Hostal Playa Blanca — Hotel in Cartagena

Very overpriced hostal, I fell for the trap like many other people probably have and thought this was the only place there, when I arrived there , there were plenty of other places, closer, and looked much better. The hostal is dirty, so far from all the restaurants and the owner is just after your money and doesn't care at all about your experience.||during our time there he just constantly nagged us about trips, about buying food off him, buying beer of him and we really felt pressured by him and he didn't seem to like anyone just going there to relax he wants to grab every single penny out of you possible.||||The food is bad and overpriced, I feel sorry for the people who come on the boat trip and stop there, they are really getting ripped off. The rooms were also very uncomfortable and have nothing to deter mosquitos.||||my main problem was the owners attitude though, he really was unfriendly and just cares about money. He tried tricking us into buying a lunch of him, told us it was a "typical" Caribbean fish lunch, what he was selling was Mohave fish from the river. if you walk up the beach you get real fish there from the sea, 4 times the size and 4 times less price. after we went and had lunch somewhere else he was really off with us, having a bad attitude and pestered us about a boat tour. after we told him we weren't going snorkelling in the morning he just told us we need to check out and leave then and didn't want us there 1 second more than we needed to be if he wasn't making money off us.||||the beach is lovely, but don't spoil the experience by going here, you wont have a good time, you wont feel good energy and you will get ripped off with bad accommodation, bad company and bad food. just turn up there, check a few places out...

Ok let's start with the pros:||- Friendly staff ||- Right on the beach ||- In the morning before day trippers arrive it is very calm and the beach is beautiful||||Negatives:||- VERY overpriced. £35 / $50 for a double room. Per night. Would say it's more like £5 a night. ||- You have to pay for showers on top.||- Loos are disgusting and not enough of them. Filthy. No loo roll. ||- 'Restaurant' only offers one thing and the food is pretty inedible and not as they describe. We were only served dinner at 10pm. Kids sitting near us were falling asleep! ||- Bedroom has open gap for window so anyone could lean in and take your stuff. ||- Nowhere to store or lock belongings. Not great when travelling with passports etc. ||- Walls don't go up and no mossi nets and room completely open so bitten alive! ||- No lock on door. You can use a padlock from outside but you have to bring your own. No mention on booking. ||- From inside we had to find a rock to wedge door shut. Doesn't feel safe or secure at all. ||- Very loud music played until 1:30am and floors are just thin boards you can see down below so speaker sounds like in our room - even with ear plugs. ||- During day the hostel has day trippers that come so no where for you to put your own towel down and they only care about the day trippers.||- Hostel description says you won't get hassled by people as its private. It is not. You get hassled all day by people selling anything and everything. ||||I get its a beach location and basic but I've travelled all over the world and this accommodation is fine if you are paying the right price for it. But for the amount they charge it is...

I've read many of the other reviews and I really need to say that this place must have improved a lot. I found the staff very friendly and helpful. The key is knowing what to expect. This isn't honeymoon luxury. It's a back to basics shack on the beach. A place to disconnect and enjoy the moment. Yes you need to bucket flush the toilet and yes you need to conserve water when you shower ... that's just the way it is there. The food we ate was incredible. The fish was so tasty and I highly recommend it and was cheaper than other places on the beach. Everything is generally more expensive than the mainland so bring extra money or extra supplies if you don't want to buy food. I strongly encourage you to wake up for sunrise ... I did this accidentally and have never seen such beautiful colours in the sky. Also go on the plankton trip at night as it's amazing. Worth the 20k. Overall either this place has really improved since the other reviews were written or people went with the wrong expectations. If you need luxuries then don't stay at playa Blanca. Otherwise, I highly recommend spending one night. The place is so different after the boat loads of tourists leave at 5pm. Try to avoid a weekend if you can. It will be more peaceful. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay and recommend to those who don't mind a simpler style|Of life for a...