans of light beer that they only wanted to serve in rooms if you badgered the staff to bring them They usually never came No map or cards to make visitors aware of restaurants or service hours only one card at front desk Pools were clean and all areas were kept clean and tidy. If you want quiet and not too many people it was that as it seemed there was only maybe 25 percent occupancy even though they said they were fully booked Large amount of construction right next door worker Monday to Friday

We really enjoyed Dreams Karibana Cartagena. I was a bit worried after reading some on-line reviews, but everything was lovely. It is a small resort, so the buffet meals had fewer options than other resorts we’ve been to but the quality of the food was great. The pool was never crowded, and we had no problems getting poolside lounge chairs. The rooms were clean, but with a bit of wear and tear. We saw maintenance people on site most days, so I would guess the whole resort is getting a bit of a refresh. The staff was amazing. Very friendly - by the end of our week, we knew most of the entertainment crew. A couple downsides: there was no beach to speak of, apparently due to high water levels and we didn’t always have hot water for showers.

We chose this hotel for our first visit to Colombia because of the open air animal sanctuary and it did not disappoint. In fact, the animals at the resort were the highlight of the trip for me. When else can you wake up to beautiful weather, grounds and feed the deer, a toucan or a peacock? When we were lucky enough to catch a sloth making it's way to a tree...well that was it. It couldn't get any better! The room itself is a bit dated and the shower door didn't close which seemed to be a known issue based on the wad of tape at the top of the door to try to get it to stay closed but this was just a minor annoyance. There is a window in the room looking out to the beach but unfortunately, it did not open. The lap pool was great for a morning swim which opens at 8am. The hotel has a large private area on the beach where you can relax in peace on a bed and there is never an issue finding an available spot. There is even a towel attendant so no need to bring one from the pool. The restaurant right next to is is convenient for grabbing a cocktail or a light lunch. The service was impeccable esp when I mentioned that my daughter had gotten sick and asked if a late checkout was possible. Not only was it not an Issue, they sent up a doctor and the manager immediately to see if they could help - all free of charge. I would definitely stay here again if and when I return to Cartagena.

This hotel was clean, quaint, and perfect. There were a couple of flaws but over all amazing. Staff were helpful and wonderful. While I feel they are still trying to figure out the all inclusive bit, their food everyday was great.

This was our 2nd time to Cartagena & I must say we were disappointed upon our arrival at the Decameron Baru. We found this resort to be very remote from the airport & downtown Cartagena. Our bus ride took 1hr & 45min which made for a very long day. We did not have hot water for the first 3 days. We had requested a kingsize bed and received a room with 2 twin beds. We found the rooms to be in decline. The drawers in the dresser were falling out, the hot water shower handle came off completely on 2 occasions & pieces of the dresser doors were broken off , or rotting. The restaurant choices were minimal. We also upgraded our package to the “plus” package, which we found did not really have any benefits. Our “plus” member pool did not open until 10am & we still needed to book our restaurant reservations daily. We also found that the hotel staff were not very fluent with the English language, menus were in Spanish & if we asked a question regarding what ingredients were being used in a meal concerning allergies, they could not answer as they did not understand English. Overall this hotel is listed as a 4* resort, but we would rate this hotel as a 3*.

The hotel was amazing. The staff was also very good. We loved our room, as we could see the sun rise and set from our balcony. The food was awesome and we would return to this hotel in the future. I highly recommend this resort to anyone wanting a great vacation.

Location, services et le peuple. Possibilité de voir beaucoup différant culture. Les nourritures traditionnelle délicieux .La beauté de la nature et la facilité d'accès à toutes services. Le sentiment de sécurité et de tranquillité d'esprit

The Grand Sirenis Hotel has a welcoming and well designed structural appearance. The grounds are well maintained and the colourful cascading bouganvilleas and other flowering trees/plants adorn the grounds and the interior building beautifully. The public areas are constantly kept clean as the maintenace staff work on these areas regularly and the lighting is adequate. This is evident also in the dining areas and the rooms. ********************************************************************** Firstly, Sarah and I thank you for preparing our tickets to this South American country, Cartagena, Colombia, which we gather is a new Air Canada (AC) route. The AC staff handled accessibility passengers (Sarah and me) flying in/out very caringly in Toronto. Cartagena is a picturesque city with exciting events as you also mentioned. The beautiful coastline of beaches showcasing colourful umbrellas and cabanas, was a sight to behold as we drove to/from the hotel. We took a cab and strolled to the Walled City and Getsemani among other places, wherein the streets were adorned with their arts and culture merchandise. We got some brilliant and colourful scenes e.g. Palenqueras and wall murals. We tried to make the best of our vacation. Sarah and I have travelled to many countries over the years with minimal concerns. However, there were some issues that were not addressed to us seniors on this trip. Eden, we will endeavour to mention what our mini adventures were: "Check-Mig" form must be submitted between 72 hours and one hour before departure. We spent undue time completing this form as the site was unreliable. We constantly got "kicked out" with a "402" error and had to resubmit many times as the data we input reverted to incorrect information. Stressful and frustrating! When we arrived at the Grand Sirenis Hotel,we got our keys and first entered a "moldy-smelling" room not easily accessible on the ground floor. We discovered a queen size bed for 2 but needed 2 twin beds. However, we took action and approached the Front Reception Desk personnel (FRDP), who moved us to the third floor. Again another "smelly" room with a queen size bed. We were not pleased and returned to FRDP. On this occasion, we were given a third room which was fortunately located on the ground floor, easily accessible with a mini fridge and safe with twin beds. This was to be our home away from home for 7 days. Guess what! Due to the visits and time duration ensuring we were well equipped, it was late and we were tired. Before going to bed, we deserved a shower to discover we had only two hand towels and a bathmat, which we used until the next morning. What other surprises await us! The following days were spent on the beach walking and enjoying the sunny weather and/or meeting visitors/guests imbibing blue margaritas, mojitos, coffee and agua in the two/three bars. This too was somewhat disappointing as often the drinks were "watered down" or there was a lack of ingredients: Rum! ginger ale, beer, etc. The bartenders/servers were not knowledgeable enough to make the drink concoctions, so we freely advised them what was needed. We had the pleasure of an A La Carte evening dinner and our expectations were not met as at the 8:30 p.m. seating, the meals requested were no longer available in Entradas, the Main Course and Dessert. Also, the drinks!!! This was devastating! On this special occasion, we were celebrating a meeting for the first time. As luck would have it, we left the hotel early for downtown, skipped lunch and returned for an appetizer before our Grand Dinner at 8:30 p.m. Thank goodness, there were guests who were liberally sharing information re free shuttle bus service availability. We had read on-line and through TripAdvisor that there was this service. We enquired but were not told about this service and went twice to/from the hotel and paid different fees for this service, where none of the drivers was English speaking. Our Air Canada representative, Christian met us at the airport. He was very curt/abrupt with little public relations expertise. This was the first and last we saw of him. It is true, he told us to contact him if we had questions or needed assistance, but nothing more. I think at least he could have given us a 15-minute welcome presentation when he dropped us off and mentioned how to travel into town, what was available and to whom at the hotel we can direct our questions to obtain favorable answers. We know this info may be available on-line, but some seniors are not tech-savvy. We finally found an information screen on our walking path through the corridors. The screen was usually off when we first approached it. When lit, the advertisement moved fast to take a photo and to know what activities were available for the day. The info shown was only in Spanish. The daily itinerary for the hotel activities could be easily displayed on our tv sets upon opening. Also, it would be appreciated if they had other information on the tv: checkout information, layout of the hotel areas, how to access tv in your language of choice, special events to attend, etc... The meals (breakfast/lunch/dinner) were satisfactory but replenishing the empty trays. Was this due to lack of staff? or out of stock? The food crew appeared short staffed on certain days as it took some time to get a cup of COLOMBIAN java to start. One of their biggest exports after emeralds - Coffee! The cleaning staff was better equipped and were always welcoming. We recommend a Hospitality Desk for a communicative, pleasant, knowledgeable part-time staff/college volunteer student for a minimum of 2 hours in the morning and 1 hour following lunch, simply to handle key questions as the FRDP is busy with incoming/outgoing tourists. Eden, in totality, it was a good holiday with a rating of 6/7 of 10. We encouraged them to learn English and helped them with a few key words to remember. This email is to mainly highlight where some weaknesses exist and how to better manage for an efficient and smooth running of a big hotel to be one of the best in the world.

