Playa Pikua Ecolodge — Hotel in Magdalena

Before staying at Playa Pikua, it was hard to know what to expect. I hadn’t been to this part of Colombia before and wanted to visit Tayrona national park. As the lodgings nearby are limited, Playa Pikua stood out as a good option due to not wanting to stay at a hostel or in Santa Marta. This hotel is about an hour and 15 mins from the Santa Marta airport and about 15-20 mins from the entrance to Tayrona Park. It’s off a dirt road surrounded by a banana plantation, and arriving at night was quite an adventure. I would highly recommend using their driver Jose for any transportation needs, he went above and beyond for us on more than one occasion and is literally the nicest guy!||The hotel consists of about 6 or 7 cabins on a lush lot right on the beach. They are currently building a few more cabins but the construction was not an issue. If you’re looking for a remote beach location and a Swiss family Robinson/shipwreck vibe you will find it at Playa Pikua. The cabins are sturdy and attractive with pretty basic amenities. The one we stayed in had a queen bed and a twin bed, both with mosquito nets. Bedding is just sheets but we were able to ask for blankets, if it’s cool enough. The rooms do not have AC or hot water. Depending on what you’re used to, this could be considered “roughing it”, if you need to take a warm/hot shower! The sleeping area of the rooms open onto a dining area with a little kitchen area and hammock. I would recommend stopping at a grocery store on your way to the hotel from Santa Marta for supplies. Once there, the options for shopping are limited. There are a few hostels within walking distance where you can get drinks or lunch, etc.||Breakfast is included and will be served at your dining area including fresh fruit, juice (we had mango and watermelon during our stay), eggs how you like them and bread. You are able to order dinner through the owner Martha via what’s app or if you see her, they have a local fisherman restaurant deliver fresh seafood options. We ate this each night we were there and it was delicious. All dishes come with coconut rice, avocados, plantains.||Otherwise, the hotel doesn’t have a bar or a restaurant. Many others staying there used it almost like camping and brought in all of their own stuff to cook and drink. ||The owners Martha and Oscar are extremely helpful and nice. They made our stay great and were very welcoming. All communication with the hotel in writing was in Spanish so having a basic understanding will be very helpful.||The beach where the hotel is located is remote and has limited activity. There is quite a current and the waves are a bit dangerous for swimming. The hostel next door has music which for some could be a little loud at night, although it didn’t bother us. By walking 30 mins down the beach you can come to an area where the river meets the sea and it forms a natural pool for swimming. Lots of locals and families there. There is a local bus that can take you from the area of the hotel to Tayrona, Santa Marta etc but I recommend using Jose if you can afford to. The area and hotel feel very safe and everyone around was super friendly and helpful! The grounds are beautiful with lots of coco palms, flowering bushes, etc. The beach has lounge chairs and hammocks and if you’re out there long enough you will probably meet people staying at the surrounding hostels. If you’re looking for a place to relax and be away from it all you will definitely...

I had the worst experience with Marta at Playa Pikua. ||I had made reservations through Booking but she convinced me to cancel and book directly with them by saying that they would apply the same cancellation policy and better prices.||First of all, the communication via Whatsapp was very difficult. They would take forever to respond. I had requested the most secluded cabaña and closest to the beach. They assigned to me "Duna", recommending it as "the best". I was somewhat surprised that I ended up paying more than it was advertised on their website but they told me that their website had been hacked and therefore the prices had been messed up. I found that really strange.||||The day of my arrival, I received a phone call from Marta. She told me that my cabaña "Duna" had had electricity problem and therefore was not possible for me to stay in it but that they would provide me with another cabaña, actually a better one.||||When I got to Playa Pikua, Marta was not there but I was welcomed by one of the employees. She checked me in and then took me to the cabaña I did not reserve.||||I was shocked at how run down the place was: rusty stove, filthy bathroom, horrible and dirty beach. I could not believe my eyes! This was not the place I saw on their website. those pictures were so deceiving!!||||I knew immediately that I was not going to stay there, not even one minute more. I immediately texted Marta, telling her that I did not like the replacement I was offered and I did not like the beach (had I seen it on the website, I would have NEVER reserved there) asking for a full refund. She send me a couple of vocal messages saying that she was out of town, and that I had to wait for her to return (one hour she said). However, she made clear that she would not give me any refund. After waiting over an hour, during which she stopped answering me and deleted all her vocal messages, I decided to leave. Of course, she never refunded me and I lost $ 240 USD.||||However, before leaving, I decided to walk to the DUNA cabaña, the one I had reserved who supposedly had "electricity issues". You can imagine my surprise when I saw a pair of shoes parked in front of the entrance. I knocked on the door, and some guy with a German accent replied to me. I was shocked to realize that Marta had overbooked my cabaña and that she had assigned it to a German guest.||||I took pictures and documented everything. I texted her and let her know that I had found out about her scam and that I was not going to stay at a place run by liars, dishonest, disrespectful people.||||I have already sent my documentation to Booking.com They will hopefully remove this property from their website. I will not get my money back, but at least I hope people think twice before deciding to stay at the...

I booked a cabin at Playa Pikua from Canada about 4 months before a planned trip to Columbia with my family. I booked through their website and received confirmation of my request but no confirmation of the cabin. Among many 5 star reviews of the place, there was one that spoke of a family who had a similar experience, arrived at Playa Pikua without following up, and had no place to stay. I called the number on the website and emailed several times before I received an email from Martha asking for my credit card number. I asked her for a telephone number because I was concerned about sending credit card information through email. She sent her number and I called. I had my credit card information and telephone number ready to give her but she said it wasn’t necessary. She said I could pay on arrival and not to worry about anything, she would hold the spot.||||Two days before our planned arrival, I got in touch to ask about directions. Martha’s husband Oscar provided the name of a taxi driver and was very quick to respond to my questions. Meanwhile, I received a message from Martha saying that since I had never responded to her request for credit card information, there was no longer space. She also said she had sent me several messages through what’s app although I’m not sure how that was possible since she never had my number. When I called Oscar to verify what was going on, he assured me that I should just come. I asked him to confirm with his wife. He did and I was told that there was no space. They recommended another hotel but at that point I had no confidence in their recommendations. ||||There are many reviews about the wonderful spot and service. I hope no one else has this experience. It seems that both lack of communication with guests and with each other is a problem, as well as honesty when a mistake is made. Although I can obviously not prove that I called her to give her my information, there is no way that she sent me phone messages and I find it difficult to believe that she sent me emails beyond the one I responded to requesting a telephone number. I have booked 5 places in Columbia and somehow I have received the messages and emails from all of the others.||||Good luck in your travels and hopefully you have better luck renting...