Hilton Cartagena Hotel — Hotel in Cartagena

Unfortunately we had a poor all round experience here at the end of August for our 4 night stay. Firstly there didn't appear to be a separate line for Hilton Honors members and as a diamond member had to wait 20 minutes in line before we were seen. We finally got to the front desk at 15:00 only to be told our room was not ready. It felt as though the person on the front desk was reading from a script and did not smile once during our interaction, after about 20 mins we were offered an alternative temporary room. This being offered doesn't really solve anything, actually more of an inconvenience. We decided to go into the Executive lounge instead, whilst the views from here are nice the room is very dated and with limited drinks and snacks. After 30 mins I went to the front desk to see if there had been any progress, there hadn't. Went back to lounge for another 30 mins, then back to front desk still nothing, I took my family to the temporary room because the aircon was not working in the lounge and then waited another 30 minutes before I rang again and then told the room was ready, this was approaching 17:00. I had requested a suite of which when booked should of been one of the newly renovated suites. We arrived at the room, whilst is was a nice size with a great terrace, the room felt dated. I had to ring reception saying I had booked and paid for one of the newly renovated rooms only to be told this was one of them! The room was poorly maintained, didn't feel particularly clean, had paint splashes on the furniture, poor tiling in the barhroom, it felt like I was in Hilton in 1995 only with a LED TV. We had two bathrooms neither with a bath. We were aware of the pool maintenance before we arrived, my only comment here is that this is a major refurbishment and our one day by one of the other pools was marred by non stop heavy duty drilling from 08:00 to at least 17:00. We decided to go to the beach only to be accosted by people trying to sell us stuff, we made our way to the beds only to be followed by a woman who was giving the hard sell for a massage, we politely declined, laid on the bed only for the woman to start massaging my wife, we had to tell her several times to stop and went in the sea to get away from her. We found all staff apart from just one to be non engaging, nor friendly. We can speak some spanish but in no way fluent and we found this to be a disadvantage as very few staff spoke any English at this International world wide hotel chain. Luis Alberto at breakfast was delightful, friendly and always a smile, he should be in charge of training all staff on how to interact with guests. As a Diamond member we were allowed free breakfast, the buffet was nice with a good choice, my member status got further recognised at breakfast on our last morning of 4, as we registered our name on entering the dining room we were given one small strawberry with chocolate on, for 3 of us. The hotel is in a nice location, plenty of shops and restaurants close by and approx 2 miles from the historic walled centre. Before Cartagena we visited the Hilton in Bogata and had a very positive experience and before that we had been at the Hilton in Miraflores, Lima and had such an amazing stay, in a great, clean, modern room, very good lounge and the friendliest and most helpful of staff who interacted with my family throughout the day. We left Cartagena for Cali and stayed at a wonderful NH hotel with amazing staff. For me the Hilton Cartagena was my and my family's poorest ever...

As a Hilton Honors Gold member, I had high expectations for a 9-day Father’s Day trip to the Hilton Cartagena, booked months in advance for a special celebration. Regrettably, this stay was a profound disappointment, falling far short of the 5-star experience promoted by the Hilton brand. In reality, this property operates at a 1- or 2-star level, and I cannot recommend it to anyone seeking a luxury stay.

Upon arrival, I was informed that my pre-booked ocean-view room was unavailable. The hotel offered an upgrade to an executive suite in a “better location,” which turned out to be a non-ocean-view room with a partial ocean and primarily lake view. While I appreciated the attempt to accommodate, the downgrade in view was not what I had anticipated for a special occasion. More concerning was the state of the suite upon arrival: it lacked basic amenities, including toiletries, snacks, and mini-bar items typically expected at a Hilton property. Only after contacting the front desk did the hotel provide complimentary bottled water, which should have been standard upon check-in. The room’s condition was equally troubling. The bathtub was in serious disrepair, leaking water across the floor, rendering it unusable.

