Rosario de Mar Ecohotel By Tequendama — Hotel in Bolívar

How can I begin to express how glad we were to have found this hotel, is literally paradise, from the moment you arrive to this beautiful well care resort you are greeted with a drink and at check-in you are given all the options of tours and activities offered , even if you just wanna stay by the lovely white sand, turquoise water beach you will enjoy it, we had a bungalow reserved, Maria Paulina the administrator was there day and night willing to help with our every need she set up all of our excursions and was always in the lookout to help us and I form us of whatever, I lost my flip flops and she was even willing to send someone to the little town in the middle of the island to get me a pair, the stuff at the restaurant are very friendly and always have a smile in their faces, the kitchen people are a bit slow preparing foods but is worth the wait, the Plankton tour organized by Ge te de Mar was very cool to see and an experience not to be missed as, we were taken to the Aquarium and then to a tour of the whole 27 Rosario Is8tour where our guide would explain something about each of them, we had the opportunity to go snorkeling during this tour and we saw a sunken plane as well as a beautiful coral reef with many beautiful and colorful fish, we ended the day with a tour of the mangroves and a trip to town, the whole day was just perfect and exceptional completely planned by Paulina, at night the resort is magnificent with the hanging lights and the ocean breeze makes it a perfect place for a romantic getaway, the room was huge, it just needs a couple of extra chairs or some extra tables cause it looks a bit too big for just 2 beds and a night table, the bathroom has some openings so the A/c can scape through it if the door isn't closed and it has no where to hang dry clothes, luckily I had read this prior to our visit and took a clothes line with me that I tied in the bathroom and it was a problem solved, I can't talk highly enough of this place and the people working here, we are in love with Gente de Mar and will be our #1 place to stay when we plan our next trip to Colombia, also did I mention is the only resort with an actual beach? Everyone else has a platform of cement or coral. So definitely the best place to...

We attempted to communicate with Gente De Mar Resort a week in advance to find the best way to get to the island. We were planning on coming from four hours away so were hoping for an afternoon boat option. Reply to messages took days and were not helpful. Communication is very poor, slow and indifferent. We were told there was an afternoon option, but not given any details until it was too late to make this boat . Since it was impossible for us to get to the island when planned, we asked for a first day cancellation. They said we would be granted minus cancelation fees. Upon arrival we were told we would be charged in full for our entire stay even the day we requested to be canceled. After many discussions in Spanish we attempted to find someone to communication better in English, but only one staff member spoke limited English. We told there was nothing they could do and we would be charged in full. The attitude of the staff was extremely off putting. Not once did they apologize or offer a token of apology for the misunderstanding caused by miscommunication. We asked if we could check in to our room since we had already paid for it and they made us wait for the room to be cleaned. Upon taking us to said room they made it clear this was a favor, letting us "check in early" even though we had already paid for the room. Once to the room, we found the AC not working. We asked to get it fixed, which it was later that evening.

The only reason I give two stars is the place does have an amazing location. It's just a shame the management is so poor. We found empty beer bottles, trash in and around our room which was not well cleaned. Large bottles of multiple use soap and shampoo in the shower were empty. There was no hot water for the shower. We also tried the food offered at the resort and it was simple, few options and tasteless. There were much better options at the neighboring resorts.

Having a bad taste in our mouth we walked to the near by resorts and spent the majority of our time there. Five min walk next door, Hotel San Pedro de Majagua is amazingly beautiful, friendly staff, delicious food and beautiful setting. I would highly recommend you book your stay there instead. ...

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...