Formalities
Formalities : Passport valid for six months after return.
Currency The peso (COP). 1 E = 3179 COP (Nov. 2015).
Area code : +57.
Best season The dry season, from December to February. Rainy seasons in April-May and October-November.
Time difference 6 hours in summer, 7 hours in winter.
Group size All sizes. The country has excellent hotel and meeting facilities.
How to get there
AIR FRANCE offers a daily service between Paris CDG and Bogota's El Dorado airport. This direct flight, daytime on the outbound journey and night-time on the return, is operated by a three-class Airbus A340-300.
Tel.: 3654 or +33 (0)892 70 26 54 Internet: www.airfrance.com
AVIANCAthe Colombian airline, flies almost every hour, or even half-hour, between Bogota and Cartagena.
Internet: www.avianca.com
For more information
Procolombia (for professionals only) 28, rue de l'Amiral Hamelin. 75116 Paris - Internet: www. colombia.travel/en; www.procolombia.co
Reception
Quimbaya
In Paris. 83 bis, rue de l'Abbé Groult, 75015 Paris. Tel: 01 56 08 36 46
In Bogota. CRA 11a N° 94a Of 403 Bogota. Tel: (571) 636 26 28 Email: info@quimbaya-tours.com Internet: www.quimbaya-tours.com
Hotels
Bogota
Hotel de l'opera
You couldn't find better accommodation in Bogotá, especially if you're interested in the history of Colombia. Right in the heart of the historic district of La Candelaria, the hotel, which adjoins the opera house, also faces the San Carlos palace, built in 1580 and once the residence of Simon Bolivar. Housed within the walls of a very old mansion and therefore preserved in its original state, the hotel has a real charm about it, with its two Andalusian patios, its maze of corridors and staircases, and its restaurant on the terrace overlooking the round-tiled roofs. The rooms in the old part of the building overlook either the pedestrian street or the patio. The latter are therefore a little dark. Not important: the hotel has a second wing, with ultra-contemporary rooms, some with fabulous views over the rooftops and old bell towers. 42 rooms. Two restaurants. One small swimming pool.
La Candelaria. Calle 10 N° 5-72, Calle del Coliseo - Tel: + 57 (1) 336 2066 Email: sales@hotelopera.com.co Internet: www.hotelopera.com.co
Cosmos 100
An excellent alternative to the Candelaria district, which is truly dead at night. The Cosmos 100 is located in the upmarket district, a stone's throw from the restaurants, nightclubs and luxury boutiques of the Zona Rosa. The hotel, renovated a year ago, is upmarket and unashamedly efficient, with 300 rooms and suites, some with kitchenettes. There is an international restaurant on the ground floor, a gourmet catering service and, above all, a convention centre with 24 meeting rooms for 8 to 600 people.
AC 100 # 19 A-83 Bogota. Tel: +57 (1) 6464000 Email: reservas@hotelescosmos.com Internet: www.cosmos100.com
Villa de Leyva
Campanario de la Villa
Breakfast very early in the morning, in this patio where a fountain sings, in absolute calm barely disturbed by the monastery bells calling for the first service, all under a sun that is still pink... Breakfast taken like this is worth all the gold in the world. The establishment, which is completely contemporary even though it is located in the historic town, is just like the neighbouring convent: absolutely silent! The result is a square, one-storey building, enclosed by a huge interior patio. A covered passageway runs along three sides of the building, leading to the bedrooms. Some have a balcony overlooking a very quiet street. Others, perhaps a little darker, open onto the patio, and still others overlook the nearby countryside. Opened six months ago, the hotel is a reflection of the city, set apart from time, stress and the hustle and bustle of the world. 25 rooms and suites, restaurant, swimming pool and spa.
Carrera 11a, 12-47 - Tel: +57 (310) 5500216 - Email: reservas@ hotelcompanariodelavilla.com - Internet: www.hotelcampanariodelavilla.com
Cartagena
Casa Pestagua
A palace! Living in a palace in one of the most fantastical cities in the world! And not just any palace, as this is the former home of the Count of Pestagua, the most powerful man in the city in the 17th century. Just a stone's throw from the very urban Plaça Santo Domingo, Casa Pestagua never fails to stand out from the crowd. There's no doubt about it: this is chic, very chic. Revamped for the 21st century by Colombian architect Alvaro Barrera, the establishment opens onto a patio planted with eight gigantic palm trees that must have been there since the dawn of time. A swimming pool, perfectly integrated into the décor, refreshes the tropical atmosphere with all its indigo. The rooms? All different, stunning in their size and furnished with extreme refinement. And what can we say about the bathrooms, which could easily accommodate two Parisian studios! Air conditioning is of course standard, but Alvaro Barrera's eye for detail has led him to install ceiling fans. And the service is as discreet as it is friendly. The hotel, which can be fully privatised for events, has won numerous awards. 11 rooms and a ballroom for 80 people.
Calle Santo Domingo, N° 33 - 63 - Tel: + 57 (5) 664 95 10 - Email: reservas@ casapestagua.com - Internet: www. hotelboutiquecasapestagua.com
Casa Pombo
A cathedral, a street like any other, a door that doesn't look like much, and... dazzlement. This house, one of the oldest in the city, has also been completely redesigned by Alvaro Barrera. The result, on the ground floor, is a wall of water falling into a pool of black slate, landscaped in an ultra-design style and occupying the entire space of the former patio. What remains are the columns - undoubtedly from the period - the outdated staircases and the walls, which have retained a few al fresco paintings. As you can see, Casa Pombo is a marvel of taste, blending the historic with the contemporary, a talented blend of old stone and daring materials, such as the all-glass balcony floor overlooking the patio. Some of the rooms, decorated in an old-fashioned style or completely revisited, are true flats with kitchen and dining room. The result is duplexes and even triplexes, with one room boasting a roof-top jacuzzi. As you can see, the spirit of the place is contemporary, and you'd be hard pressed to find the slightest fault with the taste. Truly sublime. Two swimming pools. 15 bedrooms, including five flats, a gigantic ballroom left in its original state, solarium, hanging garden. The house, and what a house it is, is entirely private.
Calle del Arzobispado, #34 - 14 Tel: +57 (5) 664 6286 Email: info@casapombo.com Internet: www.casapombo.com
Punta Faro
Hammock huts, bar huts, lounge huts, music kiosk huts, bedroom huts - some of which are extended by a terrace on stilts planted in the sea - and even a meeting room hut for up to 100 people... A two-hour speedboat ride from the port of Cartagena, on a 30-hectare confetti island in the Caribbean fots of the San Bernardo archipelago, this resort is a 10-hectare tropical paradise lying on a white sandy beach, under coconut palms refreshed by the trade winds. After the muggy hustle and bustle of Cartagena, a little robinsonnade will be more than welcome, even if it's a group one, as the hotel can be privatised for incentive groups. A French section of Sony, for example, spent the most amusing hours of their trip here. The hotel is equipped for this, organising treasure hunts on the island's trails and offering diving and sailing lessons, snorkelling, sea kayaking and paddle boarding. 52 rooms and suites. A restaurant, two bars and a meeting room for 100 people.
Punta Faro Island, San Bernardo archipelago - Tel: +57 (317) 66 89 541 Email: direccioncomercial@puntafaro. com - Internet: www.puntafaro.com
Practical guides
Petit Fûté (2016/17), Michelin Green Guide, Lonely Planet Colombia (in English).
