La Ballena Azul Hotel

El trato del personal, ha sido muy amable. El hotel está bien ubicado

La calidad no está acorde al precio de las habitaciones, siendo que es un precio muy elevado para las instalaciones que ofrecen.

La ubicación, es importante por que esta al lado de los negocios necesarios, farmacias, D1, tiendas y supermarket y el Personal, estaba disponible las 24 horas del dia.

Zero

This stay should have a different rating: below atrocious, evil Booking.com: please reconsider maintaining this stay as one of your options. Your options are usually reputable and worthy. La Ballena Azul is NOT worthy of Booking.com. All of us travelers at one time or another have had safety concerns for our money or items left in our hotel rooms. Not only outside thieves but actual employees, housekeepers, etc stealing from us. Trust in the hotel to a certain degree: no more, I certainly lost that trust. This is the first time in my 60 years of traveling that I have had a hotel employee steal from me. Police report is with Detective Javier Acosta, Taganga, Santa Marta, Colombia Police Dept on August 10, 2026. $600 (six $100 bills in my backpack) was stolen from me, James Fischer, inside my room, by Sandra or one of two front desk employees at La Ballena Azul. Which one, I do not know but $600 was stolen from my room, fact. It was determined it could not have been an outside job by cameras, no forced entry, etc. I paid $179 for two nights stay before I discovered the robbery. $179 should not remain charged to my booking. com credit card but I will address this later with booking.com Aside from the robbery, Taganga is noise pollution (loud music, crowd noise) to the utmost hellish max. Loud music blaring below my two story room constantly until 5am. If you want peace and security, please avoid Taganga. The room was dirty, ants, had no hot water, no WiFi, refrigerator was rusty and dirty inside, no shampoo, and only two tiny cheap bars of soap. The $179 for two nights is tremendously overpriced because of very little value. I only give reviews when there are exceptional issues one way or another. If I can prevent this from happening to another traveler, then possibly my $600 plus $179 room charge, went to a decent cause. I do care that another traveler does NOT go to La Ballena Azul. Please BEWARE of the above if you do!

La ubicación, está cerca a la playa.

Que solo es un lugar para ir a dormir.

La vista

No es limpio

La ubicación

.

Everything perfect, i even forgot my headphones and they helped me to get them back, thanks!

Lage direkt am Meer, schöne Zimmer, schöner Innenhof, Parkplatz.

zu teuer da nicht einmal Frühstück enthalten. Etwas laut.

Location, staff friendliness

L'emplacement près de la plage.

Dans la première chambre, une suite présidentielle vue sur mer, tout est à l'abandon. Les robinets, les armoires, et lenplancher sales. Il y avait trois coquerelles adultes mortes et un lézard . J'ai demandé à être remboursée pour partir et impossible. On a changé pour une petite chambre correct . Et après on a réussi à être déménagé dans la chambre avec un lit double et un lit simple qui avait été rénovée et qui était correcte. Mais jamais je n'ai pu être remboursée ou avoir la différence de prix . Mais on a tout de même essayé de nous accommoder.

El personal es increíble 10/10, hacen la experiencia otro nivel. La instalación están súper bonitas

La atención fue buena

Tenían fotos antiguas de lo que fue , nos robaron de la caja fuerte nos sacaron dinero es mejor no usar la caja fuerte porque ellos tienen llave de todo

Personal amable y atento

Las instalaciones , baja calidad para la categoría .

O hotel é extremamente bem localizado. No meio de tudo que é importante na região e com fácil acesso aos passeios e restaurantes.

A parte do barulho nem é um problema tão grande por que é o preço que se paga por ficar bem no meio de tudo. Mas o que incomodou foi a cama velha, não ter frigobar no quarto e principalmente não ter água quente. Ao questionar na recepção fomos informados que era assim mesmo e não teriam instação de água quente. Pediram pagamento antecipado pelo whatsapp mesmo não sendo informado isso no booking.

El personal. Muy amables todos el mundo e intentando ayudar en todo

La vista y ubicación. También la atención del personal.

Super Lage am Strand von Taganga. Netter Innenhof zum Verweilen mit Pflanzen und Bananenbäumen. Nettes Personal.

Die Betten haben so ein wasserhemmendes Laken. Das behindert dann aber auch die Luftzirkulation. Fühlt sich an, als schläft man auf einer Kunststofffolie. Habe ich aber hier schon öfter auch in anderen Unterkünften festgestellt.

