Cons: Some colonial rooms are dark; the sprawling layout can be confusing
Rates: From $780, including breakfast
The Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Cartagena opened in April 2026, 18 years after its developers bought their first parcel: a cluster of abandoned movie theaters in the neighborhood of Getsemaní. It stitches together a 16th-century Franciscan cloister, a 1920s social club, and those former cinemas into a 131-room hotel just outside Cartagena’s UNESCO-listed Walled City.
Start in the lobby, formerly Club Cartagena, a 1920s social hall designed by the French architect Gastón Lelarge. For decades, the building sat abandoned, battered by sea air and overtaken by graffiti and underground raves. Now restored, it’s bright and white, its Beaux-Arts columns, ornate balustrades, and imperial staircase returned to their former glory.
Getsemaní has become one of Cartagena’s liveliest cultural districts, with independent galleries, cafés, and a thriving street life.
Courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Cartagena
From there, it’s a maze designed for gentle disorientation (a mandate I take to heart more than once). Courtyards filled with native plantings and pathways connect the repurposed buildings, including a 16th-century Franciscan cloister and church, which the hotel leases from a local university. Development began in 2008 with the acquisition of several movie theaters, eventually expanding to encompass the historic structures.
During the restoration, workers uncovered archaeological artifacts and the skeletal remains of some 900 people buried at the former convent. The remains were removed by archaeologists, and researchers at Colombia’s Universidad del Norte are studying them for clues about life in colonial Cartagena.
The interiors were conceived by celebrated French designer François Catroux, who died in 2020 before the hotel was completed. His longtime associate François Bompard helped bring the designs to fruition, along with Wimberly Interiors.
Leading me to my room in the Cloister, my bellman pauses in what was once the church sacristy. On the wall is a fresco of Jesus on the cross, a bleeding gash in his ribs. Workers found it behind a wall during the restoration and preserved it in place, the painter’s hand seemingly arrested mid-work. It’s quite the companion for a morning coffee.
Who’s Four Seasons Hotel Cartagena for?
The courtyards offer pockets of calm amid the bustle of the surrounding city.
Courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Cartagena
History and design lovers could spend hours exploring the hotel’s restored buildings, architectural details, and hidden courtyards. Travelers seeking a luxurious retreat within walking distance of Cartagena’s lively historic center will be equally at home, as will families, who will appreciate the spacious accommodations, included breakfast, and two rooftop pools.
Who it isn’t for
Travelers seeking an intimate boutique hotel may prefer one of Cartagena’s smaller properties. And those who favor bright, contemporary accommodations over historic atmosphere should choose their room category carefully: Some of the colonial rooms are decidedly dark.
The location: in Getsemaní, Cartagena
On Colombia’s northern Caribbean coast, Cartagena de Indias is a confluence of Indigenous, African, and Spanish influences. The Four Seasons sits in Getsemaní, just beyond the gates of the UNESCO-listed Walled City and facing the Torre del Reloj and Parque Centenario. It’s a neighborhood where fruit vendors roll their carts past colonial buildings covered in colorful murals.
Cartagena has always been a city of hidden interiors, façades concealing unexpected labyrinthine worlds.
It’s an intoxicating city, with a thriving dining and nightlife scene. A short walk away, Celele, a Colombian-Caribbean restaurant dedicated to preserving native ingredients and ancestral knowledge, has been recognized by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Rafael Núñez International Airport is about 25 minutes away by car.
The rooms at Four Seasons in Cartagena
The Catroux Suite, named for celebrated French interior designer François Catroux, is the presidential suite.
Courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Cartagena
The hotel has 131 rooms in two styles: Contemporary and Colonial. The 104 Contemporary accommodations are bright and modern, with clean lines, a neutral palette, and ample sunlight. I stayed in one of the 27 Colonial Rooms and Suites, spread across the Casa Morales andCloister. The Cloisters also houses the Catroux Suite, a two-bedroom presidential suite with a private elevator and terrace plunge pool.
My room opened into a courtyard with banyan trees and was virtually silent at all times of day. While the contemporary rooms are bright and airy, mine was moody and dramatic—great for monk-like reflection, but not for travelers who want to bask in sunlight. Inside, Catroux’s interiors blend modern touches with Spanish Colonial elements: terracotta floors, dark wood furniture, and a towering four-poster bed.
