Posada Sunshine Paradise — Hotel in Santa Catalina

This posada is very clean, with a kind owner. She lent us a hot water kettle and gave us some instant coffee so we could make tea/coffee in the morning in our suite. Our 2 room suite had a private bathroom with shower, sink and toilet, a front room with sofa bed, table with 2 chairs, and a small refrigerator plus AC. A hammock is outside, and there are several concrete and wood chairs around the island where you can sit and enjoy the views. ||||Suggest that you take earplugs if stay on weekends or holidays because the music across the water or from a neighbor is loud. The first night we stayed, I needed the earplugs (Saturday) but not on Sunday night. ||||Pack wheeled luggage and/or pack light since you will have to carry your things over the bridge. Early mornings and at night, we could see "mantas" and spotted eagle rays. The locals called the rays "mantas" but they were smaller than we had seen in Indonesia so are unsure. ||||To get to Posada Paradise Sunshine, you need to turn LEFT after you cross the bridge.||||There are limited places to eat on the island. Once you cross the bridge to Santa Catalina, there is a small shop in front that sells soda, water etc. On the right is a restaurant that is open for lunch (e.g., pollo guisado or stewed chicken, shrimp rice dish). The most expensive dish on the menu was 30-35 thousand pesos ($9-10). Walking further to the right you will find Posada Catalina and a small cannon.||||Past Posada Sunshine Paradise, is Don Olivo which has several signs up on the other side of the bridge, and on the island itself. The owner is from Mauritius (French speaking African). My husband's chicken was bad, but my barrucuda was good. Our neighbors also had a bad crab meal there. So--we would NOT recommend going there.||||Unfortunately the good seafood place next door which is mentioned in previous reviews was closed for the holidays so we didn't get to try it.||||Make sure you buy drinking water if you aren't from Colombia. To get to the grocery stores, cross back across the bridge and go straight, past the playground, climb up the short flight of stairs. There are two supermarkets to the right, and one across the street--this one is smaller with AC which we liked better (Supermarket Erika). You can also rent a glorified golf cart there (120000 per day based on a 4 day rate) or a scooter/motorcycle. On Sunday, they close early (open from 9-1 pm). ||||Between the supermarkets and fruit stand, for our breakfasts in our room we enjoyed 0% fat greek yoghurt, oranges, papaya, mangos, coffee, tea, granola, and soy milk plus the homemade pumpkin bread I brought from home.||||Miss Julie's was a good alternative for dinner. Their homemade soups were very good. For a medium size chicken soup with side of rice plus friend chicken leg, rice, salad and potatoes with cafe con leche, 2 juices and 2 waters, we paid 40,000 pesos.||||There is a fruit stand down the road on the left, not much choice (fruit and vegs only come in on Wednesdays).||||One day, my husband went with Bernardo hiking (35,000) while I decided to go snorkeling at Crab Cay. Since he had the golf cart, we decided to meet at Devino NIno on Southwest Bay where the boat tours stop for lunch (not included in the tour price). To pick up the boat tour to Crab Cay and the island, I was told to wait at the bridge at 10 am. Not all boats stop at Santa Catalina on the tour around the island--it depends upon whether the tourists on the boat have already visited it. The cost should be 35-40,000 but the boat initially wanted to charge me 50,000--I successfully got the cost down before boarding. ||||To get to the beach and snorkeling, walk past the Posada and Don Olivo's and up and down a steep hill. Suggest that you use more secure footwear than flip flops (Tevas are good). Snorkeling at Morgan's Head is better than Crab Cay--lots of soft and hard coral. Three cuttle fish hung out with us for a long time--allowing us to watch them change colors. We also saw trumpet fish, small barracudas, large Queen angel fish, parrot fish, squirrel fish, lobster etc. Don't overdo--there is definitely a current on the way back...

I had a wonderful stay at Sunshine Paradise. Santa Catalina is one of the most relaxing and peaceful places I have stayed. The people are very friendly and you are made to feel very welcome.

Sunshine Paradise was a perfect stay. I was very well looked after by Francesca and her husband. Both were really friendly and genuinely really made my stay special. They ensured I had everything I could need whilst staying there. Whether that was taxis, moped hire, Kayak hire, scuba diving, boat taxi to Krab Kay, and a big cylinder of water to last me during my stay.

Excellent room with very good aircon and exceptionally clean. Really comfortable bed too so offered one of the best nights sleeps I have had in a while.

I'd recommend staying here to anyone considering Providencia. The accommodation is accessed by a short walk over a footbridge and then around 5 minutes across Santa Catalina island. Stunning beaches and local shops and restaurants. The room comes with a fridge which is really handy to keep food and...

We had a nice stay at Posada Sunshine Paradise. The house is lovely and clean, facing the water on the smaller, car-free Santa Catalina island to the north of Providencia. The room that we had was actually a 2 room suite.The outer room had a small dining table and fridge, and the inner room had the bed, bathroom and air conditioning. As w many places in Colombia, there's no hot water in the bathroom. I preferred to sleep outside in the hammock rather than use the air conditioning, but the room was comfy. Francesca was helpful and friendly, directing us to restaurants that were vegetarian-friendly and local activities.||||It's a quick 10 min walk across a footbridge to the town to pick up groceries and snacks. Stock up on bottled water and it's nice to have a few snacks as many of the island restaurants keep irregular hours. We rented a scooter for about $25/day for our 4 day stay and left it parked at the entrance to the bridge. So worth it...