Hotel Medellin Kapital

I had a great stay at Hotel Medellin Kapital. It was quiet, with clean, modern rooms, and the front desk team and management handled all my hotel-related issues well. The hotel is in an urban part of Medellin, and, as in any big city, there are homeless people around. Still, I never felt threatened or unsafe. I’ll stay here again.

I didn’t stay at the hotel, but I tried the restaurant/bistro in the lobby, which came highly recommended. The food was fresh and authentic, the menu was simple and easy to choose from, and the atmosphere was pleasantly quiet.

The room was so noisy we couldn’t sleep properly. The bathroom and bed were dirty, the service was awful, and the women at reception were really bad with customers. Worst hotel ever.

There’s a lot to like here: the rooms are large by US Midwestern standards, the beds are comfortable, and each room has a private bathroom. The hotel is modern, only about four months old, eight floors high, and has just 30 rooms, so the staff can give personal attention. It’s clean, has tile floors, ceiling fans, and small windows within the big picture windows that open. There’s an elevator, free Wi-Fi, cable on the plasma TV, free local calls, and a 24-hour front desk. The main doors are locked at night for security. Breakfast is free from 6 to 10 am, with great coffee, and you can eat in the restaurant or have it brought to your room. The restaurant also serves lunch and dinner. Outside its hours, a 24-hour restaurant can deliver overnight. The city and mountain views are wonderful. There’s a free business room with two computers, a table and chairs, a fan, good views, double blinds, and printing available by emailing documents to the front desk. There’s also a rentable event area and a workout room. The local owner, Sergio, speaks excellent English, has been to the USA, and is there most days. Leo, the evening manager, speaks good English and is exceptionally helpful; he works nights except Tuesdays. The housekeepers are honest and wonderful, especially Sandra and Suri. The main downside is the location on two busy streets, with traffic all night, so bring earplugs if city noise bothers you. Almost everything closes on Sundays, as in many neighborhoods. You can head to malls like Premimum Plaza, Santa Fe, Unicentro, or Florida for food, entertainment, movies, shopping, and a place to relax. The upper floors of these malls are entertainment hubs, and they felt very safe, with helpful security and families enjoying their free time. The neighborhood is changing and improving, with lower prices than fully remodeled areas, but don’t walk around here at night, even in a group. Take a taxi to the door, and don’t take out your phone nearby, even while sitting in a taxi. A city government map shows the estratas, rated 1 to 6, from very poor to very rich. The hotel is in a 3, close to 4s that are walkable and 2s that are best avoided. Be alert everywhere, since thieves know where people with money are too. It may help to carry a dummy wallet with a few small peso notes to hand over to a thief. The estratas estrellas are economic ratings; neighborhoods themselves are called comunas or barrios. The hotel is in the San Benito comuna, in the city center, centro. There are no laundry machines, but they offer a send-out laundry service. There’s no iron or board, and no safes in the rooms or at the front desk.