The rooms were great. We had two adjoining and interconnected rooms because we were a family and it was great. I loved this place. I was looking to relax with two small children and I was able to do that. The rooms are great particularly the one with jacuzzi. The resort has great pools and a very relaxing atmosphere. I thought it was great that the hotel had transport to the old city if you wanted to spend a couple of hours there. The food was good. What I liked the most is the mojitos that were prepared by the barman at night- they were amazing. Best ones I had tasted. This a very worthwhile experience. I really did not want to leave.

Spent 7 days April 2012- had a great time- as it was the end of the season the hotel was not too busy which i really enjoyed. Our room was quiet faced on the pool. We took the mini bus into Cartagena a number of times, went on a city excursion( very busy as was Easter week end) but the music from the churches was wonderful and went on a boat trip to one of the small islands. the emerald dealers in Cartagena were pretty pushy so be prepared for that. I found the staff fine but again the hotel was not too busy. The hotel really needs a small store to buy personal items that a person might require. as it is a new hotel the landscaping is still new and small but overall i have no complaints. I have travelled a fair bit and dont expect things to go perfectly so dont get too bent out of shape when i have to wait at check ins etc,

My wife and I stayed here for 2 weeks over Christmas and New Years. We came as part of an all inclusive plan. Our main goal was to have easy access to the old town of Cartagena. We found that the price we paid for this all-inclusive was a much better deal than booking a hotel in the old town and flight separately. Overall we were happy with our stay but we also quickly realized that the daytour options for a 2 week stay were limited by the distances involved to various places we would have liked to visit. We enjoyed exploring the old town of Cartagena and the very unique tour to the mud volcano. We skipped the Rosario islands as we had heard and read unflattering reports of that excursion. We spent much more than usual time around the pool than we are used to doing. The first week was very quiet around the resort as it was running at less than 40% occupancy. The tranquility around the premises was actually kind of nice. The second week saw many Colombians arrive to celebrate New Years and things got a whole lot busier. We met some interesting people and had a good time. Now for the positive and negatives:

Positives:

1) the resort has a mainly Colombian clientele (at least while we were there)
2) the free shuttle to the old town worked for us but book a day ahead as the bus does get full
3) the food is generally good and varied
4) our room was great (we had a jacuzzi ground level floor room); definitely more spacious than the regular rooms
5) Miguel, at the buffet restaurant, was so helpful and cheerful- every server should strive to reach his level of service
6) the drinks were of good quality and definitely not watered down (delicious beer)
7) excellent bartenders and poolside waiters/lifeguards
8) management seemed genuinely interested in guests' feedback and experience
9) staff, although not fluent in English, were accomodating and respectful

Negatives:

1) being near water, the resort should offer more grilled fish and seafood dishes
2) after a while, the buffet became repetitive (emphasis on meats and heavy sauces)
3) the a la carte restaurants just serve the same things at the buffet restaurant
4) the reception needs to be a little more attentive and, well, receptive ( a simple request for water in our room took 3 calls before someone arrived)
5) on our last day, we had to cancel a restaurant reservation in town because the shuttle was full even though we were giving them 24 hrs notice of our intention to go to town; more spaces on the bus would be nice
6) pushy people who don't know the ettiquette of queuing
7) very average grey sand beach not tempting to swim but nice to stroll on
8) no sea views from the restaurants
9) no gift shop
10) tired of hearing Gangnam style; bring in more local talent to give feeling of place

Overall, we had a good time but if you like to stay active like we do, I'd say a week is enough to enjoy the resort and see the nearby attractions. Our rating of this resort is just in comparison to the many others we have been to in the area of the Caribbean. But for Colombia we are sure this is one of the best. After conversations with other tourists about their hotels, the Occidental Grand Cartagena seemed to us the right choice

The hotel is very new and clean, but the staff is not really prepare. The most part don´t speak english and don´t make any effort to understand even portuguese. The recepcionists are slow and confused. We made a reservation for a tour in Isla del Rosario in the hotel, to Playa del Sol. I made sure if the island and the tour had structure for my baby (she was 14 months) and the concierge (if I can call her that) told me that I could take my baby for sure. They told us that the tour cost 100.000 colombian pesos each person, and we arranged to take the hotel´s bus the next day at 8h00, because the tour included lunch and they would bring us back to the hotel.
At 8h00 we took the bus and when we arrive at the bus stop the driver asked us for the voucher of the tour, but nobody gave us any voucher. He let us with Miguel and said that Miguel would take us to the tour. Big mistake. Miguel charged us 100.000 pesos each to go to Playa Blanca (the price to Playa Blanca was 50.000 each - we discovery later). We had to pay 25.000 pesos to go into the water, than 1.000 pesos to use the bathroom, and 10.000 pesos to use the tent. And the boak broak in the way back. We arrived in the pier and we didn´t know where to to to catch the bus back to the hotel, so we spent more 50.000 pesos for the taxi. I complained to Willian and he told me that somebody would call me to see what happened, but I didn´t get any call or any apologize. I was so desappointed and felt like a idiot. All because the concierge didn´t give us the voucher and the driver of the hotel let us with this guy that made us stupid. And the hotel doesn´t have any structure for babies or kids, doesn´t have a playground or any place to warm a bottle.