Boutique Hotel located in the historical center of Santa Marta, Colombia. It has 6 rooms each dedicated to a world city and decorated for this purpose. Three categories of rooms: 3 Deluxe (30 m2), 2 Junior Suite (40 m2) and a suite (65m2). It has 2 terraces, a colonial courtyard and a rooftop terrace with pool. You can find laundry facilities available, room service, health and beauty services and excursionsEscucharLeer fonéticamenteDiccionario - Ver diccionario detalladoHotel Boutique situado en el centro histórico de Santa Marta, Colombia. Dispone de 6 habitaciones cada una dedicada a una ciudad del mundo y decorada a tal efecto. Tres categorías de habitaciones: 3 deluxe (30 m2), 2 Junior SUite (40 m2) y una suite (65m2). Dispone de 2 terrazas, un patio colonial y una terraza superior con piscina. Podrá encontrar a su disposición servicios de lavandería, room service, servicios de salud y belleza y excursiones
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Classic
Historic Hotel
Languages Spoken
English, Spanish
Location
Calle 18, 3-115, Santa Marta, Santa Marta, Santa Marta Municipality 472 Colombia
Name/address in local language
La Casa del Farol Hotel Boutique
488 reviews
Getting there
Great for walkers
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travelers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
Charming hotel in the middle of the colonial town, close to restaurants and bars but quiet and relaxing. We had a nice huge room with high ceilings. The bed is quite hard and the a/c somehow noisy but we had a good sleep. The tiny pool is enjoyable, though the wooden floor and other features could be refreshed. Some small inconvenience like water pressure (we actally lacked of water for a couple of hours) and a lot of mosquitos in the room were annoying, but we were lucky to be assisted by Sandra at the reception who was a treasure for us, full of ideas and suggestions, always ready to help in finding information, and providing a very effective insect repellent for the room. Least but not last, a beautiful smile that made us feel welcome from the moment when we arrived to the moment when we left! Thank you Sandra !
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Date of stay: February 2020
Value
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We had a very pleasant stay. Big room, good airco and very friendly people. High quality service. But not for the breakfast. We’ve waited more than 40 minutes (!!) to get something, while we mentioned we had a important pick-up. This was at 7:00 - 7:45 in the morning.
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Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Angel and Sandra run an absolutely amazing establishment! I have traveled extensively throughout my life and never received service quite this good. My sister and I traveled to Santa Marta and spent 2 nights in La Casa del Farol in mid-August 2011. We were not all that familiar with the area and knew only a little bit of Spanish. Both Sandra and Angel gave us great recommendations (and also booked) many of our daytime activities during the 2 days we were there. Additionally, the restaurant recommendations they provided to us were spectacular, and we ending up having terrific meals prepared by a former Michelin-starred restaurant chef (for about $8-10 U.S. dollars a plate!!!). The morning breakfast (included in the room price) is far superior to anything you would get in another hotel or B&B - with a selection of freshly-prepared varieties of eggs, yogurt, granola, etc (there are about 6 different international breakfasts that one can choose from)... As shown in the pictures, all of the rooms are very large and extremely clean. Each room of the hotel has its own international theme. There's no question that I would stay here again!
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Date of stay: August 2011
Value
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The location is good, central. The room is very spacious and tall cailing which is nice. I suppose, this was a very nice accommodation when opened but it looks that the owner and the management have been ignoring any guests’ comments and the real situation for years. The place is just not maintained on a certain spots and this ruins the impression and the stay.
Disliked · The place is just not maintained on a certain spots and this ruins the impression and the stay. We suppose, this was a very nice accommodation when opened but it looks that the owner/the management have been ignoring any guests’ comments and the real situation for years. The place is just not maintained on many spots and this ruins the impression and the stay. Even the reception desk is in a bad shape (?!), the rooftop terrace is far from the condition that can be seen on the images. In a fact, it looks like it is abandoned and out of use, probably it is. Needs to be refurbished and well repainted and refreshed. A shower in a room was all covered with a calk, damaged, obsolete, bad looking and not working properly. Unfortunately, would not come again here.
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Date of stay: February 2020
Rooms
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
La Casa del Farol undoubtedly had its past charms. Today much of the amenities listed in travel guides no longer exit like a restaurant or laundry service. In any case, the establishment is about to close soon to be converted into a RB&B. The daytime and nighttime receptionists are friendly and helpful. One speaks German the other English. Breakfast are ok. Our room “Paris” is spacious but certainly far from comfortable. It has air conditioning but this morning the electricity went off together with the water supply. The city of Santa Marta also has seen better times. Many people are poor and given to begging. Population explosion seems part of the problem. Colombian Caribbean culture differs considerably from Bogota, San Agustin and Popayan places we visited previously. And of course so do temperatures.
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Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
That's the first time that on my travels I write a comment. But this hotel was a disapoint
The breakfast you eat eggs, or fruit, or yogurth, or cereals, you just can have one of these with coffe, bread and milk
You woke up in the morning 6h 30m with the noise of the services.
The rooms are ill decorated and you feel unsafe, for example the safe box on my room wasn't fixed to any hall or closet, you just could bring it out of the room!!!
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Date of stay: August 2012
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
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Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled with family
Room Tip:I really don't have a sugestion for this hotel
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This hotel is located in the centre of Santa Marta's historical district, in a reasonably quiet street. The surrounding area has many shops, bars and restaurants and seems safe, day and night.
