Ermita, Cartagena, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel — Hotel in Cartagena

Absolute WORSE Marriott (and general hotel) experience I have ever had! I stayed at this hotel for 4 nights for a wedding in Cartagena (I was the only wedding guest to stay here as I wanted to use my Marriott points) & for background I have hundreds of hotel stays over the past 5 years in Marriott hotels alone across numerous countries.

Overall info (major issues outlined after): Location - You are NOT in the walled city and it is not safe to walk to/from the walled city at night. During the day ALL valuables should be out of site (phone in pocket) until you reach the walled city. This was communicated to me BY THE HOTEL STAFF. Also, multiple taxies attempted to change the price on me after I got in so plan to only Uber to/from the hotel.

While the day staff is friendly, the night desk manager is my least favorite hotel staff member ever (see story below). FYI, very few people speak English so if you have any issues and can’t speak Spanish you’re basically SOL.

Hotel room was okay, but the floors were very gross (black feet walking around the room barefoot). Also, the rooms are freezing and changing the temptature did nothing. Plan to sleep in layers.

The breakfast is decent for what you would expect for a hotel buffet.

While the hotel is not super noisey the doors are very thin and you will hear every door on your floor open and close which can make sleeping difficult. AC fan makes no white noise.

There are definitely nicer options for less money in the walled city (based on the other places wedding guests stayed).

MAJOR ISSUE / STORY TIME: I booked a king hotel room (max occupancy of 2) for 4 nights. Part way through my reservation I had a wedding guest join me (I had flown in early so checked in by myself) but the front desk stopped us and said since they were not present at check in they could not enter the property.

He followed that up with saying if I paid an extra $100 USD I could add a 2nd person. This was NEVER communicated to me at check in, on their website or my reservation confirmation (I checked everywhere after), or at any point during my stay. I called Marriott customer service who confirmed THERE WAS NO POLICY stating I should have to pay extra for a hotel room that is for 2 and that I should not be getting charged, but the nighttime front desk guy ignored Marriott’s calls when they tried reaching out. They were refusing to let her in so I paid as it was late when she arrived and we wanted to go to bed.

Additionally, while I have no issue with them asking for a passport/ID to scan for the hotel records the front desk person kept attempting to take a photo with his PERSONAL phone of her passport or have us send a photo to his phone number via WhatsApp.. not the hotel email. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE.

After paying, we had to sign some forms which was fine as my understanding was that I was adding a guest to the reservation for $100 USD.

Fast forward to 5:45AM and we are woken up by numerous phone calls from the front desk demanding that my guest leaves as “guests were only allowed to stay until 5AM”. I told him no as I just paid $100 to add her to the reservation and she was here with me to share the room and hung up. Also, I am not about to kick her out in a not-safe area of Cartagena at 5am over a policy that corporate Marriott doesn’t recognize & was never communicated to me at check in.

Everything about this screams a massive scam/bribery from the late night front desk.

Additionally, the first night I almost couldn’t get back into the hotel as I had only gone out with my phone and room key (everywhere takes Apple Pay) over concerns of theft/robbery. Nothing like coming home at 3am and not being able to access the room you paid for.

I followed up with the manager at the end of my stay stating I wanted a refund for the extra charges, but they do not speak a lot of English and basically just got head nods and no response. I opened a case with Marriott customer service and will provide an update when...

I must admit that I was a little leery about staying at a hotel that had only been open for one week. There were only stock photos online and there were no reviews of the hotel posted when I booked. But, since I am a loyal Marriott girl, I gave it a try. The Ermita hotel did not disappoint. The staff is absolutely amazing and they work very hard to anticipate your needs and meet them. For example, after a day or two of us asking for extra towels at some point during the day, the staff just started including them in our room. When we did have other concerns (e.g., a leaky toilet), they were quickly resolved.

The decor of the hotel is beautiful. And because of the layout of the hotel, you truly feel like you are in your own little piece of paradise. There were only 4-6 rooms on a hallway. There are a number of courtyard areas around the property with tables to sit. The rooftop pool and lounge area is amazing as well.

Breakfast is complimentary. If you are a meat eater, you'll love breakfast at Ermita. I am vegan and found it to be very challenging. A week of eating fruit was quite boring. The fruit was delicious, but it's not enough. I would encourage Ermita to include vegan and gluten free options on the breakfast buffet. There is also a restaurant on the property Señor Ayda. Although there is a full menu for the restaurant, many of the items were "not available yet." Again, this was frustrating for someone with dietary restrictions.

The rooms are nicely designed. There is a safe, sitting area, and a small refrigerator/mini bar. The shower is beautifully designed. My only concern with the shower is that it is a rain shower head and it is really high up because of the high ceilings. That meant that by time the water gets to you, it feels like a trickle. I would have appreciated more water pressure. The rain shower head is also not compatible for those that don't want to get their har wet daily or those that are trying to bathe a child.

The location of the hotel is great. You are literally steps from the beach. You can tell that the area is being gentrified. The Ermita property used to be abandoned and was renovated. Other buildings in the area are also being transformed. There is a grocery store that is a 5-minute walk from the hotel and you can be inside the walled city in a 7 to 10 minute walk. Because the hotel is new, many cab drivers were not yet familiar with the location...so we had to show them the address, screenshots of maps, and tell them about other landmarks when seeking transportation. You can schedule airport pick up with the hotel's shuttle and they will bill it to your room. The airport is less than 10 minutes away from the hotel.

Bottom line...I would definitely stay at the Ermita hotel again! The small issues/concerns listed were very small, but enough for me to give 4 stars instead of 5. Thank you to the Ermita for a great stay and I look forward to...

I am an Lifetime Ambassador member. I travel the world and have stayed at Marriot properties 150-200 nights a year for the last 13 years. This is by far the worst Marriott experience I've ever had. Details below:

Knowing the hotels in Cartagena book up quickly for New Years Eve, I made my reservation in June of 2023. However, Marriott and the property ran a Long Term Stay (LTS 7+nights) promo from Dec 1 - Feb 28. However, even though I qualified for the promo Marriott and the property refused to allow me to use the promo. So I was punished for booking early. Had water in the room the 1st day, and then didn't receive water in the room for the rest of my stay (again - 7 days) 2 days I did not have fresh towels after the service (the first time I didn't notice until after I was out of the shower and was looking for the towel) Elevators not working and I was on the 3rd floor. I had to carry 3 large bags down the stairs I travel for work so my Corporate Card is on file. However, since this was a vacation I changed the credit card when I checked in. However, when I checked out learn that the change was not made, and now I have to explain to my Corporate accounts and boss what happened and spend even more of time resolving an issue created by the hotel. When I checked out I asked the hotel to schedule me a taxi. They charged me 70.000 pesos. However, 2 days before I picked a friend up at the airport and it only cost 25.000 pesos. I paid the hotel directly for the taxi; however, once I was dropped off at the airport I was harassed by the driver for payment.

I will not stay here again, and in fact this experience has led me to refuse to use Marriott again. I voiced my concerns and problems to the hotel staff, and my personal Marriott Ambassador Concierge, and didn't receive any resolution.

I have about 20 years of work left in me (unless I win the lottery :)) and as I mentioned, stay in hotels 150-200 nights a year. Marriott just lost about 3/4 million dollars over the next 20 years. Too bad.

If visiting Cartagena and looking for a nice hotel with a great experience, I would stay at the Santa Clara within the City walls. It might be just a bit more expensive; but you won't have to deal with any of this nonsense. I had friends that stayed there and I visited them and their pool a couple days and that looks like the place to be in Cartagena if you...