Estelar Playa Manzanillo

We went as a family and enjoyed our stay. Cartagena is beautiful. Resort is more of a 3.5 star. Would be best suited for family's or ppl who want a quiet vacation. Definately not fir young couples or people looking for a party. Very clean and pretty though [Details]

We were expecting a lot more from this resort. It is very small, there is no entertainment at night, the beach is covered with people asking you for massages or selling jewelry. We couldn't take walk on the beach, the officer said it was not safe to leave the beach resort.

The food is not the greatest either, not a lot of variety. We ended having to order a pizza one night cause nothing was good. [Details]

We were very impressed with the way everything was set up--friendly staff--
we were not happy with our 1st room--changed to the 2nd level--brighter and nicer room. We would like to return. [Details]

Food: buffet doesn't have very many choices
Pro: you can book the a la cart restaurant as much as you want

There's not much to do in the resort in terms of activities. Night life consist of watching movies outside(great for kids)

There's a shuttle bus that runs from the resort to the old city of cartagena for free. There's a lot of things to see and do in there.

The resort offers really great trips for a good price. Must try the Rosario Island. It's a full day trip where there's white sand, clear water, and scuba diving/ snorkelling. The sand is volcanic sand and the water at the resort is not clear because of it.

Make sure you brush up on your Spanish!!! You can't expect to go to a foreign country and expect everyone to speak english:) [Details]

Nothing very special about the resort just average. The price was right $1080 including taxes. The free shuttle was it's best feature. For the price it was a good vacation, paying more would have been a mistake. [Details]

The hotel is located 25 minutes to the north of the airport. The reception desk is in open air the staff was helpful. There are elevators to the upper floors. All the rooms face the beach. No need to pay extra to have a beach view. Fridge and its content and safety box are included. Food is good with variety every day. Drinks are well prepared. The beach is very clean and is guarded. On the beach, chairs are prepared and cleaned by a staff to your desired location. We always found a place under the umbrellas. Sport activities are available boards, kayak etc. Every night a different show is performed. Staff are polite and serve you without expecting tips. For wine lovers, we recommend to bring your own wine. [Details]

Check in was very easy. We were traveling with another couple and had requested adjoining or at least rooms that were near each other. We were told the resort was very busy and to check tomorrow morning... We soon learned that that was the token response consistently given by the front desk. Our rooms were on separate floors. All guests at check in we're served an icy drink, which was welcomed.

The rooms were clean. The fridge was empty, save one diet coke. The water at the resort undrinkable so bottled water is necessary. The beds were comfortable, with plenty of squishy pillows. Maid service was reliable, but don't expect any cool towel animals.

The beach is unremarkable. No clear water as a river flows into the ocean nearby. Security shuts the beach down at 5pm everyday.

The food was unremarkable. A la carte restaurants were not bad as long as you order the few things that were tasty. We recommend the beef rib at Nativo, and the beef skewer at the Grille. Any steak we ordered was very tough, even when cooked to our liking. Baked potatoes were nice, corn was horrendous. The buffet served edible food but nothing that you'd write home about. We found ourselves eating a lot of pizza, which they make with a nice thin crust- to order. Fresh fruit was always available.

Bar drinks were tasty and seemed to be made with care.

Pool staff were great but there was little variety from day to day.

During our stay a large corporate group showed up and threw a huge beach party, which regular guests were not allowed to attend. This made a lot of people angry.

Evening entertainment was limited. Dancing outside, or a band usually wrapped up by 11pm. There is no disco here. If you want any nightlife, you need to go to cartegena.

Other than the front desk staff, everyone was pleasant and helpful. Most do not speak English. 50% of the guests here are from South America and speak Spanish. [Details]

It was a nice vacation and the resort was better than expected compared to some of the reviews I'd read beforehand. About 25-35 minutes by shuttle from Old Cartegena. [Details]

Paper thin walls
Very poor service at both front desk and resturants.
one resturant serves as three "seperate restuarnts"
main areas not kept very clean
Overall very disappointed, it is what it is, I would pay more $ to go somewhere better. [Details]