Most alarmingly, I encountered four live cockroaches in the room each day of my stay. This was utterly unacceptable for a purported 5-star hotel and a significant health concern. Given that I had stayed at other hotels in Cartagena during this trip and observed similar issues with outdated infrastructure, I chose not to request a room change, as the effort seemed futile in a facility that appeared old and poorly maintained. The hotel was also hosting a convention during my stay, which left the staff visibly stretched thin, likely contributing to the lapses in service.

The breakfast offerings were mediocre at best, lacking the quality and variety expected from a Hilton property. The executive lounge, a perk for Gold members, was consistently understocked with the promoted snacks and refreshments, diminishing its value. The overall infrastructure of the Hilton Cartagena felt dated and run-down, far from the luxury experience advertised.

I spoke with the receptionist supervisor, Valentina, who was courteous and did her best to address my concerns. However, the resolution offered by the Hilton Honors team was deeply inadequate: a credit of 45,000 points, equivalent to roughly one night at most Hilton properties, despite the 9-day duration of my stay. This gesture felt dismissive, especially for a loyal Gold member who endured such significant issues, including the unacceptable presence of cockroaches.

In summary, the Hilton Cartagena failed to deliver on its promise of a 5-star experience. The combination of an unavailable booked room, missing amenities, a broken bathtub, persistent cockroaches, and an outdated facility made this the worst Hilton property I have ever stayed at. The inadequate compensation further underscored the lack of accountability. I strongly advise against choosing this hotel for anyone seeking a luxurious or even comfortable stay...

BEWARE OF SCAMMERS AT HILTON BEACH

I'm not a fan of writing poor reviews. However, I try to put myself in the position of the consumer and believe that people should be made aware of the cons of staying at this hotel prior to booking.

My partner and I stayed at Hilton Cartagena in June 2023. The location is a very prime location, with easy access to the beach and a plethora of amenities. One thing that I would like to emphasize and clarify to everyone who books with this hotel is that the beach is not a private beach, it is a VERY PUBLIC beach with a Hilton Security Guard (who does absolutely nothing). Because it is a public beach, it invites people trying to sell you massages, jet sky, drinks etc. It is the most uncomfortable experience being hounded by locals trying to sell services. Going to the beach should be a peaceful experience; however, I found that many of the hotel guests would rather be at the pool than the beach as they do not want to be hounded by locals selling you services.

My partner and I were scammed by two females and a male, the females accosted us trying to sell us a massage. We vehemently denied the massage and before we realized it one lady was massaging our feet and then proceeded. We gave in and allowed them to give us a massage during this massage we were accosted by a male who kept hounding us to purchase drinks, we gave in and purchased drinks for ourselves. Unbeknownst to us, he purchased additional drinks for the two massage ladies without our permission. We purchased a total of 4 drinks Non-Alcoholic beverages. When all was said and done and we asked how much we were told for the massages we owed $160 USD for a less than 20 min massage each. We were stunned, and quite upset that we were scammed. The male told us we owed him $70, for 4 non-alcoholic drinks. We did not want to pay the money; however, figured that they may have close ties to hotel staff that could harm us, better yet we are in THEIR COUNTRY. We paid the money, yet left FURIOUS! We notified the hotel "Manager" who informed us that they try to warn their guests before checking in; however, my partner and I were NEVER warned about this nor is their any signage around. That evening, we witnessed an argument between locals and a guest. The guest was told one price for the jet ski and upon return was accosted by multiple locals who forced him to pay more because they took him on "additional excursions."

The mistake we made was giving in and not asking about the prices prior to service. For everyone reading this post, please beware that the "Hilton Security Guard" is not there to prevent locals from selling you services, rather they are there to prevent a fight/argument from breaking out and other disturbances. My advice is this if you book with this hotel and would like to enjoy the services sold on the beach ask what the prices are and if you are not interested, FIRMLY express your disinterest in the service or walk away.

Hilton, please make your guests aware of the locals by posting signage, not doing this will drive business away.

I would NOT...