La atención siempre presta , la habitación con baños amplios y limpios con un lindo espejo , siempre volvemos aquí !!

Leider nur die Lage.

Beim einchecken und Zimmer zeigen wurde vehement auf den tollen Safe hingewiesen. Safe mit Schlüssel. Tagsdrauf wollte ich die Zimmer bezahlen. Kreditkarte angeblich nicht möglich da keine Internetverbindung. Wurde gesagt. Wlan funktionierte. Komisch. Und dann mit Schrecken festgestellt, daß im Safe 900.000 COP fehlten. Keine Einbruchsspuren. Nicht an der Tür und nicht am Safe. Polizei einzuschalten machte wenig Sinn. Bitte ganz doll aufpassen, und besser Wertsachen immer mitnehmen.

Todo estuvo bien sencillo perfecto para lo que estábamos requiriendo.

Las instalaciones y la comodidad de la habitación

Sugerencia Que tengan neveras pequeñas en las habitaciones

La limpieza y comodidad de las habitaciones

Lo único que le agregaría sería una nevera a la habitación, después todo lo demás excelente

Bien cuidado, como se ve en las fotos

Q el pago con tarjeta de crédito tiene recargo

Near beach Near restaurants

I loved the property as it was right next to the beach and some stores and restaurants- the hotel was nice and clean and the staff was very friendly - I recommend it - it was also a good price

I liked it all - would stay here again

Perfect location to get groceries, ice, restaurants...etc...

Coffee available in reception...

Right next to the beach and various restaurants.

beach restaurants people around the hotel

well the hotel have pictures that they have a pool rooms on the pictures look a lot different more cozy is bad advertising .

Location and friendly staff

Rooms were old and needed updating along with majority of hotel

Right next to beach and good restaurants. Staff was great.

No complaints

The staff are great. The location is excellent. The beach and restaurants and markets are only a couple of minutes of walking.

Tinto coffee is available...but regular coffee and cups would be nice.

Location

Will be there couple of times me and my friends never complained very nice and very clean Hotel and clothes for everything thank you very much

Bonjour l’hotel a perdu son charme sa porte avant qui donnait sur la plage as ete fermer pour des commerces le sites a droite pour ces dejeuner a ete transformer en une epicerie alimentaire en fait plus de dejeuner meme pas de toilette en attendant ma chambre et l’hotel n’as toujours pas d’eau chaude toutefois les chambres sont encore tres bien pour le prix et taganga reste pour moi un endroit plaisant a voir et sejourner !!!

Regular

In front of the beach

They gave me the wrong room

The staff was very kind

It doesn’t have any commodity, even bathrooms in the common area, no pool, no restaurant, etc

We had a really nice balcony where you could watch the sunset. The room has a fridge which is nice. Everything was clean and comfortable and the hotel is directly at the beach and main spot for restaurants.

On weekends it is really busy on the street and you hear the traffic and party noise through the windows.

The excellent staff was very attentive and helpful! They did an excellent job! The rooms were small but EXACTLY what we wanted/needed. The rooms were very economical and VERY clean. All in all, I was very impressed with Ballena Azul and will definately wtay there again when I go to Taganga!

The coffee situation could have been a little better. When I think of coffee in Colombia, I think of a better set up at the hotel/ Having said that, if I complain about the coffee? Everything else is great! Had a blast

The bed and AC

1. There was no staff 2. restaurant out of service in my whole stay 3. no breakfast included 4. The shower was bad 5. the mini fridge not functional 6. the hotel super empty, the only person youll see is the receptionist THEY DO NOT OFFER ANY SERVICE, no beach service, no pool, no breakfast, no wifi, no staff, receptionist was all robotic. PLEASE GET A HOSTEL. i walked by next day and it was closed and dark, they probably Didnt have any guest there. RECOMMENDATION: if you want to stay in Taganga thinking that the hotel brings beach services such as chairs etc like they show in the picture? LIES, those chairs and tents does not come with the hotel. I wanted to stay in viña del mar which is next to Ballena azul but i got more impressed about this “cool quality pics” because once you go there and start paying attention to details you’ll realize that this hotel is trash.

tv

shower, toilet , and we paid for a room with see view , and we had a building in front of the window

very good location

poor cleanliness

Good hotel for the price, nothing special.

