How To Make Cartagena The Time Of Your Life

STAY

HOTEL BOUTIQUE CASA PESTAGUA – It’s the immense scale that hits you upon entering this high-ceilinged palacio, one of three originally owned by the 18th-century Count of Pestagua. With louvered window shutters, a muted palette, and heat-resistant corolina stone flooring, the 11 rooms are designed for Cartagena’s steamy climate. We love the generous breakfast of tropical fruit, stuffed yuca fritters, and arepas served in the palm-filled courtyard.

CHARLESTON SANTA TERESA CARTAGENA – While most hotels in the old town open onto narrow streets, the Charleston commands uninterrupted views over the 16th-century ramparts to the Caribbean Sea, with an open-air bar that spills out onto a large plaza. A new restaurant run by chef Harry Sasson, owner of Bogota’s Club Colombia and Harry’s Bar, opened in November and has already become a local hot spot.

SOFITEL LEGEND SANTA CLARA – The restored Santa Clara is carved from the shell of a 17th-century convent in the quiet neighborhood of San Diego. You’ll still find a chapel nave and confessional windows, along with an elaborate wrought-iron entrance gate and a crypt inside the perennially packed bar. Upstairs, there’s an easy tropical feel in both the suites of the Colonial wing and the 106 minimalist rooms in the contemporary wing.

CASA SAN AGUSTIN – Hidden among the houses of the old town, the 30-room Casa San Agustin was created by merging three smaller properties. An L-shaped pool passes pleasingly through the cutout wall of a former aqueduct, and rooms are tucked into a maze of alcoves, turrets, and mezzanines. Each is furnished with tables made of Congolese wenge wood and has a bathroom with intricate Mexican tiling. Room to book: 102, with a private plunge pool.SHOP

Standout boutiques with Colombian flavor.

1.For sparkle and cut, Colombian emeralds rank among the world’s finest. At Lucy Jewelry owner Lucy Sanchez has been matching each of her clients with a unique stone set in gold or sterling for 26 years.

2.If you want to fit in with the locals on the beach, head to Love Me Wappa, in El Centro, for flirty bikinis and chic one-pieces in colorful prints and patterns.

3.Edgar Gomez – Estevez has made guayabera shirts for both local caballeros and those who are visiting, Bill Gates among them. His cut and fabrics are several notches above any others you’ll find in town; pick up one of his bespoke creations at Ego.

4.Barranquilla-born designer Silvia Tcherassi, who has shops in Bogota and Cali, creates ankle-length dresses and delicate camisas in bright, billowy silk that will work just as well back home.

5.Anticuario Olano is an antiques collector’s dream. The shelves are lined with statuary, from bronze figurines forged in Paris to life-size saint sculptures, along with offbeat treasures like colonial musket balls.

SEE + DO

The essential stops for culture hounds.

1.At Cartagena’s light-filled NH Galena, gallerist Nohra Haime showcases contemporary talent from Colombia and beyond. A highlight: native pop artist Nadin Ospina’s pre-Columbian-style Bart Simpson statue.

2.The extensive, pedestrian-friendly Las Murallas are walls that were built in response to Francis Drake’s siege of Cartagena in 1586.

3.An impressive collection of paintings and works by sculptor Enrique Grau fills the intimate Museo de Arte.

4.Teatro Adolfo Mejia hosts homegrown and international concerts and festivals, and has an ornate gold-leaf interior and top-notch acoustics.

5.In Getsemani, Centro Cultural Ciudad Movil is a grassroots cultural center that attracts locals for salsa dancing and live Afro-Colombian mapale rhythms.

EAT

EL GOBERNADOR BY RAUSCH – Since unveiling his award-winning Criterion in Bogota in 2004, London-trained Jorge Rausch has built a restaurant empire stretching to Costa Rica. El Gobernador, his seventh, opened last June with a wood-framed dining room where the chef gives French culinary traditions a Colombian twist: suckling pig paired with sweet potato, and tiger prawns on enyucodo, a yuca-and-anise specialty from the Caribbean coast.

EL BOLICHE CEBICHERIA – At this tiny, stylish restaurant on a San Diego backstreet, only a handful of diners at a time get to sample the excellent Colombian-style ceviche from gifted chef Oscar Colmenares. He transforms freshly caught octopus, squid, and conch by marinating them in tamarind sauce or coconut milk with cilantro.

MARIA – The jazzed-up jungle look inside Maria—white wicker chairs, giant cordyline plants, strangely hypnotic tiger-motif tapestries— is a draw in itself. But it’s worth staying for Alejandro Ramirez’s salmon poached in orange and coconut milk, or snook tirodito with fennel and grapefruit.

LA VITROLA – This Cuban-themed landmark feels straight out of Old Havana, complete with whirring ceiling fans and bolero crooners. It’s surprisingly formal for laid-back Cartagena: expect uniformed staff, sophisticated Caribbean cooking (grilled grouper with chili) and a far-reaching wine list.

RESTAURANTE LA CASA DE SOCORRO – Color runs riot in this local institution, where even the waiters’ garb is a patriotic yellow, red, and blue. Regulars range from blue-collar workers to pearl-garlanded senoras, along with a whole telenovela’s worth of Colombian celebrities. Diners pack the place around 8 p.m. for hearty seafood soup and herb-crusted fish straight from the grill.