La Tortuga Hostel — Hotel in Taganga

My friend and I stayed in this hostel this past weekend, and it was one of the worst experiences ever. ||||First, they put us in the wrong room (we booked the sea view, mini bar one) and the one they gave us had the view of the roof next door. I asked the front desk if they can switch us, since I noticed one sea view room was available. ||The receptionist was new and a little dismissive, and mentioned that he needed to talk to the owner. I mentioned that I could leave the key so he can switch our stuff and he mentioned he was not touching them, I said, fair enough. Since we only had one night there (Thank God) and got there around 4, I told him that we were going to explore and to please call me and let me know when we could switch. ||||When we came back around 10, we asked if the room was ready,and the next receptionist rudely told us, that someone was there already, that they had called me (I had no missed calls) and that the guest was sleeping and they couldn't get the person out of the room. We were fine, let’s just move on. ||||Then, when we checked the bed, it was full of hairs and dirty and the bathroom had no soap or hand towel. Additionally, someone tried to open our door around 10:00 pm, maybe someone got confused, but still very creepy for two girls traveling alone. Anyway, we kept rolling with the punches and decided to go and check out the rooftop.||||On the rooftop we saw the owner Mona and the receptionist, which were partying with other guests (including the guess that was supposedly sleeping in the room we wanted to switch to). The owner was apologetic about the room incident and offered me a beer, which I refused cause we were tired and my friend and I were not feeling all well, specially my friend. ||||We decided to go back to our room around 11:00 pm to sleep and here is where our real ordeal started. The owner (visibly drunk) came knocking and said that she could switch us, but we already had our stuff out and I was not getting in a room where someone was already staying. I told her thanks, but that it was just too late. Now, the real fun was the music coming from the rooftop. It was so loud that we couldn't sleep at all, even with my earplugs on, I could clearly hear the music. They were laughing, yelling and playing Jenga (big blocks) and they kept on falling down, right above our room the whole night!. Mind you, this is a hostel made out of bamboo, so we could hear everything. We were ok....., hopefully, they will turn it off at a reasonable time. Nope!! They didn't turn it off until 4 AM!!! I know because I was up the whole time! Then they came down and kept on making more noises, laughing, until around 4:30/ 5:00 am!||||We then tried to sleep for at least two hours cause we really wanted to get the heck out, and around 6:00 am, we were woken up by this loud construction noise coming from the street right next to us!!!||||In summary, the owner didn't have any consideration with the guest and the neighbors, since she was partying up there the whole time. (I know cause I could hear her name ”Mona”, mentioned all night) and trust me the noise was extremely loud the whole night! My friend had food poisoning and had to go through all that, it was terrible! We couldn't wait to get out of there and it really tainted the memory of Taganga for us. It was a terrible experience and I will never go back to this hostel. You had...

I quite liked this hostel until my worst nightmare came to life and how it was handled. The hostel is cute, affordable and has beautiful views.

I am a solo 20yo female traveler. On my second night (that I even extended from one) I woke up at 04:30 and found a Colombian guy hiding under my bed. I was staying solo in a dorm room and there was no reason for him to be in that room. (I also had the door locked, that shows how poor quality the locks are.) He was staying in the hostel but I didn’t know what room as at night I was looking to see if he had stolen anything instead of following him. I went to the front desk but the receptionist couldn’t do much as the guy was now not there anymore and only the owner is able to access the camera footage (if the cameras work). So unable to kick him out or do anything about it. The receptionist offered to stay in front of my room so I can rest more. Sweet but I am unable to sleep and unannounced he leaves after just an hour to do chores. So that doesn’t offer much protection. As I am still alone in the same room and not offered to switch rooms. You would hope that with such serious event that the safety of guests would take priority to mopping the floors.

Also the evening before while I was showering the guy broke the wooden window and broke into my room. Also had the door locked. (Picture of the broken window added) Had brought this up to the reception and because the staff can’t see camera footage no action could have been taken. Otherwise he could’ve been kicked earlier and never gave me the shock of my life.

Eventually checked out and left in the morning to go diving that I already had planned. When I came back at 14:30, all I heard from staff was; “Oh, yeah he checked out this morning and isn’t here anymore.” And; “I’ll tell the owner when she arrives later today.” It seemed very casual and not shocking to the staff at all. The man had seemed to receive no repercussions, even though he even made physical damage to the hostel. I had also never heard anything from the owner. There was absolutely no empathy or remorse for the situation. Besides the receptionist at night seemed a bit worried, but he still took priority in chores over guests safety.

As a solo female traveler this is absolutely my worst nightmare. I don’t know what that guy all did. I am usually quite a deep sleeper and even had earplugs in this night because there was loud carnaval music playing outside. I was sleeping alone and as the rooms don’t have ac no covering blanket or anything. I don’t expect much for 50k cop a night, no ac, fine, noisy rooms, fine, but lack of safety with what seems like a hostel with more staff than guests, shocking. And yes after just a couple hours sleep and no safety I had to pay for the horrific night.

I understand that the hostel is not responsible for a man breaking into my room multiple times and hiding under my bed. But the way the situation was handled was saddening, especially assuming they have many solo female travelers.

Cute hostel,...

(Spanish and French below)||||After almost a year traveling in South America, I can definitely say that La Tortuga Hostel in one of the best places I stayed in during my trip. Are you looking for meeting nice backpackers from everywhere in the world including Colombia? This is the place to be. The cosy and relaxed atmosphere creates is perfect for getting in touch with both the other guests and the volunteers working there. The kitchen is very clean, there is a bathroom in every dorm, the rooftop bar offers a dreamy view over Taganga and you can swim in the pool after sunset. The owner of the place, the friendly Monica from Bogota, will give you all the tips you need for making your stay in the region the highlight of your trip.||I thought I was going to stay a week, I got stuck a month and half... Enjoy your time there and say hello to the turtle in the garden for me ;)||||Después un año viajando en Sur América, puedo finalmente decir que La Tortuga Hostel es uno de los mejores hospedajes donde estuve. ¿Quieres conocer viajeros de todo el mundo incluyendo Colombianos? Es La Tortugas que necesitas. La atmósfera relajada y amical es perfecta para conocer los mochileros y los voluntarios. La cocina es limpia, cada dormitorio tiene baños, el rooftop bar te da una vista increíble de Taganga y puedes nadar en la piscina después el atardecer. La dueña del hostal, la amable Mónica de Bogotá, te dará todos los consejos que necesitas para hacer de tu vuelta en la region el mejor tiempo de tu viaje.||Yo pensaba quedarme una semana, me quedé atorado un mes y medio... Disfruta tu tiempo allá y digas hola a la tortuga para mi ;)||||Après une année de voyage en Amérique du Sud, je peux définitivement dire que La Tortuga est une des meilleures auberges du continent. Ambiance relaxe mais animée, si tu veux rencontrer des voyageurs du monde entier dont des Colombiens, c'est l'endroit qu'il te faut. La cuisine est propre, chaque dortoir à ses propres toilettes, le bar sur le toit est parfait pour le coucher de soleil et pratiquer ton espagnol, nage un petit coup dans la piscine à la tombée de la nuit. Monica, la propriétaire du lieu, est absolument géniale et te file tout les conseils qu'il te faut pour découvrir les meilleurs endroits de la région.||Je pensais me poser une semaine dans cet hostel, j'y suis rester un mois et demi... Profite à fond de ton étape à la Tortuga et salue la tortue dans le...