The facilities are well laid out at this spectacular location. We selected superior accommodations and it was well worth it. Specialty restaurants every night. The food at the buffet and the restaurants were excellent and we are foodies. Service was excellent throughout. The beach is simple and accommodating. There are four spectacular pools. At times loud music and events at the main pool as well as the beach are unnecessarily loud. Hard to have a relaxing vacation at a spectacular resort with the frequent laud noise including from patron’s speakers.

The facilities are well laid out at this spectacular location. We selected superior accommodations and it was well worth it. Specialty restaurants every night. The food at the buffet and the restaurants were excellent and we are foodies. Service was excellent throughout. The beach is simple and accommodating. There are four spectacular pools. At times loud music and events at the main pool as well as the beach are unnecessarily loud. Hard to have a relaxing vacation at a spectacular resort with the frequent laud noise including from patron’s speakers.

We would 100% recommend this resort! The location is amazing, the attentiveness of the staff, the food and the genuineness of the staff is top notch! We upgraded to the Preferred Club and we’d do it again.

We enjoyed our stay at Dreams, the rooms, grounds and service was what was expected. We had the preferred package, and I would say there really was not much of a distinction between the two levels. The preferred pool and area was enjoyed by all guest regardless of your level, as there was no way of determining the levels. If you ordered a drink or meal from the grill your room number was taken, that was how they would know. However if you did not order anything then you could enjoy the up graded pool. We would not purchase the preferred level at this resort, we would go back. The entertainment was hit and miss, would be great if the Kids were entertained at night in a different area, instead of at the lobby bar. You will also be treated to a " United States of America" themed night, yes, that is correct. As we are Canadians we did not attend.

Enjoyable experience overall. Nice resort with all the amenities...food was splendid and pool was perfect. Rooms were modern, cleaned daily, and washrooms had great water pressure. Close to the beach and 20 minute can ride to old "downtown" Cartagena. I would definitely go back!

This resort is primarily geared to Columbia guests. Only the front desk staff speak English. No information on activities or facilities are available in English at the resort which made things a little tricky. That being said staff are all friendly and do a good job. The furnishings and decor are as pictured online. Very nice. The bed was comfortable and shower large and good water pressure. Food was tasty but we only had access to main buffet and lounge menu. There is an a la carte restaurant but we were NOT permitted to use it unless we paid for the meal. This is different than what was promised. There is construction of a new building happening adjacent to the hotel. Construction is somewhat noisy during the day but not ridiculous. However, there was a smell of sewage at times coming from the site. We were lucky that are rooms were not in the vicinity of the construction but half of the rooms are. Although, we did have a wonderful vacation, I would recommend that you choose another hotel.

The hotel is very nice on all aspects: ground, beach, room, staff, restaurants. However it is too remote, there is nothing outside of the resort. The closest city of Cartagena is 1h30 taxi when traffic is smooth, could take 2h. Taxi fares are expensive. Rooms are spacious, there is no internet from the rooms, only at lobby. It is somewhat inconvenient but not a show stopper.

This resort was fantastic! It had all of the amenities we were looking for. The beach, the pools and grounds were beautiful. The food was great. Breakfast was our favourite. I would definitely recommend this resort. Our one week stay was over much too soon.

Very clean room, beautiful lobby, amazing view, good restaurants, kind and caring staff! Pools need to be maintained and cleaned more often. Just make sure you have your black tea with you, they only serve coffee in the morning.

We had oceanfront rooms and it was worth the extra expense. The beach, spa and decor was top notch. The food was average for a four star hotel. For English tourists there is a language problem. We did not expect everyone to speak our language but the hotel could solve miscommunication problems by having wi fi working in the a la carte restaurants allowing guests to use a translation program while ordering. We were allowed breakfast in the Italian restaurant and instead of having an omelette, I had to come in with a picture (taken in my room) of a fried egg because the day before I couldn't get that communicated to my waitress. Some dinners were also a problem without access to a translation program. Our air transat rep was amazing and we booked a tour of Cartegena with a guide that was great. Again if you are an English speaker, it was tough to share a tour and lower the cost. There were more French speakers sharing tours - we paid more for a private tour. We did have the most amazing lobster dinner ever (and we have had a lot of those ) in Cartegena courtesy of our guide bringing us to one of his favourites and leaving us there for an hour. The hotel is about an hour from the city and airport. We signed up for a tour of an amazing aviary (this tour was cheaper because there was no guide and we shared the cost with about seven French speakers) Entering Colombia is a pain because of an immigration form you have to fill out on a poorly designed website. I figured it out after a few problems - but some people were paying $80 or higher to have a company do it for you. One huge gothca for me was not realizing you had to go through the same thing when leaving the country and I only found out when stopped before going through security. My phone was not allowing me access to the website and it was an unexpected hassle.

I had read the reviews and did not have high expectations. Hotel Dubai is not a Mexico or Dom Rep type of all inclusive . it is room and food and drinks . No entertainment but great location. short taxi ride to walled city which is incredible. Short walk to shopping and casinos in Bocagrande. We felt very safe walking or in taxi. Beach not great but pool , and sauna was very nice. Only one buffet restaurant but food was tasty especially some of the home made soups and fish. Great fresh fish. limited salads but fresh fruit. Red wine from Spain was excellent. Pool bar was fun. bar tenders made good drinks. Lobby bar had great cappuccinos. We had problem with hot water in shower. They couldnt fix so agreed to change room and gave us a bigger room. one bell hop spoke some english and helped us book two tours. One to National Bird avairy which was great and also to the pink sea and convent on the hill. the pink sea was really pink. I did not have high expectations but hotel Dubai was better than expected.

