Casa Zahri Boutique Hostel — Hotel in Cartagena

After reading these reviews I was so excited to stay here but I was so disappointed. This was my third accommodation on my stay in Cartagena and it was by far the worst. Upon arrival beautiful place , colorful , nice pool, looks like a great place to meet other travelers. When I checked into my room , I was in there for maybe ten minutes and I started seeing ants all over my bed . Upon further inspection, the ants were all over the bed frame , infested with ants . Imagine that checking into your accommodation first day. I complained to the guy who walked me to my room , no apology at all just had a staff member give me another key . I was uncomfortable (young guy with curly hair and glasses) from that moment on , but at least the new room was clean. I stayed for five days , FIVE DAYS.. my room was not attempted to be cleaned once until September 10th a day before I left .. Five days in my room and I have the same trash , I had to change out my towels myself . I was confused why the staff decided one day out of five to clean my room. The breakfast is basic and good , I say basic since you have to pay for things like ham, different toppings for pancakes . Other places in Cartagena will include that for free. Another thing is I had no hot water .. and what’s the point of having a TV in my room when it doesn’t work. WIFI DOESNT WORK IN THE ROOMS. I felt the staff paid more attention and were nicer to Spanish speakers . I did like the lady who worked mornings , and all the morning staff, they were all very polite and pleasant. When I would wake up in the morning it was a pigsty , cigarettes, beer bottles , dirty couches . I guess because the cleaning staff arrived in the late afternoon , but it wasn’t the cleanest place . Overall, it was not an enjoyable stay, and I unfortunately couldn’t wait to check out and move on to...

The beds are short. I'm 5'8" and sleep on my tummy, so my toes touched the edge of the bed cubbie unless I laid at a certain angle. Maybe better for side or back sleepers who don't use as much bed length. Wifi doesn't reach the dorm room at the end. Showers are the tiniest, and there was no changing room that I could see (but I've seen them in other hostels with bigger showers).

Also, when it rained and the power went out, the only dry place to be was in the hot bar or the bedrooms. Thankfully, since the dorm fans are extremely strong (with the AC, it's nice and cold at night) and the dorm door was kept closed all day, so there was enough cold air trapped in the dorm that I stayed in there until the power came back. I think they should add more covered space around the pool for when it rains, especially since that's also where breakfast is (not sure how they do breakfast on rainy mornings).

Breakfast was good, with a fruit cup and juice included. You can use the kitchen after breakfast hours. The location is also in a more sketchy area if you're going to Trinidad square at night. You have to either walk through an unlit alley on either side, or walk 2 blocks right for a lit up street. Even with avoiding the dark alleys, it's a quick walk to the square. Going to the clock tower is also super quick and easy.

They have at least 1 cat who meows outside some of the rooms. Thankfully the dorm door was kept shut while I was staying, so the cat didn't enter and spread its allergens.

The staff are all super nice on Whatsapp and in person. Most speak real good English. You can pay with card at check-in for the same price as cash, no extra fees! Also the dorm had a couch, chairs, foot rests, and a table. The...

I had high expectations for this hostel because of the beautiful photos and good reviews. But it was disappointing. The ground floor rooms all had moisture problems. There are no windows in none of the rooms. There is no ventilation system and everybody dries there towels and swimwear in the room = breeding ground for mold, which you smell immediately when you enter the room. We asked to switch rooms to the first floor, which was possible the next day.

Nobody at the reception likes their job. A smile or hello wasn't available. The only friendly guy was the handyman. Every day we greeted each other as is normal. The activities in the hostel written on the board did not take place, so there was no atmosphere. However, the hostel was fully booked.

There was an activity in another hostel that they partnered with though. But again, the people at the reception found a way not to perform their jobs. To our friends, they told it was the next day, when it was that same evening, to us they gave wrong hours, making us pay more at the other hostel...

On top of that, they made a mistake with our reservation. On our last night, our beds were no longer available... Instead of offering a solution they showed us the door. They couldn't do anything for us because they didn't have any bed. Mistake on their part and just shrugged their shoulders. Never had such a bad experience in 5 months...