At first I was disappointed with the location being about 20 minutes north of Cartagena but this did not pose a problem as we did go into town a number of times using the supplied shuttle. The staff were very good, worked hard and many spoke English, contrary to other reviews. But the resort was understaffed. It was not completely full when we were there and if they were there may have been more staff. I also think that if it were full, there may have been issues with spaces at the pool. Being a fairly small resort we got to meet many people and I think I am now spoiled for large all-inclusives. My purpose for travelling to this region was to see Cartagena again. I would definitely go back and I would consider this location again. Safety and security is no bigger issue in this region than in other Latin America destinations. One thing that is important for a good vacation here is you can't sweat the small stuff. Value for money is excellent. I believe the region will once again become popular. [Details]

Got a room with Hot Tub. It is a fresh water hot tub. You drain the water after you use it and fill before you use it. The water comes from solar heat so the tub is warm. After a hot day of sitting around the pool relax in your tub, listen to quiet music, need a drink? you are a 50 foot walk to the bar. Life is good [Details]

This hotel is smaller than most but has all the pleasure of a larger facility. The food is the BEST we have had in over 5 other countries. There entertainment at night is just singers but your free shuttle to old or new Cartagena get you all the discos, shopping, eating you could want. It is not a fancy resort by any means but the people and atmosphere are the best. The beach is darker sand but the water is unbelievably warmer than any. We are already planning to go back for two weeks next year ! [Details]

We spent two weeks at the Estelar Grand, March 5-19. The weather was fantastic (even with the wind chill, it was still 30 every day!), the food was good and plentiful (the granadillas fantastic!), our suite was spaciaus and clean, and the staff were friendly and always tried to please. The resort is a little distance from everyhting, but after looking at the reosrts in Cartagena proper, I'm glad we were away from the city.... no vendors on the beach, no traffic, peace and quiet! The shuttle to the old city was free and runs at convenient times. With the heat, we found it best to go in later in the afternoon. The city is beautiful at night, and we felt safe and secure. Take a carriage ride! One note, you're generally better off with Pesos, and some stores will not take USD. One comment for the hotel, it woulkd be very helpful if there was a place on the resort to exchange USD into Pesos, and break larger US bills down into smalls for tips etc. Sunday, March 18th the Candaians drank the bar dry.... a small lesson on how much we can consume! We would definately go back! Our only complaint was listening to people complain about all the little things.... you have to realize, this isn't home! [Details]

The hotel is in it's infancy, too far form Cartegna. The weaterh was great but the beach was not nice and the food terrible. Would not reccomend or go again.It is not a four star hotel, 2 or 3 at best but it was a cheap hoilday. You get what you pay for. [Details]

Overall it was good.The shuttle was a nice feature.Dinners were OK, breakfast need a little improvement. [Details]

the people at the hotel make this vacation bareable,the food was so poor and our room was never clean on change over days. [Details]

Very dissapointing. Not as advertised. We booked and paid for a suite with private hot tub but discovered there were none available or in working order. The food was the same at every meal and tasteless. We ate offsite often. The best thing about the resort was being avble to go to the city each day. [Details]

Great Hotel, although we paid for a upgrade room with hot tub, and we did not recieve that. Target should not advertise what they cannot deliver [Details]

After reading reviews etc, I was under the impression that this was a new hotel. It is not. Although the OV Suites are very large, the furniture is very uncomfortable & there is hardly anywhere to unpack. The food is only ok and service at night terrible. This resort for us was too far from town but they did have a shuttle service which you have to make reservations the day before to use to go & come back. Housekeeping was terrible. Sometimes you had no towels or soap and I don't think they sweep/mop the room or patio the whole we stayed. There was only 1 bar for use at night & it was packed. Good luck in getting a beverage of any kind. I am not sure if they were expecting as many people as they got but to me they were unprepared. The beach was ok, water warm and be warned it is not the nice aqua blue water or white sand we are used to in the Carribean. I would also reccommend knowing some Spanish, it helps to get what you want. [Details]

This is a beautiful resort, it is small but everyone was getting to know everyone by the end of the week. The food was good and there was nothing I ate that I didn't like. The beach is not white sand but you could walk quite a distance down both sides which was nice. Excursions available were great and shuttle into town was good. [Details]

