Hotel Las Islas

They cancelled our New Years Eve booking just 2 nights before we arrived!!! We booked well in advance on 27th July(!) to stay on 30th December for 2 nights & were so excited to spend our NYE at a luxury resort in Baru. On the 28th December (literally 2 nights before we were due to check in) they cancelled our booking & despite trying numerous times to contact them we received no response / put on hold constantly. This left us with 2 days notice to arrange alternative accommodation in Baru - on the busiest night of the year (NYE). Disappointed, upset, enraged. Given we booked in July, I’m sure we were one of the first to book & therefore should not have been cancelled. I ADVISE AVOIDING AS I HAD READ REVIEWS LIKE MINE BEFORE & IGNORED THEM (stupidly).

Ok hotel, food and service. The beach is also ok, although it is not turquoise water or crystal clear. My partner and I stayed in a bungalow in Isleta, which is a private island, part of the hotel. To get there, you must take a short boat ride. Although we had a good time, it’s definitely not deserving of 5 stars. It is more of a four star hotel. Also, the hotel tried to scam us upon check out. The hotel tried to charge $600 US dollars to our room for charges we did not make. This left a bad taste in our mouth and as a result, I would not recommend staying here. We literally had to ask for an itemized receipt and go through each charge in order to dispute the fictitious charges. Once I asked to speak with a manager and argued the fraudulent charges they finally agreed to deduct them from our bill. We asked for an explanation and a response from management, but to date have not received one. Although it is reputed to be the best hotel in the area, I would not recommend this hotel. If you do decide to stay here, make sure you take a picture of every receipt and bill at the restaurants and bars. I assure you they will also try to scam you. It is a real shame. For this reason, I am giving this hotel one star.

We visited Hotel Las Islas on our Honeymoon. Some aspects were great and others not as much. It is a beautiful place but overall not a great value. We stayed on Las Isla in a bungalow, which was absolutely beautiful. The room and the view were fantastic. But, during the day, people would drive up in jet skis attempting to sell us on a ride. Over the course of 3 days, this likely happened over 50 times. Other times jet skiiers or boats with inflatables would just float in front of the bungalow. Some of the drivers seemed to live nearby while others may have been from the nearby Cholon island where loud pop music would blast for most of the day. Some of the staff were incredibly friendly and attentive. While others seemed somewhat upset to be there. The excursions were nice but very expensive relative to other costs. The same with food. Bottled water was $8 USD and drinking tap water is unadvisable. The hotel is fairly large with 50+ bungalows on land and another 10 on the Isla. So while the hotel is remote, the restaurant areas and beaches were fairly full which gave the hotel more of a large resort feel rather than private get away. Some of the positives were the bungalows, natural grounds, beautiful views, and power telescope on the clubhouse with a friendly astrologist. Overall, beautiful location but hit or miss service and may not deliver on the value relative to the price.

Sad, bittersweet review for this incredible place in Baru. It went from one of the best, most unique hotel experiences to less than 1 star in less than a day. Hotel Las Islas is an architectural treasure combining hidden-tree bungalows with beautiful beach chalets. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinks are all delicious and the staff, most of them, are very kind and welcoming. However, the last night of our stay, Dec 7th there was a National Party “Dia de las Velitas” and the music from the town was so sooo loud that out bungalow trembled all night. We wanted a “get away” with lots of peace and quiet and we got an unrequested “nuit blanche”. We called the reception a few times, but it’s understandable that this was out of their control. After a poor night of sleep the assistant manager very kindly tried to help us but the general manager was less than empathetic, after lying to us, saying that this party never happens, and is not an “every year event”, a late check out was the solution of this general manager of a 5 star hotel that’s everything except cheap. As hard as it was to complaint after a beautiful, unforgettable experience, the manager made it easy for me to share this review with other guests that, like us, invest in wellness at these kind of facilities. Solutions: 1- Warn guests about these parties and, if incredible loud music is not on their agendas, offer them different rooms to fully enjoy as they should. 2- As a general manager, learn to be empathetic and provide support to those who only wish to have the best time in your country.

We (@wolfestreettravel on Instagram and wolfestreettravel.com) stayed at Hotel Las Islas during a 10-day trip to Colombia. Very good but not great. Instead of staying at the main resort, they put us on a 10-bungalow private island, so we did not have ready access to the resorts amenities, including restaurants, gym, etc. The main resort was accessible via a water taxi that operated all day, but it's a very different experience to do this, than to be located in the main resort within walking distance of everything you're paying for. The restaurant on the main resort is beautiful and refined. The restaurant on the private island is basically an open pavilion and very rustic (although the food, particularly the grilled pulpo, was good). The private island also has a beach bar, which is good. But, overall, the experience is not what we expected. The bungalow itself was great, with a wraparound deck, saltwater pool, and very cool design. Service was great, including quick response to requests for more Nespresso pods, which definitely made our morning pleasant. We were delighted with this aspect of our stay. We expressed this to management, requested a discounted rate, since we were put on a remote location away from the main resort's amenities, and they agreed, which was appreciated.