Wala beach club — Hotel in Cartagena

We recently visited this "beach club" connected to the Wala Beach Hotel and had a great time.

There are a few important things to note if you intend to visit.

First, it's worth mentioning that there is no traditional sandy beach. Instead, the hotel is situated on the South West coastline of Cartagena city and offers direct access to the sea via steps. There is no beach. Jet ski guys come around offering you their hire and you can zip about in the space between the beach club and Tierra Bomba which is cool. The location also provides a fantastic view of the sunset to the North West of Cartagena, which is wonderful.

The beach club has a laid-back atmosphere reminiscent of the baleric (Ibiza) beach scene, with DJs playing chilled house music in the background. They do need to do better with their shade, as the ones FIXED to the loungers that are not under their larger shade, offer ZERO shade where they are fixed, based on the angle of the sun ALL day.

The prices of drinks and packages are quite reasonable. During our visit in June 2023, the all-day package, which included a sun lounger, a meal, and a welcome drink, cost around £35/$45. It was a decent value for the experience though pricey for the city. As such there are not many locals here, and we visited twice and it was not full on either occasion.

The food was pretty good, and again, not overpriced.

One of the highlights of our visit was the exceptional staff. They struck the perfect balance between attentiveness and allowing guests to enjoy their time without feeling overwhelmed. A special shout-out goes to Lucia, whose warm personality and excellent English made our experience even more enjoyable.

However, we did encounter some drawbacks.

The second day they had drained the pool (at 10am we were told) but by 1pm it was still not full, so half an experience, but still they charged full price which was a bit frustrating to receive no consideration for that.

The booking process, website, and contact details were quite disorganised and frustrating. Not unusual for many businesses in Colombia it must be said, that struggle with effectively communicating with potential customers. We had difficulties navigating their Instagram page, which had a poorly designed automated response system configured for the hotel booking (despite being the "beach club" IG page), and the response time on WhatsApp was considerably delayed. It took us a while to figure out the correct contact number from their online WAS available on WhatsApp also, they don't indicate that. Nonetheless, once we were able to connect with a staff member, they were able to answer our questions and assist us with our bookings from then on.

We also did find the one day the owners under 10 year old children running around a little disconcerting for an beach club not aimed at families, and the second of a visit they decided to do a marketing photo shoot where they tool unsolicited photos of all the guests without at any time asking for permission. Again, all very in keeping with the "laissez-faire" attitude of Colombia, so we were more miffed, than annoyed.

Overall, despite some initial challenges, this beach club provided a relaxed and enjoyable experience with a distinct baleric vibe. The beautiful sunset view, reasonably priced drinks, and the fantastic staff, especially Lucia, made our visit memorable.

If you're looking for a laid-back beach club experience in Cartagena, this is worth considering, but be prepared for some initial hiccups during the booking process. You can of course just turn up and try your luck, and if you have good enough Spanish, you might be ok.

Note: Keep in mind that experiences may vary, so it's always a good idea to check the latest information before...

If you’re looking for a beachfront accommodation, I highly recommend staying at Wala Beach Club in El Laguito. I have stayed there before, but I just stayed there again for two nights and I had such an amazing stay. ||The staff are friendly and attentive. The rooms are sparkling clean. It’s very affordable at about $60-75 USD a night for a small double room. There are only about 10 rooms with different configurations. The room rate comes with access to the beach club, breakfast, and a welcome drink. ||The beach club, located at the back of the hotel, has a small pool, several beach beds, a restaurant area, bar, and stairs that lead directly into the ocean. There are no vendors except for the occasional man on a jet ski haha. Towels are provided. From 9 AM - 9 PM there is electronic music playing. There is a DJ every day of the week. Note that it is a beach club primarily, so people who are not hotel guests can pay to access the beach club.||They allowed me to stay in the common areas after I checked out which was very convenient for me to work until my flight. They even offered breakfast in bed when it was raining since breakfast is usually served outside. ||100% recommended! I will surely return even if it’s just...

Fine way to spend the day in Cartagena if you want to be near the beach and don't want to take a boat to an island. Note that this isn't a beach club since there is no beach though. You can get to the water via slippery stairs. Ocean was fine. Pool is small but refreshing. Service wasn't great, but waiter was nice even though our food order was messed up. The music is way too loud all day long. Space isn't huge but we arrived early so were lucky to get comfortable loungers along the ocean. Was a bit confused by the 'add guest' option when purchasing the day pass online and paid for 3 people instead of 2. I realized my mistake right away, contacted them via WhatsApp - the person who responded was super helpful at first and said they would reverse the charge within the hour, but then later messaged me saying they were unable to do so.  After arriving, we followed up with the receptionist about this and it was a confusing mess. Finally a manager found us (after I sent another WhatsApp) and said we could use the extra payment towards food and drinks - we were a few drinks in and relaxed and didn't want to deal with drama and ruin our day so said ok but in the end I think we definitely paid more than we should of on...