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nearly living in the city, not quite living in the country

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Back in Cartagena

Since a happy husband means a happy life, I gave in to the husband and chatted up the reception at the "wedding" hotel. Turns out they had some rooms available for the night of the wedding, so we decided to make a switch in the afternoon before the ceremony. What was nice, too, was that they would be willing to honor the block rate negotiated by the bride and groom. What was not nice was the price, which runs about $300-350 for the base-level room. A happy husband means a happy life. I kept repeating this in my head, also when I opened my credit card bill, and also when I paid said bill. Yuck. It was only one night, and in a way we looked at it as our anniversary celebration since it was close enough to our actual anniversary.

So, without further ado, I give you the Sofitel Santa Clara.


Story goes that the hotel was used as a convent back in the day. Considering it was built sometime after 1620, I'm sure it's had many transformations since then. It definitely has some great details.



The hotel is one square block, with the original structure surrounding an open courtyard and fountain. Not the best picture of the courtyard, but you get an idea.


The new portion of the hotel is built within the pre-existing walls. Our room was on the 2nd floor and over looked the pool. That and some plush bathrobes = BEST EVAR.


The original walls are on the right with the walkway and rooms on the left.


The view from our room to the balcony/pool.


And for ultimate awesomeness, if the impeccable service doesn't win you over (seriously, the service was grade-A prime, but what else would I expect from a Sofitel), they had in-house TOUCANS!

I give you Lucas. There were three or four toucans total, but I think Lucas was the most feisty. The picture below captures him after he bit an unsuspecting passerby. I think Lucas is pretty proud of himself.



And yes, he TALKS. Nice distraction from the price I'm paying to stay there.


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