Hotel Santafe Real — Hotel in Bogota, Capital District

I stayed four nights at this hotel with a birding group and still have no idea why it was chosen. The location is miserable - not close to the airport, not close to tourist attractions. There is no courtesy shuttle to the airport, and the taxi driver charged me 30,000 COP. I arrived late at night and the night clerk couldn't speak any English. Her Spanish wasn't good either as she could not understand the resident porter who kept trying to tell her that I was from the E.S. (Estados Unidos/United States) rather than the U.E (Union Europea/European Union) so she could fill out a form. I was finally booked into a very nice, clean, spacious room on the 7th floor. The only problem was that the elevator didn't work on that floor so I had to go to the sixth floor and walk up a flight.|||| Since I had booked an extra day so I could see some tourist attractions in the city, I tried to ask the same desk clerk (only staff available) about taxi service. Again, she was completely useless. Luckily, another guest helped me find a reputable driver for the day. That evening, I wanted to pay for my one night's stay since the remaining three nights were the responsibility of the group I would be traveling with. Again, the clerk was incapable of understanding or responding to my request even though I now had three very fluent Spanish-speaking people trying to help me.||||The following afternoon, two of us got on the elevator to go to our rooms. The elevator doors refused to open on the third floor and again on the sixth floor. Nor would the elevator move to another floor. We were stuck! And to top it all off, the alarm bell in the elevator didn't function. After pounding on the door and yelling, the door finally opened to the sixth floor. ||||After going to my room and packing everything, I walked down the stairs and again faced the incompetent clerk who, of course, could not understand anything and tried to tell me (through a translator) she couldn't change my room. I insisted that I knew the hotel was not fully booked and I finally got a room on the second floor. It was very inferior to my original room, (smaller, noisier, old furnishings) but at least it wasn't up six flights of stairs. In my first room, I had great showers, but in the second floor room, it was impossible to regulate the shower temperature. It alternated blasts of scalding and freezing water. ||||Reports from two people who ate one dinner there were not enthusiastic.||||If you are looking for a Bogota airport hotel, I can recommend Hotel Habitel. If you are planning on visiting Bogota tourist sites, you would do better to...

The room was basic, but well kept and clean. Bathroom was small but adequate. There was plenty of hot water. The beds had firm mattresses and might not be suitable for someone that likes a very soft mattress. A TV is present and there are some channels that have programs (i.e. NCIS, Criminal Minds) in English with Spanish subtitles. There is a small desk and minibar. WIFI is available. Hotel was very quiet at night. This is a good location if you have things to do in the vicinity of Bogota but you don't want to put up with the traffic congestion of the central city. Keep in mind, however, that there are few restaurants in the area and many of them are open for lunch only. Colombians tend to eat there big meal in the middle of the day. As a result some restaurants close for the day after...

We stayed here for one night before a tour, and for that purpose it was OK. It does not appear to be close to anything, about mid-way between the airport and the center. But there must be some reason to stay in this area as there are several other hotels nearby. Our room faced the busy main street but with the solid curtains we did not have any significant road noise problems. The room was clean although the bathroom was small. There is a small bar / breakfast area but no restaurant, whcih is not an issue as there are several within short walking distance. It is small, with about 5 floors and 6 rooms per floor. The reception staff spoke limited English but certainly enough for basic understanding like when we needed...