Hotel El Prado in Barranquilla is a historic hotel in a beautiful colonial building located on spacious, fenced-off grounds on Carrera 54 in the El Prado neighborhood. The highlight is the large semi-Olympic swimming pool. The hotel is part of Colombia’s national heritage. Hotel El Prado is one of Barranquilla’s most famous hotels and is well known among locals. Because of its romantic atmosphere, it often hosts events such as weddings.

Hotel El Prado opened in 1930, during Barranquilla’s heyday, when the city became a very important international trade center and was called the “Golden Gate” of Colombia. You can still taste the atmosphere of yesteryear as you walk around the hotel and garden, or stay overnight in one of the neoclassical rooms.

There are 3 restaurants: a pool bar with terrace, a pizzeria and restaurant la Cabaña, for traditional Colombian food.

The idea to build a luxury hotel for the flourishing Barranquilla, came from American Karl Parrish, who also initiated the construction of the el Prado neighborhood, where the hotel is located.

At the time, Hotel El Prado was Latin America’s first luxury hotel with private rooms with private bathrooms and telephones. Numerous celebrities stayed at the hotel such as Greta Garbo, Celia Cruz and star soccer player Pele.

The hotel has a troubled history, as in the 1980s and 1990s the hotel was claimed by drug lords who turned it into an operations center and used it for money laundering. As a result, regular guests stayed away. After the government seized the hotel because of skyrocketing debts, the hotel was neglected for years.

In 2016, it came to an agreement with the Marriot international hotel chain to operate the hotel. The injection of capital from this partnership gave the hotel a new lease of life. Renovation work got underway and now Hotel El Prado is once again the stately, iconic hotel of the 1930s.