Colombia | Cartagena's El Marques Hotel Boutique

Rest and relax in an historical building in Cartagena’s old town

There are an abundance of charming boutique hotels in old town Cartagena at reasonable prices when you compare them to hip seaside towns like Miami or LA. After much research we chose to stay at the El Marques Hotel Boutique near the west side of the old town. It turned out to be an excellent decision. All of old town is gorgeous and charming, but our little westside corner seemed to be a bit quieter than the eastern side where you see more of the cheap souvenirs shops and where more of the cruise ship voyagers dump into the narrow streets.

The El Marques is built into a large, old townhouse. I’m sure there was plenty of work done, but it feels straight out of history. There is a fountain the courtyard, plants hang from every corner and there’s a subtle breeze that flows through and keeps it from ever feeling stifling. The staff went above and beyond when we had some transfer issues with the next hotel, and the free daily breakfast was outstanding. Our room was made up each day to perfection and we every corner of the hotel felt seemed to be staged for Architectural Digest. The only drawback is that the pool is on the ground level so if you are looking for direct sun you may want to go with one of the hotels that has a pool on the roof.