Hotel Islabela Islas Del Rosario

Beautiful island and the cabin we had was with sea views which was amazing to wake up to. We had a private front area and entrance to the water. The hotel is eco conscious and rustic, in line with the local style. In fact, it’s owned by the locals which seems like a good cause to boost local growth and economy. The food was pretty good and there was good variety to not get bored of the same. It’s very common for the hotels on Rosario Islands to do day trips which we were worried about in terms of numbers of people and noise but there is a separate quiet beach for people who stay overnight which was very appreciated. Also there’s only a limited number of people staying at the hotel so it’s very quiet, there’s plenty of space on the beaches and it’s very peaceful. Feels luxurious to have all this space to yourself and be on a quiet beach.

The service was slow, it would take 30-40 minutes to get our breakfast from ordering. It was rather confusing when there’s only up to 10 people at the restaurant waiting for food and it’s just some eggs, arepas and a sausage. The staff was a bit strange and unwelcoming. They barely smiled or said anything and if you were asking a question they would not be very helpful to respond and guide you. The hotel says 98% of the staff are locals from the island so not sure if there is some sort of resentment towards tourists cause the interactions were just a bit odd. The room had a foul smell from the shower drain / toilet water system.

J'ai dormi dans un bungalow. Il était très mignon et très confortable. La nourriture était délicieuse et les deux plages privées magnifiques !

Wonderful stay on the rosario island with private beach and staff who was always polite and super helpful, especially William who even helped a lot when you need medical care! Strongly recommended staying with Hotel IslaBela!

Personale e il direttore William super gentili e disponibili. Il bungalow è accogliente e provvisto di ventilatori super potenti e di cassaforte. Non è un hotel quindi qualche compromesso bisogna accettarlo (bagno all'aperto) ma fa parte dell'esperienza di stare su un'isola piccola e immersa nella natura. I turisti alle 14 vanno via e l'isola resta per voi, bellissimo super consigliato!

Niente.

El servicio y la comida del hotel son increíbles. Las actividades que ofrecen también están geniales, valen todas la pena.

Nada, la verdad que toda la experiencia fue muy bien.

Es waren tolle vier drei Tage im Hotel Islabela Del Rosario. Sehr coole Location direkt am Strand, gutes Essen, sehr freundliches Personal, super nett und aufmerksam. Jeder hat immer ein Lächeln übrig. Und William, der Chef des Hauses, ist stets da, wenn man ihn braucht und löst alle Anliegen sofort.

Es war alles perfekt.

We spent here 4 days, which was longer than anyone we met there. The beach and the water is beautiful and pristine clean. I loved the mixed experience of being in a "resort" and also being on an island with locals, seeing how they live and interacting with them. There are tourist groups that come for the daily trips, but they mostly stay on other beach. You can hear a bit of the music from there on Islabela beach, but it's really not intrusive (imo). They leave every day before 3PM. Every day there is power outage from 3PM-5PM that provides amazing tranquility. I relaxed there like I haven't for a long time. You can use the kayak for free, and then paid activities like snorkeling to see the corals, or take a stroll to the neighboring island (Isla Grande is the big island, Islabela is located on Isla Marina aka Isleta). Also locals come and go on kayaks, offering amazing drinks, or even paddle boards so that was great. We had the bungalow Sonia which is in my opinion the best one (the bungalows are scattered across bigger area). The locals and staff are friendly and very nice:) The whole island is an ancient coral reef, so it's all brittle and hard to walk on. It would be the best to have water shoes, but it is manageable without them too if you are deft/nimble.

The communication with the resort before the arrival was tragic. We had no idea we need to leave Cartagena at 8:30AM and that is the ONLY boat you can take (from Bodeguita pier, write the hotel on WA to book your place). Also you have to pay for the boat 240mil/p +35mil insurance. They also didn't mention this to us upon booking (and the booking is non-refundable). There is no drinking water provided by the resort on the island. Yes all the water needs to be delivered there, I understand. But at least they should mention it beforehand. For this price I would expect to have the possibility to refill my bottle at the premises. We went to a local shop to buy 10l water, instead of buying super overpriced bottles at the resort. Maybe for some people it's worth mentioning, that there is not 100% quietness on the island during the day. It is very very calm, you can hear music like from a distance, but it's not zero music. Also every day can be a bit different, some days the day trip tourists came to our beach and hanged out there, some days no one came. But there is plenty of space so it was always fine. The service is a bit slow but you probably dont need to rush when you are there so I guess that's fine too. Breakfast is only until 8:30AM which is pretty brutal considering that you came on an island to sleep and relax. But they only have one kitchen for all the tourists that come there during the day so they need to distribute their capacities. The food at Islabela is ok, there is a local restaurant not so far that offers bit better prices, and one reaaally nice like more luxurious resort with amazing food:))

Es un lugar fantástico, la cabaña le da todo el toque natural y privado y las vistas desde la isla son inigualables. También es muy chévere saber que es un proyecto en conjunto con las comunidades locales de la isla.

El desayuno podría ser mejor la verdad, la calidad de ciertos alimentos como el café no se sentían de calidad y en general la comida podría ser mejor. La presión del agua de la cabaña era poca.

The staff were friendly and attentive. The cabin was excellent, and the beach was quiet, beautiful and relaxing. Was the perfect getaway.