Hotel Americas San Andres Islas Colombia

The actual hotel bore no resemblance to the images we had seen. It is definitelly less than the 3 star hotel they claim to be. Before check-in, the hotel staff insisted on additional fees per person for accident and theft insurance—an unusual request. When we declined, they had us sign a note acknowledging our refusal. After signing, we proceeded with the check-in when the reception lady informed us that instead of the room we had paid for, we were assigned one across the street from the hotel. This room was in poor condition, with dirty surroundings, no towels, and beds that had rusted frames. The bathroom was infested with black mold and contained leftover, tiny soaps. Furthermore, the entrance door didn’t close properly, had no lift, so we had to bring the suitcases up a steep staircase and we ha no wifi in the room, only a very bad reception in next to the entrance of the hotel. Once we saw the room they had given us, it became clear why they pushed for insurance; we felt unsafe there. Attempting to cancel our reservation at the reception, they told us that they could help us, and that we had to talk only with the agency we used to book the hotel. We agreed then to stay for one night as eventually, they accepted moved us to another room, which unfortunately was also unclean and had a broken air conditioner. It was located next to a very noisy street, so we couldn’t get any rest. Despite having paid for meals, the dining experience was dreadful. As vegetarians, our only option was plain white rice. The swimming pool was unusable—part of it was under construction, and various groups played loud music without restraint. To add to our concerns, hotel staff warned us that our child could get injured in the pool. (one more reason to pay for the additional insurance) After a sleepless night, we decided to switch to a different hotel the next morning half block away from this one, much nicer staff, cleaner and pleasant for a restful family vacation.