Hotel Costa Linda

What People are saying

Well-appointed, peaceful and spacious room with desk and fast Wi-Fi. Good breakfast. Nice park nearby.

TimSeattle1on 07/03/2017 01:58

I stayed here for 1 night during my solo bicycle tour through Colombia. In order to obtain a better idea of local accommodation standards and costs, I waited 3 weeks into my bike tour (after staying in 15+ hotels) before writing this review, which I am doing in Tunja. I speak Spanish and was therefore able to communicate well with my host(s).

Pluses
The hotel was mid-range and well constructed. My room, #202, had good reliable in-room Wi-Fi, a sizable table and chair, and quiet, effective A/C. It was well-appointed, peaceful and spacious. The hotel provided free drinking water. I did not use the flat-screen TV.

I particularly enjoyed spending several hours in the afternoon at the festive park 100 m away. This had soothing plants, shady places to sit, and lots of exuberant kids providing free entertainment for the older folk. I watched a basketball game played by handicapped folk in wheelchairs, which turned out to be quite exciting. The local folk were welcoming and fun to talk to (but for this one needed Spanish).

The batman Jorge was a great help, and not only assisted with carrying my bike and trailer upstairs but also collected up all my empty water bottles (I was drinking 6 liters/day in this hot weather) and returned with these filled.

The next morning I was ready to depart at 05h45, in order to avoid the worst of the heat and traffic. Breakfast did not open officially until 06h30. On an impulse I decided to ask if they perhaps had coffee ready. The young man at the front desk was more friendly than the guy the previoius night. He said, go ahead and enjoy fruit, coffee, cereals and everything. He apologized that the hot breakfast would not be ready until 06h30. I was delighted and told him that I was a vegetarian and seldom ate hot breakfasts. I enjoyed a good breakfast in the empty dining room.

Minuses
A small refrigerator would have been nice. These have been fairly common in my other hotels, at prices 60k and above.

When I checked in, the young man at the front desk (Jason?) was not particularly friendly. When I explained (In Spanish) that good Wi-Fi was essential and asked if I could please test it with my laptop, he refused, saying “trust us”. His was the only such refusal I have received in my trip so far. When I said that I would then look for another hotel, he relented and had the batman Jorge show me to room 202, which was up 1 flight of stairs. It took me only 5 minutes to discover that their Wi-Fi worked great, so I checked in.

Summary
In the center of a big city and with a hot and cold breakfast, the room was good value at 90 k COP (about USD 32). I would stay there again.

For me it was a good location, although cycling in along hiway 90A from Cartagena would have been stressful during rush hour. (I arrived around 14h00 and it was just OK). Likewise, I left fairly early (06h00) en route to Cienaga. Traffic was already building. Don’t leave much later on a bicycle! The nearby park was a great place to visit.

Note: before asking the price, check for a last-minute deal on Booking.com. (This assumes one hasn’t already booked a room, which hasn’t so far been necessary). I have had 3G service everywhere so far, on my T-Mobile US smartphone. The front desk wanted 110k but honored Booking’s price. They acknowledged that had I made the reservation with Booking it would have cost them 10-15% commission.

My rating: 4/5. Location as measured with my GPS: 10.994088, -74.803054

good service for the cost

Bjorn Bon 06/02/2017 22:19

Fist time in Barranquilla and selected the Hotel Costa Linda due to good price and good location. The hotel semms to be pretty new . beds are big and comfortable, internet connection exellent, every corner sparkling clean and friendly workers all around. My only complaint would be same as every europian customer seems to complain about in this price range hotels, no hot water for the shower. The water is not cold but far away from what we are used to in europe. Breakfast was fine , specially I liked the fresh froots.
The terraza needs to be more comfotrable, there is empty up there, if i remeber right two tables and 3 chairs and nothing else. no parasol or bench to relax in the sun.
I would for sure stay there again for the good price they offer. around 30 us$ a night

