Hotel Casona del Colegio — Hotel in Cartagena

I chose this hotel for my wedding day. I arrived on Friday, March 20, around 3 pm. My mom and I had a welcome cocktail party, and we left around 5 pm for a rehearsal, while the welcome cocktail was still going on. So, I stayed at the hotel for almost two hours.

When I returned from the cocktail party around 10 pm, I was shocked to find that my room had been completely cleaned. Everything had been moved around, and my personal items were picked up and relocated. I had not requested any cleaning service since I had just checked in.

The next day was my wedding. After getting ready and having my makeup done, the photographer asked me for the accessories I was going to wear. When I opened my jewelry box, I was horrified to discover that my diamond band was missing. I immediately called the reception and asked why someone had entered my room without asking. Typically, cleaning services are done the day after check-in, not just two hours after you arrive.

I never thought something like this would happen to me, especially without my knowledge, and I didn't expect anyone to enter my room without my permission. Yes, I made the mistake of not putting my jewelry in the safe, but there was no reason for anyone to enter my room at all. My wedding day was nearly ruined by this.

When they called the person who had cleaned the room, she started yelling at me. I wasn’t accusing anyone; I was simply stating that my diamond band was missing and that no one should have entered my room. I decided to let it go and deal with it after the wedding, but the manager, in an attempt to cover himself, said that other people entered the room the next day while I was in it. He also mentioned that I could file a police report in Colombia, even though I live in the USA and was leaving the next day.

They did nothing to resolve the issue or offer any compensation for their mistake. My advice to anyone booking here: use the safe box, and if anything goes missing, don’t expect any help. There are many other hotels where you would be safer. This happened on my wedding day, and despite booking the suite (not a standard room), they still entered it without my permission. Unfortunately, in Colombia, things are handled differently than in other countries, where businesses take responsibility for their mistakes. But here, that...

Extremely disappointed, security and service failed us on our wedding day!! , ,We chose this hotel for our wedding weekend, expecting a high level of service and security, especially after booking one of their most expensive suites. Unfortunately, what we experienced was completely unacceptable.

My wife checked in on Friday around 3 PM and was only in the room for about two hours before heading out for our welcome cocktail and rehearsal. When she returned later that night, she was shocked to find the room had already been cleaned something we never requested or expected so soon after check-in. Her personal belongings had been moved around, and our trust in the hotel’s professionalism began to crumble.

The next day our wedding day my wife discovered that her diamond wedding band was missing from her jewelry box. We understand it was a mistake not to use the safe, but during a hectic wedding weekend, and given the hotel’s rating and reputation, we never thought this could happen. What made the situation even worse was the reaction from the staff.

When my wife brought up the missing ring, the woman who had cleaned the room came in and began yelling at her, accusing her of falsely blaming her. I’m sorry, but no bride should be screamed at on her wedding day especially not after discovering one of our wedding bands was stolen.

The hotel’s management did nothing to make things right. Instead, they tried to shift the blame by saying “other people entered the room the next day.” Yes, the footlocker and makeup artists came in but by then, the ring had already been discovered missing. The real issue is that their cleaning staff entered the room hours after check-in, without any request or need to do so.

There was no compensation, no accountability, and their only response was to tell us to file a police report knowing full well we were leaving the country the next day. In other countries, businesses take responsibility for mistakes like this. Here, it was brushed off entirely.

This experience tainted what should have been one of the most memorable weekends of our lives. Please be cautious when booking here. There are other hotels in the area, and I strongly advise using the safe for anything valuable, because if anything goes missing, don’t expect support or empathy...

This is a long one, so summary in the end.||||I have to be fair here and write an honest review. The experiece overall was great but started bittersweet. So I will list all the good and bad.||||The hotel is beautiful and very well located within the walled city. The room is large but there is only one bed, dispite having told us via telephone there would be two. So if you don’t want to share a bed this is not for you.||||It is noisy, so if you want a silent experience ask to be put in an internal room, the sound proof windows are not sufficient if you are a light sleeper or an early riser who wants to sleep early.||||It is HOT in here (of course you know that) and the air conditioning is good but for some reason the minimum temperature in our room is set to 23c (around 74F).||||Breakfsst is not a buffet but the option are fancy and very well made.||||DO NOT USE THE SAFE. It is not attached to anything and light so anyone can take it or exchange it for a empty one||||The pool is terrible, it is not the feature of this hotel, but it is a common thing within the walled city, it is small (but the hotel is too, so it doesn’t seem to get crowded). This is the down season, so that might be partially the problem.||||The service is the biggest pro, even though my party was VERY frustrated with the experience on the first day they made everything within their power to accomodate and make us satisfied with the overall experience, so kudos to all the wole staff, specially Sheik, the manager and all of the maids (whom I don’t remember the names unfortunately).||||So I do recommend, just remember the caveats.||||Summary: ||||Pros:||- beautiful||-great service and food ||- good location||||Cons:||- only one bed per room ||- air conditioning if you like colder temps||- very noisy street||-non...