Yesterday we posted news that Hilton Hotels would be expanding in Bogota, Colombia. Since the first thing we think of when we hear Colombia is Romancing the Stone and the second thing we think of is Medellin and Entourage, we put out a call for hotel recommendations in Bogota. Obviously our Hollywood reference won't help you dear readers.
Luckily for us HotelChatter Maven Tom Barnes gave us his thoughts on a few places to check out and a place to avoid.
Construction has begun on the new Hilton Hotel in Bogota, Colombia. On October 9th, the groundbreaking was held in the city's financial district for the $27-million, 245-room hotel which will be Hilton's third property in Colombia.
The place won't be open until sometime in 2009 (that's a rendering above) but when it does, the hotel will feature a a signature restaurant, a lobby bar, a fitness center and 10,000 sq. ft of meeting space.
A tipster, Mike, let us know about his trip to a popular hotel in Cali, Colombia (it was voted #1 on TripAdvisor), the Cali Plaza. The hotel has both apartments and hotel rooms and is located in the city's tourist and entertainment district.
It would be an understatement to say that Mike liked the place. It's not quite like a drug-induced review that we've received in the past. The language is a bit simpler but the passion remains just the same.
I made reservations and visited in March. I enjoyed it there; mainly because of the friendly and helpful people and nice rooms and great location.
I found it a real plus to talk with other experienced travelers that stayed there. It made it easier to understand the culture and the streets, and was a great way to learn what to expect. The travelers had a wealth of information. It was nice to hang-out withsomeone that you understood.
Cali Plaza is not a large hotel, but very popular with foreigners visiting Cali, mostly Americans, because it is American-owned and everyone feels at home and happy to socialize with other like-minded people.
There are many people on the streets in Cali that ask you for money or try to con you in some way. Cali Plaza was a nice place to come home to. It felt like a "safe house" (the only place you felt like no one would bother you).
Despite this helpful travel info, Mike makes clear his real intent of writing this review.
I am writing this because the workers and management are nice people. I would like to help them. They deserve it. They work very hard; they made me feel welcome and safe.
But there might be another reason why our friend liked the hotel.
It has many beautiful women. I am single and liked it so much, I am here again.
He did have one little issue with the place though:
I wish they had a pool.
However, the hotel does offer free international cellphones for its guests during the length of your stay, so Mike, you can at least call those beautiful women you like.
[Editor's Note: Hotel Maven John's hankering for adventure took him to Colombia. No, not Columbia -- Colombia. You know, home of drug lords and coffee. Oh, wait, that is just a tad stereotypical--why don't we let John tell you about his adventure at the Cali Plaza Hotel.]
I wanted a new Adventure, so I chose Colombia. I had never been to South America, Cali or Colombia before.
I had a few problems to say the least. Not with the hotel, but with my lack of travel experience and knowledge of people in Colombia.
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by juliana