We couldn’t be happier with our stay at Hotel Almirante. The food was great, awesome location, and the staff was on point. Would definitely recommend staying here! It’s a short, $2-3 cab ride to the walled city, and there’s lots to explore on the Boca grande as well. Jonathan was an awesome server at the hotel restaurant and Raul was a great cab driver (hotel has their own cabs). All in all was a great trip and will definitely return for the ceviché alone (+uno agua sin gas, uno agua con gas)!!!

This hotel pretends to be 4 stars...it is rather 3 stars! Although the personnel is examplary, remarquable, absolutely diligent and really 'there' for clients, and although beds were comfortable, management is failing in various ways: lack of towels in room (impossible to obtain after several requests); water over flowing in room after taking shower (reported but repair possible 'only if client present', thus making client waste vacation time and responsible of security); food in restaurant rather poor in choice, re-used and re-served 2-3 days in row...etc. etc.

Very good, except hotel elevators and annoying vendors on the beach. Elevators are extremely slow, better go stairs. Vendors - that's a story by itself! Coming every 5 secs, really really annoying. Other then that - 5 stars!

The hotel facilities are beautiful and pristine. The pool area is well maintained. The rooms look just like the photos. We had the best filet mignon in the dining room - excellent food. But the best part of our stay were the staff. Rafaela at the jewellery store is the most lovely woman. When I was sick, she took me to see the nurse and even offered to go to the pharmacy with me. The front desk staff were efficient and well informed with answers to all our questions. In particular, Andres Filipe was very professional, friendly and helpful.

The rooms were very nice, and the hotel in general was very clean. The beach area is close by however there are people trying to sell you day trips and items every 10 seconds (even if your eyes are closed trying to have a nap), not the hotel’s fault. Food in the buffet was always edible but nothing really wowed us. Coffee and wine service at breakfast/dinner is very slow, we had to ask for it each time or go without.

The hotel overall was fantastic and the service was so good, the food at the hotel was also very good. I cant wait to return, they made our first time in colombia the best vacation ever! Thanks Capilla del mar from Canada

Capilla del Mar is a lovely hotel. It has a great location on Boca Grande beach. It is clean and the staff are very friendly. I only had breakfast at the restaurant onsite but it was delicious. Your choice of fresh juice and eggs made to order, along with fresh bread, fruits and other various breakfast options. The front lobby isn’t large but who hangs out there anyways? The pool is quite small so that would be a negative for me but overall I would recommend it!!

No consistency at the bars. Ask for a drink at one bar and like it then order from another bar and totally different. Not enough water tours. You have to have at least 10 people before they would send out any tours, so that meant you had to hire private and quite costly.

"Dubai" hotel in Cartagena de Indias is reasonably good as a hotel itself, with good service level and friendly personnel. It offers a comfortable stay in a city on a waterfront (with immediate access to public beach strip) and within 20 minutes walking distance to old town section. We purchased an all-inclusive package with that hotel. Turns out it's not really all-inclusive (there was no evening entertainment, no typical in other countries beach support in form of included umbrellas, sunbeds or water sports). It was only hotel+meals set. There were 3 meals provided, which were decent, tasty and healthy, but the selection, especially on 2 weeks long stay, was rather limited. The most boring was breakfast, daily the same: 4 trays of eggs in different format, two trays of cheapo hotdogs and occasional tray with pancakes ... luckily there were also regular fruits and cookies. Asking for a drink (being free in all-included deal) at a pool bar was almost making you feel guilty (I even got an attitude lecture from one bar tender that I should speak Spanish) - despite wearing all-inclusive bracelets we were always asked for a room number, we had to sign receipts, and even once they asked for a passport number (imagine, bar tender checking your ID). They were also regularly running out of ingredients needed for their drinks, so selection was often limited. In a 4 star hotel like "Dubai", supposedly prepared to serve an international tourist, you would expect to have somebody being able to speak English. During 2 weeks of my stay there I met only two people that could speak very basic English (looks like the entire Cartagena has an allergy to English). This hotel (and the city in general) seems to cater mainly to their 99.9% Spanish speaking Latino tourists. So again, the hotel itself is good, but as an all-inclusive package they have lots to learn from resorts in Mexico or Cuba.

Great friendly service at an authentic Colombian resort. We were upgraded to a superior room on arrival. Grounds are peaceful and beautiful. Breakfast was very good with lots of options. Would definitely stay there again. Thank you to all staff

Great Hotel with decent rooms, garden and swimming pool. The garden with macaws, tucans, deer and sloths is a great place to recover from a night in Old Cartagena, which is only 3 km away. Good size and clean swimming pool. The beach is just across the road. A bit crowded on the weekends but still fine. You can mix with locals and get a sense of life in the city. Hope to go back. No complaints.

The hotel room was very big on the second floor and beds extremly clean and lots of big fluffy pillows .The location has lots of bars ,restaurants, huge and modern shopping centers and several high end hotels just a few blocks away.Food in the buffet was really good and with lots of flavor.looks like more than 95 percent of guest are all spanish guests .Even the travel rep at this hotel speak only spanish and wasnt able to answer all my questions.All the souvenirs stores communicate only in spanish or the odd english words.Overall it is a very beautiful city with tons of historical sites especially the walled city and San Felipe castle.Travelling around night and day very safe.Taxis very cheap approximately $5Can. on most trips.Beers in bocagrande approximately $2.25Can.Sightseeing tours and sunset cruise very spectacular and cheap.I will advise any english speaking person to learn a bit of spanish before travelling to Cartagena colombia to make communication easier.It was a challenge for me even attending a spanish school in Guatamela for 3weeks of total immersion.

