Peregrinos Hostel Cartagena de Indias

The staff were super friendly and quickly called us a taxi when we asked. Our room had its own bathroom and air conditioning from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. We booked a four-bed room but got an eight-bed one instead. Luckily we had it to ourselves, so it didn't matter. The hostel is in a quiet street in the middle of Manga. I'd definitely stay here again.

Everything we needed at a great price: there's a small pool, hammocks, fan-cooled seating areas, and air conditioning in the rooms. The clean, quiet, comfortable hostel also has a well-equipped kitchen for self-catering, large lockers with a key provided, a simple but good breakfast, and two bathrooms in the six-bed dorm. It's in a quiet part of the city but still within walking distance of what you need, about 20 minutes to the old city and 10 minutes to San Filipe, for example.

My five-person room booking through Booking.com was confirmed by the property two months ahead. A few days later I checked and saw the property had canceled it, marked in red. When I contacted them on WhatsApp, they denied canceling, then offered a room at six times the price. I had Genius, so I probably would have received a discount on the original price. That really sucks!

We left the morning after arriving, but still haven't got our money back for any of the stay, including the two nights we didn't use. The accommodation has stopped replying to messages. We had booked the private room shown in the single photo on Booking.com, but got a windowless, claustrophobic room with a visible shower that looked nothing like it. When we asked to cancel because it wasn't what we paid for, the manager said we still had to pay and promised a larger room the next day. Instead, she showed us a dorm with bunk beds. Staff communication was very difficult, and the receptionist seemed more eager to get home than to help. This felt like a scam. Cartagena has much nicer, friendlier hostels, so don't book here.