El Mirador del Cocora — Hotel in Quindío

One of my worst hotel experiences... leave the hands of it!

We visited the hotel El Mirador del Cocora. During the road trip through Colombia we visited quite a few hotels in the same price range and we were nowhere as disappointed as there. On the one hand, we don't understand where all these good reviews come from.... not comprehensible.

it started already when we wanted to check in... in Colombia it is usual to check in at 15:00... but at 12:00 we were already there and the receptionist had said we can move into the room in a few minutes... so we went to eat something (the hotel offers nothing!) and came back at 13:30. Suddenly an unfriendly receptionist stood there and told us we had to wait... without checking anything... he said... the room is not ready yet... then we waited "a while".... at 15:00 the room was ready... "what a miracle"... so nothing to feel from customer friendliness.... he simply did not want to let us into the room before 15:00.... in my opinion a no-go

the room was not at all like in the pictures, it was dirty (so from 3 hours of cleaning there was nothing)... the bed was angular damp and small.... also hard like stone... it feels like lying on a concrete block.... several things were broken... Furnishings were flying off all the time... like the toilet paper holder.... no air conditioning (just a small fan).... Bathroom was dirty and very very small.... full of hair and mold... needs urgent renovation... Shower was spongy... Setting of the shower extremely inaccurate.... either you burned yourself or it was freezing cold (burned my hand EXTREMELY on it!).... Good things: electrical outlets right next to the beds and there was a hair dryer in the bathroom

the hotel was directly under reconstruction.... we were not informed about this... everything was a construction site... visually a disaster... a noise from morning till evening... egoistic workers shouting incessantly... the first morning we were already at 6 o'clock out of bed... as a * worker has shouted for 10 minutes non stop the same f* sentence loudly next to our window through the entire hotel complex... like an alarm.... "what a performance!"... inedible sleep... in addition in front of our window was a scaffold erected... so we could not open the window at the beginning and always had to have the curtain closed... the only nice thing about the complex is the view... but due to the reconstruction not possible to enjoy or even see at all

service of the hotel is horrible... on the demand... if we needed anything in the room... no action followed... no new towels... nothing... the facility is in poor condition coupled with cheap construction.... on the last evening I even had the door latch in my hand.... for which I was charged 70 CHF... a joke... for a door that was already stuck at the beginning and was difficult to close... and a latch that was wobbly since ever

Not my last time in Sorento (the city was very lovely and beautiful) but definitely...

TLDR: very poor value + the hotel is becoming run down.

Our main complaints: very poor wifi, paper thin walls, pooling water in the bathrooms, hot water not working, bugs in food (details below). Our guess is this place got Instagram famous and stopped caring. We stayed at other hotels in Salento that have equally stunning views and are a much better value.

We stayed here in early June 2025 for four nights (2 in a basic room and 2 in the junior suite with Jacuzzi).

I'll start with our biggest issue, which was the hot water not working. We did a two day trek and booked a room with a Jacuzzi on the day we got back. We were looking forward to showering (for obvious reasons) and relaxing our in the Jacuzzi after a couple of nights in the mountains. No hot water for the first day. The friendly staff tried to fix it but couldn't. The next day it was fixed, and we asked the hotel if they could do anything to accommodate us. They kept making us talk to other hotel staff and giving us the run around. Finally, they said that of course they would do something, and late on our last day they said that the water was fixed, so there was no problem (essentially, there was no longer a problem, so they had done something). We explicitly asked for a partial refund or discount, and they said the manager would talk to us in the morning of check out, which he never did. We asked a fourth time and were told that they would not do anything, and it was their policy not to give any partial refunds when the hot water isn't working (what a specific policy!). Despite intentionally booking a more expensive room to enjoy a Jacuzzi, they wouldn't accommodate us even though we couldn't use it. We think of it like renting a 4 wheel drive SUV for two days, the agency giving you a moped for the first day and refusing to give you a discount, and still charging you for two days of an SUV rental.

The wifi barely works, and the staff - who are quite friendly - had to restart the router for us about 3 times during our stay. Each time it would work well for about 25 minutes.

Our first night we couldn't get to sleep until about 3am because people were drinking in the lobby and we could hear everything.

Water from the shower leaked onto the bathroom floor in both rooms. Not a huge deal, but a little annoying and another indicator of the poor quality.

The breakfasts were pretty decent, but one morning we waited 40 minutes to get served (there were 8 other guests). One day we ordered the pancakes, and the syrup was harboring some...

This hotel caused us both emotional and physical discomfort during what was supposed to be a special anniversary trip to Salento. I had arranged in advance for flowers, balloons, and wine in the room, only to find there was no wine opener provided—already a bad start. After a long day of flights and taxis, we dropped off our luggage and returned later that night, hoping to relax. Instead, we experienced one of the worst nights we’ve ever had traveling.

The outdoor jacuzzi on the deck was lovely, but everything else fell apart once we tried to sleep. The bed was literally as hard as concrete—so uncomfortable that we considered sleeping on the floor. Attempts to call the front desk went unanswered. I walked to the lobby only to find it pitch black with no staff on duty and slippery wet tiles everywhere, which was extremely unsafe. Back in the room, I inspected the mattress and discovered it was placed upside down with the plank side up. After moving my partner (who has severe dust allergies) into the bathroom, I spent 45 minutes flipping the filthy mattress over myself, only to find it was still unbearably hard. We managed maybe two hours of restless sleep.

To make matters worse, the shower still had hair and dirt from previous guests—l and there were roaches crawling in the room, completely unacceptable for the price we paid. When I asked to speak with a manager at checkout, I was told no one was available in person and only reachable by email. I emailed immediately after my stay in November 2024 and never received a single reply. The only thing I requested was a refund of the anniversary package as a gesture of good faith, but the hotel refused.

Between the lack of cleanliness, the absence of staff, the unsafe conditions, and the complete disregard for guest comfort, this was one of the worst hotel experiences I’ve ever had. The view may sound appealing, but in reality it was just fog the entire time. For the high rates they charge, this place is an absolute scam. I would never recommend it to anyone—especially not for a...