Cartagena’s Crown Jewel

Every corridor and stairwell at Casa San Agustin tempts with the promise of a secret room or hidden terrace. One leads to a cozy library with centuries-old frescoes; another to a veranda garden where I spy the white and pale peach-colored dome of the city cathedral.

This gorgeous 31-room boutique hotel is the premier address within Cartagena’s walled city — a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)-designated warren of cobblestoned streets. Pastel-hued colonial mansions have been converted into cafés and designer shops. The palenqueras (descendants of African slaves who fought for freedom) sell slivers of mango and papaya on the sunny plazas. Bougainvillea spills from balconies, and doorknockers in the shape of lion heads, lizards and owls abound at every turn.

My home for three days, Casa San Agustin has plenty of eye-catching and thoughtful details. Set within a trio of whitewashed colonial buildings, the hotel’s sprawling rooms feature 200-year-old wood beam ceilings, wrought iron poster beds and hand-painted mosaic tiles in the bathrooms. No two rooms are alike. My high-ceiling junior suite is about 1,000 square feet. It has a wooden writing desk and a king bed outfitted in Frette linens. The balcony offers views of the lovely lanes below.

Perched on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, Cartagena was established as a port by the Spanish in 1533. The city quickly thrived. An imposing fortress, the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, was built to ward off the English and Dutch navies as well as pirates.

My guide Fernando leads me through several of the fortress’s hidden tunnels, noting it’s where invaders would have likely been ambushed and captured. We also take an informal walking tour of the Getsemani neighborhood, where street art has contributed to the steady revitalization of this once gritty area.

Back at Casa San Agustin in the afternoon, I’m ready to cool off in the shimmering pool in the central courtyard. The property was built on the site of a 300-year-old aqueduct and the pool cuts through and wraps around this unique feature. Other guests relax on plush lounge chairs with books in hand, soaking up the tranquil, greenery-filled space.

I have just enough time to sneak in a 60-minute massage before dinner. The spa is aptly named Aurum, the Latin word for gold. Pre-Colombian civilizations believed the sun lived in the Earth in the form of mineral gold. (Cartagena boasts a recently expanded gold museum, the Museo de Oro Zenu, with hundreds of gold artifacts crafted by the area’s indigenous people.)

In the evening, I sit on the brick patio at Alma, the hotel’s indoor-outdoor restaurant, helmed by celebrated chef Heberto Eljach. I opt for a corn tamal made with cauliflower, fava beans, and coconut milk. The menu features several seafood dishes, including the catch of the day steamed inside a plantain leaf with creole sauce — a nod to the city’s coastal location. I wash my tasty tamal down with a Capitan Sea, made with Havana rum, lime, jalapeno, green mango jam and cinnamon. I sip my cocktail and glance at the archways and corridors above, which beckon me with more secret passages. hotelcasasanagustin.com