Hotel Tamacá Beach Resort — Hotel in Santa Marta

Like much of Santa Marta and Rodadero, this hotel is an 80's experience.

For those of you who went to Lanzarote in the 80's and 90's, Tamanca will feel familiar. Not necessarily a bad thing, as 80's is on trend. We actually quite enjoyed the artex ceiling and dated decor.

However, there are certainly some issues...

The room Although comfortable enough, it was a little shabby. There were a few mouldy bits and some ants at one point (which isn't really 4*). However, it wasn't bad in reality. Plenty of space and air conditioned. We weren't spending much time in the room so it didn't matter too much to us.

The hotel This is not a hotel for tourists, as with the whole of Rodadero, is more for Colombians. It is also definitely aimed at an older (retired) crowd. Staff were generally helpful and pleasant, but it's all a bit uniforms and false courtesy for me.

The spa This was not great. My partner and I both booked in for massages (which were fine) but there was a general feeling of not being very interested in us (apart from to sell us more stuff). When I walked in for my massage, one of the staff was asleep on the seating, so I had to stand about waiting for someone else to turn up. It set the tone...

The restaurant (and bar) The food wasn't good. We ordered from the menu, rather than opt for the buffet. However, it did feel as though they had just played the buffet food. I would suggest getting a taxi to Santa Marta to eat (most of the other food in Rodadero was equally bad).

Also, the bar closes at 10pm, which means there is not late night tipples.

The area It's a beach resort for Colombians, it's very similar to the places that the British go in Spain. Filled with tourist shops and bars, with little else going on. Personally I wouldn't bother with anything more than a day trip to Rodadero.

General recommendation If you are, like us, a couple in your early 30's this hotel is probably best avoided. It doesn't cater to what our generation is looking, and we have different priorities. If you are looking for an 90's Spanish experience, it's going...

The Tamarca Beach Resort Hotel in Santa Marta, Colombia is the worst accommodation I’ve ever experienced. And also, shockingly by far the most expensive.

To start off, really poor internet. Cannot contact family to tell them I’m ok(would be a lie anyway), cannot send a picture to friends, cannot access Google Maps to make plans, save time or avoid hazards.

Next, they want to charge $100 for a load of laundry. All I need is a basic wash cycle but they want me to itemize everything and nickel and dime me to the max.

So here I am washing my clothes in this low pressure, barely hot shower with a tiny bar soap scrubbing away my entire evening. Couldn’t even do the wash in the sink because the drain stopper wasn’t installed correctly.

And neither was the toilet cover. You can’t even sit on the toilet in peace because the cover falls forward, hitting you in the back so you’re left with it resting uncomfortably and stickily on your skin.

Charging is also a problem. First the electricity is very weak so it takes three times longer to charge your devices than normal. Oh you’ll charge them while you’re out and about? Nope, your room only gets power when your hotel keycard is in a wall slot in your room.

I’m just angry thinking about this rip off of a place. The view, pool and beach are nice but fall way short of making up for these terrible experiences. Especially at close to...

The hotel was an average facility for as old as it was. Upon arrival we were told the beach was closed for a volleyball game for three weeks. The alternative was a 20 minute walk to a crowded dirty public beach. Since we prepaid we had no alternative to go anywhere else. During our stay the hotel provided adequate service and time spent there was fine. Upon check out we were given the food and bar bill which was accurate. We were then called back to the desk to pay for a broken dish that fell off a table in our room. This one item send us over the edge. 70000COP for a dish. I guess the hotel never breaks dishes and when it does some customers have to pay. That is crazy. Never in my 60 years have I ever paid for an accidental dish breakage. By the way. We cleaned it up and put it in the trash then mopped the floor. We would have given the hotel 5 stars but the irresponsible lack of notification of the closed beach (we had our reservation for over a month) and paying for a broken dish gives this money pit a one star. Future customers be aware of these items we noted and ended up paying for so you don’t have to. Don’t pay for a beach hotel...