Difficult start but happy ending

Kristiaan Jon 16/02/2016 23:25

A story:
Had booked/paid this months before through a website offer, but no one of the hotel replied on my reminders for weeks/months asking to confirm my booking and personal requests, until I put this issue through Q&A on TripAdvisor,
Upon arrival don't think they were prepared/organized, asked me to pay full amount and after showing payment docs and their verification call, they were sorry and only asked to pay a local fee of 4 K per day.
The "room 406" I got was not what I requested / they confirmed, because it was not quiet, next to the washing room where in the morning at 6.30 AM the working girls gathered before my door. Also I requested / they confirmed hot water, what did not work, only cold. Room very small with a green START button under the light switch what seems to be the alarm and for two days this has gone off in the night by other guests on this 4th floor. Bathroom very old. Hole in the wall behind refrigerator with draft and mosquitoes that didn't got killed through my electrical device.
At the reception they did their best with help of friendly technical guy to find me a better room, what I was able to get after 2 days, even upgraded me free to compensate the inconveniences.
"Room 305" was much better, was quiet, had hot water (poor pressure/old shower) and had normal size (they removed second bed).

Quotes:
- All staff friendly and helpful, but can't speak English
- Nice surprise: free carnival set on the bed (t-shirt etc, very convenient)
- Breakfast till 9.30 AM = basic and OK, you can take food and drinks as much you want
- Free wifi (fast), cable tv (good) and free small safe (with a key, no code)
- Room: daily cleaned, new towels, shampoo, further description see above.
- Location: good

Nice inexpensive hotel room on beautiful remote beach

SkisWithDogon 04/12/2015 19:10

We stayed at the Hotel Linda for three nights. The hotel is right on the beach and in a remote location. The hotel is right on the beach. There were very few people in the area donut felt like a private beach. Rooms are large, clean and quiet. A/C and fans keep the room comfortable. The balconies are large and all rooms have great ocean views. The showers only have room temperature water but this is comfortable.
The mosquitos are problematic for some people but ONLY for about an hour after sunset. Consider bringing bug repellent.
The proprietors Ken and Faidy are friendly and very accommodating. I made a mistake with the dates for my reservation and they corrected it for me without a charge. The rooms are large and comfortable. The food in the hotel restaurant is cheap and is good. Hotel internet speed is sometimes spotty and sometimes very good. Measured speed at 22:00 was 3MBPS. My husband and myself and our friend throughly enjoyed our visit.

Tips:
Take advantage of the hotel transportation from Tolu. Taxis are 40,000 pesos to the hotel, which is 10km from Tolu. Advise the hotel when you will arrive beforehand.

I walked around the hotel neighborhood and found the locals to be very talkative and friendly. I never had any safety concerns, even after dark.

Consider flying from Medellin (EOH) to Tolu (TLU) on ADA Airlines. Saves a 2.5 hour bus ride from Cartegena and is <$100USD. Oddly this route isn't listed in major CRS like Google Flights so go to the ADA website.

Take a boat ride to the San Bernardo Islands, cost 40,000 pesos and snorkel or dive. We had a great experience with cartegenadivers
2 tank dive is 220,00 pesos. They have a web site with contact information.

Beer and cocktails are cheap and make for easy poolside and beach relaxation.

Good hotel, but not happy with stay

sharknado523on 11/08/2015 00:41

This hotel is OK, but there were a lot of poorly maintained plants nearby that tried to give the illusion of a relaxing outdoor atmosphere. That would be OK if it didn't make the room smell rather offensively. The room had a window, but it didn't actually go outside, but rather to the "greenhouse" sort if thing, so I had no way to ventilate the smell.

This hotel was good, but if you aren't expecting visitors, don't go downstairs if the front desk calls you. Con artists ask for the gringo and they message your room, telling you that you have a visitor. I had a German guy spin me a yarn about needing money to get a new passport because his bag was stolen, and another guy who tried to borrow money from me and say "when I get to New York I'll mail you a check." I'm not sure if this is a recurring behavior, but after a while I stopped taking visitors.

I'd stay here again if budget were of the essence, but there are better hotels in the city worth the premium.