We stayed at the Decameron Isla Palma for 3 nights late July, 2007. As a family, we like trying new places and have vacationed in Mexico, Hawaii, Costa Rica, and other popular beaches. We decided this time to do something very different.
If you like the idea of “getting away from it all”, this is a great place to consider. This small hotel and the surrounding “attractions” are the only things on this tiny island - it probably takes about 20 minutes to walk purposely from one end to the other. You reach the hotel by taking a boat south from Cartegena. The boat left on time and was well organized. The boat ride was about 1 ½ hours, maybe more depending on the roughness of the ocean. On the way there, we traveled in an open-air boat (roof, no sides) that fit about 40 people. The fresh air was wonderful, and helped those who may have had trouble with their stomachs. However, we did travel through a rainstorm on the way – everyone on the boat was completely drenched within 2 minutes. We laughed about the whole thing and considered it part of the adventure. On the trip back, we were in an enclosed boat with windows. While you gain by staying dry in the case of rain, you lose by being quite warm and there were those who had trouble with their stomachs (even though the sea was calm). Be prepared either way. Also – we were told not to bring large bags because there wouldn’t be room on the boat. We left our big bag in Cartegena. However, other guests brought large bags, so if you just can’t get around it, you will likely be OK.
We were greeted upon arrival by a dancing couple in Hawaiian-like grass skirts, and given a glass of tropical punch. All the guests were immediately escorted to registration, then lunch at the buffet, then a short introductory explanation of the island before finally being set free about an hour later.
The hotel was very well run, clean & organized, though the whole resort and experience had a very cheesy feel to it. The hotel is open-air (including the restaurant) with a thatched roof, and was decorated like a tiki room from a Walt Disney movie. There were manikins everywhere, jet black, dressed like tribal folk just back from a hunting expedition. There were large totem-heads in the halls, and in the interior of the island, there were the occasional plaster skulls hanging from trees. We found it hysterical. This is not a super-fancy hotel - it is at best a 3-star in terms of the accommodations, though the rooms were clean and spacious, with a functioning air conditioner in each window (though inconsistent hot water in the shower). There were water coolers located in convenient areas so that drinking water was always available. There are certainly areas on the island which could use alittle renovation (for example, the abandoned outdoor disco you pass on the way to the beach) but that is to be expected in South America. All electricity was generator-produced, but the noise from the generator didn’t even register with us and you never smelled fumes. The room walls were alittle thin, however; my kids were bothered every morning by a toddler awakening at 7:00am, racing around his room and watching TV quite loudly. No worries – they caught up on their sleep on the beach.
The actual experience for us was a 4+ star – we had a ball getting away from it all, experiencing another culture and just relaxing. The beach was about a 5 minute walk from the hotel on a well maintained, beautiful little trail. It is actually a sand-spit off the end of the island, maybe 400 feet long and about 20 feet wide. Not great for long walks, but perfect for vegetating. The sand was white and soft with some trees and umbrellas offered. There was no surf, but the water was beautiful and warm with some vegetation in areas. My kids were in the water all day, just wrestling and playing, swimming and snorkeling. Although Travelocity says there’s no pool, there is a very small pool at the end of the dock. The water was so warm though, we preferred the ocean. At night, it was very peaceful and quiet (after the show ended) and the stars were phenomenal. We were treated to an amazing lightening show one night, although it only rained about 5 minutes and the days were clear.
This is an all-inclusive hotel (not like there were other restaurants on the island to choose from) and the wonderful staff worked hard to fill the day with scheduled events if that was what you were looking for. Dance lessons, beach volleyball games, a daily nature walk, sea kayaks, and paddle boats were all available for free. Several fishing tours, boat tours, snorkeling and massages were available for a very reasonable fee. There were the traditional nightly shows that these types of hotels are known to have, but we just weren’t interested in them (the Latins loved them). Being stressed out Americans, we didn’t take part in the schedule activities and spent our time just reading, swimming & relaxing. The kids did use sea kayaks, but that got boring after about 10 minutes. We also took a snorkel tour in a small boat, but it was surprisingly unimpressive. (We thought that since this was a national park, the snorkeling would be better than what we saw. It was much better on San Andres Island).
Another interesting thing is that this island in a national park preserve and has a zoo and aquarium. The hotel offered a daily nature walk through this area which probably explained a lot more about the flora and fauna, but we walked around by ourselves and skipped the tour (too much Spanish for the kids). The path leads into the island interior on a wooden sidewalk which literally twists and turns through mangrove swamps. The sidewalk at times went up and down like a rollercoaster, and with no hand-rails, you needed to take care you didn’t fall into the bog. You pass a “pirate shack” and several manikins hidden among the trees, intended to enhance the spooky atmosphere. The sidewalk ended in a small, open-air maritime “museum”, which then led to the zoo. There were all kinds of birds including parrots and pink flamingoes. There were ducks and deer and a strange assortment of animals in open cages. There were also old aquarium tanks in dark, hot buildings that held various types of fish. I assume small kids would enjoy it all – we thought it was all alittle strange. They also have several large open tanks built along the coast. Along the back side of the island, they held fish, turtles (some very big ones) and small dolphins. The tank right in front of the dock held two large, trained dolphins. Twice a day, hotel staff would bring buckets of fish down and feed the dolphins and pelicans. They would let kids come down to feed and pet the dolphins as well. It certainly wasn’t a Seaworld-worthy show, but it was fun even for my older kids to be able to get so close to a dolphin.
Making reservations here can be tricky. We called Decameron directly from the number on their website – the first time we got an agency in Jamaica and were told the hotel was full, the second time we got an agency in Canada and were told to book directly on Travelocity. We did that, except Travelocity would only book adults, and only 2 to a room. My 2 teenage boys were considered adults, so that was OK, but we had no way to book our 11 year old. After speaking with the agent in Canada, we faxed the Decameron office in Cartegana to arrange to pay cash for our third child when we got to the island ($39 per day, all inclusive. VERY reasonable). It all worked out fine – we had 2 rooms, one with a king bed, and the other with 3 twin beds. And the total cost was much less than we would have paid if we’d stayed in the Rosario Islands. If you do have a complication in your reservation, I would recommend calling the Decameron office in Cartegana to confirm everything. We did, so any potential bugs were worked out before we got to the island.
All in all, we had a wonderful time at this really unique hotel. The staff was extremely helpful and friendly, and worked hard from morning until late at night. The food was good (shellfish sautéed in garlic was excellent), and the selection was very good, lots of fresh salads and several entree choices every day. Because of the general smallness of the island and hotel, our boys were able to make friends with a couple of Colombian boys, and they played pool all evening together. The bar drinks were not really good (we settled on gin & tonics after a few bad experiments) but we loved the music videos of groups popular 20 years ago that they played in the bar. My main advice would be this: 1) Don’t go expecting the Ritz and a tropical paradise, otherwise you’ll be disappointed. 2) Bring cash! They do not accept credit cards for anything, including massages, tours, security box keys, etc. 3) Don’t stay more than 3-4 days or you’ll likely end up pretty bored. 3) Speak Spanish – there were few people on staff who could understand English.