This review is based on my week-long stay at this hotel in April, 2019. We had the all-inclusive package. First, I want to say that this is not really an all-inclusive resort. It’s a hotel that offers an all-inclusive option. But don’t expect lots of coordinated activities, multiple restaurants, etc. And because most people there are not all-inclusive customers, you have to constantly give your room number and sign for meals, etc. That said, in general my wife and I had a great time. First of all, the beaches in Columbia are beautiful, but because they are all public, when you are on the beach you are constantly propositioned by people selling things: statues, hats, sunglasses, bottles of water. I like that people have freedom to make a living, but the sellers were so persistent that my wife and I ended up staying by the hotel pool most of the week instead of on the beach. There is a pool table in the hotel that’s free to use when they don’t have a conference in there. My wife and I played it a lot. The location of the hotel is good. There are lots of shops and restaurants around. The old city can be reached by the always-available taxis for about 10k pesos ($5 Canadian; $3.5 USD). There is a “solarium” on the 15th floor. It’s basically a rooftop with fake grass and some outdoor lounge chairs, and a shower. It’s nice if you want a quiet place to read. The pool is great, but it can be loud because they play music there. On the afternoons and the weekends, the pool might be too loud to concentrate on a book. The pool is great. There’s a bar, a shower, a ping pong table, and a small but nice pool with a great view of the beach and the old city in the distance. The “snack” you can get there consists of an overcooked hot dog (no bun or condiments) and two big heated up frozen french fries. When it arrived at our table, we laughed out loud. There is a shallow part of the pool for little kids. But this is the only thing there is for kids to do at this place. The food in the restaurant was great. We were on the all-inclusive package, which means we got a breakfast buffet, which was great, and then, for lunch and dinner, an appetizer, entree, and dessert from a limited menu. In general, that’s way too much food! We only got all three the first time. At the end of this review I talk about the different dishes. Though the menu was limited, we were there a week and didn’t get bored of the selection. If they have enough people at the hotel, they’ll have a buffet for lunches and dinners too, but this only happened once to us (Saturday night). Colombians eat rather late; restaurants don’t even open until 7pm. The wait staff is lovely. Keep in mind that their English is very poor. The only staff who speak English pretty well are the receptionists and the bartender. The room was pretty standard, comfortable, with a desk, and TV. It was very quiet--much quieter than the echoey hallway room we had in Cancun. The window of our room didn’t open, which meant our room got pretty stuffy. The room has a minibar with expensive snacks and water. They charge you about 10k pesos for a bottle of water, even if you’re on the all-inclusive package, which I think is pretty ridiculous (you can ask for several bottles of water at the bar and bring them up and don’t get charged on the all-inclusive.) At the end we got jerked around a bit and it pissed me off. We ordered a latte and a pina colada to drink while we waited for our shuttle to the airport. I told the bartender we were going to check out, and we’d be back for the drinks. He rang us up for the drinks AFTER we checked out, so we had to pay for them. I felt insulted that they tried to wring $14 out of me after we were there for a week as all-inclusive guests. I complained to the manager, who said sorry at first, but then explained that the drinks could not be charged to the all-inclusive account because we’d checked out, so no problem! The bartender should have charged the room before I checked out, and failing that, the manager should have comped the drinks and refunded us. As it was, I left the hotel with a bad taste in my mouth. But overall we had a great time. I don’t think we’ll go back, but only because I think we’ve seen enough of Cartagena--you can see it in 3 days. We had a week with a little bit of sightseeing and lots of reading by the pool, so the time was perfect for us. Menu items we tried: Appetizers: Ceviche: excellent! My wife had this many times. It’s an appetizer, but enough for a light meal. Fish soup: Delish! Cilantro and fish in a south-american flavoured soup Meat soup: also good. I got this twice. Tuna salad: Just a salad with what appears to be a can of tuna in it. Unimpressive. Cesar Salad: overdressed, but ok. I only got it once. Entrees: Seafood and rice (Rice Cartagenera): Good! Shrimp and coconut rice: This coconut rice is the bomb. Excellent. Fliet Mignon: Pretty good. Baby beef: Tough. I ordered it medium rare, and it came well-done. Chicken Milanese: Excellent. I got this four times. I don’t know what they put in the breading, but it’s excellent. American Chicken: mediocre. Chicken stuffed with Shrimp: Wife liked it, I didn’t. Desserts: Tiramisu: just okay Chocolate cake: a little dry Ice cream: standard, but good. Chocolate or coconut. Flan: coconut flavoured. Good.

The public grounds were very nice and the inclusion of the deer, sloths, macaws and toucans was delightful - in fact, the only good thing about this hotel. The room we were assigned was OK at first glance, but we had to request additional hangers and have someone get the TV operational. No coffee maker. The bathroom had one towel ring (for 4 towels!), no hooks and did not have robes as advertised. The light over the bath flickered all the time. We asked for someone to come to the room and discussed all these things with him, but nothing changed. The pool was large and enabled lengths to be swum. Someone skimmed out superficial surface rubbish everyday, but it didn't appear to be chlorinated and at times had so many people in it one wondered at the cleanliness and hygiene, as there were many children in and out, including babies in diapers, although there was a small children's pool attached to the larger one. A noticeable oil sheen on the water didn't seem to be filtered out at any time. There were only four covered sunbeds around the pool (much in demand) and other chaises under trees or without shade. Lots of clean towels most of the time. We did try to use the hotel beach section as well but found it to be extremely hot and without shade although there were many more sunbeds available, most were empty. The location of the hotel is very poor in an area where the sidewalks are badly damaged, the traffic is unbelievable and one has to take great care when walking as it is so easy to trip and fall. We did see one accident like this. The only transport available is via taxi as you need a pass to use the buses. We learned that this hotel is part of a time share company and as Easter week approached, hundreds more people arrived at the hotel and the hotel made no provision of extra staff to cope with this tsunami of people. It became very overcrowded and noisy. Breakfast, which had been reasonable prior to this time, became a zoo. A buffet breakfast was available which was repetitive and boring, and very often there were no coffee cups or cutlery, and no-one serving coffee. If you wanted sugar or salt, you had to ask as they were never on the tables. Bad service all around. The biggest problem was getting our room serviced. It became so bad that we had to ask someone in management to intervene as we would come back to our room late in the day and find it had still not been made up. The last two days were the worst as on the penultimate day nothing had been done by 6.00pm. We complained but refused to allow someone in when they finally appeared, just made the beds ourselves. The rating on this hotel is totally incorrect.. Absolutely nothing takes it into the category that is advertised. Totally misleading. I do NOT recommend this hotel at all.

Hotel is very clean, friendly staff and in the great area of Cartagena. Staff at the reseption is very helpful. Food at the restaurant is great. Everything what we ask from the hotel staff we got it. Pool is not large but has a great view over the beach.

Hotel was clean and quiet. Breakfast is fresh and lots to choose from. Rooms are comfortable and kept clean. Hotel restaurant has a variety to choose from. Door men are polite and accommodating. The location is great and accessible to downtown area.

5 star hotel -- very good for value -- close to town, your own private beach, amazing pool area. The staff are very friendly and helpful for anything we needed. I would recommend this hotel to anyone.

This Resort has adjoining doors to each room that offers no sound insulation at all. You can hear a pin drop next door. We had to change room 3 times with the last room having no hot water. This hotel was sold to us as 4 1/2 star is a lie. Best I would give it would be 2 stars. And to top it all off they gave me food poisoning on my last day.

The location of the hotel is just perfect, Bocagrande is a very nice place to be in if you want access to the beach, restaurant and shops. Our stay was just fantastic, the hotel is clean, staff are very friendly and helpful. The breakfast was very good too. I would definitely recommend it. I would give it a 4.5 stars out of 5. I would have loved the rooms to have balconies but other than that it was perfect. I would definitely stay here again.

After staying at this resort during the first week of February 2019 with my boyfriend, I can say that we made the right choice in picking this resort in San Louis, the quieter part of San Andres. The food was delicious, the staff was helpful and the resort was kept clean at all times. The nightly entertainment was great and was different every night. There is a beach right in front of the hotel, and other ones minutes away. The beaches around the hotel are rocky, however a few minutes away, you can find beautiful sandy beaches. There is a lot to do on the island as well, and definitely worth the trip.

