24 Hours at the W Bogota
When it comes to stylish, international luxury hotels, W Hotels are always a great choice. Having stayed at the W Bangkok back in August 2016, we fell in love with their funky design and local touches. Service was beyond our expectations and after the exciting rooms and spa of the W Amsterdam at the beginning of the year, we were sure: we have to see the W Bogota as well! As we decided to stay the first night of our trip to Bogota in the B.O.G Hotel, we arrived smoothly with our Uber (never ever order Uber X when you have more than two big suitcases). The quater around the W Bogota is called Usaqueen and is predicted to be one of the wealthiest areas in the Colombian Capital, so the crime rate is very low. In terms of hotel choice in Bogota you just have three choices of areas: Usaqueen, Zona T/Rosa or Zona G - forget the rest! Simply believe us and you will experience Bogota as a city that exceeds your expectations. While Zona T/Rosa is perfect for shopping, Zona G is the place to eat. My personal favorite though is Usaqueen as it is like a small town within a big city. Just around the corner, there is a local market every sunday with handicraft, local procucts and more. We loved to walk though the market seeking for a place to have dinner.
Once we arrived at the hotel we were greeted in a very friendly way and thanks to the fact that one of us spoke spanish, everybody was more relaxed and we were talking about city recommendations before we even got the keys. I found it very nice that the bellmen accompanied us to our amazing Wonderful rooms. Upon opening the door, we were welcomed by white colours meeting gold tones. As usual the W bed is simply gorgeous (I would call them one of the best hotel beds so far - you can always rely on them wherever you are), the bathroom super-cool and the views stunning. Our room was overlooking Usaqueen and the sunset of Bogota (if they would have cleaned the windows, the pictures would have been even more beautiful). Next to the bed was a small sofa along a writing desk with a table lamp by Artemide. I was impressed of the white curtain (which made the room look bigger even though it wasn't) as well as the open bathroom with separate shower, toilet and double basin. The toiletries by Bliss are always a nice touch (tough we had the small sized ones this time, it's our first time in a standard room with W). There was one complimentary bottle of water and they arrived with a welcome amenity consisting of Cupcakes and a handwritten letter, which was kind of attentive. I missed the turn-down service where they refilled the free bottled water. I never use the tap water in cities outside of Europe so complimentary bottled water is a must for me. Otherwise the room was perfect and we appreciated the make-up corner with mirrors all around. Being situated on the 11th floor was amazing and we would recommend to take a room facing the city rather than the office buildings, the sunset view will reward you.
We love the spa at the W Amsterdam and find the pool at the W Bangkok to be impressive, so it was sure that the spa of W Bogota won't be unspectacular. With an oversized Hot Jacuzzi plus the biggest fitness in a five star hotel in Bogota, the Away Spa is definitely not just a place for hotel guests. Also locals love the spa. Unfortunately you have to go to the spa reception and ask for big towels for the pool, otherwise you just have small towels on site. However there was a staff member on site so this has not been a problem at all. There is also a steam bath inside the changing areas, though they don't have a sauna or relaxation room inside the public spaces.
According to TripAdvisor "Cafe Amarti" was the best restaurant around the corner and so we walked there after sunset and retrurned to the W around 10pm - which was not a problem at all, tough would not walk this way alone as a common thing in South America. If you are travelling alone, there is the Market Restaurant inside the W, which seemed to be a place where locals go as well.
After having stayed at some of the best hotels in Bogota, the W Bogota is definitely the one to book a bed and breakfast rate. They serve the best breakfat buffet in the entire country and you won't be disappointed in any way. They had a big seletion of alreadry prepared eggs plus a menu with many various egg dishes, a huge bread selection and a vast choice of fruits, cheese, ham and they even had salmon and sparkling wine - last two are very hard to find at other hotels in Colombia! Service was attentive and a few glasses of sparkling wine later, we were exploring the efficiency of the Concierge aka Whatever Whenever Service. As we had troubles with our LATAM booking they called the airline immediately and checked-us in a very fast way! It's amazing to get professional support for such things in a country like Colombia where English is not spoken widely.
We really loved our stay at the W Bogota! It is one of the three best places to stay in the Colombian capital and you simply can't go wrong with it. The value for money is very good but it is important to consider that you are staying in Usaqueen rather than Zona G, so going to Plaza de Bolivar and the heart of Bogota (La Candelaria) can take from 40 minutes up to an hour. On the other side, the more north you stay, the more safe is the area!
We were guests of the W Bogota and stayed at the property for Editorial purposes. All above written expresses our own opinion and has not been influenced.
