Hotel Reserva Monarca

The location between Salento and Filandia makes it a great base for visiting attractions in the eje cafetero, about 20 minutes in either direction. The surroundings are beautiful, with colorful flowers and a playground for kids, and the butterfly theme is a nice bonus. The mountain views were magnificent. Even when clouds covered them, being surrounded by the clouds felt like a surreal adventure. The service was unexpectedly excellent. Receptionist Ronal and property manager Johnny both took on lots of roles, from cooking and serving to advising us on tourist attractions and helping in general. The included homemade organic breakfast was delicious, and the restaurant staff served very good food and natural drinks made with locally sourced products. A really gratifying experience. Highly recommend the setting, service, and location.

Maurizio is fantastic and kind, and the breakfast is completely homemade. You can really taste that. The panorama was unbelievable, especially as the fog slowly cleared to reveal the mountain in front of us.

The scenery is a 10/10, and the whole place has a serene feel. The rooms are small but nice. There’s no A/C or heating, but in the fresh mountain air neither is needed. They could use mosquito nets, though not many bugs came in even with the windows open. Breakfast is typical for the area, nothing impressive if you’re coming from a 1st world country, but I wouldn’t expect otherwise here. Service was good and fairly quick. They can arrange rides and other things you may want delivered at reasonable prices.

The views are amazing, the place is beautiful, and the guys working there are kind and helpful. Breakfast was delicious too. I misunderstood the listing when I booked, so plan ahead: this is more like renting space in an hacienda than staying at a hotel or resort with a bar and restaurant. A cook comes in each morning for breakfast, but otherwise you’re on your own for food. There’s a kitchen you can use if you bring groceries, though it has no oven or microwave. There’s also a “bar” area with a pool table, but you need to bring your own drinks and ask someone to turn the lights on. For groceries, you’ll need to rent a car or hire a driver for the 20-minute trip into town. The driver costs 40.000 each way. Otherwise, there’s one nearby restaurant, on a highway, serving tasty traditional Colombian food in a very casual setting with plastic tables and lawn chairs. It closes at 7:30. I also thought there would be butterflies, but there aren’t.