Great place to stay and play the service was great and the food was out of the world but the best part was the staff will definitely go back and recommend it to all the family and friends and will all so recommend your company to all of them specially Lise who helped me with my booking

I got the best message I have ever had given by DEISY LEON MENDEZ who not only gives messages but is a physio therapist she is wonderful. The message cost 15 dollars Canadian which is 30,000 Columbia pesos. to get a message one must contact Glenis Villa Pernett at the customer service desk to get permission for Daisy to come to the hotel, she comes to your room. This hotel is magnificent and the elevators work well all the time, there is even one with glass walls. The rooms were kept clean and quite large, the water was always hot great showers. The air conditioners were loud but worked well. The pool was deep enough to swim in. Lots of activities around the pool and on the beach. The activity people work hard and are very good at there job. The beach is public, no lounge chairs just plastic chairs under a little white tent lots of peddlers but they were O.K. not rude at all. No alcohol on the beach but the peddlers sold beer. The waiters in the hotel dinning areas are very good they find tables for everyone and deliver coffee and drinks. They come around to see if a person wants more coffee or wine or what ever, really great service. The front desk people were great very helpful. Glenis Villa Pernett spoke English changed our money for Pesos or changed pesos for smaller ones. All in All the service, the presentation, the cleanliness in rooms bars pool area, front entrance, really the entire hotel was being washed all the time. I was there for ten days and there was always several people with mops busy washing floor in the entrance in the elevators in the hallway very clean place. The food and drinks were wonderful I for one ate to much. I would give this hotel 5 star except for the beach tat is about a 2 star but it is public so not the fault of the hotel.

The location of this hotel is great. Directly across from beach, 1 block on Calle 6 to a small grocery store, 1 more block to a larger upscale grocer. ATM directly across Calle 6. Lots of smaller restaurants in the close vicinity. Pool is shaded all day, so not a lot of sun-seekers there. Hotel better suited for adults vs kids.

The resort is very well maintained and the staff are very nice. There is little to no English there, including the evening shows so having a bit of Spanish knowledge is helpful. The resort is approximately 20 minutes from Cartagena and at the time of writing this, the cost of a taxi was 40,000 Colombian pesos each way. They have a shuttle service that is complementary from the hotel however it is often booked full so if you want to use it, book early. The beach is very large and has sufficient chairs but it is not private so vendors will approach you - the massage ladies on the beach are very good at what they do. If you are vegan or vegetarian, this place is very difficult for food choices. I struggled with what to eat all week but my husband who eats meat tells me the fish was very good. The buffet is very small, so not a lot of food options. There are 3 a la carte restaurants but again, not many options in the vegetarian area. Overall we enjoyed this resort and mostly just enjoyed being in Colombia - it is a beautiful country and we can't wait to go back.

Well staffed and very clean. Restaurant has different theme each night. Fresh juice bar is awesome. Hotel, beach, and grounds are well kept. Omelet station in the morning and pasta bar/grill station is very good. Also healthy food choices were refreshing. A/C worked well. Entertainment at the disco was fun.

Trip central services were easy To use and safe. Great customer support after for specific demands. Aquarium Hotel's position is right downtown witch is great for bars and resto. Staff inside resort were very helpful and kind. The View from our room was breathtaking. Decent size room. Great beaches few minutes of walk away. Nights at the free bar on the deck was great with the reggae group and spectacular view. Higly recommend this hotel, its not brand new but its average clean and well maintained. I Will go back there for sure. Tour of the island is awsome,local people, many hidden beaches,multi color fishes, aligators, turtles,geyser,driving,snorting,tour smaller islands,kart rental,stores,cavern,pirates boat,natural pool, crzay landscape much more

Great staff grounds were always clean and really amazing service about 15mn from downtown. Accessible by bus from hotel. The locals were always so helpful. Appreciate everything about all the decameron resorts. Thanks to everyone that recommancer it to us.

The Hotel InterContinental Cartagena de Indias is a lovely, relatively new, well appointed hotel located in Bocagrande...a ten minute taxi ride to the old city of Cartagena. Bocagrande beach is directly in front of the hotel. Security is provided at the front door of the hotel and in the lower reception area. The rooms all have a view of the Caribbean Sea, are well appointed and clean. We stayed in a standard room which offered the basic hotel amenities. The higher floors offer deluxe accommodation for a slightly higher nightly rate which we didn't feel was necessary as we didn't intend to spend a lot of time in our room. Two small bottles of water are provided daily as people from North America really should not drink the local water. A coffee maker, tea and coffee are also provided. All rooms have at least a small separate seating area, ample closet space, drawers and room for storing luggage along with a private sectioned off bathroom with separate shower stall and toilet area. The public areas of the hotel are large, spacious, clean and extremely modern. Fresh flowers are displayed daily. All the staff that we encountered were professional and courteous. English is spoken at the front desk and you may be lucky to get a waiter or porter who can speak English as well. They are conscious of the need to provide this language service but take it upon yourself to learn at least basic Spanish in order to be more comfortable with what is transpiring around you. One major negative about the common areas of the hotel is that the air conditioning is run very cold and can be quite uncomfortable. This is especially true in the restaurant when attempting to enjoy a relaxing meal. The pool is extremely large but very shallow and is located on the sixth floor with a view of the Caribbean. The pool is surrounded by an abundance of comfortable lounge chairs. A separate smaller pool is provided for children. The water in the pool is quite cold and not as welcoming as one would hope. The area is kept very clean and well presented at all times. The food in the restaurant is truly excellent and not overpriced as is common when eating in a hotel. At the end of a long day, it is a true delight to enjoy a lovely meal that has a variety of offerings from pasta to fresh fish and typical Colombian dishes. The breakfast buffet was also excellent. Fresh fruit and everything that you could ever need or want. But, bring a sweater...they do their utmost to refrigerate you! And, if you think the restaurant is cold, try drinking in the bar...a frigid experience. We complained to the front desk about the level of air conditioning. They pointed out that it was hot outside like we didn't already understand that point having come from an extremely cold climate in Canada. They didn't seem to care. When we returned home, the InterContinental Cartagena sent us a survey to complete about our experience as well. It asked what we liked about the hotel and broke down their questions into items such as towels, linens, mattresses etc. But, they never asked what was wrong with the hotel or what they could improve upon. Guess they weren't interested in knowing anything but the good stuff... Another observation about this hotel is that there was a minority of English speaking tourists. When we inquired about any tours that the hotel might be able to offer, they were only able to provide us with a small, introductory book about the city but were unable to offer any organized trips. We had to find our own local touring company to accommodate our needs. So, you can't book any tours and there is no gift shop. This in itself tells us that the majority of their clientele are Spanish speakers from South America who may not require these services and/or corporate travelers who are at a conference or generally doing business locally. Overall, this was a very, nice positive experience but I would investigate other hotels in Bocagrande before deciding to book again.

The intercontinental hotel is a great hotel in an amazing city. It is right on the beach and if you don't you to go to the beach, the pool is great too. Staff is very friendly. Room is nice and clean.

As we had expected the resort could use a little TLC but otherwise was great. The food was absolutely outstanding and the staff always pleasant and polite. The beach wasn't the greatest - small and not that pure white Caribbean sea look. But the island (a quick boat hop away) looked fantastic. About 20 minutes down the road (walking) was another resort Rocky Cay with great beaches. You can take a cab or bus (5minutes)... Everything is so close and cabs are very inexpensive. Our room was always clean and the air conditioner worked perfect. Only drawback ... the hair dryer didn't work. I'd take one along. ... but no biggie. The other guests (mostly from South America) were extremely nice however if you are looking for a more North American orientated resort this might not be for you as 30% of the guests were French or English the remainder South American. When we did have a small language barrier ... guests stepped in the assist us. What a warm and welcoming resort. Go back ... absolutely.

