A 5-suite design boutique in a restored 1700s townhouse on Calle Estanco del Aguardiente — opened 2018 — with Alma rooftop bar, the most-photographed Old City rooftop pool, and Cartagena's most discreetly-marketed luxury small-hotel programme.
"Five suites in a townhouse, opened by a New York design collective. The Alma rooftop bar is the most-photographed in Cartagena. The five-room scale gives the property the feel of a private residence; the rooftop pool gives it the feel of the destination."
Townhouse Cartagena opened on 1 March 2018 as the first hotel project of the New York-based design collective behind the Townhouse property in Manhattan and the small-collection of design-led private-residence-style boutiques in Mexico City and Mérida. The Cartagena property occupies a restored 1740s townhouse on Calle Estanco del Aguardiente — a pedestrian street four blocks south of Plaza San Diego, between the heritage-convent cluster and the city walls. The architectural restoration preserved the original 18th-century floor plan, the central interior courtyard with the original colonial-period brick-and-tile, and the original rooftop. The interior decoration is the principal proposition: deliberately contemporary-international (Pierre Frey upholstery, Tom Dixon lighting, custom-made linen bedding), at deliberate odds with the colonial-Cartagena heritage register that defines the heritage-grand-hotel competition.
The 5 suites are individually configured around the original townhouse footprint. Suite A at 35 sqm and Suite B at 42 sqm are the standard categories; Suite C at 55 sqm includes a private terrace; the Penthouse at 75 sqm on the top floor is the milestone unit, with a private 4-metre plunge pool and direct rooftop access to the Alma bar. Bathrooms are travertine and Carrara marble; bath products are Le Labo Hinoki.
There is no on-site restaurant — the Townhouse model is to direct guests to the most-recommended kitchens within five minutes' walk. Breakfast is served on the rooftop from 7 to 10 AM; the Alma rooftop bar — open 5 PM to 1 AM nightly — is the property's signature image and the most-photographed Old City rooftop, with a deliberately tight 32-cover capacity that keeps the noise register at a private-club rather than a public-bar level. The 12-metre rooftop pool with views over Cartagena's terracotta-tiled roofs is the daily anchor. The fifth-floor library is the property's quieter daytime register. There is no spa.
The Calle Estanco del Aguardiente address is the booking trade-off relative to the Plaza Santo Domingo and Plaza San Diego cluster. From the front door it is two minutes on foot to Plaza San Diego, three minutes to Plaza Santo Domingo, four minutes to Plaza Bolívar, six minutes to Las Murallas, and 18 minutes by car to Rafael Núñez Airport. The position is more residential than central; the trade-off for the small-and-discreet booking. For travellers wanting the most-design-and-rooftop-driven Cartagena boutique with the deliberately international register over the colonial-heritage alternatives, Townhouse is unambiguous.
The Penthouse with the private 4-metre plunge pool and rooftop access, the Alma bar after dinner, and the 12-metre rooftop pool through the morning. The right Cartagena honeymoon booking for design-conscious couples.
For solo travellers wanting the most discreet, design-driven Cartagena small-boutique — particularly for travellers who find the heritage-convent registers too theatrical — Townhouse is the right answer. Suite A or B as the working booking; the rooftop as the daily anchor.
For groups of 8 to 10 wanting to book the entire 5-suite property as a private villa, the Townhouse buyout is unambiguous — the rooftop pool and Alma bar private for the duration, and the building's residential register makes the buyout reads as a private Old-City house party rather than a hotel takeover.
Calle Estanco del Aguardiente 4-50
Cartagena 130001
Colombia
Plaza San Diego 2 min on foot; Plaza Santo Domingo 3 min; Plaza Bolívar 4 min; Las Murallas 6 min; Rafael Núñez Airport (CTG) 18 min by car
5 suites
Suite A from $360/night
Suite B from $420/night
Suite C from $560/night
Penthouse from $1,200/night
Buyout: ~$3,200/night
Check-in: 3:00 PM
Check-out: 12:00 PM
Opened 1 March 2018
Townhouse — independent New York design collective
Alma rooftop bar (32 covers, 5 PM-1 AM)
12m rooftop pool
Penthouse with 4m private plunge pool
Fifth-floor library
Rooftop breakfast service
No on-site restaurant — kitchen recommendations
Le Labo Hinoki bath products
From $360/night. With only 5 suites, the Penthouse and full-property buyouts book six months ahead. Alma rooftop reservations not required for in-house guests.
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