Ancalá Casas Altas is an intimate luxury boutique hotel on Barú Island: six rooms across three houses designed by Gustavo Pinto and Simón Vélez, each with its own private pool and direct sea access. It is a secluded and selective place to stay.
The edge is architecture, intimacy, and seclusion, not scale. Only six rooms across three private houses, designed by named architects (Simón Vélez is internationally known), so the building itself is the headline rather than a generic resort. Each house has a private pool and sea access, and guests can reserve a single room, a private casita, or the entire property. It sits on the mangroves of Barú with nature immersion at the centre (birdwatching, kayaking, snorkeling) and it belongs to a small Colombian luxury family alongside Casa de la Renta in Cartagena's walled city.
The design and architecture pilgrim who comes specifically for the Vélez and Pinto houses. The nature seeker, birder, and quiet adventurer drawn to the mangroves and kayaking. High-end Couples and honeymooners wanting privacy and a romantic Caribbean retreat. Buyout guests (families, friend groups, the privacy conscious) who take the whole property. And the discerning luxury travel.
Secluded, intimate, unhurried. Houses of bamboo and timber, mangroves at the edge, private pools, the Caribbean a few steps away. Birdsong at dawn, kayaks at rest, barefoot luxury, nature immersion, only six rooms, captivating, quiet, deeply private.
Ancalá is a Colombian luxury hospitality brand rooted in authentic architecture, art, and nature: three properties, one philosophy, "explore deeper." Casas Altas is the Barú expression of that idea, three private houses immersed in Caribbean nature, conceived by Gustavo Pinto and Simón Vélez (Vélez is celebrated internationally for his work in guadua bamboo). The setting is the mangroves of Barú Island, near Cartagena but a world away from its crowds. The wider family gives the place its context. Sister property Casa de la Renta is a 500 year old colonial mansion holding an original Colombian art collection in the heart of Cartagena's walled city, and the on site Ancalá Waterfront restaurant brings Chef Pedro (with experience in Michelin starred kitchens) and a premium BBQ menu to the mangroves when it opens in July 2026.
Explore deeper (brand line) Designed by Gustavo Pinto and Simón Vélez Six rooms across three private houses Private pool and sea access in each house Barú Island, the mangroves, Caribbean nature immersion Birdwatching, kayaking, snorkeling Book a room, a casita, or the entire property Ancalá Waterfront restaurant and Chef Pedro
| Dirección | Bahía De Cholón, Cartagena, Bolivar, CO |
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| Barrio | Isla de Barú — Bahía De Cholón |