DO NOT STAY HERE! When I was looking at hostels for Cartagena, I came across Casa Mama Waldy and was happy to see that the vast majority of their reviews are positive. Yes, there are/were a few negative ones but I figured the positive reviews outweighed the negative, so why not. This was a mistake. I should have listened to those reviews because my experience at this hostel has been horrible. Major Takeaways: -Mold -Not clean -Booked my room without my consent or acknowledgment -Damaged facilities Here is what I will say for some positives: -It's in a great location. It's very close to restaurants and to the center of the Old City. - One couple I met told me "We're used to staying in places with roaches and mice, so this is an upgrade." I add this in to say that experiences can be relative. If you're on a trip where you're expecting to rough it or are used to staying in some not so great places (mice, rodents, very unclean, etc), perhaps this hostel will do. -Decent for short stays less than a week. No more. Below is a description of my experience at Casa Mama Waldy: Since starting my stay with Casa Mama Waldy there have been several issues. To start, the room was not clean. It smelled, the walls looked like they needed to be wiped down, trays had been removed from the walls but not repaired, the door frame was cracked, and several other issues. Upon arrival, I knew I was not happy with the room but I had already booked it, my card had already been charged, and at the time I had nowhere else to stay. Because I'm not new to travel, I have stayed in some less than comfortable places. I decided to give myself a week to see how I feel before making any other decisions. However, after a week (where I found myself staying out as late as possible to avoid my hostel), I knew I'd have to do make a decision. I approached one of the hostel receptionist and asked about a partial refund. Because I wanted to be polite, when he asked me why, I told him I was considering traveling with some friends and wanted to move hostels. He told me partial refunds were not allowed. I explained again that I was more than happy to pay for each day I was there and did not want a full refund, only partial. He told me it was still not allowed. One night when I found myself with nothing to distract me, I was back at my hostel much earlier than usual. While sitting in my room, I noticed some odd coloring on the wall beside my desk. Leaning closer, I realized that the coloring looked like mold. I took photos and videos to send to some friends to get their thoughts. They also told me they thought it was mold, as well which could possibly explain some of the eye watering, sneezing, and coughing I experienced when I first arrived. Because mold is a health issue, I decided it was time to leave. Again, I approached the front desk and spoke with the receptionist Maria. My Spanish is very bad and Maria spoke the best English, so lots of my communication was with her. This time I finally told her that I planned to leave and that it was because I was unhappy with the room. I also told her I believed there was mold in the room and showed her a photo. For these reasons, I asked her for a partial refund and again told her I would be leaving. At the last time of me speaking with her, I had not selected a new place to stay yet, so I did not know when I would be moving but told her I'd inform her when I did. She told me, she'd talk to her boss but believed her boss would say no. That upcoming weekend I had a trip to a neighboring city. I hoped Maria would get back to me before then. Between us speaking and me leaving there were about 3 to 4 days. Maria was not at the hostel those 3 to 4 days which I found odd. Later, I would find out that Casa Mama Waldy had been booking my room without my consent while I was gone or even informing me. I had wanted to check the room for anything I left behind but they had already booked it out and never told me. Horrible experience. Resp: CMW you lied multiple times in your response. I have screenshots if needed.

First time I found myself giving a one star, but this time is worth doing so. Kept without electricity whole night in a room woth no windows nor AC (and Cartagena is hot!). Tried to upgrade to a different room since the night before and when was supposed to be "blocked", after waiting and waisting a whole morning, at the time of the check-in the room was booked by the system by somebody else. Least but not last, found a cockroach in the room, but I guess is hot, since overall the room was decently clean. Cleaning lady was awesome, the stuff we met in the evening too, just terrible treatment by the higher management.

I do not love writing these kinds of reviews but I had bed bugs big time two nights ago. I thought getting a private room would be wise to prevent unsanitary conditions. I also saw ALL kinds of bugs in my bed besides that. The shower was not working and not hot. My towel was dirty. I was rushed out and the man at the desk seemed really happy that I paid cash. I suggest finding another spot. It is in a good location and has potential to be special if it was maintained better. The service was friendly too. I hope to hear that it all improves soon!

The worst Hostel experience in my entire life. Could not sleep more than two hours. It started with other guests partying a little, drinking a lot and taking drugs next to our room. Then a junkie came in and was fighting and yelling with the owner of the hostel. Later two people came in our room and used the bathroom to have a little fun together. The bathroom was already dirty before that. I was very happy when we left the hostel at 6 in the morning. It was really horrible…

Arrived early and was not allowed to leave my bags in storage and chill in reception, so I left for another place. This is the only hostel that has ever done this. They did let me use their WiFi to find another place. Sitting in the lobby area was itchy...not sure if they have a bug problem here...hmm.

