Hotel Portobahia

There's no small fridge in the room, so bottled water quickly gets to room temperature. It's still refreshing, but cold water would be much better if you wake up in the night. The double beds are hard in an uncomfortable way, though you might get used to them; the single beds are okay. On the plus side, the rooms are very clean thanks to the cleaning ladies, the staff are attentive and friendly, and the AC works wonderfully. I still recommend this great hotel.

The location was good, but the room was nothing like the pictures or the double room we booked. It had a rather small “Double” bed and two bunkbeds. The furniture was dirty, the little fridge needed plugging in and wasn't entirely clean, one light didn't work, and neither did the phone. There were only two towels and no hand towel. The WiFi was really bad, and the walls were super thin. When my husband felt unwell, I couldn't call reception to ask for a glass so he could take a pill. There was no minibar water either, so we were looking for tap water in the bathroom. I asked the maintenance lady for a glass, and she said maybe the restaurant could help. We're definitely not coming back. Not recommended!

We had booked a hiking tour of Tayrona, but Mrs manager wouldn't let our babysitter stay in the room during the day to care for our newborn daughter unless we paid extra, with the amount varying by the hour. After we'd settled in for the night, she also argued about this with my wife after 9pm. Mrs manager kept bringing up the low online rate, and we felt that's why we were treated so poorly. In our opinion, a hotel serving tourists should be more accommodating of guests' needs, especially families with small children. Santa Marta is a very nice destination, but this incident left us with a very negative impression.

The price is good for a nice hotel, and the restaurant is great. It's close to the beach, family friendly, and group rates are always available.