TDY Gouge - Colombia

Bogota, Columbia - Special note for TDY crews--If Raven equipped, they are not needed during daylight hours if parked on military ramp. Military ramp has no lighting. Use discretion. Casa Dan Carlton is a very nice hotel, spacious rooms include small living area. Buffet breakfast included with room rate. Has indoor pool and gym. 15 min to Milgp and Airport. Five (5) minutes by taxi from Parque 95 which has excellent restaurants. Phone Number: 633 88 10. ~Hotel Pavilion Suites was okay. Rooms were small. However, the staff was great. Took care of all needs. Lots of restaurants close (21 total). Rooms were nicely furnished. Big soft pillows. ~Hotel Bogota Royal (57-1-6341777/51-1-2183261) was a nice resort. Great Sports Bar in hotel. Hotel is inside the Columbian World Trade Center--very safe. They will do your laundry for small fee. Do not use local taxis. Use the ones contracted by hotel, all hotel chains owned by same company. Nice gym for the gym rats. If you get a 1st/2nd floor room, make sure balconies are locked. ATM located in lobby--can get pesos, also bank located beside hotel for best peso conversion rate.

~Casa Dann Carlton (Tel:633877 Fax:6338810) was a great hotel. 24 Hour security around hotel. Pool and Bar on 8th floor. Comfortable rooms. Several small stores in lobby (if restricted to hotel due to local THREATCON or if Fast Eddy is having a temper tantrum). Bar and restaurant (Restaurante Trattoria) has free breakfast. Dinner was great. Try the fondue (warning, may get flash burns if the fondue pot compressor stalls). Hotel guide boasts of "bullet proof" hotel doors-hmmm??? Any questions, ask the MILGROUP (Colombian User POC) rep at the embassy. Fast Eddy seems to be having some reliability issues at this time (Dec 2002), however, coffee is still $45 USD a case. The Casa Dan Carlton is a nice hotel and is close to many things. Try going up the mountain to the La Calera area. Great views of the city. Try Casa Brava restaurant while there- great food, beer, atmosphere, and prices. In the Zona Rosa, try Bogata Beer Company - only serve beer, pizza, and hot dogs. Also try San Sebastian, the food was great and they had live entertainment that started around 10 pm. Again, to reemphasize- only take the cabs owned / contracted by the hotels, they will wait for you outside while you eat/enjoy the area (small fee for waiting, but worth it).

~Hotel La Fontana Estelar 571-274 78 68 / 571-614 74 34 is a 5-star hotel, great service, friendly staff, very nice rooms (living room separate from bedroom, separate kitchen), good area of Bogota, mall is walking distance from hotel, depending on time of day 30-45 minutes from airport/airfield. ~Radission Royal Bogota was a palace! Five Star + Next to mall. Breakfast included with room rate. Meets perdiem. Nice indoor pool and gym.

Cartegena, Colombia - Sofitel Categena Santa Clara was awesome! Cabal's (same family that has Bogota AMC Contract) will set you up. Cartegena is a historic resort town, more like San Juan than Bogota. Sofitel hotel was $$$+$$, but what a palace! My room was large enough for the entire crew, had two floors, two bathrooms, etc, etc. The hotel was once a convent, and is like a city within the city. About a 10 minute drive from airport, provided by AMC. The Airport is currently under a lawsuit for noise complaints?...They will want to tow you off the ramp before starting engines, APU use only at a minimum. The irony is the neighborhood around the airport looks like a refugee camp. ~The Santa Clara tel (57)(5)6646070 fax (57)(5)6647010 is one of the nicest hotels I've stayed in. It was built in 1617 as a convent. The colonial architecture is beautiful. The hotel is located on Calle de Torno in the Barrio San Diego in the historic "old city" of Cartagena. There are 3 restaurants, a large pool, and a bar in the hotel. The Cava del Puro is a cigar shop relatively close by. They specialize in Cuban cigars. The address is Calle de Las Damas No. 3-106.