Hotel Betoma — Hotel in Santa Marta

My wife, a mutual friend and I spent two nights here during Christmas season 2012. Betoma is a comfortable, family-owned hotel located about 50 meters from the Rodadero public beach. Although the hotel may be showing some signs of its age, it is comfortable, secure and located conveniently in the middle of all the action. The staff is friendly and helpful. They had no problem with us staying a few hours beyond normal check-out. Common areas are beautiful and well-maintained. ||||The three of us booked a third-floor suite with a large bedroom and a spacious living room and kitchenette. The kitchen includes a large, albeit aged, refrigerator, sink, a number of small appliances, pots & pans, cooking and eating utensils. The tap water in Santa Marta is not potable, so if you are planning on cooking meals, you should get a few jugs of filtered water. ||||A large balcony spans the perimeter of the living and bed rooms... complete with outdoor table and chairs. The rooms are clean, but could use a facelift at this point in the life of the hotel. Each room is equipped with a phone, TV and air conditioner. Our air conditioner was a bit noisy, but did not prevent us from getting a night's sleep after a day in the sun. The beds are somewhat small and hard. Our unit had a full and double-bed. The showers have both hot and cold water, which was always available on demand. The living room area is spacious, and includes a decent sized dining table, sofa and chair. WIFI was consistent, fast, strong and reliable on the third floor of the hotel. We experienced no problems making VOIP calls.||||Even during the Christmas high season, the suite was reasonably priced at COP$ 180,000 ($100 US). My wife and I plan on making Hotel Betoma our "home away from home" and highly recommend it to anyone seeking comfortable, affordable lodging in Santa Marta's...

I would not recommend hotel Betoma. It looks like a hotel that could have been nice 20 years ago, but it had been badly kept and it certainly needs an update. Here is why we didn’t like it:||||ROOMS: They could use some maintenance. The furniture is old, the walls are dirty, the AC makes so much noise it’s impossible to sleep if you have it on. The bathrooms don’t have windows and their smell it’s not the best, to say the least. ||||COMMON AREAS: The furniture is old, some places are dirty and the elevators could use some maintenance. The first time we got in it, the power went off. We decided not to risk our lucks and took the stairs the rest of our stay.||||BREAKFAST: Despite it being announced as free on their website, they charge you for it The first day, we decided to have it at the hotel but we were disappointed since the service was slow, the tablecloths were dirty and we sat in office chairs instead of dining chairs.||||VIEWS: despite being close to the beach, the rooms don’t have view to the sea. Instead, they face other tall buildings and a multiple-storey parking lot.||||STAFF: I have to acknowledge that the staff is polite and always has the best disposition. However, they are inefficient. Despite having reserved and doubled checked the reservation, our names weren’t on their list when we arrived. In one occasion, my mom had to ask for a towel 3 times before they brought it to our room and one day they simply forgot to clean the room. ||||The one good thing about the hotel is its location since it’s close to restaurants and to the beach. But...

DO NOT STAY AT THIS HOTEL||||I booked a room online, and first they told me via email that I was not charged||and when I emailed to find out what happend, I was told that the hotel is booked and no rooms available for that date - so I proceeded to book a room in another hotel nearby||||however when couple of days later I check my credit card statement online||I saw an unknown charge for that day, and suspected it's from the hotel,|| that they did indeed charge me for a room I never got !! for the total amount of $134||||I called and emailed them letting them know of this mistake, but||at first the owner emailed and promised that they are taking care of this matter||and that I will be refunded my money and credited back within 15 days||||now it's been over 30 days, and no refund yet, and have not heard||back from the owner even though I followed up with a couple of more||emails and calls to the hotel to remind them about this and nothing """||||now I have to proceed and file a dispute through my credit card company||because I am very angry at their not only unprofessionalism, but dis-honesty even more.||||taking my money for a already sold out room, and not doing anything to correct||this stupid error on purpose,||||don't stay at this hotel, or at least don't book online because you are taking chances,||unless you go in person to make sure the room is available||before you give them any credit card number ,||||as for me, I would never reccomend such a dishonest ridiculous...