Cartagena hotels can be expensive, and for anyone looking for a beach vacation - Cartagena is not an ideal destination, which is a shame because the nightlife and the old town are so terrific. However the Karmairi hotel, which only opened 4 months ago - may change that for travelers to Cartagena. It isn't listed in any of the guides and has almost no reviews online, perhaps because it's so new - but we took a gamble and booked it anyway. Karmairi is 15 minutes drive north of the city and positioned on a curved beach bay. The hotel is stunning and stylishly decorated, set on the beach with a great little pool and lots of comfy sun loungers, sofas and day beds and bougainvillia everywhere. It's amazingly relaxing and quiet, and offers tons of spa treatments in little bamboo huts. There's a great bar and restaurant with terrific food and some of the best drinks I've ever had. The staff could not be nicer or more helpful and go out of their way to make your stay pleasant and relaxing. The rooms are beautifully done with lots of teak and stylish touches, super comfy beds and cable tv. There's a free shuttle several times a day and night into cartagena. Cartagena actually can get a bit claustrophobic so it's almost nicer to stay out of it somewhere super relaxing and pretty and have easy access to the city - so definitely consider booking the karmairi on a trip to cartagena. It's also amazingly reasonably priced for what you get. This will for sure start cropping up soon on hip hotels and other sites and books like it so come before it gets overrun! NOT for families - this is really a small resort/ spa for couples and singles so not ideal for people with kids.