This elegant 214 sq meter (2,300 sq ft) two level penthouse is set amid the lush Co-lombian canopy of Laureles and offers cozy living space that pours out into the surround-ing greenery. With five bedrooms (each one has a uniquely designed hard wood floor), five bathrooms (the master bathroom has an opulent Jacuzzi room), a maid’s quarters and a window enclosed balcony, this apartment has a terrific presence.
Centrally located in Laureles you are surrounded by trees and parks and can walk to a variety of shopping malls, restaurants and transportation without worrying about steep hills and strenuous terrain. There is 24 hour gated security, two private parking spaces and a storage room for added convenience.
(That’s Angel, my gf from Cali)
The building itself didn’t quite live up to the hype, although the neighborhood did. Rich-ard, the owner, was living in the master bedroom suite, which was quite nice, but the oth-ers were rather ordinary. Two of the upstairs bedrooms were windowless (one had an interior window), with small skylights in the bathrooms. The first-floor bedroom was Richard’s office. Water pressure in my bathroom was inadequate most of the time until Richard changed the showerhead and did some other repairs. But views from the 9th floor were excellent, and we had a washer and dryer for laundry.
However, Richard was a definite asset, serving as a translator and source of information, and even a procurer (although the most delicious girls he entertained himself were not available to us). He’s a really nice guy, and I’m glad we stayed with him.
Our Laureles location was fantastic, centrally located on Avenida Nutibara. There were numerous restaurants of various types within several blocks, and it was completely safe to walk around, even at night.
Pomona, a medium-sized grocery store, was two blocks away; Roy thought their coffee shop had the best coffee around, so we spent a number of leisurely mornings there.
Exito, a large everything-store, was a 10-15 minute walk to the north, or another Exito was in Unicentro, the large shopping mall 15-20 minutes away on foot (or the minimum 4,200 peso cab ride).
The Centro casas were about an 8,000 peso cab ride, Mayorista was 11,500 pesos.
There were plenty of ATMs around, although the Davivendas were the only ones I found that gave more than 300,000 pesos. One was conveniently located in Unicentro, and I discovered another one a 10 minute walk in the other direction.
And there was a cambio in Unicentro that gave me 1,800 pesos per dollar—much better than the ATM rate, or most other cambios, for that matter.
When Angel came up from Cali, we stayed at the Lincoln Hotel for two nights. I posted about that separately (ClubHombre.com: South America: Colombia: Medellin: Hotels/Apartments: Lincoln Hotel). It was not a particularly good experience, although quite centrally located just off a street (Carrera 70) teeming with restaurants and night life.