Decameron Baru - All inclusive

Customer ratings & reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

4833 reviews

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  💔

  I went to this hotel, and they mistreat animals. I can't believe how far humans can go. Besides the bad service, mistreating a small animal is just not fair. They even fired one of their employees just for giving food to a dog that was in terrible condition.

  Feb 21, 2025
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  An unfortunate stay, first time will be the last.

  Our recent three-day stay at Decameron Baru was far from enjoyable, and I deeply regret not choosing to stay in Cartagena instead. From the moment we arrived, the service was consistently poor, with the exception of one waiter named Darwin at the Asian restaurant. He was attentive and friendly, but unfortunately, he was the only positive aspect of our dining experience there. The food at the Asian restaurant was inedible—the sushi was questionable, the pad Thai was barely touched, and the rice dish with overcooked shrimp and tough rice was equally disappointing. Another family we spoke to shared our sentiments, describing the food as "horrible" and opting to leave for the buffet restaurant, which was not much better. The buffet offered repetitive meals with the same proteins and unappetizing side options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The deserts were decent, but that was the only highlight. The service throughout the hotel was abysmal. Waiters seemed annoyed when approached, and getting a drink or any attention required persistent effort. Our experience at the snack bar was particularly frustrating—the waiter barely acknowledged us, avoided eye contact, and failed to bring requested items like lime. The food there was also subpar; the hotdog was inedible, and the hamburger was not worth the wait due to the poor service. The pool area lacked shade, making it unusable for most of the day, and the alcohol was so watered down that even after several drinks, we felt nothing. Even the timeshare representatives admitted that the hotel has significant service issues. While the beach and hotel installations were nice, the overall experience was ruined by the lack of quality food, poor service, and unprofessional staff. We spoke to a manager named Oscar, who acknowledged the issues but explained he couldn't be everywhere at once to ensure proper service. This response was unsatisfactory, and we ultimately checked out early, opting for an Uber instead of waiting for the scheduled speedboat transfer. We strongly advise against staying at Decameron Baru or any Decameron-affiliated hotels. This experience was so disappointing that we feel compelled to share it to spare others from the same frustration. Reseña en Español: Nuestra reciente estancia de tres días en Decameron Baru estuvo lejos de ser agradable, y lamento profundamente no haber elegido quedarme en Cartagena. Desde el momento en que llegamos, el servicio fue consistentemente pobre, con la excepción de un camarero llamado Darwin en el restaurante asiático. Él fue atento y amable, pero lamentablemente fue el único aspecto positivo de nuestra experiencia culinaria allí. La comida en el restaurante asiático fue incomible: el sushi era cuestionable, el pad Thai apenas lo probamos, y el plato de arroz con camarones sobrecocidos y arroz duro fue igualmente decepcionante. Otra familia con la que hablamos compartió nuestros sentimientos, describiendo la comida como "horrible" y optando por ir al restaurante buffet, que no era mucho mejor. El buffet ofrecía comidas repetitivas con las mismas proteínas y acompañamientos poco apetitosos para el desayuno, el almuerzo y la cena. Los postres eran decentes, pero ese fue el único aspecto destacable. El servicio en todo el hotel fue pésimo. Los camareros parecían molestos cuando se les abordaba, y conseguir una bebida o cualquier atención requería un esfuerzo persistente. Nuestra experiencia en el snack bar fue particularmente frustrante: el camarero apenas nos reconoció, evitó el contacto visual y no trajo los artículos solicitados, como el limón. La comida allí también fue mediocre; el hotdog era incomible, y la hamburguesa no valía la pena esperar debido al mal servicio. El área de la piscina carecía de sombra, lo que la hacía inutilizable durante la mayor parte del día, y el alcohol estaba tan aguado que incluso después de varios tragos, no sentimos nada. Incluso los representantes de tiempos compartidos admitieron que el hotel tiene problemas significativos de servicio. Aunque la playa y las instalaciones del hotel eran bonitas, la experiencia general se arruinó por la falta de calidad en la comida, el mal servicio y el personal poco profesional. Hablamos con un gerente llamado Oscar, quien reconoció los problemas pero explicó que no podía estar en todas partes al mismo tiempo para garantizar un servicio adecuado. Esta respuesta fue insatisfactoria, y finalmente nos fuimos antes de lo previsto, optando por un Uber en lugar de esperar el traslado programado en lancha. Recomendamos encarecidamente no alojarse en Decameron Baru o en cualquier hotel afiliado a Decameron. Esta experiencia fue tan decepcionante que sentimos la necesidad de compartirla para evitar que otros pasen por lo mismo.

  Feb 20, 2025
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  Amazing Experience at Ocean Front Plus – Outstanding Service!

  I recently stayed on this resort with my wife and our 4-year-old daughter, and we had an incredible experience. We chose the 'Ocean Front Plus', and I’m highly satisfied with the overall stay and the cost-benefit ratio. The room was beautiful, featuring a spacious balcony with a nice beach view – just as the name suggests. One of the best perks of the "Plus" option was the exclusive access to the Italian restaurant for breakfast and lunch (no reservation needed), where we enjoyed delicious meals in a more private setting. I also had access to Pool #1, where premium drinks were available – 12yr-Scotch was my go-to The highlight of our trip was the exceptional attention and care we received at the Italian restaurant, especially from Ever and Carlos. My daughter has a food allergy, and they went above and beyond to ensure her meals were safe and that we felt completely at ease. Their level of service made us feel like VIP guests, and for that, we are truly grateful. This experience exceeded our expectations, and we will definitely be back!

