Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Cartagena officially opened on April 2, 2026, marking the third property for the hospitality brand in Colombia. The project is a joint venture with San Francisco Investments, a subsidiary of the Valorem holding company. Located in the Getsemaní neighborhood, the hotel is situated near the UNESCO World Heritage Site Walled City and the Cartagena Convention Center.

The development involved the multi-year restoration of several historic buildings, including the 1920s-era former Club Cartagena. The architectural and interior design was led by the late François Catroux, with additional technical expertise provided by WATG and Wimberly Interiors. The food and beverage concepts were developed by SBM Interior Design and AvroKO. Landscape architecture for the rooftop and grounds was managed by Enea Garden Design, led by Carolina Jaimes.

“Welcoming a third Four Seasons to Colombia, joining our Bogotá and Casa Medina Bogotá properties, marks an important milestone in the continued expansion of our global portfolio,” said Rainer Stampfer, Four Seasons President of Global Operations, Hotels and Resorts.

The hotel features 131 guest rooms, 27 of which are colonial-style suites located within the heritage wing. These units include preserved architectural elements and custom furnishings designed by Poli Mallarino. The property also contains Private Residences designed by Rodriguez Valencia Arquitectos. The primary presidential suite, known as the Catroux Suite, features a private elevator and a terrace with a Moorish-inspired fountain by María Cecilia Franco Berón.

There are eight dining and drinking venues on the property. The Grand Grill and Bar Lelarge were conceptualized by Major Food Group, focusing on steakhouse traditions and seasonal cocktails. Additional venues include Café Rialto, Pizzeria Della Chiesa, El Aljibe, El Patio del Limonar, and the rooftop sunset lounge, El Palmar. Lighting for these venues was designed by Lang Lighting Design.

Wellness facilities include the Umari Spa, which offers six treatment rooms and uses botanical ingredients derived from the umari plant. For business events and social functions, the hotel provides several spaces, including the Ballroom de la Veracruz, which can host 300 guests and features a centuries-old fresco. The Ballroom Centenario provides views of the Walled City for smaller gatherings of up to 100 people.

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is a global hospitality company partially owned by Kingdom Holding Company (TADAWUL: 4280). The company currently operates 136 hotels and 61 residential properties across 47 countries, with more than 60 projects currently in its development pipeline. In Cartagena, the hotel operations are led by General Manager Annie Monnier.

Now Open: Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Cartagena (PRNewsfoto/Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts)

Today we review the hotel called Soy Local Insignia, located in the Getsemaní neighborhood of Cartagena. In contrast to the walled city which dates back to the 1500s, and the modern Bocagrande and Laguito tourist neighborhoods, Getsemaní was largely developed in the early 20^th century. The  neighborhood became run-down, but is now undergoing a revival and renovations are being undertaken everywhere. There are already some impressive luxury boutique hotels and fine dining options, but the area hasn’t lost it’s trendy vibe, and is still budget friendly. Importantly, Getsemaní is bordered on one side by the Cartagena Convention Center, making it a convenient option when attending events. Most hotels are no more than a few blocks away, making it very walkable—if you can stand the hot, sunny weather.

Soy Local Insignia interior

Soy Local Insignia is a small hotel located on Calle de la Media Luna (30^th street) near Calle del Guerrero (Cra 10) in Getsemaní. It is very close, less than a 5 minute walk from the convention center, and near many small restaurants, shops, and corner markets. There was some confusion on where the hotel was located, and our original directions led us to a street around the corner. When we called the number on the Expedia site we used to book, it connected us to an affiliated hotel in Medellín! The Medellín people gave us the correct number, but they should consider correcting that in the appropriate booking sites.

The hotel is in a lovely renovated building, and the front desk staff, José at night and Kelly during the day were friendly and professional. Our 6 night stay to attend the annual ANDICOM IT convention worked out to $54.57 USD per night, including taxes.

The glass door to our room

We had good wifi in our room, good enough for streaming video. I measured 19Mbps download and 27Mbps upload speeds using Ookla. The in-room workspace was very small, but adequate for my laptop.

There is a nice rooftop lounge area with a small pool. Not big enough to swim laps in, but fine for cooling down in the hot weather.

We really wanted to like this hotel but ended up with too many problems that added up so much they couldn’t be ignored. The bed was comfortable enough, though the hotel only offers a basic sheet. Many prefer having a blanket or other bed covering, and it should at least be an option. Our room had no hot water. The hotel itself had hot water, other rooms had hot water, but it was broken in our room. Kelly offered to switch rooms to the front balcony room that faces a nightclub across the street and she warned us how noisy it would be. That room did have hot water, but there would be no quiet until after midnight.

The room had a see-through glass door, which is very strange and a little creepy. There is a blind that can be lowered when in the room, but when you are out of the room, everyone can see in your room, whatever belongings you have, etc. A transparent glass door on a hotel room is something I have never seen before.

Saturday night we had a power blackout. We could hear lots of partying still going on outside, so I don’t know if the whole neighborhood had blackout and everyone else had generators, or the power only went out in the hotel. It was out for about 2 hours. I already mentioned that we had no hot water in our room, Sunday we lost all water completely in our room twice. Once during the day and once again at night when we returned from dinner.

The hotel staff did a good job of cleaning the room, no problem at all there. However, the walls had some scuff marks and what looked like water damage.

