Soul Lifestyle Apartments — Hotel in Medellín

Stayed here many times about months on and one month off, iincluding 3 months during the pandemic lockdowns. I love the staff here. The apartments are very affordable for the size, modern looks. Amenities and location. But i think the staff really has been outstanding all 2020 and heading into 2021. Although it is mostly a short term rental hotel type condo building I've also noticed many people renting long term such as myself. Highly recommendend but please when you visit be a good guest for those of us that stay here long term. So now 2022 and i have continued to stay hrre at soul. Last week had health scare with mild tachycardia and came to lobby to not be alone in my apartment the front desk staff Alejandro and security Francisco whom i now gotten to know pretty well kept an eye on me as i had a nurse pass by take my pulse and helped me clam down and gave me some suggestions to lower heart rate they had an oxymeter at front deak and continuously would hand it to me to help me keep an eye on my heart rate. I Overcame that issue tha morning as i calmed down in lobby..and today a week later at noon i had anoher tachycardia attack and the front desk Marcelo, Valentina went into action, they called.on maintenance manager Catlos, who immediately helped me ok my feet and walked me arm by arm to my room to get my passport and credit cards and other things i would need to check into hospital and be taken care of fast upon arrival as ambulance sercive in medellin is not reliable at this moment. This was very good of Carlos becuase i fellt like fainting i am sure i could not have made it there by myself.

Supervisor Marcelo whom recently took over position at Soul came in taxi with me and helped me get checked in to hospital. Above and beyond call of duty. I spent 5 hours at hopsital gettin EKG and was given IVs and overcame the atack 5 hours later but the front fedk staff and i kept in communication via whatasup while i was at hospital as i asked them a favor that in case i lost contact with my mother and family they please would help facilitate the comunication. What can i say orher than the felling of being alone without family in a foreing courntry whole having a health issue is veyr scary but the staff at sould from Marcelo, Valentina, Alejandro and the security Francisco, Carlos have twice shown true care for me and have helped me through a difficult health crisis not mention the staf always appears in a great mood and is always very kind but this is anothe level of hospitality. As i type this i am sitting at the lobby just hanging out somwhat chatting with Alejandro and Fransico without interrupting their duties. They know i am anxious because very slow movement like walking is raising my heart rate by 10bpm so i rather stay down here relaxing becuase i fear having an issue and having to come walking to elevator then lobby or take stairs and make my condition worse. So im just a bit fearful of going to bed until my heart rate is much lower. They know thay and i apreciate just being down here for a minute and chatting every so often when they are able without disturbing then from their responsibilities. The staff at Soul and also other buildings from Casacol like a Energy living and their restaurants like Don Diablo etc. Just a great company with excellent staff. At Soul its above and beyond excellent hospitality. After these laat experiences its pretty hard for me to think i can stay somewhere else. Not only when i travel alone thats a no Brainer but also when i lived here with my first girlfriend in county she was very happy as well here and was very welcomed. Cannot see ascenario where Soul is not my first choice or another Casacol property. You cannot teach or train hospitality in this level of compassion they have made great hiring decisions these last couple years maybe more but i have only seen about 2 years and its very impressive. Thanks to all the team members at Soul past and present as well as Casacol...

I am enjoying my stay at Soul Lifestyle very much. I've been here just more than a month now and I would highly recommend Soul Lifestyle for both long or short stays in Medellin. In my case I relocated permanently to Medellín in late November.

I had been starting in a small apartment near Laureles and I just did not like the city noise and occasional hot afternoons. When I was ready to change apartments, they allowed me to come see the room after hours to be certain that I would like it. The team here arranged a driver / van to help me move all of my things in one evening. The location is about a block from a small mall with a supermarket and several restaurants. It is both safe and quiet. Yet, you are only a short taxi / Uber ride to many nice restaurants.

The apartment is just large enough to make you feel at home for longer stays. There is an open kitchen / living room with all necessary items to cook or relax. Two of the three floor-to-ceiling glass doors open to the balcony for fresh air and very comfortable feeling. Next to this is a bathroom and a laundry closet. The bedroom is a great size, with a king bed, a desk, walk-in closet and a full bathroom. The bedroom has air conditioning. While the temperatures here are very mild, the A/C is nice to have if you want the sound of a fan and maybe sleep in a cold room. Given the size, I was able to unpack all of my clothes and put them up just like I was at home.

