Luxé by The Charlee (Cabañas) — Hotel in Guatapé

I would give this resort a zero star review if it was not for the kindness of just the waitstaff. The Brown/Luxe deserves a zero for several reasons. If you don’t have time to read my whole description, just know that the reception and management are duplicitous people who don’t care that you’re spending hard earned money and precious time. I say all the below to warn people so they don’t wind up in my situation.

First, when we arrived (after booking through Expedia) the check-in process was a nightmare and we became acquainted with a manager and her reception staff. They demanded paperwork that was not listed as a requirement anywhere on either their website’s policies or on the policies they communicated to us through Expedia. I identified that their request was listed nowhere. The receptionist said she would create an exception and asked for alternative documents from us. We obliged and provided them. As soon as the receptionist had printed our documents for her records, she demanded that we pay an additional 19% of the total cost of our booking if we wanted to remain at the hotel. When I asked her why, she said because we did not have the correct documents. I requested the receptionist and her manager refund the full amount of our booking because we were not at fault. It is duplicitous and slimy to refuse to refund us for not bringing documents that we had no way of knowing we should have brought with us. They refused to refund us. The only two paths forward were to 1) eat the cost of the full reservation and find lodging elsewhere, or 2) pay them an additional 19% of the cost and stay.

Second, even though we had agreed to pay the added percentage, we realized that this hotel holds itself out to be a “luxury” stay when it doesn’t even measure up to be a 4 star hotel. They offer and advertise spa packages and massages for around 80-90 US dollars. Missing from the description is that some unknown individual would perform the massage and related services but only in our own hotel rooms. There was no spa.

Third, for a “luxury” resort this establishment again fails to measure up as one of the other guests on the property had a party with loud nuisance like music until 2 am in the morning.

Fourth, this resort and its management is completely unserious and thug like when it comes to their handling of customer disputes. Instead of working to remedy tensions, the receptionist and manager aggravated the situation by calling their security guard to stand in the corner of the lobby while we tried to resolve where we would go and what we we would pay for staying at this hotel.

Fifth, as part of their “included” services the reception staff told us they would provide us transportation back into Guatape. Without any other options, seeing the included services as a solution, we booked their “transportation” to Guatape. We were only informed of some unknown cost associated with this transport and it was not written anywhere what the rates were but we were told that was the way out of the resort. We got into tuktuks which took us to the gate of the property and dropped us there. Then there was another set of tuktuks, supposedly not associated with the resort at all. We were told if we wanted to get to Guatape we needed to take this second set of tuktuks that were not affiliated with the resort and would have to pay for these at a cost undisclosed, 20k Colombian pesos for a 5 minute ride.

Overall, they lie to customers and shell them out of money at every phase of your stay. 1) the 19% forced fee that they did not disclose upfront, 2) the request for documents that were not in any policy so we had no way to prepare for them, 3) the massage and spa packages that did not have any location for services on site but instead required an intrusion into our personal hotel rooms, 4) the escalation to a body guard during check-in because of the resort’s own miscommunication, and 5) the sham with the tuktuks are ALL among the reasons you should not book here. Marriott should reconsider their connection with this...

TLDR: Fellow Americans - Do yourself a favor and skip this property. Stay at Botao or other similar price points. The service here is beyond horrible.

As an American avid traveler, this is by FAR the WORST run facility I have ever stayed at in my travels. The price point, which comes about to above $330 a night for 2 guests, leaves tons to be desired. We had problems from the start and I advise any fellow Americans to avoid this location and stay at Botao or elsewhere. Luxe by Charlee nearly ruined my Guatape trip.

So let's go step by step so you don't have to. The first problem when they had trouble processing my Visa business credit card from Wells Fargo. I contacted Wells Fargo and they said it was the merchant (Charlee) reversing it after they approved it. I had to Whatsapp Luxe to ask questions because they hardly ever answer their phones. This should have been a red flag as I have never had a problem with that card. After 2 attempts and 2 days of back and forth (mostly by me), I gave up and used by Charles Schwab debit card and of course that worked. It was a bad experience just trying to get this thing booked.

Ok, so now we get to the hotel. My name is not on the list, so the security is looking and looking and then finally calls someone and they allow us in. We are told a few small things by the receptionist and given keys. A tuk-tuk drives us to the villa and no one comes into your villa to show you around. No one explains how to use anything, and no instructions left. Only a map with some phone numbers.

