Blue Apple Resort
This place was the best. Here’s why.
We struggled finding a nice spot for the 23 of us on spring break to enjoy a few days on a beach. The options were either too expensive, too secluded, or too barebones/unsafe. Blue Apple was a place I had read about as a great spot to visit as a day trip from Cartagena, and I decided to randomly reach out to see if they could fit all of us for a couple nights. To my surprise, they could fit us in 8 of their 10 rooms in total, and for a slight group discount at that!
Now, Blue Apple already has established a name for itself as one of the best day trips from Cartagena. It is only around 25 minutes by boat from downtown, but feels a world away, with beautiful beaches and a perfectly balanced combination between a relaxing and party vibe. With that said, Blue Apple as an overnight destination is magical experience in its own right! Once everyone leaves by around 6 pm, we basically had the entire hotel to ourselves, private beach, pool, etc. It was a truly magical experience every night. We had long dinners with all the tables combined, jumped in the ocean at sunset, paddle boarded at sunrise. Just all perfect. Anyway, with that out of the way, let’s get into my ratings.
Location: A-
Being so close yet feeling so far is my favorite type of location for a resort. That is what Blue Apple is. The island of Tierra Bomba itself has some options for things to do (forts, hiking, biking, beach hopping, scuba diving, snorkeling, etc.), but you really won’t want to leave this hotel.
Rooms: B+
Like shockingly nice design. High ceilings. Organic bathrooms with outdoor showers. Super freaking cool robe/towel situation provided. Comfortable beds. More than sufficient storage. Hammocks. AND some rooms come with a private plunge pool. Like, come on. My only issues with the rooms is that they did not do quite a good enough job of maintaining privacy, and there really should be an ocean view situation.
Food: A-
Everything we had here was really great, especially the paella one night at dinner. My only qualm would be that I wish there were a bit more options. But then again, we stayed for 3 days, and the hotel is really technically designed for day trippers.
Amenities: B+
There is a gym (poorly equipped), an outdoor theater (poor sound and uncomfortable seats), no true lobby, only one restaurant and one bar option. So like it’s THERE, which is really better than anticipated anyway. There is a great dive center and tour options if you want to go out for an excursion, and you can get some paddle boards and kayaks, which is great. The beach is wonderful, the pool is a vibe, and that’s all you need when staying at Blue Apple.
Service: B
Again, Blue Apple is designed for day trippers. And definitely not for 23 20-something-year-olds. So the bartenders are great, staff are kind, but kind of just disappear during the day. There was definitely a big problem with the wait times for drinks and foods, but at the end of the day, its island time baby.
Scene
The best. Like just so cool. We spent hours playing volleyball with some random Indian guys on a bachelors trip. Met girls from Ireland. Made friends from around the world. The staff are mostly all local and super cool as well. So yeah, the vibe here is fantastic.