Luka Cartagena Hostel

It feels like a prison. You can’t leave whenever you want because only the hotel has the key to the gate, as you can see in the photos. There’s no hot water in the shower, and they won’t let you use the hotel toilet after checkout. Lots of other issues too. I don’t recommend staying here.

We could walk to the tourist area in about two minutes, with its restaurants, bars and shops, and getsemani is close too. The hotel is very quiet, and the staff were attentive and always trying to make us comfortable. Picking this hostel, though it felt more like a hotel, was one of the best choices my partner and I made in Cartagena. Include breakfast in the booking so you can have it on the terrace before heading out to explore. Definitely recommend it for a Cartagena stay.

I still resent LuKa for cancelling our reservation at the last minute without a good reason. We were lucky to find Hostal Badillo SV, right in the center of the walled city, for a surprisingly similar price. But what if there hadn’t been an alternative available? I hope this doesn’t happen to anyone else. The way they do business was lousy. I’d booked LuKa for Christmas vacation in 2023. A few days before we were due in Cartagena, they said they might cancel because my credit card didn’t work. I offered another card, but they said there was no need and told me to pay on arrival. Then, two days before departure, they cancelled anyway, giving the same excuse. In the end, something bad worked out for me, but I wasn’t okay with being thrown off at the last moment.

The rooms are large, clean and look good, and the location is quite convenient. But there’s no hot water in the showers, and the Wi-Fi barely reaches the rooms. It mostly works in the lobby.