Good hotel, nice quiet retreat, not for partiers. Needs to keep updating facilities for North American needs. [Details]

I just returned from a 7 day trip to this resort and had a terrific time. We did not experience any problems with food, bugs etc. We had the family suite which was 2 separate bedrooms with a 540sq ft living/dining room area and a kitchenette. We were on the first floor at the front of the building so we had 2 huge patios (one in the sun most of the day, one in the shade) and a hot tub. The temp in the hot tub was lukewarm which was just perfect for the weather. Employees who did not speak English were quick to find someone else to answer any questions. If I have to look for negatives, the double bedroom had issues with the door lock, the blind chain repeatedly breaking etc but that could happen anywhere. Would recommend this to anyone who wanted a quiet vacation and was content to either take the shuttle bus into town or forego nightlife. One note of caution for this time of year, the wind was very strong from 10am to 6pm. [Details]

Nice place to spend quality time with family. Will go back. [Details]

This is a perect place if your easy to please want easy going relaxation don't need to be entertained. Just quite ordinary people who like the long beaches quite evenings and don't need to be pamper and like a small Jewel and relaxation this is it not fancy but first class and the staff is trying very hard to please be fair they are learning and love to make you happy. They all should be very proud of all of the place. They are happy proud people polite and want to make you happy. Just give them a chance. I hope not to many people like quite easy clean place . So I can go back. Before it takes off and it will because it small beutiful resort with a great beach if your beach people oh yah it does cool down at night so what put a sweater on because it a break from the hot day alway with a breeze so if you don't like a breeze its not for you. No breeze would be too hot. Thank you for a great vacation. I will be back Everyone there should be proud and for the complainers shame on you. THank you all staff stand proud. Keep smiling [Details]

The hotel was beautiful, the service was somewhat lacking, but very friendly. The pool and beach areas were great. The food was good, but repetative. The one HUGE problem was the mold/mildew in the room. Our room constantly smelled like mold. The filter for the air vent was dirty and covered in mold spores. We had read about this in other reviews, so we had it changed our first day, but that did not improve the mold smell at all. The back of the window shade was also covered in mold. We opened our balcony doors every night to air out the smell, but it would just smell the same the next day. Both my husband and I developed coughs by the end of our stay. [Details]

Weather - perfect
Accomodations - beautiful
Food - exceptional
Pools - great [Details]

Just returned and had a wonderful trip. Resort was very nice, staff incredible and food was really good. The only a la carte restaurant was not worth going to except on Italian night. Would go back in a heartbeat. [Details]

great place to stay but the real attraction is the walled city, amust see [Details]

We were there from January 16-23. Very clean resort, from bottom to top. Rooms are good, but noise from the neigbour rooms can be an issue. Keyless entry. Beds are firm, we liked that way.So many pillows. Safety deposit box big. Wireless internet worked fine even at beach area as well. AC works well in the rooms. We got oceanview suite and this one comes 3 Ac unit. The ground clean and well kept. Pools are big. Buffet sometimes fully occupied hard to find empty tables. Food comes with great taste, but limited varieties. They serve chicken , beef, pork and fish every day. Service sometimes slow specially if you want coffe or tea. Bar area need extra men, to help out the guest. People are friendly and helpful. Special thanks for Guillermo and Luis Baracaldo to make our holiday more special. Beach wasn't our favorite. But we knewwhat to expect so didn't boder us it wasn't an issu. It was enough chairs and shade around the beach area. If you want one I recommend to get up early (really early). While we were there they got more chairs but the shade issue still there. I'm sure later on they will put more galapas there or tents. Entertaiment is need to be improved. No disco. Shuttle bus to Cartagena is priceless. Earliest shuttle to the city is 8:00Am latest one to back to the resort is 0:30AM. If you want a quite place to run away from work, stress it is a perfect place. I would recommend it, I would go back anytime. But if you want feel more party athmospere it is not for you. [Details]

We walked into the most beautiful room that we've ever had (4205).The staff was awesome.We ate a'la'carte every evening they had a different theme for every day of the week our favourite was Italian & Spanish.The weather was great always a breeze. My only complaint was bar service .The bartenders were inexperienced and slow and at peak times there was sometimes only 1 bartender [Details]