Hotel Charleston Cartegena Santa Teresa
At the beginning of the 17th century, Mrs. María de Barras y Montalvo, a wealthy noblewoman of Cartagena, ordered the construction of the Santa Teresa convent in order to spend the last years of her life with the Carmelita nuns. This is the reason why the first convent in the walled city was built.
Towards the end of the colony, the peaceful corners that served as a basis of inspiration and meditation were interrupted by the war for independence. After the establishment of the new republic, the nuns were forced to abandon the corresponding facilities of the old convent, which were then converted into a consecutive series of institutions including: a barrack, a jail, an all-girls school and a pasta factory. Throughout this time, the building suffered several architectural modifications and a considerable portion of the initial construction was transformed to the republican style.
In the 20th century, what was once Santa Teresa convent was used as the headquarters of the Cartagena Police department. During the 1980s, it was bought by the Banco de la República which eventually sold it to Hoteles Pedro Gómez y Cía. It was this organization that carried out its final restoration and transformed it into the most exclusive and sophisticated hotel in the city.
The luxury hotel stands inside the walled city, surrounded by and being part of the world heritage site that is Cartagena. With a privileged location that is blocks away from the Getsemaní Convention Center and just minutes away from the contemporary city, the history, flavor and mystique of Cartagena are all found here, at Charleston Santa Teresa.