Hotel Rosario De Mar By Tequendama

“Paradise if you can find it”

I only give it 4 stars due to one factor, transportation is badly organised! Otherwise it definitely would be a five star rating. It really is a paradise hotel, and everyone is so helpful and friendly. The food is good and reasonably priced. I just felt they charged too much for the water. The mana… more

I only give it 4 stars due to one factor, transportation is badly organised! Otherwise it definitely would be a five star rating. It really is a paradise hotel, and everyone is so helpful and friendly. The food is good and reasonably priced. I just felt they charged too much for the water. The management needs to take full responsibility for guests getting to and from their hotel.

less

“Tale of 2 Experiences”

The experience staying 2 nights at this hotel includes both a highlight and a lowlight of our 1 week trip to Columbia. Arriving early afternoon on a Tuesday we were greeted by a pleasant team of staff members. The 2 beaches, restaurant area and our room did not disappoint. Overall, the quality of a… more

The experience staying 2 nights at this hotel includes both a highlight and a lowlight of our 1 week trip to Columbia. Arriving early afternoon on a Tuesday we were greeted by a pleasant team of staff members. The 2 beaches, restaurant area and our room did not disappoint. Overall, the quality of accommodations, food and service were very good if not great. The most appealing feature on that first day was the pleasant atmosphere, gentle island pace & vibe and lack of crowds compared to busy Cartagena. What was not appealing was having the property overrun with ~450 US college students from about 10am to at least 3pm of our first full day there. Complete with loud (and sometimes shockingly explicit) music, crowds and mayhem associated with “open bars” for the day trippers. The second day saw a much more reasonably sized group (100-150). On the day we left, we understood a group of ~550 were expected. We get that day trippers help pay the bills but we honestly felt abandoned by the hotel. We were not given any heads up about the huge group. It was difficult to find beach chairs and get service, let alone find any semblance of a peaceful island vibe while the large group was onsite. Having said all of this, we’d likely go back given the opportunity. We’d just make a point to research the expected volume of day trippers before making the commitment.

less

“Location doesn’t make a hotel, needs improvement.”

As lovely as the location and beaches were unfortunately quite a few things let this hotel down. - There was one day that the hotel hosted a ‘private event’ on one of the beaches for around 40/50 people off the island failing to let the guests of the hotel know this was happening. They also still… more

As lovely as the location and beaches were unfortunately quite a few things let this hotel down. - There was one day that the hotel hosted a ‘private event’ on one of the beaches for around 40/50 people off the island failing to let the guests of the hotel know this was happening. They also still allowed the day boats over (which is a usual thing) but it meant both beaches where then full leaving a few loungers in the corner for hotel guests. If you’re staying a few days, that’s a total waste on one of your days and disrecptpful to the guests paying to stay. - We found when settling our bill on check out that service charge is applied on every single thing at a rate of 12.5 percent. For meals that’s ok I guess but it was added for example when we went and got water throughout the day and also when we went and got our own drinks in the evening. There was no ‘service’ involved in delivering drinks to justify this. - The menu was fairly limited (75 percent seafood) and it’s no different for lunch so it gets quite repetitive. It’s a shame there’s not a lighter lunch menu. There was also no flexibility at all. - The bar closed every night at 9pm which we were told was a new rule as in December it was open until 12pm but they didn’t want to stay up for only a few guests. Past 9pm there is nowhere to even sit and relax as no lounge/bar area which is a shame. - There’s only in sheltered outdoor seating for dinner. It’s pretty in the day but it gets really windy at night so there definitely needs to be a sheltered area to eat instead of the current situation. We went to other hotels on the island that had shelters over their restaurants and it was much nicer to eat there. One final point - please don’t get a boat to isla grande in the afternoon, it’s so dangerous on the sea in the small old boats. We learnt the hard way. Always go in the morning! These aren’t things that ruined our trip but overall they do impact your experience. I think the hotel needs to improve and it’s just small tweaks to make it really good.

less