Gran Hotel

The staff were very nice, and breakfast was good. The room was clean and a nice size, with good pillows, though the bed was too firm for me. The temperature was comfortable, but there was no AC or thermostat. Decent hotel for a reasonable price.

The hotel looks better in person than it does in the photos. It's an old place, but well kept. The friendly staff were a plus, and it was good value for what I paid. A few things seem lacking for a 4-star category: there's no air-conditioning, just fans, and no free cosmetics. Breakfast choices are very limited, though what they serve is tasty: eggs, cheese, freshly baked arepa, fruits, yoghurt, coffed and juice. The windows don't close completely or seal well, so street noise comes through strongly.

We were six people in three rooms and stayed four times over two weeks. The airport shuttle was great, and the hotel gave us one free pickup and one drop-off. Staff were friendly and tried hard to speak English, apart from the restaurant team. They also looked after our bags in storage for a week, which we appreciated, and the bellhops brought everything to our rooms with a smile. After our first check-in took over an hour, the later ones went quickly because the paperwork was ready in advance. Breakfast was a real mess. You couldn't serve yourself, and the food took ages to arrive. I didn't know it wasn't a buffet, so when I asked for a refill, the staff gave me a serious look and bluntly refused. They were cold, and I had to ask for drinking water. The à la carte food was below average, service was poor, and they served vegetarian soup mixed with chicken and pork. Dishes didn't arrive together, either. The coffee tasted like milk with a hint of coffee. The in-room minibar was locked and unplugged, and we couldn't use the locked room safe. The fan pointed away from the beds. Having to sign a paper saying we weren't taking the hotel's insurance felt uncomfortable and a bit fishy. At checkout, they charged our card in its home currency using their exchange rate instead of charging in COP. We wanted VISA to do the conversion, but couldn't get that across to the staff, so we paid extra.

The hotel feels very old-fashioned, and its service seems to come from another era. Breakfast is included and was just okay. I ate dinner in the restaurant once, then preferred to head down to the street for fast food. I wouldn't bother eating dinner there. The downtown location is good, the price is reasonable, and it felt safe walking to the metro station even at night.