Our second time there. First time 12 years ago. the place is still very beautiful and updated but not a 5 stars. We love it there has we go from island to island. The sea water is 7 shades of blue to turquoise to glass of water clear. Just awesome. Lots of fish and fun to snorkeling. The food was great and the staff very polite and helpful. We hope not to wait another 12 years to go back. We truly recommend this place.

This Hotel was absolutely amazing. The grounds were like paradise with beautiful flowers, palm trees and wild parrots flying around. The beach was clean and well kept. The rooms were spacious and fresh with lots of bright colors. The food was fantastic. There was always something to eat for everyone. I always felt safe and relaxed.

We stayed at the Decameron Boutique Los Delfines for two weeks in March 2017 and overall were mostly satisfied with this resort after a few initial problems. We had booked this hotel in August expressing our desire for an end room or upper floor room closer to the ocean since because I had been there previously I knew these were the largest and quietest rooms on the resort. When we arrived they gave us a lower floor room furthest away from the ocean and closest to the busy street that is right in front of the resort. It was very noisy into the wee hours of the morning and because the rooms are not soundproof we didn't sleep well. This was disappointing since it was the worst possible room and the last one that I wanted. After complaining to the front desk they gave us a room on the upper level but still next to the street and the noise kept us up half the night again. Again I firmly requested a room away from the street so they finally gave us one on the lower level far from the street and this was much better although we could still hear the people directly above us. They might as well have been standing next to us that's how loud it was but we settled in and made the best of it for the remainder of our vacation and slept quite well. We eventually found out that the Decameron resorts had been sold to a new owner and the upper floor rooms were now junior suites for families, and couples had to take the lower units. I did see only couples in some of the upper floor rooms so I'm not sure that reason was really valid. Despite these initial problems I will list the pros and cons of this resort. Pros - very clean resort - a la carte restaurant has the best food of all the Decameron resorts in San Andres -friendly restaurant and bar staff -location - the main beach is only steps from the resort, shopping right outside the resort, five minute walk to the Decameron Aquarium for excursion bookings. - quick restaurant reservations to any of the other Decameron resorts. - small resort, 36 rooms, lounge chairs and umbrella right outside our room, quiet during the day and evening. Cons - unfriendly front desk staff. made us feel unwelcome and we felt like we were an inconvenience - language barrier may have been a factor but don't think so. One girl, Angie was very nice. - rooms - paper thin walls so you hear every noise unless your on the upper floor away from the street. - advertised as an adults only resort but families and children were there. - only one other English speaking couple but mostly Colombians who are lovely people by the way. If we could have gotten the room we had requested it would have been an even more enjoyable vacation but it was still a fantastic holiday and we enjoyed beautiful San Andres Island. So much to do and see here. I would go again and would stay at the Los Delfines if we got our requested room. All the other Decameron resorts on the island have there pros and cons but they are all nice nonetheless.

As this is our 5th time at this resort I can't say how beautiful this place is. Check in is quick n easy. All of the al a carte restaurants are extremely good. As for the buffets there was always a huge variety of food daily. U will never go hungry. The staff at this resort is what makes this place so amazing. So friendly n happy on a daily basis. The weather is outstanding and beautiful. Make sure to do a day trip to the neighboring islands n take in the majestic beauty of all the sea creatures. Also amazing is renting golf carts n take in the other decamerons on the island. Stop at bars along the route and interact with the locals n u will find the people to b very friendly. I can never get enough of this piece of paradise and will definitely be back again. Special thanks to Babe, Luciellia, Jimmy, Lewis, Juan, and Wildo u are such amazing people.

This is a very well run resort. The grounds are meticulously maintained, with beautiful vegetation, a variety of birds and the ubiquitous iguanas. The rooms are spacious, clean and well maintained. The food is very good at the buffet and excellent at the a la carte restaurants. The staff are professional and friendly. Having a Transat representative onsite helps a lot as well. Spending a day or more in the old city of Cartagena is strongly recommended: it is a unique place that you will not forget. The hotel offers a daily shuttle at a reasonable cost. Where there is room for improvement is how the beach is managed: the capacity of the resort seemed to be bigger than that of the beach, so it was always hard finding a spot on the sand areas; we ended up staying on the terraces on the side, which was not bad at all. But maybe with some rearrangement of the space the beach could be better. The more serious issue were the jetskies and the boats. The jetskies are constantly passing very close to the area cordoned for swimming (which could be bigger, by the way) trying to sell a ride and making a lot of noise and polluting the place: the smell of gas can be intense at times. On the last day two large boats maneuvered right in the swimming area: this was not only annoying but unsafe. Assigning an area for jetskies and boats away from the swimmers could be a simple solution. There seems to be space for that. I am not sure if that is within the powers of the resort as beaches in Colombia are public.

The Occidental is a very very well designed and managed resort. We really enjoyed our stay. There were quiet areas for adults and more active areas for families and those who wanted music and celebration. Lots of places to sit and relax or join in activities like beach ball and dancing. The food was good - lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Entertainment every night. Several shuttle buses to Cartagena and back. The staff was very efficient and friendly. The smallest request was attended to immediately. Thanks to our agent Bill Gentry at Tripcentral for suggesting this place.

We had a great time the staff will go out of there way to help you. The pool and deck are amazing. The food is tasty and very enjoyable..The rooms May be small but clean and what do you do in you room sleep. It would have been nice if the wifi worked in your room but again it is a vacation. Would live to go back very soon

General feeling about this hotel is OK. The location and views from the both sides are beautiful. But the ground area is small for the amount of people in this hotel, also too noisy from the very close road to hotel. The public areas small, some times was not enough sits for a rest. Our room was small for 2 people but had balcony, that was important for us, not all the rooms in hotel have balcony ,but hotel's location and views was compromised. The cleaning lady kept our room clean. No small fridge in the rooms, so yours bottles of water in the room will be always warm. The Dinning Rooms (restaurants) are welcoming. The meal is good, you will have enough options for your choice. All staff in the hotel trying to be professional and keep you comfortable, but some times because of language barrier (not enough English speaking staff, no any booklets with some information about the place or trips) you will unable to get right information. Also very poor internet.

The hotel was lovely, the food was reasonably good but it was in the middle of nowhere! After 5 1/2 hours on a plane to get to Cartogena we had to take a bus for 1 1/2 hours to get to the hotel, half of it being on a pot hole gravel road! It is primarily a resort for weekenders from South America and day trippers! Very noisy with loud music on and off, mostly on, until about 10 at night with activity directors yelling into a microphone. Definitely not the place to go for a quiet vacation where you can relax!