/

location

no windows

Great location right by the beach.

No hot water in the shower.

No hot water in the shower :(

A very friendly staff

Really cheap and close to the beach

Mattress was hard

So I live in Medellin and travel extensively throughout all of Colombia and this visit/stay in Taganga has been about my 4th in the past 5 years. This visit in July 2021 was in the middle of my month long, 3,260km exploration of the whole Carribean coastline and so my travel partner and I needed some relaxing beach days which we got from our 4 day stay at La Ballena Azul Hotel. Basically the horror stories that you read in the other reviews are all legit, this hotel is run down, things don't work, the 2 spas in the center court have no water but plenty of mosquitos, the service is pathetic and I am being generous. This all being said the LOCATION could not be better as your on the beach, literally the sand is steps away. So best thing that I can say is have zero expectations and if you get a good promotion deal, like I did as the net cost for our hotel room was very reasonable, only then you can "make do". It actually looks like they are attempting to do some remodeling to the building. I will check it out the next time I am in Taganga. Now this is interesting, my good friend, my travel buddy from Medellin, and he loved the place, why? He as a true Colombian has little expectation and goes with the flow which is something you must adapt to in order to enjoy the stay.

Place needs knocked down and a new hotel need built in its place as location is amazing hotel is overpriced and outdated. Rooms were not that clean no pool and was priced as if it was a 5 star hotel. Some of the hostals up the road are a better option. Please knock this old girl down and build a new hotel. In the early 80’s I’m sure it was nice.

We arrived as a couple for vacation and booked 2 nights, after viewing the great photos in Hotels.com, Booking, etc. Very quickly we realized the real state of the hotel: dirty, old, and absolutely not worth the price of 45$ per night. The room we’ve got was stinky and with unpleasant smell and really don’t look same as the pictures, with no hot water at the shower. As you can see in the pictures, the “pool” is really not suitable for humans entry - seems like they dis not clean the pool such a long time. It is much more as hostel of 1 star then “hotel”, and completely not worth the over priced they asking for. We felt like in a trap. I do recommend for Ocean Hotel instead, which is really nearby to the beach also, very clean and the team is very kind - and cheaper!

Little hidden gem right on the water with a great view. The fish dishes are excellent and staff is wonderful. The trip to get down to the water is exiting as it reminds you of a costal European town with the mountains and the winding roads. Great place to relax with drinks and food as the sun sets.

Probably the best hotel of Taganga, we stayed 3 nights here and was very very good. Clean, good service and worth visiting Taganga. Very relaxed and a great place to visit, very recommended to come to Taganga.

My husband and I had lunch here during a day trip to Tananga. The service was fast (even though we were relaxing and in no hurry to go anywhere) and friendly. It is an outdoor restaurant with a fantastic view of the beach. Our 14 month old son loved watching the birds fly above us while we sipped frozen coconut lime smoothies. We had seafood stew which was served with pressed fried banana. It was fresh and hot! It was an amazing meal and we were happy that we found Azul Restaurant and Bar for our lunch.

Arnold Travel sold me this hotel with a pool. The place is horrible. There is no pool at this place. It was a rip off. The beach is in front of the hotel but it is not safe get get in that water due to the amount of garbage on the beach.THAT BEACH SHOULD BE CLOSED. Our room was on top of two "restaurants" that play loud music until 5am. everyday.The people around the hotel were high on drugs. This place is a TOTAL NIGHTMARE. Please don't sent anybody to this place it is UNSANITARY. Arnold travel nos vendio este hotel con piscina, la cual no existía. La playa estaba llena de tanta basura q no era sano meterse al agua. Esta playa debe estar cerrada al publico.Nuestra habitacion estaba encima de 2 restaurantes q ponían música hasta las 5 am.La gente alrededor del hotel estaban drogados. Que PESADILLA. Por favor no envíen a ningún turista a ver tanta miseria a este lugar insalubre.

We found the photos pretty misleading. The hotel needs an upgrade. Our room was beat up for the price we paid around us 50. We left with mysterious bug bites. Its not worth being near the dirty beach strewn with what looked like sewage. Go up the coast my friends for peaceful, pristine beaches. Maybe tanganga will get it's act together? Staff were helpful and lovely though and clearly trying to keep the hotel tidy and clean. Photo of mystery tarps in courtyard...wish I took photo of 1st floor room.

