Hotel Casa La Fe

We found this gem out of necessity when our previously booked hotel cancelled the booking, so glad they did. The location is terrific, the staff friendly and extremely helpful* and the facilities excellent. Probably not the place for you if you want ultra modern and high tech but for quirky character and a quiet, clean, comfortable base from which to explore the old city this ticks all the boxes. *I’ve read reviews that complain that the staff don’t speak English (!) but a smile, an attempt at Spanish and if necessary Google translate worked fine.

The pictures are highly misleading — very staged and outdated. The room was rundown and had little to no charm compared to what the photos suggested. The staff did not smile or greet guests and were audibly dragging their feet as they walked around. Although we booked and received confirmation in May 2025 for February 2026, three weeks before our arrival we were informed the hotel was fully booked and our reservation was being cancelled. This was extremely disappointing. I suspect they did not honor our reservation because of the low rate we secured by booking far in advance. We managed to book one night for our last night there, and after staying, we were glad we weren’t there for the intended full week. Due to the hotel’s layout, you can hear everything from the courtyard — including the doorbell that rings whenever the main door closes. Instead of providing guests with a key for the main door, you are required to ring a doorbell that can be heard throughout the building when returning late at night or early in the morning, which was very annoying. The advertised jacuzzies were not functioning during our stay. The pool is supposed to close at 6 p.m., which is frustrating in Cartagena’s heat, where an evening swim would be ideal. Breakfast was okay, but even though it’s served in the café, they wouldn’t make lattes or cappuccinos because they claimed they couldn’t use the café’s coffee machine — despite it being right there. I would not recommend this place.

Me and my girlfriend stayed in room 11 of this hotel in early 2026 and had a very bad experience. First, because the bathroom of this room is in the hallway of the hotel and has no privacy. Even I consider it dangerous, especially for women. It is quite common to leave the bathroom and encounter a guest in the hallway. Second, many parts of the hotel feature mold, mainly in the bedroom and bathroom. I understand that the city is damp, but that doesn't justify the dirt. Third, the hotel is not well preserved. A lot of things are rough and old, putting guests' safety at risk. For example, the closet door slipped and almost fell on my girlfriend. Fourth, the cleaning of the bedroom and bathroom leaves little to be desired. Faced with this scenario, we had to change hotel in the middle of the trip. This is very bad, because it undermines all planning. I think the hotel has potential, but currently needs to fix basic issues. I'm attaching the photos to prove the complaints.