We stayed in the Havana Suite on the ground floor. It was quiet, but opened directly onto the courtyard, which is used as the breakfast area. I would be inclined to avoid this room, and the neighbouring New York Suite for this reason alone. Otherwise, the room was spacious and well equipped/laid out. The bed was very comfortable, and the air conditioning and fan were welcome after long days touring.
The staff were great. All very helpful and friendly. They gave us a full briefing on the room, hotel and city on arrival, and continued to look after us for our entire stay. They anticipated our needs and were a highlight of staying here.
We felt that for the price we would be getting 5 star quality. This hotel is 3 star, wanting to be more.
There were quite a few things that weren't quite right. Firstly, most days we had cold showers, not by choice. The water was lukewarm at best. I know cooler showers are good in the Santa Marta climate, but it would have been nice to have the choice. Secondly, we had to ask for fresh towels. Because of the humidity, our towels didn't dry overnight and they weren't replaced. So we had to use damp smelly towels. They were replaced when we asked, but we shouldn't need to ask. Thirdly, we felt let down by the bathroom, which had damp and peeling paint. Finally, the internet went awol on our final day. We raised the problem twice and were assured everything was OK. Other guests said they were having the same problem.
I will probably stay in another hotel on my next stay, just to compare value and quality.
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Date of stay: December 2011
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
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Trip type: Traveled with friends
Room Tip:Havana and New York open onto courtyard, so lack privacy. Maybe try Cape Town (the other suite...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I stayed at Casa Del Farol in March 2016 for one night only. I wish I hadn't.
They had one last vacancy for the night. The owner of this hotel has 3-4 other properties nearby. I was told they were full too. So I thought I got lucky.
My troubles started after midnight. I had some tacos for dinner in the old quarter, that didn't go down well. So I spent the night in the bathroom detoxing. The problem was the sewer was clogged up to the nines and so was the shower drain. Soon I was wading ankle deep in my own waste. I kept showering and the water level in the bathroom kept rising. No-one at the reception to help me out either.
I didn't want to foul the room so I coiled up on the floor, shivering, and then rushed to detox again every 15 minutes or so. The windows were jammed and the stench was unbearable.
Now, it is not the hotel's fault I ate the wrong thing. The unusable bathroom was.
By 9am I was feeling a little better and tried to have some breakfast. Tasteless, bland dry toast and an egg. I'm not saying this because I was feeling bad. I'm saying it because the breakfast WAS bad. Lousy service, cheap food. Oh, and I fell through the first chair I sat in.
Then it was time to confront the front desk about the bathroom issue. This is when things got ugly. The young man at the desk (forgot his name and don't care to remember) totally ignored me, chatting on the phone as if I didn't exist. To get his attention I banged on the desk a couple of times. Now the young man jumped to his feet and turned viscious, demanding that I settle the bill and get out. A female receptionist was scowling at me too with gritted teeth.
As this was unfolding, other guests were staring at me horrified, mute. No-one said a word. Then they turned away.
When I said I should be made good, they told me I gotta pay for the breakfast too (which was supposed to be included). I was forced to pay this with an implied threat that otherwise I wouldn’t make it out the door. So I tossed a 50.000 bill ($16) on the counter and waited for my change like a beggar waiting for a handout. At this point the male and female receptionist looked at each other and started laughing. I was told they had no change.
So I walked out of the hotel dragging my luggage with weak legs and threw up on the street.
By the way, La Casa del Farol is highly recommended by the Lonely Planet. In my experience, that's not quite right.
This review has been sanitized to comply with TA guidelines.
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Date of stay: March 2016
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We arrived at the hotel after having seen all the beautiful pictures on their site. Trust me when I say, the pics don't show the reality. We paid a lot for very average rooms, with windows facing barbed wires, uncomfortable beds, not very professional staff at breakfast, Nesquik instead of real hot chocolate, some loose tiles on the bedroom floor and a glorified bathtub (the "pool" is smaller than you'd think). However, we spent the night of the 31st of December there and they really did make an effort for it. If you're staying in the other rooms it might be nicer, but our experience was a bit disappointing.
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Date of stay: December 2016
Value
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled with family
Room Tip:Suites. If you stay in a "standard room" you'll probably regret it.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Although the hotel claims to have two swimming pools, these are in fact dipping pools, rather than swimming pools. The room we had was very dark and dingy and infested with mosquitoes. The bed had a decorative mosquito net, which didn't even cover the bed, so was useless! The staff were extremely deferential towards us (rather than friendly!), but this appeared to be no more than a cover for being very unhelpful with any practical requests, such as an extra bed in the room. However, most disappointing were the breakfasts. When we booked we were told to tick a box if we would like the free breakfasts, which we did. They were not great. What was worse was that we were presented with an expensive bill for my son's (3 years old) breakfasts at the end of our stay, even though we had booked for three people and were not told that breakfasts were only included for two. Although we stayed for 6 nights, every morning all of the tables were laid for 2 people, meaning that we had to wait around feeling like an inconvenience to the (grumpy) waiter, while he set a third place. Overall the hotel was not welcoming to children, and appeared to be aimed only at couples.
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Date of stay: April 2015
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Traveled with family
Room Tip:Look for a different hotel
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
London, United Kingdom43 contributions68 helpful votes
i'm sure they will - the staff were some of the loveliest we met in colombia, i'm 99.9% certain they will have some storage for you (even if at a small price)
There are more places to choose from in the Santa Marta area.
PRICE RANGE
$33 - $37 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
ColombiaMagdalena DepartmentSanta Marta MunicipalitySanta Marta
NUMBER OF ROOMS
6
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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