Zalmedina Hotel

I was tempted to cancel my reservation after I read the reviews of this hotel.. I had already paid for my reservation and was really upset to learn their no cancellation policy.. and then I was really surprised to find out that Expedia supported and enforced their policy when I called them over the phone. My overall experience at the Zalmedina was "okay". This is NOT a 4 STAR hotel.. Maybe a 3 Star on my standards..The hotel is conveniently located across the street from a fairly new Casino, plenty of restaurants and shops near by, and plenty of taxis all times of the day/ night which made it very easy to get around town. Taxi ride from the airport to hotel more less $20 thousand pesos = $7 dollars more less and $7 thousand pesos = more less $3 dollars to go to the Walled city.. inexpensive. Our room was clean and the staff were very pleasant and willing to help. There is no working elevator on the first floor which for us wasn't a big issue but could be for someone who is not willing to carry their luggage up the stairs.. the mattress was nice but the double bed was combined by two single beds and we found ourselves in the middle of the night being split apart as the beds came apart. There was a complimentary breakfast which was okay.. nothing to rave about.. your ordinary breads, fresh fruits, scrambled eggs.. The room could also use a dresser/ night stand to place our belongings. other than that it was clean, comfortable and I would stay there again if I needed to

Fantastic staff, perfect location. I would absolutely stay here again!!:)

I had planned to stay one night but ended up staying three nights. The staff was very friendly and went above and beyond to assist us. I would return.

First of all, the map on Expedia show us a different location to where the hotel was. No knowing the city we headed to where the map posted us to go. We walked for almost an hr and got to a place where there was nothing (only a park) we then backtracked and stop at a hotel close by and asked the lady at the desk. She had no idea about the hotel but I had the phone number on Expedia so she called them to ask where they were located. She got hanged up. She then tried again and again. Finally, the desk girl told her where they were. It was farther than our starting point. So, we took a cab there. Once we got there they told us the hotel was on the second floor ( there is not elevator to go up there) I was exhausted. We grab our luggage and headed up. The girl at the desk was on her cellphone and ignored is completely for like 10-15 minutes then I approached her and said "we are checking in, could you help" and ugly look that's what I got as a reply. She put her phone down and ask for my reservation. I gave it to her and she seen something I hadn't notice (my room was a double bed room but for only one person) I had no idea I had booked like that. She said for the extra person I had to pay $80,000 pesos. I refused to do so and asked if there was a bit of a deal as it was a honest mistake. Her off course said "no" I asked if there was a manager or anybody I could talk to. She said "no" I then asked her to helped me cancel my stay and she said "I can't do that, you need to.........

We checked in on Dec 29 and upon checkin advised there was an error in the reservation and we were staying until jan 3 checkout. Jorge assured us they had so many rooms available and there was no issue. proceeded to pay for the entire stay until the end. every morning we reconfirmed this info. On Jan 2 around 3 pm I returned to the room only to find it was not made up. I asked the front desk ( Jorge) why the room wasn't cleaned yet and he said because you are checking out. As you can imagine the conversation went in circles and I got vey upset as I was told that we had to leave immediately. After a long argument and much yelling with the general manager, Carolina and the front desk Jorge , they threatened to call the police on us. We immediately packed and left in fear! 3 girls in Colombia and luckily we speak the language. We then found out that they sold our paid room to locals!!!!!!! They got bribed because there were no rooms available in all of Cartagena and decided to kick out the 3 female tourists knowing we wouldn't be able to fight back. In the end we found a room at the occidental and instead of paying 200usd per night were forced to pay 995usd for one night. They also agreed to pay our taxi to our new hotel and then when they found out the price gave us 1/3 of the price. Thieves, liars and disgusting management!!!!!!!!! they must be denounced...

The staff was excellent and friendly, but like so many places in Cartagena, the room and its associated bathroom were very small.

Nice and clean hotel with decent breakfast and friendly staff. On the busy street but it was fine. It is not hotels fault that the beach is ugly and filthy. I would recommend the hotel but if I ever come back I would stay in old city.

Hotel is located one block from the beach, in a very busy street. You can find restaurants, shops, supermarkets nearby, and even a brand new shopping mall just accross the Hotel. Rooms are modern and clean, with free WI-FI, mini bar but no refrigerator. A liitle noisy sometimes from the busy traffic on San Martin Avenue. I needed help to set up the AC, but once done, it worked perfectly. Breakfast was included buffet style, with a good variety of food, juices and fruits, including scrambled eggs. Located on 3rd floor. I received excellent customer service and personalized attention from all the staff, specially from the General Manager, who introduced herself and offered great advice about things to do in the city. I travelled alone and felt safe. Good value at a very good rate.

Decent, good location. Lack of hot water for a few days. Hotel is very basic. Priced a little high for the level of service but maybe they charged more because it was a holiday.

Don't expect anything special or impressive when you walk into the hotel. The best part of our stay was the convenient location and the price. Worth it for the low price but not a luxery hotel to spend a lot of time in.