The (Royal )Decameron both in Cartagena and in Baru exceeded expectations Rooms are comfortable and spacious Staff is welcoming warm and super friendly Very clean surroundings Food was beyond expectation very fresh and local and prepared in Columbia style This is our fifth stay at Decameron We LOVE it

The Occidental provides a relaxing stay in the sun. A great beach, with the opportunity to have long walks. The service is good, as is the food. The shuttle to Cartagena is excellent. The majority of quests are Colombians, and it makes for a nice ambience. The staff has sufficient English to serve non-Spanish speakers. Overall, a great place.

Great pictures.....BAD idea. The staff are rude and incompetent. The rooms are definitely not as advertised. Most services have been sourced out to independent companies. The concierge service is actually a salesman for timeshares. Two people in our group contracted food poisoning or bacterial infection. This I realize is normal n Punta Cana but instead of fixing the problem they have managed to build a business on it. If you go to the Doctor for medication you are put into the system. Ambulance to private hospital. Any number of tests, ultra sound and a recommendation to stay forr observation. Why? $$$$$$$ $1260.00 later for our little visit. We refused to sign papers that were all in Spanish so they let us go with just the medication they could have given us originally at the resort clinic. I don't usually complain but felt that I should warn people that this hotel is not where you want to go.

very clean, friendly staff, staff who couldn't speak English tried to find someone who could, pools are kept very clean, beach is public and we didn't use. Food on buffet was same all the time but other restaurant was off the menu

Las Americas Resort & Spa Casa De Playa was absolutely amazing. Bright, clean, comfortable rooms. In-room safe included and easy to use with English instructions. ALL of the staff were wonderful, and would go out of their way to help! All staff spoke English quite well. Food and drinks were great! BBQ for lunch daily was amazing. Great for both couples and families. Beach is a little rougher water, more for walking or sitting on, but there were those who swam. Emerald Centre on site with great (and negotiable) prices! Make sure that you venture into the city! My6 year old daughter and I took a cab into the old city for 12,000 Colombia Pesos ($6US), and is it COMPLETELY safe! We would recommend and will definitely be returning again! Be prepared to leave a piece of your heart in Colombia! You'll fall in love!

The hotel was in a great location. About $10USD to get to downtown and 5 minutes from the airport. Being a newer all-inclusive area, they are still figuring things out. The bars close early and there is no night-time entertainment. The beach wasn't well maintained and lots of locals trying to sell you things (more than usual). Both pools at the resort were awesome and both had pool bars. The convention centre, the newer hotel, was nice, however nothing there was included in our package. Food was decent, but a lot of the same thing. Service was so-so. It was different than any other resort in the Caribbean I have stayed, as it was not entirely all inclusive. However, it was clean, safe and the price was right! Cartagena is an amazing city and there is lot's to do off the resort.

everything in this hotel is great rooms are very clean staff very friendly right on the beach, beach is clean very long beach you can walk for hours close to the airport very close to old Cartagena cabs are cheap

Food, accommodation, beach, staff - all fine. However, the hotel/convention centre had to have a carnival atmosphere every single minute of the day and well into the night. We had to move to another room one night in order to get some sleep from the performance taking place right outside our room. We simply could not get one solid night of sleep or quiet time during the day. A warning to others seeking some rest.

This property is clean, well-manicured & very safe. All amenities are a short walk from your room. The rooms are spotless, the beds are a little hard, but there are a lot of pillows to make up for that. We had a few minor hiccups (safe was broken, patio door wouldn't lock) as soon as we notified the front desk, we had the issues corrected within 15 minutes. I would say that 95% of the staff we spoke to, did speak English. However trying a little Spanish did go a long way. I even got a Spanish lesson or two...which helped! There are 3 a la carte restaurants & 1 buffet at this hotel. I was blown away at how good the food was at the buffet, there was a lot of selection & the staff worked hard at replenishing any items that were getting low. Also, if there is a piece of fruit or something you don't see, the staff always tries to accommodate & get it for you. We attended 2 of the 3 a la carts (The Grill & Nativo). Both had a large selection on the menus, with a salad bar to start. One night (Thursday) there was a "GALA" dinner around the main pool, with a variety of different food stations set-up. During dinner there was live music & dancers. It was a great night! There are 3 bars on this property, the quite pool bar, the beach bar & Mar Abierto. The pool bar & beach bar server a large selection of drinks, however they do not have blenders at these locations. But they both make fantastic Mojitos & Caipirinha's. After dinner every night we would go to Mar Abierto for a cappuccino, a few drinks & sometimes snack on the popcorn served there. Service was always quick, and the drinks were incredible. The bar staff definitely know how to make a cocktail! The pool staff were constantly cleaning the pool & testing the water. We usually would go to the quite pool in the afternoon. But the main pool is where all the activates take place. The beach is volcanic sand, and not your typical Caribbean water. The waves were fun to play in, and there is a lifeguard on duty. If you want to go to the beach do so in the morning, as the wind, waves & under toe pick up in the afternoon. We used the body boards, and even paid the $23USD for an hour surf lesson. There is a shuttle provided by the hotel into the Walled City – Cartagena. You have to book 1 day in advance, there are many different time slots to go into town & to come back to the resort. All the staff are friendly & helpful (Francisco, Johnny, Oswaldo, Diana, Lysander, Miguel). It didn't matter if it was a bus-boy, bartender, front desk staff or even the General manager. Everyone went out of their way to ensure we were enjoying our time at the Resort. This resort has top-notch service. I would most definitely visit again!!

Great Hotel, staff were very helpful and at the front desk they all spoke English, had a problem with the inroom safe and within 5 minutes it was fixed. Food was excellent - by far the best was the buffet.

Even though this hotel is in its 3rd week of being all-inclusive with Sunwing, it was a great experience. Rooms were clean and bright. Nice balcony overlooking the ocean. Food was very tasty. If you wanted a quiet pool without kids screaming, there was one. Hotel is located on a public beach and only was a 10min drive from the airport.

I think this resort was pretty much exactly what we had anticipated. The biggest advantage is the proximity to the old town of Cartagena (less than a 10 min taxi ride). There are a number of pools which is great if you have kids (which we did) as well as a big playground and mini golf. The beach is basically what you would expect for being so close to a major city in South America (not secluded, lots of vendors, but really not too bad). The food in the buffet was always great and the staff were excellent. Only note is that it is a convention hotel and as a result hosts, surprise, lots of conventions and weddings which can be kinda big and noisy at times. Overall we had a great time, the city of Cartagena is fantastic and this hotel gets you close with resort style amenities.

