Beautiful Design, Terrible Management — Deeply Disappointed!To begin, I want to acknowledge that the design of this hotel is truly outstanding. The rooms are tastefully decorated, every detail feels thoughtfully considered, and it’s clear that the owner has a refined European sense of style. The room itself is spacious, with soft bathrobes, slippers, and a quality set of toiletries. The rooftop pool offers panoramic views, and even the lobby features a lovely little garden.However — and this is where my experience turns completely negative — the management of this hotel is absolutely terrible, and it’s truly a shame, because such a beautiful property is being ruined by people who clearly don’t care about their guests.Let me explain in detail:Breakfast Disaster: I was served scrambled eggs made from rotten eggs. The smell was unbearable — anyone could notice it immediately when the waiter brought the plate. The croissants were stale, at least one or two days old. Is this what you expect from a 4-star hotel?Hygiene Issues: There were cockroaches in the room, and the floor was filthy. Despite being cleaned daily (supposedly), it clearly hasn’t been properly washed in a long time. You can even see in my photos that there are black hairs stuck to my white slippers (and I am blonde, so they’re clearly not mine). After just a few steps from the bedroom to the bathroom, the soles of the slippers turned completely dark.Bathrooms: I regret not taking photos of the toilets — they were in a terrible state.No Drinking Water: The room didn’t even include a single complimentary bottle of water, and the water available in the lobby smelled strongly of chemicals and chlorine, making it impossible to drink.After all of this, I approached the hotel manager (her name, as I was told, is Paula) to discuss some form of compensation for the obvious inconveniences we faced during our stay. Her response was that the hotel could cover our transfer to the airport — that’s it!I proposed a reasonable alternative: either one free night or a 50% discount on the next night’s stay. Instead of showing any understanding or professionalism, she offered me a room rate 1.5 times higher than the price available on online booking platforms — or suggested that I simply go book the same room there if I wanted a better deal!How is that acceptable customer service? This is a complete lack of respect for guests.In summary:This hotel is visually stunning, but run by completely incompetent management that has no idea how to maintain guest satisfaction or basic hygiene standards. I absolutely do not recommend staying here until the entire management team is replaced.What could have been a wonderful boutique experience turned into one of the most disappointing hotel stays I’ve ever had.
User:Ralda A
Trip type: Couples
A GEM BOUTIQUE HOTEL!
09 Feb 2025
I slept in a beautifully appointed, seeming newly constructed hotel room (loved the bathroom glass shower doors and tile) In the morning, I headed past the front desk to a cozy, sunny dining room for really good coffee, fresh fruits and omelettes. (waffles and many other options were on the menu) The hotel staff is very welcoming with excellent attention to detail. During the day and evening, I explored the walled city, restaurants, chops, historical sites, Getsemani...all an easy and fun walk in such a beautiful city. In the late afternoon before heading out for the evening, I swam in the pool (on the 3rd floor) with views of Cartagena. The wall next door was covered with beautiful purple flowers. The view, warm pools and flowers is really hard to match! Thank you to everyone at the Marques dl Villalta or making by stay truly memorable!
User:AnnStreatham
Trip type: Family
Great Place to Stay
18 Dec 2024
I have been visiting Cartagena for several years, this was my third visit to Eurostars Marques De Villalta Hotel. The hotel is ideally situated in a quiet area of the walled city but only a 2/5 minute walk from many excellent restaurants and all the things you will want to explore while there. The rooms are spacious, the beds wonderfully comfortable, they are well equipped with everything you could possibly want and, extremely clean. Breakfast is good with plenty of fresh fruit and a variety of cooked options. What makes the hotel though are the staff who are courteous, helpful and, who go out of their way to be ensure you enjoy your stay. I am already planning my return visit!
User:AnnStreatham
Trip type:
The Place to Stay in Cartagena!
18 Dec 2022
This was m sixth visit to Cartagena, but my first stay at the Marques de Villata, I noticed the hotel on my last visit in January 2020, it had just opened, I decided it was ideally located for my next visit, I was not disappointed.We had a long stay at the hotel and enjoyed every minute. The hotel is very well situated within the walled city. The rooms are large, comfortable and spotlessly clean. Our bathroom was large with a good shower. There is also a roof top swimming pool. Breakfast was included in our stay and there was a good variety of well presented, well cooked food.Special mention must go to the Front Desk Reception, Rafael, Frank, Danello and Stella were incredibly helpful and patient with us, giving help to book excursions and, answering our many questions. David and Julietta (I hope I got her name right!) in the dining room were also on hand and dealt with all our requests. Thank you to everyone at the hotel for a really memorable stay. We will be back!
User:yuie
Trip type:
5 star luxury and service
24 Sept 2022
This is a gorgeous villa in the middle of the walled city within walking distance to all sites. The rooms were spacious, the shower was powerful and we had no issues with hot water or the safe. The photos here are reflective of the property. The hotel itself is a tranquil place to retreat from the bustle of the city both in its open courtyard and the rooftop pool. With its lush greenery it even attracted a baby tamarind that we spotted in the trees while relaxing on the rooftop. All staff were friendly and accommodating. Rafael at the front desk was exceptionally helpful in ensuring all our needs and requests were met. He went above and beyond to get a difficult reservation at a very popular restaurant and ensured we had received the confirmation from him. We will definitely return to this hotel on our next trip back to Cartagena.
Cartagena, Cartagena
About Eurostars Marques De Villalta
User Rating & Reviews
17 Nov 2025
09 Feb 2025
0204 505 9777