Crowne Plaza BOG
 

Introduction A solid historic hotel in the heart of Bogota. I didn't realize the history at booking, but there were quite a few photographs lining the corridors with famous individuals on them, from musicians to politicians, movie stars and more. Heck I even recognized a few. Dining The rate I booked was inclusive of breakfast, so I got to enjoy my best breakfast in Columbia here. With wait staff, it was a buffet style (that I could figure out with limited spanish) and was able to get some excellent cafe con leche. However one difficulty was finding the restaruant through the labyranth of hallways. But once I did, my name was on the list. Room Ended up with a nice room with a great view from the 12th floor. A Kingsize bed greeted my entry. Very comfy, especially after my flight in from the USA and the fiasco of the taxi and ATM's. View The room had a nice view both daytime and night. It ended up with heavy curtians for my corner room, and didn't impact my sleeping at all. But for the short time I was awake in my room, it was a nice distraction.Even a park across the street. Service The Front Desk did a solid job, no complaints and even found out a bonus. The hotel offers a complimentary shuttle to/from BOG. This was a nice discovery, as I was dreading figuring out a taxi back, especially with traffic building into the afternoon. I think I ended up on the last ride of the day (3 PM or so) and zipped right along to the airport. I was the only passenger onboard, so I did feel slightly guilty, but a nice convenience. I was even given a goodie bag as a base IHG member at checkin.Those were some tasty chips that I never did find again, despite visiting numerous stores. Check In Checkin was smooth, no issues with my rate, ended up with a corner room, and asked about late checkout. No wait for my late arrival. Location The hotel worked out fine for my overnight stopover in BOG. Its proximity to the airport isn't very good, but that is the only negative I can think of (aside from traffic). I did some walking in the morning and into afternoon, and saw lots of fun stuff around town, including very touristy streets that were blocked off for pedestrian traffic only. And it seems to be well located for business folks as well with various headquarters nearby. There was an odd thing going on with security in the morning; the evening prior I just walked up to the Front Desk. The next day there was quite a bit more activity with a visible security presence in the hotel, so a dignitary may have been visiting. This did not impact my stay however.

This Property Left IHG/De-Branded Crowne Plaza January 31
 

Hello Beckoa,

Thanks for your extensive review of this property. When did you actually stay there?

As far as I know, this property left the IHG Brand on January 31 of this year. The Crowne Plaza Name/Branding has been completely removed from the building's outside and the Tequendama Hotel Group, owned by the Colombian Military/Government as majority stake holder, announced their 'independence' from IHG on their website.

Sadly, the only IHG Brands/properties left in Bogota now are the Holiday Inn at the airport and two Holiday Inn Express hotels, franchised/run by the well managed OXO Hotels Group. My favorite, the Zona Financiera HI-Express and the HI-Express at Parque 93.

There is no longer any 4- or 5 Star IHG Property in Bogota and there seems to be no plan/announcement to replace the M.I.A. Crowne Plaza Tequendama.
IHG is really missing out against the very active/aggressive competition of Starwood, Hilton and Marriott there. As a Spire Elite Member i feel kind of 'abandoned'. Despite the excellent standards and services offered by the HI-Express Zona Financiera.

I have stayed at the Tequendama Hotel a few times, when they still were with IHG, they welcomed Elite Members always warmly and gave full upgrade and other recognition.

Your noticing of extra/active security at the Tequendama Hotel complex has been regular and 'normal' in the past as well. They regularly host high level/high profile Military and Government Guests and Meetings at the hotel, as it its majority stake holder is the well financed (in big parts by US Tax Payer Drug War Funds) Colombian Military.

I'm glad you enjoyed your stay there.

Please let me/us know when your actual stay/visit to the hotel was.

Many Thanks :)