The building as good wifi throughout. Each apartment has their own router and there is another in the lobby area and another on the roof near the pool/gym/seating area. I measured 50 Mbps download and 60 Mbps upload. This has been more than enough for my virtual meetings. For those looking for some entertainment there is cable TV in both the living room and bedroom. A cool feature is that you can switch between Spanish and English audio. Some channels also offer subtitles in either Spanish or English. For someone learning Spanish, this can either be a help to reinforce what you are learning or you can go back to English and just watch a movie - there are typically several to choose from at any given time.

The city is currently has some protocols for health reasons. Soul Lifestyle is doing a good job balancing the mandated protocols to keep their guests safe. But, I would still recommend that you make an appointment to enjoy the roof-top pool and hot tub. The appointments will keep the pool open in case the city inspects the pool. But, you can also be reassured that the staff cleans all surfaces of the pool regularly. It's a great place to get some sun and relax.

The staff here is amazing and they will do their best to make your stay wonderful. They will know your name, greet you coming and going and assist with anything you need. Amazon and Rappi delivery services are confident in leaving you items with reception and you will typically get a WhatsApp message if you have a food delivery in the lobby. The staff are fun an energetic. While there are too many to name, Ivonne, Fabio and Viviana will be there to help during the day while Juan Camilo and Edwin will be there all night. The cleaning staff is thorough. And at night there is also security guard. However, that only adds to the security of a place that is already safe and quiet. The manager, Ximena, will also provide some information for check-in and see how your stay is going. There is a small on-site restaurant but you can get any food that you like delivered quickly.

I hope that you will think about staying here the next time that you are...

Soul is where I’ve been staying for the last 4 weeks in Medellín and where I am planning to extend my stay for the next few months. If you are looking for a place to stay for more than 1 week or two, then I would recommend Soul.

This place is a hybrid of hotel’s experience plus apartment’s amenities. For the first few days of Medellín, I was staying at Dann Carlton. As much as I loved the hotel, I wanted a place with the kitchen. Then why am I not considering AirBnb at this moment? It’s because Soul offers 24/7 help with the physical presence of the bilingual staff. If your Spanish is extremely limited and you rely on Google Translate, you know how helpful 24/7 bilingual support can be.

For example, one day, a green cricket came to join my room. It was very colorful and not scary, but I was not brave enough to touch it. Instead, all I did was to ask for help from the Soul desk via WhatsApp around 7am. In a few minutes, the person Ivonne sent to my room took care of the issue. The problem was solved within 10 minutes (the cricket went back to nature). Would my convenient experience have been the same at Dann Carlton? Certainly. At a place on Airbnb? Maybe, but not within a few minutes. Would I be able to track where the cricket was going while waiting for help if it takes 10 plus minutes? Probably not.

I am going to break down in a bit of detail as to why I am planning to extend my stay at Soul.

Location: The building is around 10 minutes walk away from Provenza (where lots of trendy restaurants are based), about 5 mins to Milla de Oro (where you will find commercial spots such as banks and malls), and 10 minutes walk to El Tesoro (where you will find the largest and arguably the most luxurious mall in the city). If you do not enjoy walking or taking a cab/Uber, you might find it inconvenient until you price in the tranquility of the residential area. It’s much quieter in this area even though it’s only a few blocks away from the main street areas. And a decent supermarket (Carulla) and money exchange spot (MoneyHouse) is within a 3 minutes walk.

Management: For me, what makes this place incredibly convenient is not just the location where both accessibility and tranquility coexist, but the management team, who reminds of a phrase “Una Paisa No Se Vera”, which means (with my interpretation), “there’s nothing Paisa can’t solve” (Paisa are the people from this region of Antoquia).

The Soul management team members led by Ximena are problem solvers, which the cricket example above may imply. Another example may even be more useful for us tourists. The first time I withdrew cash. It was from an ATM at a bank in Mila de Oro. I thought I was being smart following the advice from an expat thread called “Expatexchange”. The ATM quoted “USDCOP 3426.18” when the rate was around “$3830”. At the MoneyHouse the quote was “$3590”, and Ximena recommended me another money exchange place in La Frontera Mall which quoted “$3600”!

I’ve been wanting to experience Envigado (another city but just less than 8 miles away from Poblado) and considering finding a place on Airbnb. However, with this much convenience, I am probably going to extend my stay...