I have learned way more Spanish with Coffee Break Spanish free podcasts on my Ipod that with Rosetta Stone. Scour the forums and Expedia for hotels that suit you. I would avoid La Candelaria at night. I agree with the above reviewer to stay in the 90's and 100's. Have fun.

Rosetta stone is dreadful. You're better to learn once you arrive. www.studyspanishbogota.com is a free guide to all the language schools in Bogota maybe you can find something good on there, there is also a Medellin school guide.

The more adventurous enjoy La Candelaria. I find the 90s (i.e., Parque 93) rather bland. Prefer Zona G as a nice compromise. The sort of hotel that is likely to have a pool and/or fitness center is likely to fall outside your price range. Bogota lodging, especially in the northern part of the city, is not cheap. An apartment may work better for you in that price range. Yes there is yoga in Bogota, but it will almost certainly be taught in Spanish. People will be friendly and welcoming.

First off, my gratitude to those members who took the time to reply to my original posting. I'm a little clearer now on my pending vacation, with the following changes. My hotel budget is greater, partly due to the above advice and largely due to my brother-in-law using some of his 1,000,000+ UAL miles to pick up my entire RT from Honolulu. What a great guy! I now see the need to be in the $100-130 USD/per night range for a decent hotel or vacation rental and will shop accordingly. I've also made contact with Mark from The Colombian Way. He has been extremely generous with valuable advice for my month in Colombia, which will include time in Medellin (sorry Retro but I gotta hit it), Cartagena (Mark says 3-4 days there is good), and very possibly a more rural destination. Re: Rosetta Stone, I picked up Levels 1-5 on Craigslist for $50 so I figured why not? Now looking like first and last week in Bogota, with two weeks of travel in between. Thanks again all...I have lots of reading to do. Please feel free to keep up with the replies...

Don't waste your time with Rosetta Stone no matter how cheap you got it. I learned 90% of my Spanish with Coffee Break Spanish and its FREE. At least give it a listen before you waste many hours with Rosetta Stone. I have both and have used both and Rosetta Stone is tedious and you have to sit in front of your computer to use it. With Coffee Break Spanish I put it on my Ipod and walk and learn. There is a paid version of Coffee Break Spanish but its not necessary.

Can you dance salsa? For a single guy visiting Colombia, that is a great skill to have. All the girls want to go dancing at night. If you don't, even a few lessons would be helpful.

The salsa tip was an excellent idea; thank you. Lessons are definitely advisable,as I'm not much of a dancer when sober. As for Coffee Break, I can download that onto one of my iPods and practice while I work. I'll get on that this weekend...muchas gracias.

Hi, I don't know where u might stay with your budget, I would avoid candelaria and city centre, and I would stay in the north part of chapinero where u maaight find "happyu yoga" which i heard is very good....good luck

You could also try http://www.bikramyogacolombia.com/ I may also add it's in Chapialto, a good area to fulfill most of your needs…