When you notice things that are not working, you must WhatsApp a person who is not attentive and at times rude.As we entered, we noticed 1). hot water for jacuzzi was c old, 2). Direct TV had no signal. After contacting front desk and him giving obvious advice like turn the knob left, he sent someone. Keep in mind, their staff works only until 9 PM. Hector took nearly 1.5 hours to fix things (including sound that wouldn't work for the TV). After he left, we noticed the bedroom jacuzzi drain was not fully working and allowing water to come out. They sent someone but I declined. I was exhausted & their kitchen closes at 8 PM.

Next big issue is getting around. Unless you bring a car, you are relying on a receptionist to book a Tuk Tuk, and he will not always confirm whether they received the message or not, so you are left guessing. We had reservation for dinner at 6:15 in Guatape. I confirmed hours prior & was told all set. Transport was about 1 hour late. He blamed it on external service, but never told us he was doing that. If I knew, we would have had a friend pick us up. He entered all caps when answering my questions (disrespectful). This was just one example of constant bad communication. Other issues: they have a Keurig type coffee machine with no instructions on how to work it (I couldn't figure it out and I'm in tech), no walkthrough so guessing where towels etc are, 2 comp waters & that is it, NO MINIBAR (you must order what you want from room service, limited timing), very small menu. They have issues processing American credit cards (another nightmare). The beach has ONLY 7 chairs and 1 umbrella total for all guests. I couldn't believe it. They offered us yoga mats if the chairs were taken. Beach club service is non-existent (had to go to the restaurant to order). No life jackets & they require it to swim.

I felt like a prisoner much of the time because of the constant need for tuk tuk's & with a receptionist that is not as responsive as I would want. I had to do something similar at Serendipity, and it is night and day difference. At Serendipity, they are so fast and...

This property has villas and apartments. From what we can tell, villas are standalone large properties and apartments are in buildings that house 6 apartments each. We stayed in apartment type D+J (303) so this review is for that apartment. All the apartments face the same way, but appear to be different. We think maybe these are owned by people and Luxe manages the rentals. We came to this conclusion based on how different the furniture was on each balcony. But that is just a guess.||PROS: |-The view is OUT OF THIS WORLD. You get a 270 degree view of the prettiest part of the lake. You get sunsets AND sunrises. For the price, you can't beat this view almost anywhere in the world. |-The apartments are large and easily could fit 3 couples. The beds are super comfortable. They do feel a little dated, but that's ok! Everything worked and was great. |-There is enough hot water to fill up the jacuzzi and for everyone to take a shower. Although the jacuzzi takes a good hour to fill up. |-The aquatic center right on property is great! ||CONS (and what you need to know). |-First off, these are apartments and have basically no amenities. We were excited to see that there was a washer AND dryer. But no laundry detergent. When we called to ask for some, we were told we needed to go to town and buy it. This wouldn't have been a problem if we had known, but we didn't. We had to make a 30 minute each way trip to town on a busy Saturday. There is also no extra toilet paper and you, once again, would have to buy some if you wanted extra. There are also no hangers for clothes which is weird. That is not something I would travel with or want to buy. However, we did eventually find a grocery store in Guatape that delivers and it was great.|-There is no air conditioning. We asked for a fan and they brought us one that barely worked, but it was better than nothing. But it was hot at night and in the day. |-Everything is done by WhatsApp since there isn't good cell service. But there is good wifi. They are super nice on WhatsApp, but room service orders sometimes take over an hour and the food is cold when it arrives. |-You have to take Tuk Tuks everywhere. And the road is gravel, so be careful with your rental car. |-The restaurant is ok (the pizzas are the best). But it could get old if you are there a week. |-My biggest issue was checkout. Upon leaving, they were laying down more gravel on the dirt roads. They chose to lay the gravel rather than let us pass so we could leave. Once we finally got past the gravel truck, the front desk told us we couldn't leave until they checked the apartment! Even though they had my credit card and contact information on file, they basically didn't trust us and wanted us to wait until they could send someone. We had already been delayed behind the truck and now they wanted us to wait more! I was so upset. ||My biggest suggestion to the management of Luxe by The Charlee is this: If you want to be "luxe," having an incredible view is not enough. You need to back it up with incredible service. Always putting the guests first. That can start with a simple email at the time of booking explaining that these are apartments and what you need to bring. And explain the Tuk Tuk and road situation. Or a FAQ on your site you can direct...