Santa Marta Real

The room situation was a mess from the moment I arrived. I checked in at 8 pm at the last minute, and the front desk woman gave me a double-room key without explaining anything about the room, breakfast hours, where the restaurant was, or the no-smoking rule. She said the restaurant shut at 8, then kept telling me not to worry because breakfast was included, though I hadn't asked about breakfast. The description mentioned a rooftop bar, but there was no bar, pool, gym, or anything like that. Later she told me it was dangerous to go outside for a cigarette and sent me up to the roof, where I found the restaurant. When I opened the first room, people were inside having sex. I went back down to ask for another room, but instead of apologizing and assigning one, she argued at length that her paperwork said the room was empty and that moving me wasn't possible. I felt it was unprofessional to make me deal with the hotel's poor room management. The replacement room she called great had a full-size bed and a twin, not even a queen. I was charged after she took my ID and credit card and photocopied everything. There was no receipt, no paperwork to sign, and no information about the stay. She said I'd get a receipt at checkout. I asked her to run the payment as credit so the hotel name would appear on my statement, but she processed it as debit anyway. Even the key had no hotel name on it. Trying to settle in didn't help. The bedside light didn't work, so I had to use the bathroom light or the harsh ceiling fluorescents. The bathroom products had already been used, and there was a dark yellow mark on the shower floor that looked like urine. I didn't check what it was. I wasn't sure the room had been cleaned, and I slept fully dressed because I didn't want to find out what might be wrong under the sheets. Since I'd been told it was dangerous outside, I gave up on dinner or walking somewhere for food and just tried to watch TV and call it a night. The price was about double what other four-star hotels in the historic district charge, and those places have three pools, restaurants, a bar lounge, a rooftop, and more. I was checking into another hotel first thing in the morning. I wish I could post the photos and videos I took.