Hotel Santa Maria de las Aguas Peñol

The hotel is surrounded by lush greenery, with scenic views from the comfortable rooms and well-appointed bathrooms. It’s in a beautiful, peaceful setting just 5 minutes from El Peñol and 15 minutes from Guatapé. The food was quite good and priced similarly to restaurants in town, and the staff were exceptional, friendly, and attentive. There should be signs to guide guests on the 20-minute uphill walk from the main road, and some transport for guests would be helpful since that walk is too long. Even so, I’d love to stay here again. It’s a wonderful place that combines natural beauty with warm hospitality.

We used to love Santa María de las aguas, which makes the state of the place now especially sad. The rooms were filthy, the pools weren't heated anymore, and there was no internet in the rooms. Both appetizers we ordered came out cold, and smoke detectors were beeping all over the hotel. The one in our room was quiet, but we could hear the others. The check-in staff were extremely rude. We arrived at 3 PM, decided to leave at 5 after seeing how bad things were, and they wouldn't refund us. We're not coming back. Goodbye, Santa Maria de Las aguas. We had such a different experience on an earlier visit: everything was clean, the service was next level, and there were heated pools and hot tubs plus hammocks. The día del sol cost 95 mil pesos. The photos can be misleading at other places, but this one was the real deal then. They served two snacks and lunch, and I highly recommended it.

The pool view was lovely and breakfast was good, but I wouldn't return. We had paid in advance for an hour on the paddle board. At 4:30 PM, we were told it was too late because they closed at 6. I suspect the person handling the boats had already left. It rained the next morning, and when I asked for a voucher to use our hour another day instead of waiting it out, they refused. The room cost 500.000 and was supposed to have a view of the rock, though you could only see it by standing on tiptoes at the edge of the balcony. I asked to switch to a room with the actual view and pay the difference. It would've been 520.000 if I'd booked that room initially, just 20.000 more, but they wanted 213.800 to change it, nearly ten times the difference. I had booked the day before and asked to upgrade just 30 minutes later. The staff themselves agreed the owner's policy wasn't guest-friendly. It felt like they didn't know how to run a business when someone was ready to pay more and they put up barriers. The two jacuzzis weren't much use: one was cold, and the other was warm rather than hot. The turco didn't get hot either. With a few policies that put guests ahead of the bottom line, this could be a really nice hotel, but I can't recommend it as it is.

The best part for me was how peaceful and quiet it felt. The hotel is tucked away from the main roads, with amazing views and fair prices compared with other hotels nearby. The staff were very nice and professional, and the food was super delicious. There are lots of things to do without going anywhere else: fishing, birdwatching, walking trails, hammocks, a big swimming pool, jacuzzis, massages, boat rides, skiing, and jet skiing. They have a lot all in one place.