Room could be cleaner, there were ants in mine, quite a few. Also I didn't even realize there was a rooftop until now seeing the google pics..the staff never explained that to me. Otherwise it's fine to pass a night or 2.

I wasn't able to sleep. They play loud music on their roof, and one night it played until 4am - the entire room shakes and there's no sound proofing. No hot water. No soap or shampoo available. Curtains don't close fully (anyone can see in if they want). Can't recommend it, and wouldn't stay in he area again because of the noise. Staff is friendly.

No key on the dorm, no key on the locker, Hygiène of the shower very bad. I left the hostel after paying the 2 nights (no refund) which is fine. But after i had to pay again on booking.com because they lied saying i did not show

Came in person day before to pre-book. What I reserved and paid for isn’t what I received. My room is tiny I was told I was paying for a bigger room. No light blockage, my room door allows anyone to look in. My room is not fully lockable and secure. My AC is barely working, the pictures of private rooms online is not at all what you get. I left a way better hostal for this because I thought it was a better option based on the lies.

The bed sheets were ripped and me and my boyfriend got a bunch of bites from bed bugs! Also there is only cold water in the shower with no pressure. It was noisy, drunk people were making noise until 1am, screaming. There was nobody to stop it. When we were leaving the guy on reception didnt know whether we paid or not, he tried to charge us again!

I stayed in a private room for three nights. The location is great and the staff was mostly very helpful. It's also easy to book tours there and there's a bar on the rooftop. This is definitely not the place to meet other travellers, as the only nice common area is the rooftop and it was pretty much empty every time I went there. Why I am not giving 5 stars is because the room had a moldy smell to it; the air was definitely not of a decent quality. I'd assume there's an issue with moisture / mold in the walls. Keeping the AC on and window open (the window is to the common areas) helps to slightly mitigate this issue. One more thing to note: when I visited (1/24) the jacuzzi was out of order until further notice.

The hotel is located in a beautiful neighborhood, the room is smaller than it shows in the photos but it was comfortable. Staff is nice and helpful.

We only went to the terrace for some drinks. Cannot say anything about the hotel since we didn’t stay here. The service was fast and the drinks were good.

Its in a great spot in Getsemani, about a 5-10 minute walk from the central tourist area. On a very pretty side street, but only 50 yards from a street that gets plenty of taxis. Private room was very nice, everything worked well including the AC. Downside was the unusual layout of the room, which had a window looking into the shared area, with a flimsy curtain that didn't quite cover the window. Someone dedicated could peep in at you in your room. Shared kitchen was nice, and super friendly house dog. Rooftop bar was small, but nice. Great view and breeze up there. Downside is when it was busy, a LOT of noise from music and people stomping and shouting, directly above your room. Noise did sometimes go on until midnight or so. Staff very helpful, but only about half of them spoke english, if thats important to you.

Contrarily to what's advertised, no breakfeast included. Water in the shower is cold -pressure insufficient. No way this can be a 3 stars hotel

The rooftop is quite nice and cozy. The drinks were good too but we only got mojitos. The attention was a bit slow when it came to preparing the drinks, but overall it was a good experience.

This place is very cute, chill and located in a great spot to access everything you'll want to do in Cartagena. The staff are also very helpful and kind! I needed to go to the airport and one of the staff members took me past a road closure on his scooter so I could get a taxi and make it to my flight on time 😅 gracias :)

The rooms are clean and the hostel is well located but the staff are very disinterested and don’t speak English as advertised which is fine, except it’s very difficult to get information from them. Maybe better for Spanish speakers

Good: The staff truly makes this place. Cristian is a gem and he went beyond to help us with absolutely everything we needed and gave us great prices for tours around the city and Islas del Rosario. Paola at the front desk is lovely and incredibly helpful as well. The location is perfect for anybody that wants to have the full walled city experience. Bad: I stayed at a private room (probably the cheapest you can find at a hostal in Cartagena) and the walls were extremely dirty so they can really use some painting. The water is not hot but with the Cartagena heat that might not be as bad. The bathroom was very smelly and filled with Mosquitos. If you are looking for a hostal to make friends, this might not be the best since there’s not a lot of common areas beyond the lobby and a small courtyard. The rooftop is lovely though.

The bed was 30cm to short a lot of muskitos and a very load airco.. it needs a revit it's old

Clean rooms, perfect location, quality service. Highly recommend. Excellent value.