Even the furniture echoes the architecture, with high-backed chairs and curved legs mimicking the cloister’s arches. The bathroom was large and bright, with double marble sinks, and storage was plentiful. Modern conveniences include motion-activated lights, while wooden window shutters add an old-fashioned touch.
For a particularly memorable stay, book the Colonial Studio Suite, which has corner views of a garden courtyard and a restored fresco in what is now the bathroom.
The food and drink
The Grand Grill is a classic steakhouse experience, with a menu that draws on the flavors of Colombia’s Caribbean coast.
Courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Cartagena
Eight restaurants and bars are spread across the property, from a courtyard breakfast spot to El Palmar, the daytime rooftop restaurant. Club Cartagena houses the Grand Grill, a steakhouse with Caribbean influences from New York chef Mario Carbone and hospitality collective Major Food Group. Next door, Bar Lelarge is dark and atmospheric, with botanical wallpaper, tropical ceiling fans, dark wood lattice screens, and bartenders in classic white-and-black bow ties. Cocktails highlight local, seasonal fruits.
Breakfast is included at El Patio del Limonar, an open-air courtyard offering a buffet of local dishes alongside morning staples. The boronía—mashed sweet plantains and eggplant—was a standout, as were the arepas de huevo, crispy, egg-stuffed arepas that are a staple of Colombian street food. Having missed them during my time exploring the city, I was delighted to find them sitting in the buffet. And while there were no gluten-free pastries on display, the staff readily brought out an assortment when I asked.
Café Rialto pours coffee from Colombian Café San Alberto. Atrio, the lobby lounge, is a lovely spot for a predinner cocktail beneath a glass ceiling and an indoor palm tree that Catroux reportedly insisted upon. Pizzeria Della Chiesa, set in a former church that later became the Teatro Cartagena cinema, is a bright, turquoise-inflected space that turns out Neapolitan-style pizza from wood-burning ovens. A speakeasy-style bar, El Aljibe, specializes in craft cocktails.
Staff and service
Many staff members trained at the Escuela de Oficios Hoteleros y Turísticos, a free vocational school launched in 2023 by the Fundación Santo Domingo. The program teaches hospitality skills, including gastronomy, food and beverage service, and English, with the aim of developing local talent for Cartagena’s growing tourism industry.
General Manager Annie Monnier has been with Four Seasons since 2017 and involved with the Cartagena project for several years. Overall, the staff delivered the warmth and attentiveness associated with Four Seasons, along with a strong connection to the city. They pointed me to nearby places such as the flower market, where I marveled at orchids (Colombia has more than 4200 orchid species), and Café Havana right down the street for salsa dancing (reportedly a favorite spot for Hillary Clinton), where I sat back and watched as people pulled out expert Dancing with the Stars-level moves.
Accessibility
The hotel offers accommodations that are the equivalent of ADA-compliant across multiple room categories, including Accessible Superior Rooms and Accessible Premier Rooms in the contemporary section of the hotel, with mobility-friendly layouts, including step-free access, wider doorways, and adapted bathrooms.
Public areas are accessible, including the rooftop areas. Staff is also trained to support guests with a range of accessibility needs. For specific accessibility needs, contact the reservations team: +57 605 654 6700 or [email protected].
The pools spa, and gift shop
The rooftop pool offers a sunny spot above the city’s historic streets.
Courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Cartagena
I spent my mornings luxuriating in the rooftop infinity pool, overlooking the harbor, clock tower and pastel-colored buildings below. A second pool has views of the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, the city’s imposing hilltop fortress.
The hotel also has a fitness center and Umari Spa, housed within the historic cloister complex. A sculptural staircase and contemporary furnishings contrast with rough stone surfaces and wooden walls. Treatments incorporate Colombian botanicals; I chose the Amazonian Nectar Massage, which used hot stones and passion fruit-infused oil. The spa also offers a couple’s suite, hair salon, relaxation lounge, and steam room.
Make a trip of it
The Four Seasons offers excursions ranging from a visit to a cotton-top tamarin monkey reserve to a tour of Gabriel García Márquez’s private residence.
During my stay, I joined a coffee tasting, took a boat excursion to the nearby Rosario Islands to see a protected marine reserve and have lunch at a private home, and explored the Getsemaní neighborhood with a local guide. The neighborhood tour was the most illuminating. Our guide, Fernando, a historian who grew up in Getsemaní, shared vivid stories of the neighborhood’s past, when there was just one telephone per street, and of the community’s rapid transformation.