  Feb 20, 2025
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  Worth the trip!

  We went with two other couples for our first experience in Colombia. We stayed in the Ocean Front rooms with the upgrades, which was great for us. The room was clean and spacious and had a lovely sized balcony. Hot water took a bit to reach the shower-about 5 minutes-, but when it came through, it was lovely and hot. Every room offers a lovely view of the ocean and a beautiful sunset. The shower heads are the 'rain shower' type, which can make rinsing long hair a challenge, but otherwise fine. Our fridge was resupplied each day without issue, but friends on the other end had issues with their bar fridge being restocked daily. We received clean towels each day, no issues with the cleanliness on any day. Zero issues with bugs in our room as well. Big closet for storage and large bathroom counter space. The food was good, we had no issues eating three meals a day that were very good. We utilized the buffet, the beach restaurant, the upgrade restaurant and the a la cartes. They were Seafood, Asian and Italian. The food was great at all of them, but the Italian restaurant was serving us faster than we could eat what was in front of us. The buffet always had fresh fruit available and breakfast had pancakes, french toast, omelettes and eggs and rotated through other hot items each day. The really do a great job in the buffet, and the staff were super friendly. We used the pool in the upgraded section, the bar was fully stocked and the pool area was clean. I like that the pools are all sectioned off. The beach is large and lovely, you can see plenty just snorkelling through that area. We had to be super early for beach chairs (there were 6 of us), but we always had a spot each day. Beach bar and bathrooms were easily accessed. The beach could use a good raking, there are alot of shells and coral pieces washed up, but the beach water is not rocky. The only issue with the beach is the jet-skiers and boats that are constantly travelling the line of the buoys, so snorkeling should be done earlier in the day, before they stir up the water. It's also annoying because they're loud. We would have loved a spot to get early morning coffee, before the buffet opens, but there were no real options. Lots of stairs here, so be prepared. The front desk offers 24 hour cash exchange at a fair exchange rate. There are signs about the racoons, birds and iguanas-the raccoons are quite docile overall-but they will steal your food if you let them. But if you clap your hands, they run away. They are not aggressive, but they are always hungry. The iguanas are everywhere and so fun to watch as they climb the trees, scoot across the grass or sit in the bushes. The resort dogs-there are 5 or so that we saw each day. We learned that people will abandon their dogs near the resorts, which is sad. They are dropped in a place that they are unfamiliar with and surrounded by people they don't know. For the most part, the dogs we encountered were super friendly and gentle-they'll gently take food from your hand or sit and patiently wait for someone to feed them. There was a dog that seemed newer to the report, she was skittish and scared and it was sad to watch. We did our best to feed the pack each day and made special effort to feed the scared girl. I encourage you to bring a container or ziploc bags to take your leftovers out to feed the dogs. I LOVE that the resort respects that the animals need to eat too. The only real issue we had was on departure day, we had requested 3 times that the bellman collect our luggage from our room, and we ended up running back to our room to get it ourselves 10 minutes before the bus was leaving. The resort doesn't offer a lot of english speaking, but they try. Be prepared at the airport for potentially long immigration waits, we were almost 2 hours before processing and another flight had come in right behind us that was 4-5 hours. The bus ride to the hotel is almost 2 hours. Yes, the last 20-ish minutes is down a bumpy dirt road, but its also currently under construction, so maybe it will be in better shape soon. All in all-our vacation was just what it needed to be-relaxing and fun, great beach weather, drinks and food. Please keep feeding the resort dogs and treat them well. It's not their fault they got dumped or abandoned, or were born into the life they are in. If I could have brought them home, I would have.

  Feb 15, 2025
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  Our worst experience ever

  My husband, my 3-year-old son, my mother (who has knee problems and has difficulty with stairs) and I, who am pregnant, went from January 8th to 11th. We paid a very high full price because we chose a room Ocean View (due to our limited mobility we wanted to be as close to the beach as possible) and it was High season. An aunt who has that Multivacaciones plan paid for our full price Ocean view room and added many "Decas" points so we could access the restaurant near the beach for breakfast due to our mobility. The salesperson for the Multivacaiones plan said that there was no problem, that it was possible and discounted many Decas. What a surprise we had when we arrived! The reservation was for a normal room and we were not entitled to that restaurant. My aunt tried to speak with the Multi-vacation office and they didn't answer. We tried to speak at the hotel and they made fun of us, they laughed! My husband, who doesn't speak Spanish, could understand their mockery. In short: we were ripped off. We were desperate at the reception for hours, with a hungry child, not knowing what to do with people who didn't care about us and didn't offer solutions. We paid for an Ocean View room and they gave us a simple one. To top it off, the super unfriendly and rude receptionist out of pure malice gave us the furthest building, and on the top floor with not elevator! Really? Stairs? She saw that 3 of us had mobility problems. She reluctantly put us on the first floor, but the oldest, ugliest room, with problems with the lock, and furthest from everything. That room was prepared for two people and there were 4 of us! We had to walk a long way to go to any restaurant or pool. I wanted to talk to the manager but it's as if he didn't exist, the receptionists ignored us. The worst customer service ever, really. About restaurants....food is bad, very bad. The only seafood restaurant worth visiting was one we couldn't go to because making a reservation there was impossible. I logged on at 7:00 am and everything was already booked. We won't be back, we don't recommend it, and we warn people not to take the Multivacaciones scam.

  Feb 14, 2025