Casa Villa Colonial by Akel Hotels

I spent one night in Cartagena as part of a tour of Colombia and the Villa Colonial was a great place to stay. It's in the historic Getsemani area so you're right in the heart of the old town and it's walkable to the historic ‎⁨Castillo de San Felipe (fortress). Nearby by there are numerous shops, restaurants and bars and the area is very lively on the weekends. The hotel is not new, but has great historic character. The rooms were clean and comfortable, though the furniture and fixtures were a bit on the worn side. The bathroom was basic (and not air conditioned) but functional. The in-room air conditioner was very good, and I can't stress enough how important that is in this hot, humid town (common areas don't seem to be air conditioned, but it's a small hotel so not a big issue). There is a small rooftop pool that was very refreshing for a nighttime dip. The rooftop breakfast area was nice and they had a variety of food options; my cooked-to-order eggs were enjoyable. Overall, if you're spending a few nights in Cartagena and enjoy history and being centrally located, Villa Colonial is a nice choice.

Pleasant hotel in an excellent location. Adequate facilities with a small pool. Travelled with G Adventure and unfortunately they hadn’t provided the hotel with the correct details which made for a very awkward situation. Breakfast was simple but nice

In May of this year I stayed at Casa Villa Colonial I was at this hotel for 4 nights. I stayed in Room 1 which is on the 1st floor, adjacent from the reception desk at the front. As I got settled, I noticed the room smelled like exhaust fumes. I believe the fumes from the very busy street traffic permeate the hotel. The hotel is just steps away from Calle de La Media Luna. I let one of the hotel managers know the room smelled like fumes and he apologized, saying he had no more room availability and he'd move me to a different room the next day. He was very nice about it, and he did not seem surprised by a complaint about the smell. I did get to move to a different room. It was 2nd floor and a little farther to the back of the hotel but not by much. Sadly, the room still smelled like exhaust fumes, but not as bad as Room 1. The whole staff was just lovely and helpful, except for a person named Andres. In order to enter the hotel, you have to be buzzed in. There are glass doors at the entrance and I could see that there was no one at reception. I pressed the buzzer once, but did not hear it go off, so I buzzed once more. Andres appeared, running toward reception waving his arms and looking angry. He let me in and proceeded to yell at me for buzzing more than once. Very unpleasant person! At another time, as I approached reception I saw Andres looking out a window, taking photos of women walking down the street. That was creepy. I didn't feel entirely safe with him in charge of reception at night.