Holiday Inn Cartagena Morros by IHG — Hotel in Cartagena

The hotel location is very nice and very close to the airport without feeling like it is close to the airport (maybe 10 minutes). Also close to Cartagena city. The rooms are very spacious and clean. The bathrooms are awkward if you are a family and not a couple. My father and I shared a room and there is no door to the bathroom - (just to the toilet which is very small space). So can walk by and see someone in shower even though the walkin showers have partially frosted glass to make viewing more difficult. Otherwise a very nice room and for the family where this doesn't matter - is okay. We tend to be more private so if stayed here would likely just get separate rooms.

The breakfast buffet was better than standard buffets but not extraordinary. Lunch almost always ended up with wrong orders and limited to no attempts to fix. Dinner was usually very good, albeit a bit pricey. Drinks were almost always pricey. I felt they were lacking in alcohol, my father did not. The lobster with cheese dish is pretty expensive but it is honestly delicious and I would order it again and again if I could.

The hostess and female servers were extremely nice, attentive, and we enjoyed dining when they were around. With the males it was harder for me to enjoy because they frequently looked at the men when I ordered something as if to ask them if it was okay. I was paying for some, my dad paid for some, my friends paid for some, I'm grown (in my 40's) and don't need permission from anyone. But it was a bit condescending.

We met another friend at the hotel. He went out to the beach to watch the sunset. He took no valuables. He was robbed by 3 people about 100 meters from the hotel. They held a knife to his throat and then took his shoes. We were not alerted by management to be careful. There were guards on the grounds at all times which was good but this concerned me. So we stayed off of the beach the rest of the time and did not go out there at all at night.

At check out, we were asked to pay again. We had paid by credit card prior to arriving. We also had other friends at the hotel (different name, different reservation). They charged them wrong and wanted us to pay it. They said we could work out the difference with cash and it was easier for the hotel if we just paid. This is unacceptable to me. But - we had to catch a plane. As of writing this, it still has not been resolved. We are contacting the credit card company to deny one of the charges. Hopefully will be fixed to our satisfaction.

Overall I liked the hotel very much and I would stay there again. I just wanted to share the pros and cons. Also, for a disabled person - get an accessible room as the toilets in the regular rooms are...

I have travelled all over the world and stayed in cheap jungle hostels to $1000/night boutique luxury hotels, and while I wasn’t sure what to expect with a holiday inn (I’ve stayed at plenty of cheap ones in the states), the price point seemed really good with the photos reviews and descriptions so we went for it with the ocean view king room. I can say it was an excellent stay in a beautiful, modern and well serviced hotel. The staff is top notch and very friendly and attentive, everything is new and clean, the breakfast is excellent, and we have zero complaints at all. Can’t sayenough how great the staff service is. Our room was the top floor of hotel rooms and the view was priceless with the sound of the waves lapping in the beach lulling is to sleep and waking us up in the morning, amazing sunsets and well insulated noise wise from the neighbors - you can hear them on balcony but did not bother us at all, and you can’t hear anyone else with door closed. Really the only thing we could sing the place on is the pool is kind of small but it wasn’t crowded and frankly I’d rather swim in the ocean anyway. There is a private “beach” which is more of a lawn but you are insulted from the beach vendors who, despite this being the less populated beach are still relentless once you stroll beyond the hotel grounds - so strolling the beach isn’t private FYI as a heads up. We took an isla del encanto tour one day which we highly recommend - private beach/hotel on isla del Rosario, which was magical on the boat ride there, peaceful with only a couple vendors there contracted with hotel who are not pushy at all and a pleasure to buy from. The ride back through the river Magdalena (they don’t do it every time I don’t think depends on the tides) was insanely cool, you see other parts of Cartagena which are both magical and pull at your heartstrings to see parts you might not strolling around as a tourist. The pool closes at 8 - might be nice if it were own a little later for evening drinks at pool bar, but we were often in the old town eating dinner or hitting up cool bars/clubs so it didn’t detract from our stay. They do not recommend walking the beach after suanset, better to stay on hotel grounds. All in all, this place is a killer value and the hotel and staff are top notch! Highly...

When you have the right companion it doesn't matter much where you stay for a getaway. Although you wouldn't go wrong with the Cartagena Morros Holiday Inn. This is relatively a new hotel in the best urbanized beach area (La Boquilla, located a few minutes north of the airport) of beautiful Cartagena de Indias. And believe me, it is not far from Excellent!

It is a brand new building with a modern look, perfectly neat and gorgeous ocean front rooms. The optional complementary buffet breakfast is worth getting since the food provided is very fresh and tasty. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner as well. Among the best dishes we tried for dinner was the sea food soup. We also enjoyed 'cervezas micheladas' by the swimming pool. All the staff treat you with great respect and always with a smile.

Now the downside of my experience (which reduces to only two issues). First, for some reason the ice machines in each floor were out of service, so we had to order ice with room service, which took more than 20 minutes to arrive. And second, the waitresses helping during the buffet breakfast seemed a little overwhelmed when peak hour rushed, so the service got really delayed. These two issues made our stay not reach Excellent, but not far from it.

All in all, this hotel is worth every penny. I would definitely go back and hopefully find working ice makers in each floor and better trained waitresses during peak hours. Also, we had a problem with a personal item (more specifically a book) that we found wet when we returned to the room. We reported it and the staff administrator kindly took responsibility for it and reimbursed it to us. That was a kind gesture which gives you a sense that they really care for their guests. I am pretty sure the next time will be far...