jonotennis
August 27, 2023
Myself and a friend stayed for three nights in twin-bedded Room Gairaca. Our rate included breakfast. Pros: -Modern and clean premises. -Helpful, attentive, polite and English speaking staff. Hector was outstanding throughout our stay and is an absolute credit to the hotel company. -Free WiFi throughout hotel (logon provided at check-in). -Open-plan ground floor Lobby with seating areas. -Room ‘Gairaca’ twin bed room (1st floor). Keycard entry. Sliding doors cupboard with hanging space, shelves, electronic safe (free). Suitcase stand. Minibar fridge (contents chargeable). Wall-mounted Challenger TV. Small desk and plastic chair. Two single beds with bedside tables. Telephone. Mirror. Air-con. Tiled flooring. Front facing views of small garden and adjacent high rise apar**ent building. En-suite bathroom with shower. -Small outdoor pool & jacuzzi (open 9am-9pm) surrounded by palm trees and sun-loungers. Towels available. Pool bar. Hammocks. Exercise mats. -Immaculate gardens. -Access from rear of hotel to “semi-private” section of adjacent beach. Chairs and gazebo covers provided by hotel. -Beautiful sunsets - just a few footsteps from pool to beach. -Breakfast, ground floor 7:30-10am. Indoor and outdoor seating. Cons: -Hotel is 10 minute drive from Simón Bolívar International Airport (Santa Marta). -No lifts, although a staff member kindly carried our suitcases. -Room - only one keycard provided. -Room - more storage would be useful. -Checkout 12pm. Notes: -Yellow unmetered taxi from hotel: Zazue Plaza mall (10 minutes, 10,000-12,000 peso each way), Santa Marta (30 minutes, 30,000 pesos each way). Uber not available in this area of Colombia. -We used the Google Translate app (works offline) to translate Spanish-English. It was very useful as few people speak English. -I bought a Claro SIM card (Colombia) for my iPhone, which worked across the country. -There’s a small local convenience store (bodega) 2 minutes walk from the hotel. Turn right out of hotel gate, then first left in direction of main road. -In Santa Marta I visited Zazue Plaza mall (shops, restaurants, supermarket), Tayrona National Park, and Minca National Park.