If you’re looking for a hotel in El Poblado’s Provenza District you can’t get any more central than the Calle Flora Medellín, located directly on the lively Parque Lleras. But is this boutique hotel too close for comfort? Let’s find out.
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I booked the Calle Flora Medellín for three nights from August 6-9 Wed-Sat as part of a longer stay in the city.
Those nights totaled up to just $60.44 each after taxes. The Calle Flora Medellín has an Expedia rating of 9.6 from 15 reviews. Check the Expedia rates for your dates.
I was already quite tired of the noise and crowds of El Poblado and nearly booked outside the neighborhood for these dates, but this price was simply too low to ignore. If I had extended this stay through the weekend those nights would have been similarly cheap.
Calle Flora Medellín Location
This hotel is directly on the park and at the center of the nightlife area and it’s frankly too loud here throughout most of the day. The noise does abate after midnight and you should be able to sleep through the night but in the morning there was construction noise and from 4:00 pm onward you’re going to hear live music out the window. It’s very annoying and enough to prevent me staying here again.
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If you don’t mind that as much, the location is very good. There are hundreds of bars and restaurants within a few blocks. Taxis and Ubers are easy to find and the Metro is an easy downhill walk. There’s also a Juan Valdez cafe right next door.
Calle Flora Medellín Property
Calle Flora Medellín is a fairly large hotel but they do very little with the space they have. If you see it listed as having a pool online that’s not correct. Some rooms have a Jacuzzi tub. There’s also no fitness center or rooftop space or parking.
The first floor consists of just an indoor/outdoor restaurant and co-working space, as well as a very large empty section closed to the public. The restaurant seemed to specialize mostly in coffee and dessert. I never saw any menu or entrees being served.
The front desk is relegated to a small corner and there’s no actual lobby area. There is however a DJ setup in the center of the restaurant so it gets loud in there during the evenings.
Calle Flora Medellín Guest Rooms
The rooms here look nice online and they are nice but Lord, they are small. They’re too small for even one person to properly enjoy and if you’re traveling as a couple you absolutely need to look elsewhere.
There are some design challenges in these rooms that are unforgivable. Mainly, there’s no storage at all. I ended up stowing my folded clothes under the sink. It wasn’t until the last day I discovered there’s a drawer that pulls out from the sink, but the drawer is U-shaped to accommodate the plumbing, making it very impractical to use. There’s not enough lighting here either; no lights in the shower or water closet. There’s a balcony, but it’s very small and that space would have been better used as interior square footage.
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I couldn’t figure out how to make the TV work at all. It has cable but it remained stuck on the streaming homepage asking for credentials to be input. There’s no amount of quality in the finishings here that can make up for the noise and small size.
About El Poblado
The area around Lleras Park is a world class nighlife destination, with people coming from all over to enjoy top notch hospitality and Latin rhythm in the clubs. There are dozens of dining options in the neighborhood including Colombian places with extremely generous portions.
Hotels, hostels and co-working spaces fill out the neighborhood. It’s quite popular with digital nomads and Latin tourists, although Americans make up less of the tourist trade than you’d expect.
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El Poblado is overall very safe, although if you stay out too late and get too drunk some very bad things can happen here. Overall the area is like living a California lifestyle on a Colombian budget. It’s worth the trip even if you can only stay for the weekend.
Bottom Line
I don’t think I’d stay here again even if it was free. The operator of Calle Flora Medellín, a chain called Jalo, has a number of hotels nearby. If Calle Flora looks good to you you should consider one of their other properties instead with a quieter location and a bit more square footage. Take a look on Expedia for more.
