We're an off-grid hotel on Barú Island, across the water from Cartagena, and that is the most honest way we can describe ourselves as an eco hotel. We don't hold a certificate we can point you to. What we can point you to is how the place runs: no connection to public power, water or waste, houses built from guadua bamboo, a shoreline of mangroves we leave alone, and a fund that a part of every night's stay goes into. Here's what that means in practice, including the parts that are less romantic.
How we run without public utilities
We generate our own electricity, make our own water and process our own waste. Hotels in Cartagena are wired into the city. Out here on Cholón Bay, we aren't, so everything a city does quietly for a hotel, we do ourselves.
That extends to supply. Every cleaning product, every ingredient, every bag of ice, and every guest arrives by our boat. The crossing from Cartagena takes between 30 minutes and an hour, and because the boat has limited space we ask you to reserve your seat with your booking. If you come by air, it's about an hour door to door from Rafael Núñez International Airport, and on the way home we'd suggest leaving us three hours before your flight.
What this doesn't mean is roughing it. Villa Pinto has air conditioning and fast wifi, a Nespresso machine, and turn-down service in the evening. Running off-grid is our job behind the scenes, not something we hand to you.
Houses built from guadua bamboo
Our main house, Villa Pinto, was designed by the Colombian architect Simón Vélez with Gustavo Pinto, and it's built around guadua bamboo. You'll see it in the structure itself: the dining room sits under a vaulted bamboo roof open to the bay, and upstairs the living room between the two master suites lets light in through bamboo and timber.
The three houses hold six rooms between them:
- Villa Pinto: three bedrooms (the Estrella, Cuerno and Fuego rooms), up to eight guests, each bedroom with its own bathroom.
- Casita Veranera: two rooms, the Rhizo and the Avi, each with a balcony looking over the Ciénaga de Cholón.
- Casita Laguna: a single room with an outdoor bathroom and its own gazebo.
You can book a room, or take all three houses together. If you're travelling as a family with friends, Villa Pinto can be yours while the others stay in Casita Veranera or Casita Laguna.
The mangroves are the point
Our terraces step down into the mangroves of Barú, and we'd rather you spent time in them than looked at them from a lounger. We keep kayaks for paddling the channels, and the best hour is dawn, when the birdlife is up and the water is still. If you'd like a guided morning, kayaking, snorkelling or birdwatching, our concierge will arrange it.
Further out, Corales del Rosario National Park protects the reefs and islands to the southwest of Barú. Our page on the park explains what it is and how it looks from here.
Where the resort fee goes
We charge a resort fee of 20 USD per night, and we'd rather say so up front. It covers the cost of running the equivalent of a small town's infrastructure so that you can be comfortable on an island with none. It also keeps that cost visible rather than folded into the room rate.
A quarter of it, 25%, goes directly into our Impact Fund. The fund supports nonprofit initiatives that reduce the environmental effects of tourism here and contribute to local social development on the island.
Eating here
Our restaurant, Ancalá Waterfront, sits on the mangroves and is open every day from 11am to 4pm. Chef Pedro Mosqueda cooks a premium BBQ menu there, and the restaurant is open to non-residents as well as our guests, who can arrive by boat or by car.
Meat isn't the only option. Many of us have been vegetarian or vegan at some point, and we keep a proper offering for non-meat eaters. If you're lactose or gluten intolerant, tell us ahead of time and the kitchen will take care of it.
Is an off-grid island stay right for you?
It suits you if you want quiet, water and birds more than nightlife, and if a boat crossing feels like part of the trip rather than a chore. Six rooms is the whole hotel, so it's never crowded.
It suits you less if you'd like to walk out to Cartagena's walled city for dinner every evening. You can certainly visit the city from us, and plenty of guests do, but it's a boat ride each way. If the walled city is the main reason for your trip, spend those nights in town and come to us afterwards.