Lovely little hotel in the heart of Cartagena, family run. Great spacious room with great blue and white decor. Central patio with pool is absolutely lovely for a relaxing evening on one of their rockung chairs.
I decided to book at Casa Marta based on Trip Advisor. Please be advised that there was no breakfast provided ,,although they would give me hot water for tea. Also, I thought the shower was not very good. It was so light I felt very little water. I think Marta and the women who worked for her were very nice and helpful. However, if you do not speak any Spanish you will have difficulty communicating with them. Also, pick up from the airport will not be arranged by them . They did arrange for pick up back to the airport, but the young man was not driving a taxi. I did like the location and my room was fine.
My family loved it. Perfect location right in front of one of the most emblematic colonial churches in the city and near La Trinidad square, the perfect place to meet locals and foreigners. It is a value for money place, so charming service. Could have stayed longer. Marta is a lovely woman.
Casa Marta is a cool little guest house located in the very exciting neighborhood of Getsemani, in the heart of Cartagena. The owner Marta was so friendly, and Miguel (the manager) made sure we had everything we needed and then some! Hot coffee delivered to our room each morning, full access to the outdoor kitchen and living area, and the little pool/courtyard area that was the perfect place to relax after long days of shopping and wandering the city. Most importantly, the rooms were very clean and the beds were totally comfortable. We will most definitely stay here again next time we're in Cartagena!!!
The woman who runs this hotel might be one of the nicest women in Cartagena. She was amazing- made us feel completely at home! This is not actually in the proper walled city, but it is still an AMAZING area and is a 5 minute walk to the main area. Also, the pool is very tiny- a few feet wide and does not have the traditional US Style Swim up bar, as you are likely thinking of it. This is a "room" in a house style hotel. I think there were only 3 rooms, so you are really staying more like in a guest house, with a private room and bath. You have to ring the buzzer to get back inside, and it is VERY quiet inside. It is lovely, but just be aware of those factors. Not a traditional hotel. Again, the woman running the house is absolutely amazing. Very clean and comfortable beds!
First the good: Casa Marta has an excellent location, right next to the Plaza de Trinidad, which is basically where all the night life is in Getsemani. Despite being so close, the room we were in was actually quite quiet. It was clean and had everything we needed, although I don't think its aesthetics are going to blow anyone away. It was fine.
The people at Casa Marta are generally friendly, which is good, as they don't give you a key to the front door, so you need to basically ring the bell every time you enter the property. But they always answered with a smile and everything was nice.
My main issue with the Casa is that it's not really a hotel, B&B, etc. It pretty much felt like staying in someone's extra room. Upon arrival we were asked to enter our information into a spreadsheet, handed our key, and that was it. No welcome, no map, no suggestions of where to have dinner, local attractions, etc, etc . . . basically nothing that you would expect to get as the basic level of welcome when you check in to a hotel (and which we received at all other hotels we stayed at in Colombia). Again, the people weren't mean about it, they just didn't seem to care at all to offer help (e.g., we didn't even realize the pool was for our use until later when we read about it on Trip Advisor). Similarly, whenever I left the room to go into the hallway, I felt like I was staying in somebody's house, as they tended to be hanging out a few steps away (with a small child). This didn't cause any problems, but it wasn't very much like a hotel.
Overall this place was fine, as we had a guidebook and there are plenty of places nearby to have breakfast (which was not included in our stay), and there are late-night convenience stores for anything else you need. If you don't care about those sorts of services, then this place is a pretty good value for the money. If you do want that sort of attention in your hotel, then you should probably look elsewhere.
