CasaNegreteHostalBoutique

We stayed at Casa Negrete for four nights during the last week of the year. I believe our room was 203, a quadruple room on the second floor. The hostess, Luz Mary, and her daughter, Daniela, were incredibly attentive and helpful. They recommended a reliable taxi, and Carlos, their driver, was very kind and helpful. Upon arrival, Luz Mary even accompanied us to do some shopping for breakfast the next day. They have a lovely terrace with a beautiful view of the coast and the sea to one side. Even their pets, Innata and Chimuelo, were very friendly! I know the accommodation has very good reviews, but they generally all refer to the hostess's hospitality, which she truly possesses. However, as a guest, I look for other aspects, and there is some information that isn't specified or wasn't fully answered when we asked beforehand. It's important for us to clarify these points. I reiterate, I have nothing but praise for the hospitality and kindness of the hosts, but for us, that alone wasn't enough. Our stay was a bit uncomfortable. The room was big but didn't have good lighting, nor was there a chair to sit. The room was divided by a sliding window, and the air conditioning unit was located in the other half—not the main room, but the smaller one. This meant the AC didn't cool the larger room properly, because if the AC was turned up full blast to bring in more cool air, whoever was in the smaller partition would freeze.

The bathroom is private, but it's outside the room. So it's not truly private, if you're in your underwear, for example, you have to get dressed to use the bathroom. Taking a shower wasn't easy at all; there was only cold water. Cartagena is hot, but when it comes to bathing, having at least slightly lukewarm water is essential. Washing hair, especially for a child, was difficult with that cold water on the body for so long. Luz Mary offered to heat a ketle for us, but honestly, bathing by drawing water from a bucket wasn't comfortable either. And there was no toilet seat, the cistern was broken (although it worked fine), and there was no ventilation or fan whatsoever. The neighborhood wasn't great. No matter the time of day, the neighbors' music was blasting, which continued well beyond Christmas Eve. When we went out with Carlos, he picked us up and dropped us off at the door, so everything was fine. But the times we went out to buy something at the bakery or supermarket in the area, it really wasn't pleasant. The house is on an unpaved street. There was a lot of filth in the area, trash everywhere and people living in street. It was very difficult to walk on the sidewalk; you had to go down into the street to get around, and motorcycles and cars whizzed past you. I asked Luz Mary about this specifically, well before our arrarrival, after seeing the Google Street View images of the area, and considering we were traveling with a small child. She told me there was an issue with recycling, and that the area was safe. The first day we arrived, two people walking by told us, "Put your cell phone away; don't walk around with it in your hand." Luz Mary was with us. Another day, while walking to the beach, there was a police checkpoint, and they told a girl in front of us, "Take that necklace off your neck and put it away, and don't walk around with your cell phone in your hand.

La señora Luz y sus hijos son muy serviciales, se siente como en casa. Instalaciones muy cómodas muy central.

Excelente habitación , la encargada muy pendiente , nos atendió de maravilla

Todo excelente, lo recomiendo

Tiene terraza con vistas al mar, es cómodo y está limpio. La gerente, la Sra. Luz Mary es muy agradable y se preocupa en todo momento de que todo esté bien, y busca cualquier cosa que se necesite. Te vas con la sensación de haber acertado con la elección. Sin duda, si volvemos, repetiremos con ella en Casa Negrete.