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Cali · Hotel shortlist

4 star hotels in the university district, Cali

Stefan Bauer

Stefan Bauer The American west

Updated 1 September 2026 · 19 Cali hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Cali, out of the 19 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.8 down to 4.6.

Hotel 9.5 San Fernando is the one I would book myself.

Hotel 9.5 San Fernando

Highest rated of the five

Hotel 9.5 San Fernando

★★★★★4.8 from 321 reviews

Hotel 9.5 San Fernando comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.8 from 321 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 4 star property, found under city centre and around $52 a night on the dates we checked.

19 hotels in Cali qualified for this list and five made it. Hotel Pance 122 Wellness spa is the one I would book if the first is full.

Why it works for this trip

  • Spatreatment rooms on site, no booking a taxi for it
  • Air conditioningthe one that decides a summer trip
  • Restaurantdinner downstairs on the night you land
  • Bara drink without going back out
  • Family roomscots and larger rooms rather than a squeeze

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All five, ranked

  1. Hotel 9.5 San Fernando1

    Hotel 9.5 San Fernando

    ★★★★★4.8 from 321 reviews

    • Spa
    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Kitchen
    • Pet friendly
    • Kid friendly

    Check rates Read more

  2. Hotel Pance 122 Wellness spa2

    Hotel Pance 122 Wellness spa

    ★★★★★4.7 from 464 reviews

    • Pool
    • Spa
    • Gym
    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Parking

    Check rates Read more

  3. Alko Hotel Integrado, Ciudad Jardín, Cali3

    Alko Hotel Integrado, Ciudad Jardín, Cali

    ★★★★★4.7 from 441 reviews

    • Pool
    • Spa
    • Restaurant
    • Parking
    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning

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  4. Hotel Torca4

    Hotel Torca

    ★★★★★4.6 from 649 reviews

    • Pool
    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Parking
    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning

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  5. Casa Esmeralda Hotel5

    Casa Esmeralda Hotel

    ★★★★★4.7 from 119 reviews

    • Pool
    • Parking
    • Kitchen
    • Air conditioning
    • Airport shuttle

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How this list was put together

19 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.