Hotel Castel — Hotel in Cartagena

There are a few nice things to say about this hotel so I would like to start with what we appreciated about it. First off the appearance of the hotel from the outside is nice. The brick and castle style of the place is really cool looking. The lobby is also nice with a little indoor garden and elegant tile structure that runs behind . The rooms were clean and the bed was comfortable. ||||The biggest disappointment for us was that the hotel advertised a pool and was one of the main reasons we chose the hotel, but the hotel doesn't have a pool. We checked into the hotel in the early evening expecting that we could relax with a beer next to our pool. When we got to the hotel, put on our bathing suits, and couldn't find the pool we asked at the front desk. He informed us that the owner had moved into the unit next door and that it's now his private pool. With our swimming suits on, you can image our disappointment. The staff member told us that they offer packages where they could take us to another hotel to go to a pool. We're supposed to pay to get to and use a pool at another hotel when we are expecting one to be included??? No no, we'll pass. ||||Unlike other hotels that we stayed at staff wasn't helpful and no services were offered. We asked the staff for advise on several different things including: where we could go to eat, where we could buy a charger for our phone, where we could find a convenience store, and where we could find a pharmacy. The response to each of these was that you need to get a taxi into the city and that there isn't anything around that area. While taking a taxi to the city we passed a convenience store only a few blocks away and a little park full of a bunch of food trucks. Offer us these solutions so we don't feel trapped! ||||There is no mini bar in the room and when asking the staff there is no option to purchase anything. I was offered glasses of water from the fridge. This is frustrating when the staff claims that you need to get a taxi to get anything. The hotel is also losing out on sales. ||||Breakfast was decent but not great. Eggs were dry and overcooked but the fruit was fresh. Our curuba juice the morning of our first day was really refreshing. ||||Furnishings and decorations were in good condition but were chosen by a mature person that felt neither modern or antique. Again, the structure inside and out was done well, but how it was decorated didn't have a cohesive look and lacked character. ||||I'd like to see this hotel work on it's service, take down the claim of having a pool, know the area and share what the neighborhood has to offer. It has potential but needs to define what it is and increase it's...

My previous review of this hotel was 5 stars and at the top of the reviews for this hotel due to being helpful. However I am making a revision due to the change in ownership of hotel Castel.||For the past four years my wife and I have have stayed at hotel Castel on a monthly basis because we often worked in cartagena. The location was ideal because my father lives in manga close to the hotel. However ownership of the hotel recently changed and the hotel is awful now. All previous staff has been replaced and the new staff is neglectful at best and rude at worst. Ingrid Diaz was absolutely disrespectful to my wife. In addition to the absolute terrible staff the receptionist wanted me write down my credit card information on paper and email it to her so she could run 50% of the total stay or the only other option was to put cash into their bank account. Because their web site could not accept credit cards. This is insecure and without question against their merchant services agreement contract for credit card security. This is only the second review I have written on Google and TripAdvisor. The first was two years ago giving hotel Castel five stars. I will never stay at this hotel again and I advise you...

This is a nice enough place but nothing special in my opinion. My room wasn't ready when I arrived in the morning, which was no problem since it was before check-in time, but after a while they had a housekeeper get a room ready and I checked in. The room was on the ground floor and was a little dark and hot, with just a small window, but once I turned on the fan and air conditioner it cooled down fast. The hotel is attractive, but the furnishings are a little dated and the hotel generally seems like it could use some refreshing. The staff didn't seem as engaged or go out of their way to help me as much as the staffs of some of the other hotels I stayed in in Colombia. The breakfast was good, though not a buffet, but it's served in an area without air conditioning. I liked the location in a better residential neighborhood a short taxi or bus ride to the historic center. Overall this is a good value hotel but not...