Review: Sofitel Cartagena Hotel

What's the difference between Fine Hotels and Amex Fine Hotels besides the benefits?

You really should check out another (of the 5) hotel of the Sofitel Legend chain: Sofitel Legend Old Cataract in Aswan, Egypt. Words don't do justice!

Easily the best restaurant in Cartagena for a nice dinner. The prices for dinner there are amazingly inexpensive as well. If I recall correctly, I paid $88USD for two people including wine. Easily a $200+ experience in the US.

FYI, Lanvin is one of the oldest fashion houses in France and a very upscale brand.

Wish I was there! Looks fabulous!!!!

To answer your question as to reason for personalized cards with hotel address on them; this is a courtesy as they knew you were not Spanish and when you were to go out , you could give them to a taxi driver so you could always return "home" .

It looks like @Santastico beat me to it - I was about to comment about the Lanvin toiletries, which I think would be amazing - better than most brands of toiletries that hotels provide.

The hotel looks like a contrast in styles -as you said, the seat and ottoman in your room looked decidedly out of place; I would say the same thing about the furniture on your balcony!

Thanks for the review! To me, this looks incredibly overpriced. I think you explained why it seemed so enjoyable to you really fairly, but I couldn't put enough of a premium on the nice courtyard to overcome the mediocre (bathroom especially), gym, and location. The non-breakfast food actually looked great, but I keep reading about all the great restaurants in town, so it's hard to award too many points there.

Considering you've frequently mentioned how much you don't generally care to lounge outside, I wonder if this is at least partially a case where your traveling companion is positively influencing your perception.

Up until last summer I had never stayed at a Sofitel but I've stayed at three of their properties in the past 10 months and each stay has been great. I know that the rewards program is not quite as lucrative as Hilton, Starwood or Hyatt but the hotels and service are consistently much better at similar prices, in my limited experience. For my travel, the ability to pay for any stay entirely or partially with points at a rate of $46 USD/2000 points is very useful. I am getting fewer points from Le Club Accor than I might from Hilton or Marriott but the Le Club Accor points are much more usable to me. Besides, I have more points than I can use so I am much more likely to chose a hotel based on service and comfort rather than rewards program, and Sofitel is head and shoulders above the US chains in that regard.

Try the Tcherassi hotel next time. Only 7 amazing rooms. Very small and boutique. Public areas are better at the Santa Clara though. No buffet breakfast but the chef will cook you anything you want..it is included.

Ben,
Santastico and Mary are absolutely correct. Lanvin is one of the oldest fashion houses in Paris with many prestigious perfumes...The first fragrance, Irisé, appeared in 1923. Well known fragrances from Lanvin include My Sin (1925), Arpège (1927, relaunched 1993). You are showing your age (or lack of it). Or, perhaps I am showing mine;
The last time I was in Cartagena was in 1971, when I tacked a visit on to a business trip to Cali. There was no airport then. One took the bus to and from Barranquilla, which was then (and probably still is) the drug capital of the world. The bus ride was interesting...to say the least. From Barranquilla one flew to Bogota and then on to Miami.
I don't remember where my husband and I stayed. There were only two hotels at that time. I do remember that Cartagena was beautiful.I am glad that I saw it before it was "colonized" by the mileage runners looking for their amenities.

Upscale....yet they are serving Stash brand tea, which is pretty cheap. I have not stayed at a Sofitel before so I dont know if this is property specific or used/given across the entire chain.

This is actually a Sofitel Legend not a Sofitel, they're two different brands. Sofitel Legend only has 5 properties and all of them are worth a visit.

$320 is not expensive for this hotel nor for Cartagena. I've paid close to $500 at the Santa Theresa, which is an inferior property. Cartagena is not a cheap city (though the recent peso drop has made it more affordable).

Monsieur Lanvin was one of the classic men's fragrances of the 60s and 70s. Sadly no more, superseded by stuff reminiscent of insect spray.
As a frequent visitor to Bangkok you will have noticed the Lanvin store in the mall adjacent to The Hyatt Erawan
It was common for Sofitel to provide small bottles of scent as an amenity in suites , just a Le Meridien used to do but with Nina Ricci. Sadly ended.

Paying that much is ridiculous. You could easily find a hotel in the same location just by walking around and asking for about 25-30 bucks and it would be a great little place in one of the old buildings inside the walls.

For the rest of the money you wasted on that hotel (for one night) you could have eaten in some really nice authentic restaurants that aren't tourist traps.

I have no idea why anyone would spend that much time in Cartagena if you only had a week in Colombia.

You also could have flown Viva Colombia for 50ish dollars from city to city.