TRY AND GET A ROOM NOT TOO HIGH UP, DECAMERON CARTAGENA
Written: Nov 19 '02 (Updated May 09 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Convenient to everything
Cons: Slow tiny elevators
The Bottom Line: Very convenient. A bit in need of a facelift but typical of the chain.
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| JAMES23's Full Review: Hotel Decameron Cartagena |
The Decameron is a three star all-inclusive hotel located in the "Boca Grande" district of the city. This is the new area that is home to most of the city's hotels and nightlife. The hotel is located directly across the street from the public beach and has a small secure area on the beach with security to keep vendors away from the guests, beach chairs and a small all-inclusive beach bar.
The hotel consists of 240 rooms and one-bedroom apartments. These are in three twenty-three-story towers. There is also a central main lobby area.
The lobby contains in addition to the front desk, a currency exchange, tour operators desk, dinner reservations desk, and the tour operators desks. Near the lobby there is an emerald shop and a small gift and general store with a limited selection of items.
The hotel has three bars, all all-inclusive; in fact the whole hotel operates on an all-inclusive system with an identifying wristband. This must be worn at all times.
There is the already noted beach bar, which is open from 10:00 am until 5:00 pm. In addition there are the lobby piano bar open in the evenings until 12:00 pm or later, and the pool bar, which opens at 10:00 am until 11:00 or 12:00 pm depending on how the evening is going.
Breakfast and lunch are buffet style and served at a semi open dining room by the pool. There are also snacks, pizza, sandwiches and hamburgers, available in the afternoon and as a late night snack.
Dinner is served at one of five restaurants Steakhouse, Italian, Seafood, Mexican or Japanese and reservations are made for the early (6:30) or late (8:30) seating each morning, the Japanese is the most popular and tends to fill up early.
The rooms are simple with one double or two single beds and bathroom with shower. There is cable television in the rooms, and a common T.V. lounge on the twenty-third floor near the Seafood restaurant. Towels and maid service are provided daily and beach towels are available daily near the pool.
There are safety deposit boxes in each room and rental can be arranged at the front desk for $2.00 U.S. per day. Only the one-bedroom apartments have balconies but there is an open hallway balcony on each floor with views of the city and beach. All rooms are air-conditioned.
The hotel has a full selection of activities both day and night, run by an enthusiastic and youthful animation staff. During the day activities are concentrated around the pool and beach and include aerobics, Spanish and dance lessons, volleyball beach and water, water polo and numerous games and contests.
There are also activities for children on a regular basis. At night there is always entertainment at the stage near the pool, either of a musical nature or audience participation.
There is also a massage and beauty salon near the pool and a scuba shop with accessories available for sale. Free scuba lessons are available daily in the pool and scuba trips can be arranged for qualified divers.
A small casino with blackjack and other tables and slot machines is located off the main lobby; the hours of operation are posted. Incidentally the casino offers a slightly better currency exchange rate (U.S. Dollars-Colombian Pesos) than the front desk.
The hotel has a second building also located in Boca Grande and reached by regular free shuttle bus. In this small building are located the Japanese Restaurant and the hotel disco, Gallo Loco. Decameron guests are admitted free to the disco and once inside all drinks at the upstairs bar are free.
All others pay a nominal cover charge. The disco is open every night until 3:00 am. A word of caution many of the attractive and friendly Colombian woman who frequent this disco (aside from hotel guests) are "working girls".
The Tour operator in the lobby is open daily. It is run by Contactos a local tour company. From here various tours in and around the city are available for reasonable costs.
These include a half-day city tour good for initial orientation, and the nightly "chiva" or party bus tour. Day trips outside the city include an inactive volcano and mud bath, a primitive fishing village in a mangrove swamp and boat trips to the Rosario Islands for snorkelling and sightseeing. Please note the Contactos desk will take both American and Colombian currency but not credit cards.
The Decameron operates it's own private beach club on Baru Island a one hour boat ride from Cartagena which leaves daily. The cost is $12.00 U.S. and both the boat and island have a free bar. A BBQ lunch is served and a variety of activities including sailing, windsurfing, canoes and snorkelling are available. Watch your drink around the tame parrots, as they tend to steal it.
The Decameron is an older hotel and some problems do exist. The elevators are small and slow and this is especially evident at check in/out. If possible try and get a room on the third or fourth floor to avoid the wait unless you don't mind stairs.
The telephone system is antiquated and wake up calls often not received, take an alarm clock. Long distance calling is available through the main switchboard but it is a slow process and there is a service charge. It is a better idea to make any calls from the main exchange in the old city.
The hotel's security personnel are efficient and perhaps somewhat zealous in pursuit of their duties. Dependant on one's point of view this can be a plus or minus. Because of the all-inclusive policy no one without a wristband will be admitted to the hotel. If you lose yours, you will be charged for a replacement.
In addition it is almost impossible to bring a non-guest either local or other tourist into the hotel. With the exception of the front desk staff, those at the Contactos desk and the animation staff, some of who are bilingual, most of the hotel staff understand little or no English, although they are patient and eager to help.
The check in procedures are slow and bureaucratic and after a long bus ride from the airport somewhat exasperating. This can be magnified if another group of tourists arrives at the same time. The hotel tries to stagger arrival times to eliminate this but airplanes are sometimes late.
There is no off-season as such as the hotel caters to Colombians on vacation from Bogotá and Cali, mainly in the summer months, as well as Europeans, Americans, and Canadians. Sometimes this may result in temporary over bookings.
This was the case during one of my visits there and the hotel offered guests two or three days at other resorts including Isla Palmas, a five star resort in the Rosario Islands free of charge to alleviate the overcrowding. One couple I spoke to who took advantage of this stated it was a great value and if offered again should seriously be considered.
This review was originally published in the general travel section under Cartagena Colombia. Originally posted July 16, 2000. It had 13 member hits, 1,667 total hits, & no comments. With the addition of a specific category for the hotel, it was deleted there, revised and reposted here
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JAMES23
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Member: James Smith
Location: Toronto Ontario CANADA
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