Hotel Egina Bogota

Set in an unremarkable, purpose-built brick structure, Hotel Egina lacks much atmosphere. The lobby’s low ceilings mean it’s a fairly dark space; there’s gray-white marble-effect flooring, orange and brown living room furniture set around a black shag rug, and a reception desk with black paneled frontage. Internal balconies make up hallways on higher levels. Some guest room doors open right onto the lobby. Decor in the restaurant and bar -- neutral-colored walls, white floor tiling, and a mix of black and black-and-orange-checkered tub seats -- is smart but like elsewhere, feels dark. The property targets a mix of business travelers, older tourists, and families.

In a northern Bogota neighborhood, the hotel is set on a less-than-attractive street corner, opposite a public parking lot, and is primarily surrounded by residential properties. There are shopping malls, restaurants, and bars close by, and it’s a short distance to the Usaquen area. The downtown attractions of the historic Candelaria District are a bit of a trek.

• Four-minute walk to Saint Beatrice Parish
• Four-minute walk to the Colombian School of Design and the Arts
• Eight-minute walk to Unicentro Bogota mall
• Eight minutes to Santa Ana Mall by car (18 minutes by public transportation; 22-minute walk)
• Nine minutes to Santa Barbara Plaza by car (15 minutes by public transportation; 17-minute walk)
• Nine minutes to Usaquen by car (17-minute walk; 19 minutes by public transportation)
• 34 minutes to National Museum of Colombia by car (41 minutes by public transportation)
• 36 minutes to El Dorado Airport by car (55 minutes by public transportation)
• 37 minutes to Monserrate mountain by car
• 38 minutes to bus terminal by car (46 minutes by public transportation)
• 43 minutes to Candelaria District by car (51 minutes by public transportation)

Rooms are generally spacious and pleasant, but they are on the bland side. Most have linoleum wood flooring, gray-blue walls, tan-wood headboards and bedside tables, wall lamps, and dated black leather-effect bed bases. Linens are white and crisp, while throws, cushions, and curtains at wide floor-to-ceiling windows sport accents of pale green, purple, and blue. There are also tan-wood desks, and handsome built-in wooden closets. Business Class Rooms have more attractive dark-wood floor paneling; they also add glass-tile room dividers. These rooms and Suites have sitting areas with pleather sofas and armchairs in the same accent shades as the curtains. Some rooms feature balconies.

Amenities include flat-screen cable TVs, phones, free Wi-Fi (though the signal can be patchy), safes, and minibars. The rooms have air-conditioning, but some guests report rooms can get stuffy. Many rooms suffer from noise from the street and the lobby. Connecting rooms are available.

Fairly attractive bathrooms have a mix of white, cream, and brown wall and floor tiling. Some have white marble-effect tiling on fairly attractive whitewashed built-in wooden vanities with submerged sinks, while others have tan-wood vanities with cream tiling. Suites have white pedestal sinks. All units include walk-in showers with fixed showerheads, bathrobes, hairdryers, and miniature toiletries. 

The best feature here is the daily breakfast that gets generally positive reviews, but costs extra. The restaurant and bar also serve international meals, drinks, and snacks. The tiny gym contains nothing more than a couple of cardio machines, and there’s a Turkish bath. For business travelers, there are meeting rooms available, internet terminals in the lobby, and free Wi-Fi, but this can be spotty, requires daily reconnection, and comes with limits to the number of devices allowed per room. Free parking is available.