Hotel Costa Linda Barranquilla — Hotel in Barranquilla

I stayed here for 1 night during my solo bicycle tour through Colombia. In order to obtain a better idea of local accommodation standards and costs, I waited 3 weeks into my bike tour (after staying in 15+ hotels) before writing this review, which I am doing in Tunja. I speak Spanish and was therefore able to communicate well with my host(s).||||Pluses||The hotel was mid-range and well constructed. My room, #202, had good reliable in-room Wi-Fi, a sizable table and chair, and quiet, effective A/C. It was well-appointed, peaceful and spacious. The hotel provided free drinking water. I did not use the flat-screen TV.||||I particularly enjoyed spending several hours in the afternoon at the festive park 100 m away. This had soothing plants, shady places to sit, and lots of exuberant kids providing free entertainment for the older folk. I watched a basketball game played by handicapped folk in wheelchairs, which turned out to be quite exciting. The local folk were welcoming and fun to talk to (but for this one needed Spanish).||||The batman Jorge was a great help, and not only assisted with carrying my bike and trailer upstairs but also collected up all my empty water bottles (I was drinking 6 liters/day in this hot weather) and returned with these filled. ||||The next morning I was ready to depart at 05h45, in order to avoid the worst of the heat and traffic. Breakfast did not open officially until 06h30. On an impulse I decided to ask if they perhaps had coffee ready. The young man at the front desk was more friendly than the guy the previoius night. He said, go ahead and enjoy fruit, coffee, cereals and everything. He apologized that the hot breakfast would not be ready until 06h30. I was delighted and told him that I was a vegetarian and seldom ate hot breakfasts. I enjoyed a good breakfast in the empty dining room. ||||Minuses||A small refrigerator would have been nice. These have been fairly common in my other hotels, at prices 60k and above. ||||When I checked in, the young man at the front desk (Jason?) was not particularly friendly. When I explained (In Spanish) that good Wi-Fi was essential and asked if I could please test it with my laptop, he refused, saying “trust us”. His was the only such refusal I have received in my trip so far. When I said that I would then look for another hotel, he relented and had the batman Jorge show me to room 202, which was up 1 flight of stairs. It took me only 5 minutes to discover that their Wi-Fi worked great, so I checked in. ||||||Summary||In the center of a big city and with a hot and cold breakfast, the room was good value at 90 k COP (about USD 32). I would stay there again.||||For me it was a good location, although cycling in along hiway 90A from Cartagena would have been stressful during rush hour. (I arrived around 14h00 and it was just OK). Likewise, I left fairly early (06h00) en route to Cienaga. Traffic was already building. Don’t leave much later on a bicycle! The nearby park was a great place to visit. ||||Note: before asking the price, check for a last-minute deal on Booking.com. (This assumes one hasn’t already booked a room, which hasn’t so far been necessary). I have had 3G service everywhere so far, on my T-Mobile US smartphone. The front desk wanted 110k but honored Booking’s price. They acknowledged that had I made the reservation with Booking it would have cost them 10-15% commission.||||My rating: 4/5. Location as measured with my GPS:...

We stayed at the Hotel Linda for three nights. The hotel is right on the beach and in a remote location. The hotel is right on the beach. There were very few people in the area donut felt like a private beach. Rooms are large, clean and quiet. A/C and fans keep the room comfortable. The balconies are large and all rooms have great ocean views. The showers only have room temperature water but this is comfortable. ||The mosquitos are problematic for some people but ONLY for about an hour after sunset. Consider bringing bug repellent. ||The proprietors Ken and Faidy are friendly and very accommodating. I made a mistake with the dates for my reservation and they corrected it for me without a charge. The rooms are large and comfortable. The food in the hotel restaurant is cheap and is good. Hotel internet speed is sometimes spotty and sometimes very good. Measured speed at 22:00 was 3MBPS. My husband and myself and our friend throughly enjoyed our visit. ||||Tips:||Take advantage of the hotel transportation from Tolu. Taxis are 40,000 pesos to the hotel, which is 10km from Tolu. Advise the hotel when you will arrive beforehand. ||||I walked around the hotel neighborhood and found the locals to be very talkative and friendly. I never had any safety concerns, even after dark. ||||Consider flying from Medellin (EOH) to Tolu (TLU) on ADA Airlines. Saves a 2.5 hour bus ride from Cartegena and is

A story:||Had booked/paid this months before through a website offer, but no one of the hotel replied on my reminders for weeks/months asking to confirm my booking and personal requests, until I put this issue through Q&A on TripAdvisor,||Upon arrival don't think they were prepared/organized, asked me to pay full amount and after showing payment docs and their verification call, they were sorry and only asked to pay a local fee of 4 K per day.||The "room 406" I got was not what I requested / they confirmed, because it was not quiet, next to the washing room where in the morning at 6.30 AM the working girls gathered before my door. Also I requested / they confirmed hot water, what did not work, only cold. Room very small with a green START button under the light switch what seems to be the alarm and for two days this has gone off in the night by other guests on this 4th floor. Bathroom very old. Hole in the wall behind refrigerator with draft and mosquitoes that didn't got killed through my electrical device. ||At the reception they did their best with help of friendly technical guy to find me a better room, what I was able to get after 2 days, even upgraded me free to compensate the inconveniences.||"Room 305" was much better, was quiet, had hot water (poor pressure/old shower) and had normal size (they removed second bed).||||Quotes:||- All staff friendly and helpful, but can't speak English||- Nice surprise: free carnival set on the bed (t-shirt etc, very convenient)||- Breakfast till 9.30 AM = basic and OK, you can take food and drinks as much you want||- Free wifi (fast), cable tv (good) and free small safe (with a key, no code)||- Room: daily cleaned, new towels, shampoo, further description see above.||-...