Actually, considering North Star Backpackers wasn't open in April (when the post was originally made) I believe it was true to say that Casa Viena was the only one. There are now a total of 2. I'm not sure where these "many" hostels are but I'd be keen to find out.
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josekevo
Guess I'm confused by the "semantics" here, but I used the Hosteltrail website for planning Colombia this last summer and highly recommend it over current guidebooks in print. There are currently 7 accommodations listed, but what really+ distinguishes between a hostel and a hotel, beyond the name? If there are only 2 hostels in Cartagena, what are the others considered? The above link to Hotel Real is actually +Hostal Real on the website. Any wonder travelers might be confused?
I ended-up staying at Hotel Marlin in a private room with bath for 20COP a night. How does/would that differ from the private rooms at Casa Viena?
And yes - Villa Colonial is very nice but was empty in July; probably because of their mid-range prices. I talked the owner down to 30K a night for a single but wasn't looking to pay that much considering I was staying for a week.
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hosteltrail
Yeah, it can be a little confusing. Basically, a hotel can register as a Hostal and it needs fill only the requisites of a normal hotel. Hostals are unlikely to have any of the features of Hostels (shared kitchen, dorm rooms etc) but are usually in the same price range. It's all a question of the a and the e.
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