True to its name, the Rossa Palma hotel backdrops a plethora of palms and wild foliage on their back patio with fuchsia walls that form the facade of the main buildings’ rooms. If the outside spaces are south beach Miami tropical, the interiors are staid luxury with some hand-selected textiles that contrast nicely with the cool gray stone in the bathrooms and showers and the muted colors of the furniture and linens.
The backyard restaurant is breezy and cool in the Cali afternoon. Owned separately from the hotel, the menu is a mix of ceviche, fresh fish, and local specialties like empanadas. It includes a selection of classic cocktails as well as several of their own inventions, like the “Rossa Palma” a pink gin and tonic that adds another tropical tone to the hotel’s bright color palate. Ferns drape down over the dining area, swaying slightly, and down a flight of stairs to one side of the outdoor dining patio is the dance floor where guests can take a salsa class for about 5 dollars apiece. Cali being Colombia’s mecca of salsa, it helps to brush up before you head out to the clubs.
The tiny swimming pool isn’t long enough to take a lap exactly, but it’s perfect for a dip and to cool down when the temperature ramps up, which here in Cali is almost every day of the year. The sun fades poolside around 4 and then it becomes mostly a place to sip a cocktail and look fabulous.
The options for rooms at Rossa Palma are endless, each a little different from the others. The most soulless are the long-term apartments that face the street or interior hallway. Several studio apartments are in the middle of the building and don’t have any outdoor light to speak of. The benefit of these apartments is that they are fully outfitted for long-term stays including full kitchens, coffeemakers, smart TVs, and living and dining room spaces.
There are double and single standards in the interior of the building but without any natural light and at the smallest square footage it’s worth it to pay for a higher category. The superior and deluxe rooms are the best options, with the deluxe including the most amount of space to stretch out. Several superior rooms face the swimming pool, with sliding screen doors that let in a lot of natural light (chose the upstairs room if you want more privacy). Others are located in the front house upstairs and they show off the house’s beautiful wood floors and some elegant antique furniture.
All rooms have air conditioning which you will need here most of the year, rainforest showerheads, refillable bath products, refillable glass bottles of drinking water, and televisions. Some rooms have coffee machines as well.
I stayed in what I considered to be the very best room, from the size to the layout to the comfort of the bed, the #01 deluxe suite. This room was nicer than many of the luxury hotels I have stayed in over my years reviewing hotels and at a fraction of the price. Even though we were streetside the noise was a minimum and the living room area with couches and a large armoire made it feel more like a suite than a regular room. It had a massive flat-screen TV that despite its size wasn’t intrusive as it was wall-mounted off to one side of the room. This room also had a capsule espresso machine, bottled water that was refilled daily, water glasses, refillable bath products in the shower, and all the most popular streaming services on the TV. The king-size bed was the most comfortable I slept on my whole time in Colombia.
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The staff service at Rossa Palma was totally sufficient, but don’t expect any extravagant gestures in that regard. Rossa Palma’s location in the middle of the busy San Antonio neighborhood is a great added bonus to a stay there – lots of great eateries and shops surround you including the fantastic Amelia Cafe which I discovered while there. I highly recommend this hotel if you are headed to Cali, the food and ambiance are great, and it’s a luxurious stay without the hefty price tag – a little oasis you won’t ever want to leave.
Make your reservation directly at the Rossa Palma website, or compare rates and reserve your room at Booking.com, Expedia, or your favorite hotel booking site.
*the author was hosted by this hotel but her opinions are her own. Rooms range from 35 to 93 dollars a night with apartments and studio apartments requiring a minimum five nights’ stay.