I found all of the staff to be very helpful, polite at all times, and cheerful when helping with any questions. The staff had a relative understanding of English and if they didn't understand you, they got someone who could understand. The rooms were very clean; the dining room staff were always helpful; the food was very good; and the pool areas were clean with friendly and helpful staff. The beach area was nice also. The dining room selection could have a little more fruit and a little more desert selection but what was available was very good. With reference to the Sunwing representative, I was disappointed that she did not have sufficient knowledge of certain tours. She also misinformed me regarding the time of a meal that was to be served as part of the Mangrove tour offered by Nexus Tours. I am going to write to Nexus Tours and to Sunwing regarding that tour because my brother, his wife, and myself went on that tour on January 27th, 2015, and were thoroughly disgusted with it. We were booked to leave at 2 PM. 1) The Sunwing Representative (Emi) was specifically asked (twice) when the lunch, included with the tour, would be served. Emi replied that we would do the tour first and then we would have the meal. This was incorrect. After eating a hardy meal in the hotel dining room, we were picked up at 2 PM and promptly brought to the restaurant located in Manzanillo to eat. Well we could not eat again as we were full. 2) We were loaded onto a leaky canoe (with no life jackets provided) and started the tour. The first part of the canoe ride was through some mangroves that smelled like a sewer. The smell was absolutely disgusting. Once we left that area and entered the open lake, the smell was gone. 3) The Nexus tour brochure indicates that we would have an exotic canoe trip through the mangroves of the Virgen ..... visit to primitive lime kilns and hatchery sabalo. The tour guide had very limited information during our walk through the 'Precolombian Museum' which consisted of a few huts with recreations of people and pots etc., and we did not see a hatchery or lime kilns. 4) We continue to canoe through the lake and then entered another channel of mangroves that smelled of sewage. 5) Disembarking from the canoe was hazardous as there was no proper dock. The gondolier backed the canoe into a culvert by a road and we had to turn around in the leaky canoe (which now had about 1.5 inches of water on the bottom) and basically crawl carefully to the back of the canoe and get out. We paid $47.00 US each for this farce of a tour and would like our money back. Of note is that fact that we were misinformed of the time the lunch would be served but were lucky that we missed eating again because I am of the opinion that one of us might have brought up what we ate due to the smell in the mangrove channels.

Beautiful hotel, about 20 minutes outside Cartagena, free shuttle bus from hotel into the city several times a day, rooms were nice, two queen size beds, maid service not so good, had to ask for towels three times, same goes for water and beer in mini fridge. Three pools, spent most of our time at the passive pool, adults only, bartender and staff at that pool were great, always smiling and being helpful. Food was good, a little more vegetarian options in the hot buffet would have been nice. Didn't try any of the a la carte options. Overall, I would recommend this resort, great value for money.

my husband and I, returned to the Aquarium after a 7 year gap in Jan 2015. We had bragged about this island and the resorts to our friends for years, so they came with us. Now they understand why we love this island so much. The airlines took off this flight from Toronto and you can only get to San Andres from Montreal. We finally said whatever it takes to get back there we were willing to do. We flew out of Billy Bishop Airport(way better than Pearson)and landed in Montreal within an hour. Porter is the way to fly and very reasonable. Stayed the night at a motel and flew out early the next morning. Check in was quick and easy, as you were greeted with a cold fruity drink, and smiles. We were in our rooms within 10 minutes. The rooms were clean and the views are spectacular. The pool area is beautiful and plenty of seating. Not once do you feel crowded. My favorite spot is the pier bar, with plenty of lounge chairs for all. They also have an awesome salt water pool with great snorkelling right off the pier. Bartenders there are outstanding, and they remembered us from 7 years ago. Now that's personal service Food was awesome, and there was always a variety. They have 2 buffets and 3 al a cartes. The Thai restaurant was to die for, Italian was amazing, and the Seafood was also great. We had everything from pork chops, cooked ham, turkey, chicken, fish, pasta, and the list goes on. They also have a snack shack that is open 11am-5pm, 11pm- 2am, that serves hotdogs, fried potatoes, fried plantain, & more. Entertainment at the pool area every night was interesting and always different, so it could get a little loud, but it only lasts for one hour. The MC was very friendly and had such great personality. I'd like to say a special thanks to all the staff that made this trip amazing, and to the many that remembered us after all these years. Your friendliness is heart felt and is the reason we will be back time after time. Best thing about the Decameron resort is you stay at 1 and play at all 5. As you are out and about in the city and island make sure to visit every one of them. They all have their special touch. As for excursions, make sure to do the Acurio and Johnny Cay island tour, as it will blow your mind. The waters are the 7 blues of the ocean, snorkelling is amazing and the beaches are great. Rent a golf cart for the day and tour the entire island on your own, as we did. The whole island is so safe and we made sure to meet and visit with as many locals as we could. If you are a shopper, you will fall in love with the city, as you could shop for a week and still not hit every store. You will read many negative reviews about these resorts, but try to ignore their ignorance as they will nit pick the simplest goofy things, which tells you they should have stayed home in the first place To the staff at the Aquarium, I would like you to know that this is our little piece of paradise, and you have all made this(AGAIN) the best trip of my life. I have travelled to many islands, but none has ever come this close to capturing our hearts. Will see you all again soon.

We just returned from a week all-inclusive at this hotel. The resort is looks as it does in pictures so there is no disappointment on arrival. We had a ground floor suite with hot tub and had no problems with the room - spacious, nothing fancy but just fine. We really enjoyed the large and uncrowded adult pool. The beach is not great, but the water is warm and we did a little body boarding. The food was good and pretty authentic Colombian as the resort is largely populated with South Americans. We liked eating local cuisine at all meals, but don't expect a resort catering to North American palates. It got a little repetitive by week's end, and there was little to no seafood. Excellent mojitos, drinkable wines and great cappucinos. It is true that the staff generally doesn't speak English or French, but it is Colombia and Colombians speak Spanish. Staff were helpful despite the language gap so we had no complaints there. We took advantage of the convenient shuttle into the old town 3 times; it is really beautiful and full of life. Be sure to catch sunset at Cafe del Mar. My only criticism is that you can't walk anywhere. It is a small resort and the stroll from your room to the restaurant and bar is maybe two minutes. There is no where to take a stroll along the beach, or around the hotel, say in the evening. We tried to walk the beach a few times and were repeatedly stopped by the security guard. He was friendly enough but made it clear that were not to continue. Not sure whether this was for our personal safety, due to private property issues or what the reason was. If you are planning to spend a lot of time in the lovely walled Cartagena and coming only for a week, I think this is a lovely, relaxing little resort, with no line ups for anything. Very easy and pleasant.

Our family spent two extraordinary weeks enjoying every aspect of the resort. The food was among the best We've had, as was the service. The facilities were top notch and the beach was perfect for playing in the surf and for long walks. I find it hard to find fault.

Bathroom had mildew and no light. I guess they didn't want u to see how disgusting it was and the shower drain was not working properly . The grounds were ok but some cracks on walkways and every uneven stairs , accidents just waiting to happen. But what made the stay worse was the the lack of interest to serve the guest in the buffet and bar areas. We are great tippers but this people could care less even after giving tips. We would order coffee every morning and it would take a good 10-15 min for them to remember you had ask them for coffee. Food :not a lot of selection and almost like they couldn't afford to replenish it or at times too lazy to go to the back and get your request. Breakfast lines to order eggs were ridiculous long and there was one day they ran out of eggs and had to Wait 30min for the eggs to arrive. Poor poor service !!

This was a beautiful resort..off the beaten path..your own secluded paradise! Very well kept and clean..very spacious rooms. .The ocean was spectacular! We took the tour into cartagena which was amazing..so much to see and explore