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Cali · Hotel shortlist

3 star hotels in the university district, Cali

Stefan Bauer

Stefan Bauer The American west

Updated 1 September 2026 · 32 Cali hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Cali, out of the 32 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.6 down to 4.5.

Hotel Park 85 is the one I would book myself.

Hotel Park 85

Highest rated of the five

Hotel Park 85

★★★★★4.6 from 192 reviews

Hotel Park 85 comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.6 from 192 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.

It is a 3 star property, found under city centre and around $69 a night on the dates we checked.

32 hotels in Cali qualified for this list and five made it. Hotel Casa Vallecaucana is the one I would book if the first is full.

Why it works for this trip

  • Air conditioningthe one that decides a summer trip
  • Bara drink without going back out
  • Family roomscots and larger rooms rather than a squeeze
  • Parkinga real consideration if you are driving in
  • Airport shuttlethe first hour after landing solved

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All five, ranked

  1. Hotel Park 851

    Hotel Park 85

    ★★★★★4.6 from 192 reviews

    • Bar
    • Parking
    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning
    • Accessible
    • Airport shuttle

    Check rates Read more

  2. Hotel Casa Vallecaucana2

    Hotel Casa Vallecaucana

    ★★★★★4.5 from 360 reviews

    • Restaurant
    • Parking
    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning
    • Airport shuttle

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  3. Hotel Grand ilama (Coworking - Cafeteria - Terraza)3

    Hotel Grand ilama (Coworking - Cafeteria - Terraza)

    ★★★★★4.5 from 276 reviews

    • Spa
    • Bar
    • Parking
    • Air conditioning
    • Airport shuttle

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  4. Recovery Wellness Retreat & Spa4

    Recovery Wellness Retreat & Spa

    ★★★★★4.6 from 72 reviews

    • Spa
    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Parking
    • Pet friendly
    • Air conditioning

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  5. Hotel Belén5

    Hotel Belén

    ★★★★★4.5 from 176 reviews

    • Parking
    • Kitchen
    • Air conditioning

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How this list was put together

32 Cali hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.

Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.

The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.

What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.

Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.

Stefan Bauer

Stefan Bauer The American west

Chases total solar eclipses. Seven of them on four continents, from Wyoming to a fishing town in Chile. Banks days off through the on-call rota and books the trips years ahead, because eclipse dates do not move.

Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.