A few recommendations

[Hiker]

I spent about 1100 dollars on a wedding that I am sure would have cost 10 grand here.  Beautiful building.  Included feeding 53 people a very good meal.  Music via disc jockey till 2 am.  I was quite impressed.  Personally I would have skipped the reception piece of this process but now I am very glad we did it.  
EVENTOS SHALOM
893-9595
893-0000

I stayed at the following hotel in Cali.  It was just under 45 dollars a night.  The service was great.  The rooms are great.  The location is great.  It has a really good restaurant in it also.   After staying there with the cold air conditioning I felt foolish for all those sweaty nights trying to sleep in some agency.

Hotel Plaza Versalles
Av. 5N #17-59
682-2727
FAX: 667-5277

I stayed at the following hotel in Bogota and liked it very much.  I had to wait about 40 minutes to check out and was not impressed with that, but overall it was a good experience.  The hotel is across the street from the Uni Central mall.  There are more beautiful girls in that mall in any one moment than the rest of the world combined.  If  I was starting this search again I would focus on Bogota over Cali.

If you do stay at this place it is actually condos or apartments that are rented out.  Fridge stove etc.  The name of the property is FONTANA PLAZA.  The taxi driver will probably confuse this with Hotel Fontana.  This is really not a problem  since FONTANA PLAZA is across the street from the FONTANA HOTEL.

http://www.travelers.com.co/

A few places in Bogota that I liked a lot.

El Patio   (Very good Italian food but fills up fast)
Carrera 4A #27-86    (About 2 blocks behind the gold museum)

Charlies Roast Beef  (Best Roast Beef Sandwich I ever had)
Calle 82 12-22  (Actually I think there are several of these around Bogota)

Gato Negro  (Bar Restaurant)
Parque de la 93 area  (Sit outside and watch the beautiful girls walk by)
Calle 93A #11A-47

KAOBA (Very good Light lunches and sandwiches)
Calle 82 #12-44

Casa Vieja   (good typical food)  try the AJIACO
Carrera 11 #89-08   (several other locations also)

EL ANTIFAZ   (Salsa Club with a fun atmosphere)
Calle 7 #59 - 18
 

[JR n Atl]

... in response to A few recommendations , posted by Hiker on Apr 8, 2003

Hiker,

Congrats. I ate at the Casa Vieja on Carrera 11 while I was in Bogota in March and it is excellent. FYI, if you are ever in Bogota again and want something similar to Fontana Plaza with less hassle, there are a couple of buildings of fully furnished and equipped apartments within the Hotel Fontana complex. They are called the Plenitude and you won't have the same wait checking out. You also have access to all the amenities of the hotel. I stayed there while I was in Bogota, really liked them and will definitely stay there next time.

JR