As a colombian citizen, it's very sad for me to say that the visit to our caribean Cities, like Cartagena, Barranquilla and Santa Marta it was terrible. I can't recommend a dirty city and beach, without any care, from the goberment and their people. Taganga beach is awful! broken glasses, cat and dog poop and trash all over the beach and streets! El Rodadero beach, they have a sewerage big problem. The only good and beautiful place and beaches are the santuary of Natural park of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and their surroundings beaches and rivers, they are very clean and quiet. Highly Recommended! Oh! I forgot to say that the best way to get there is by boat and if you don't like to feel the high sea waves, then better get the bus.

We didn't stay here but we tried their restaurant and is fantastic. We ordered Pargo with patacones and coconut rice. Delicious food and great atmosphere with music all in front of the bay. Servers are nice and helpful and the place itself is just great.

Location, Location, Location. great location right on the beach. One of the best ways to experience what Taganga is all about. The hotel sits right on the beachfront, and if you stay in one of the beach view rooms, you can hear and feel the local atmosphere all day and all night long. The room we stayed in, was very spacious and was able to accommodate a family of four with no issues. had to request a couple of extra beds. The one thing I recommend is to let the staff know not to turn off the air conditioning after cleaning the rooms, as the room gets very hot during the day if the air condition is off and takes a while to cool down. Very friendly staff and always willing to help out with any issue that we had.

nice place, best place in Taganga at the beach, good kitchen, very good service nice rooms, but relatively expensive. also the creperia is a beautiful place with good coffee and delicious menus. i'd love to stay there.

I wasn't sure if this place was just a restaurant or a hotel with a public restaurant...just found out it was a hotel. We were looking for breakfast at 7:30am before going to our diving tour. It was the only nice, decent place open for breakfast. Plus, it had a nice view.

Nothing worked in the bathroom, tap, light, plugs. The next morning we changed rooms, what a pain after unpacking. When we arrived at the airport there was no taxi to meet us, as promised. It was 11pm. When we arrived at e hotel there was a very unfriendly woman at reception who insisted on putting wrist bands on us, for breakfast! This is all the bad news. Other receptionists were much better but no one in the hotel spoke English, but it had advertised that English was spoken. Breakfast was excellent and was served from 7 am onwards which is good when you want to visit Tayrona. The beach in front of the hotel was clean and one could swim as it is safe.the hotel provided free loungers.

We didn't stayed in the hotel, but we went to have breakfast almost every day. In Taganga, not a lot of places open early to have breakfast, and after trying some other places, we decided to stop looking, and kept going back. They have great food, good service, and a nice view.

This is a very laid back location and when I first arrived, I was not sure about my choice.....however that rapidly changed when I checked in, had a good experience at the front desk, with a great receptionist, then looked at my room and I was totally impressed! In room fridge, spacious, ultra clean room, and separate bath and shower! Okay no hot water in the shower, but it was so so hot it didn't matter! Hot tubs in the courtyard, free towels for the beach right out front and lawn chairs, with great bar service and very friendly wait staff! Separate breakfast building over looking the beach too. Upstairs lounge area overlooking the beach! Wifi was pretty good! Over looking Main Street as well......

Old run down overpriced hotel. Wouldn't call it hotel its mostly a hostel. No hot water. Wifi does not work. Lousy breakfast and nothing that can be called service. The room wasn't really clean and the bath room was awful. I have to say that I don't see any reason to stay in taganga while the hotels in Santa Marta are cheaper and nicer, but if you insist on staying there, choose a different hotel.

I have been to this hotel several times. My girlfriend and I feel very much at home here. They speak english very good at the reception and have always been helpful. The rooms are very comfortable with a good bathroom. We always choose a room with aircondtion and they work very good. The breakfast is great and the coffee is fantastic. You have a great view over the Taganga bay when you have your breakfast. I have already booked a room for my next visit to Colombia and Taganga!

We just stayed here one night. The room and the hotel was fine. The problem was the staff. It took forever for the receptionist to check us in. They wouldn't even help us with getting our luggage to the third floor, and my wife is pregnant. 10 minutes after we finally got the room, a Spanish speaking couple arrived, and of course they helped them with luggage. The staff didn't even try to give us any kind of information - not even in Spanish. My best advice is, to stay away from this hotel, if you don't speak any Spanish.