Rosario de Mar Ecohotel

Premises: The hotel is surrounded by a smelly landfill full of garbage which attracts stray dogs who enter the property and poop on the beach. I counted 7 poops on the beach and on the restaurant terrace. Staff: very unfriendly and inefficient (especially the young woman at reception and the male waiters). Rooms: no cupboards in the rooms, impossible to hang clothes, no warm water, bugs everywhere Catering: 80% of the menu is not available. Colombia is the land of coffee and tropical fruits, but at breakfast they only serve cheap instant coffee… and there is no fruit! The cutlery, plates and cups are dirty. The tables are not cleared until several hours after meals, which attracts hungry birds who spread their leftover food everywhere. Beach: No protection from the sun (except a few palm trees), loud music and dogs taking over your places and being masters of the place. A French woman was frightened by 3 dogs who were barking aggressively and baring their teeth as they walked on the beach. Transport once a day by a small speed boat (1hour journey: 8am to the island and 2:30 pm from the island). Since boat is open and it was raining, we arrived totally soaked and had to wait until 3pm to get the room (after begging we received a towel to dry ourselves and changed clothes in the toilets). Since breakfast is between 7 and 9am, it is not even possible to get a coffee or drinks upon arrival and you need to wait until lunch. We decided to leave the next day (although we had booked for 3 nights) and go back to Cartagena. Eventually we were happy to spend another couple of days in Cartagena.

Rosario de mar Ecohotel was the highlight of my trip to Colombia! Once we were on the boat from Cartagena, we could feel our troubles melt away. On arrival, we enjoyed both beaches which are located on a point of the Isla Grande, and drinks were brought to us. We had room 202, which has a fantastic view and an excellent air conditioner that cooled the room down quickly when we returned briefly or to sleep. Everyone working at Rosario de mar were knowledgeable about activities and the menu at the restaurant and the food was very delicious! I can't give more than 5 stars but I would if I could!

We stayed for 7 nights from December 13-21, 2023. Know that you are not getting peace and quiet here. We thought a stay on a remote island would be the ideal place to relax, read a book, soak up the sun & sleep with the sound of the water. Not so. Each day, the property welcomes boats of day trippers from 9 am to 3 pm (some days 50-80 people.) Many other couples staying found it very disruptive, not just us. We told the manager that the loud music alternating from reggaeton, techno, and pop at the whims of staff was disruptive, but he responded they need to please the day trippers who want a fiesta. Reading on the beach meant using noise cancelling headphones. Napping in the sun was also impossible. The food was tasty and the menu large (if expensive), but some items never came or took 1.5h. Sleeping required earplugs as hotels around played loud music late at night. The base ingredients for this place to be amazing are there: The beaches are swimmable with turquoise waters; the rooms are large & clean. Staff are nice but the place is mismanaged and organization is clearly lacking. We were given a "family room" in the main complex with only 2 double beds when we booked a family cabaña with 3 beds as per the pictures, with the manager telling us that photos were just for "reference". The highlight for us were the excursions with Simón and Ezekiel, who can be hired on the beach. If you don't mind the noise, go ahead. Otherwise, we don’t recommend it.

The experience staying 2 nights at this hotel includes both a highlight and a lowlight of our 1 week trip to Columbia. Arriving early afternoon on a Tuesday we were greeted by a pleasant team of staff members. The 2 beaches, restaurant area and our room did not disappoint. Overall, the quality of accommodations, food and service were very good if not great. The most appealing feature on that first day was the pleasant atmosphere, gentle island pace & vibe and lack of crowds compared to busy Cartagena. What was not appealing was having the property overrun with ~450 US college students from about 10am to at least 3pm of our first full day there. Complete with loud (and sometimes shockingly explicit) music, crowds and mayhem associated with “open bars” for the day trippers. The second day saw a much more reasonably sized group (100-150). On the day we left, we understood a group of ~550 were expected. We get that day trippers help pay the bills but we honestly felt abandoned by the hotel. We were not given any heads up about the huge group. It was difficult to find beach chairs and get service, let alone find any semblance of a peaceful island vibe while the large group was onsite. Having said all of this, we’d likely go back given the opportunity. We’d just make a point to research the expected volume of day trippers before making the commitment.

As sent to our guide who arranged the tour with Gente de Mar staff. Says it all. Photo for the bruise I had against the outboard motor once I finally got to the boat as in addition, no ladder, brave the motors to board. Violation of all maritime safety rules that I literally would not have survived had I not dived since age 16. Well, today was object lesson day for the kids. 1. Roll with the punches when you travel 2. Do not ever assume anyone else will follow safety rules 3. See #2 for a damn good reason PADI insists on a swim test for certification. As sent to our tour guide re a coming excursion… at least we didn’t get charged for the snorkeling part of today? “I would like to cancel for a refund. At our excursion to Gente de Mar today, I was one meter from the snorkeling boat when it turned on its motor. I swam starboard to not be cut, and the boat LEFT. The rest of my party asked the captain to return but he refused and watched me swim 500 METERS to him. There was no reason or logic and had my children boarded last instead of me, they would have drowned. On the way back to Cartagena, the speedboat was full so we were put in a lancha at capacity where the captain drove over other boat wakes, terrifying my 9 year old who cried until he passed out, completely soaking us, and only stopped when he nearly capsized after being struck by a wave in the wake. I want no part of any more of your business on the water.”

As lovely as the location and beaches were unfortunately quite a few things let this hotel down. - There was one day that the hotel hosted a ‘private event’ on one of the beaches for around 40/50 people off the island failing to let the guests of the hotel know this was happening. They also still allowed the day boats over (which is a usual thing) but it meant both beaches where then full leaving a few loungers in the corner for hotel guests. If you’re staying a few days, that’s a total waste on one of your days and disrecptpful to the guests paying to stay. - We found when settling our bill on check out that service charge is applied on every single thing at a rate of 12.5 percent. For meals that’s ok I guess but it was added for example when we went and got water throughout the day and also when we went and got our own drinks in the evening. There was no ‘service’ involved in delivering drinks to justify this. - The menu was fairly limited (75 percent seafood) and it’s no different for lunch so it gets quite repetitive. It’s a shame there’s not a lighter lunch menu. There was also no flexibility at all. - The bar closed every night at 9pm which we were told was a new rule as in December it was open until 12pm but they didn’t want to stay up for only a few guests. Past 9pm there is nowhere to even sit and relax as no lounge/bar area which is a shame. - There’s only in sheltered outdoor seating for dinner. It’s pretty in the day but it gets really windy at night so there definitely needs to be a sheltered area to eat instead of the current situation. We went to other hotels on the island that had shelters over their restaurants and it was much nicer to eat there. One final point - please don’t get a boat to isla grande in the afternoon, it’s so dangerous on the sea in the small old boats. We learnt the hard way. Always go in the morning! These aren’t things that ruined our trip but overall they do impact your experience. I think the hotel needs to improve and it’s just small tweaks to make it really good.