Ecohotelhector — Hotel in Cartagena

Talking first about the owner: it's a THIEF!!! I paid 60.000 pesos more because I had paid with cash and later they charged the same amount in my credit card because they have the data through Booking.com .. they said they would cancel the transaction but they didn't do and then the owner said he would give me back 40.000 through transfer because 20.000 was due to IVA. I know foreigners don't need to pay IVA in hostels and hotels in Colombia but I accepted it to solve quickly the situation.. but after 2 months saying "I'm sorry, I didn't have time this week, I'll do the transfer when I'm in Cartagena next week..." until now he didn't do anything and stopped to answer me 2 weeks ago. The picture shows that the guy doesn't answer me anymore.||*||well, about the hotel and the beach: The beach is beautiful but don't go there if you want nice vacations! everyone tries to charge you more, you can search about it ..they even charge more colombians who aren't from Cartagena .. a colombian friend of mine from Medellin also had a bad time there. I went because it was the cheapest option around Cartagena but I regret it a lot! I should had listened to my friend !!! .The hotel is quite ok considering other places in the same area.. but pay attention because if it rains the room gets full of water (I lost a book because of that ... there isn't a table to put the stuff, everything was in the ground) .. They even didn't apologize they just said 'it's normal that the room gets flooded" ok, but no one warned me about it !!! The guy that works there seems nice but he can't help you if the owner is not there and the owner never is ... and in fact he's there just to take more money from you... I asked for a moto to take me back to Cartagena and they wanted to charge me 30.000 pesos .. I knew the price should be between 8.000 and 10.000. So in resume : They will try all the dishonest ways to take money...

One of the best things about this place is that it's almost at the very end of the populated zone of the beach, so you get fewer crowds, fewer vendors, and fewer jet-ski riders. It does mean you have to walk a bit to get here - about 25 minutes from the parking lot.||||Accommodations are very basic, as in much of Playa Blanca. We got a queen bed, mosquito net, a working fan (electricity is only between about 6 pm and 6 am) and place to charge phones, a room that locked, and a great view from right outside. Yes, there were some bugs in our room - you're at the beach, in a room that's basically open to the outdoors, so be prepared! Bathrooms were fine. You have to add water to flush. We didn't bother with the shower since we were only there one night.||||We both had fried mojarra for dinner (it was the only fish available) and beer. There is a bar, but this isn't a party place - it's quite small, there was only one other couple there. Prices are maybe a bit higher than elsewhere on the beach, but not outrageous.||||I appreciated being able to prebook this place online, even though I'm sure we didn't need to. The WiFi didn't work, but if you're really worried about Internet access, you might want to stay somewhere other than Playa Blanca (or get a SIM card with some data).||||Also, the booking site says this place accepts cards. Well... in theory they do, but it wasn't working when I went to pay. We luckily had just enough cash to cover our bill plus a small tip. It's common advice for Playa Blanca, but bears repeating - bring enough cash! On the plus side, my bill was exactly what I expected it to be - prices were as advertised, no extra or...

We’ve spent wonderful couple of days here in the first week of January.

So to begin with the staff and especially our host Jairo, who speaks English fluently and have been there for making us feel comfortable and welcome all the time. The owner Hector was also very nice to us during our stay. Another great thing was the location - it is one of the last hotels on the beach area - a little far from the crowd and the noise in the epicenter of Playa Blanca.

Before we arrived, we have read that there was a fire accident and we were a little worried, but it turned out that this was a good thing for us. The wooden structure has been rebuilt all over again and everything was brand new - from the bed & the mattress (which were great) and also the nice sun beds which were made of metal. I believe these are the nicest sun beds you will see on Playa Blanca :)

We ate at the restaurant of the hotel almost every day and we loved the fish which was always fresh (“catch of the day”). Prices are completely the same as in other places around. I’ve read some reviews here that the music was loud - none of this is true for us. By not later than 9:30 pm everything is off and the only thing that you hear is the sound of waves!

We had a lovely time and would recommend Hector’s place to everyone who plans to visit...