Casa Villa Colonial By Akel Hotels (Cartagena, Colombia)

Even though there is a language barrier for English-speaking guests, you will still find that the staff are very friendly and give a good service. They are really helpful, being happy to make any arrangements you would like such as restaurant reservations and tour bookings.

Guests like the Getsemani area, the spot where this hotel is located, as they get to see real day to day life in Cartagena. You will find lots of attractions nearby, including great local bars and restaurants, but still be only a ten-minute walk from old town Cartagena and all there is to see inside the old city walls.

The building that this hotel is housed in is colonial in style, and guests feel that this helps give the hotel a bit of extra ‘something'. It certainly is pretty, and does help make for a more memorable stay.

This is a hotel at the budget end of the scale, so nobody should expect to be staying in a palace. However, some guests still think that the rooms were on the small side so if space matters to you that is something to bear in mind.

First floor rooms open onto the communal courtyard area. Some guests said these were noisy as they could hear other guests talking. Other guests said they could hear noise from the night life nearby.

If you stay here, do not expect the Wi-Fi to be reliable. Some guests say the Wi-Fi is ok, but plenty of others say that it is patchy at best. In short, if free Wi-Fi is important to you then you probably should not rely on getting it here.