Breakfast, served in the rooftop pool area, was a basic assortment of cantaloupe, pineapple, watermelon, and a good, hearty omelet; or you can have your eggs (seems like three) prepared differently, and accompanied by bread or tostones / patacones (fried plantains). During the week there was no problem. The gentleman responsible for serving breakfast was friendly. One odd thing is that the hotel has low calorie sweetener, but they keep it in the back somewhere and you have to ask them to go get it. They will dole it out to you 2 or 3 packets at a time. Sugar, powdered creamer, etc. are set out for the taking. Besides coffee they have a self serve orange juice machine and hot water.

During the week, I asked for cold water with ice and there was no issue. On the weekend, the gentleman was gone and the lady in charge insisted I had to buy bottled water at extra cost, even though that was not an issue during the week. They have an ice machine that doesn’t use bottled water. They give you free hot water. I just asked for ice and put the free hot water in it until it cooled off.

Worse, on Saturday, the same lady tried to tell my wife, registered at the hotel, that she was not entitled to breakfast! I had been in the room working and had to march out to the front desk to get them to straighten that out! A minor humiliation, but no excuse for that kind of treatment.

Soy Local Insignia has the basic ingredients to be an ideal little hotel for exploring the city or attending conferences at the convention center. Sadly, they need to install better systems and training, take care of the physical plant, and do some maintenance. Front desk staff is great, bring the rest of the team up to their level. Most of the missing things are not major investments, but small touches and improvements.

I would stay here again, but it would not be my first choice.

How to get there

Viva has low-cost domestic flights to and from Cartagena from Medellín, Bogotá, San Andrés, Cali and Pereira, Colombia, and international passengers can connect via Viva through Medellín or Bogotá with flights from Mexico City, Cancún, Orlando, Miami, and multiple cities in Perú served by Viva. More international destinations are forthcoming.

As of November 2021, Taxi service from the Cartagena airport to anywhere in the Getsemaní neighborhood is a flat rate $12,100 Pesos, regulated by law. Look for official signage at the airport which will indicate updates. Prices usually change every January. Uber and inDriver are also actively used in Cartagena. Be careful with both informal transportation and taxi service, though it is generally safe.

The US Embassy issued an alert earlier in November stating that “There has been increased criminal activity throughout Cartagena as Covid-19 restrictions have been reduced, and there have been several notable criminal events in the Chambacu neighborhood, the area to the East of Centro Comercial Caribe Plaza, and in Southern Cartagena.” These neighborhoods and areas are outside of the principal tourist areas of the historic walled city, Getsemaní and Bocagrande, and the alert is not referring to the high-end resort and hotel areas to the northeast of the city beyond the airport.

Located in Getsemaní, a neighborhood adjacent to Cartagena’s convention center and the historic walled city, a UNESCO World Heritage site, Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Cartagena plans to revitalize and restore several culturally significant buildings dating as far back as the 16th century, including the Cloister of Saint Francis (Claustro de San Francisco) that includes the 16th-century Saint Francis Church; the Club Cartagena, a 1920s Beaux Arts venue; and four historic theatres, Teatro Cartagena, Teatro Calamarí, Teatro Bucanero and Teatro Rialto. Four Seasons plans a careful restoration aimed at preserving the iconic facades and historic architecture. Situated in the Getsemaní neighborhood, the Hotel and Private Residences will provide guests and residents with convenient access to Cartagena’s burgeoning culture and entertainment scene, and numerous architectural landmarks. The hotel also will offer easy access to Cartagena’s convention center, which constantly attracts international events.

“We are proud to partner with the iconic Four Seasons brand to build a new luxury Hotel and Private Residences in the vibrant city of Cartagena,” says Carlos Arturo Londoño, President, Valorem. “Paired with Four Seasons exceptional service, the newly restored Hotel and Private Residences will be the most sought-after destination to live and visit and will transform the hospitality landscape in Cartagena.”

“This new Hotel and Private Residences is the perfect project for us to expand our presence in South America, providing us with the rare opportunity to convert such an exceptional collection of historic buildings within a marquee location in one of the region’s most alluring cities,” says Bart Carnahan, Executive Vice President, Global Business Development and Portfolio Management, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. “Together with our partners at Valorem, we look forward to bringing the very best in luxury hospitality to Cartagena.”

With interiors designed by François Catroux and Wimberly Interiors, the new Hotel will feature 131 rooms, including a Royal Suite and a Presidential Suite boasting 4,200 square feet (390 square meters) and 3,500 square feet (325 square meters) of living area respectively. The hotel will offer six unique AvroKO-designed food and beverage concepts with both indoor and terrace dining as well as an atrium lounge inside Club Cartagena. The rooftop pool will offer views of Cartagena Bay and the ancient walled city where guests can access the pool bar and grill from private cabanas and day beds. A  Four Seasons spa and fitness center will also be available.

Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Cartagena will also include approximately 16 Private Residences, the first branded residential alternative in Cartagena’s historic district. The hotel will also include 16,000 square feet (1,485 square meters) of meeting and event space.

Founded in 1997, Valorem is a Colombian conglomerate owning or controlling Caracol Television, El Espectador newspaper, Cromos magazine, CineColombia movie theater chain, the D1 convenience store chain (Koba S.A.) Refocosta timber, and Ditransa cargo, among other investments.

As of December 2017, Grupo Valorem’s assets and sales were USD $1.2 billion and USD $1.3 billion respectively (based on ownership in subsidiaries).