Welcome to the Selina Cartagena coworking space! From uplifting colors, large windows, and plenty of outlets, this is my favorite working space in Cartagena.
The Selina Cartagena coworking space is a dual level space with different seating set ups and decor on each floor. All coworking users have access to both levels giving you variety in choosing your desk for the day.
After entering the key lock entrance, you’ll head up stairs to the first of two levels. This level has two sections for working, an outdoor patio with a kitchen, and the cowork space restrooms.
Note: We keep it real. No stock photos or staged images. Real pics by Adventure on the Side from when we worked from here.
Selina Coworking Space Lower Level
This first, or lower level, opens into murals of deep greens and oranges lit by a large wall of windows. I adore the natural light of this floor!
Straight ahead from the stairs are three large tables divided into 16 dedicated work stations. These are the dedicated workstations for the with an assigned desk.
Each dedicated work space has its own set of two outlets (standard U.S/ Latin American outlets), 2 usb plugs and a pen holder. Some desks also have lockable sets of metal drawers. Chairs are traditional office chairs with a mesh back, height adjusters, and basic ergonomic shape.
Offset from the dedicated work area is a hot desk table with seating for 8 in modern plush chairs. Outlets are on the floor and the table offering plenty for everyone.
Outside is a small kitchen where coffee and tea is available each day- including weekends. There is a bar counter with two seats and a long table that seats around six.
This is a minimalist kitchen with no fridge or stove. Coworkers will find dishes to use and a sink in addition to the tea kettle and coffee.
The outdoor space is usually used for coffee chats and as an overflow space for taking calls. It gets hot in Cartagena and there are mosquitos on the patio. It is commonly used as a quiet space for taking work calls.
The restrooms are modern and clean. Two stalls, sinks, and mirrors. This is also the floor with added amenities like the printers and the water cooler.
Overall, the lower level has amazing natural light making overhead lighting unnecessary in the day, and in the evening, there is plenty of lighting often with a warmer glow. This level also has amazing air conditioning with two units, one over each of the two main indoor sections.
Selina Coworking Space Upper Level
The upper level is just as diverse as the first floor. Full of hot desks and locations for phone calls with couches, call booths, and a meeting room.
The upper level boasts pops of pinks and orange. There is a large amount of windows for natural light and potted plants on the table add a perfect touch of plant life. The pink hue is because the window had a pink tint.
The large hot desk table holds up to 12 people and has 8 sets of 2 outlets (16 outlets) on the tabletop surface.
Three booths with booth seating and tables are along the wall. Two booths have double sided seating and, the third is one sided. All three have 4 outlets on the wall above the table.
The hot desk table and booths are lit by large western facing pink tinted windows. The tinted windows are amazing in the morning bring a nice balance of natural light and tone, but once the sun moves west in the afternoon, the direct light makes it uncomfortably hot.
In the open seating lounge area there are two large counches- one holds 4-7 people. The other 2-3 people. On the floor is four bean bags and four ottomoan like cushions that can be used for seating or a table.
Outlets are lacking in the lounge area with only a couple in one corner. There is another long window lover the larger couch filling the chill lounge space with natural light.
Three phone booths line the transition wall from the hot desk space to the lounge area. Each booth has its own ledge table and chair with a set of 2 outlets. These are no frills phone booths that are just large enough to open and close the door if you move the chair to one side.
The doors to the phone booths have windows giving everyone a profile view of the booth users. The doors are not soundproof.
The results is a lack of places for a truly private call which is why many go to the patio.
There are two air conditioners on this second floor, but one is hidden in the single meeting room so the air stayed trapped inside. When the sun roars through the windows in the afternoon, the lack of a second air conditioner can result in uncomfortable mugginess. Starts around 2p till sundown.
Selina Coworking Wifi Speeds
There are two wifi networks accessible in the working space.
The dedicated cowork wifi which has ping speeds of 20.5 mbps download and upload 41.5 mbps midday on a work day, and 30.7 mbps download Sunday afternoon with upload of 45.3 mbps.
The other is the wifi for all Selina guests which has ping speeds of 11.8 mbps upload 22.1 mbps midday and 23.6 download and 23.9 upload on off hours.
Selina Cartagena Coworkers and Capacity
I found this coworking space had the most variety of coworkers in terms of work styles. Guests were a mix of typical laptop workers with some calls and those with regular video calls. Which was a bit difficult for noise with minimal quiet spaces and only three phone booths.
A bit unusual during my stay was, what I gathered, was a production company of camera personnel working in groups of 5 to 20 who took up the Club Selina space of the hotel, the only meeting room in Cowork, and sometimes used the couch area as a group update space.
This made it difficult to get a sense of the true usage and capacity of the space. Capacity fluctuated greatly each day. Over a two week stay, no two days were the same.
For example, one day it was perfect with almost an extra space between everyone, then the next day there was a group of 10 shoved in the meeting room and the lounge area had a group of 20 having meetings in addition to all the normal coworkers. The third day, the cowork space was basically empty.
New coworkers tend to gravitate to the top level upon until the afternoon heat leads them to transition to working on the second level within a week. The best of both worlds is the hot desk table on the first level.
For groups or pairs, you may feel pressured to the upper level
Accessing the Selina Cowork Space
The Selina coworking space is a private area accessed via the Selina Building A. The Selina Cartagena is made of two buildings across the street from each other. The cowork entrance is on the back end of building A which is the primary building with reception.
You’ll enter the cowork via a locked entry way that closes and locks automatically. This is better executed at this location than any other Selina Cowork I’ve stayed at. It nearly ensures only those who are meant to access the cowork resources and space do.
This is great for reducing crowding and increases safety of your workspace belongings.
The two coworking levels accessible via a flight of stairs only. There is no elevator access to the Coworking space.
Selina Coworking Extras and Service
The cowork space is manned by the Selina hotel reception. They have a designated WhatsApp chat for the coworking space to communicate without leaving your workstation.
There is no food service in the Coworking space. Coworkers head to either of the rooftops of the Selina buildings, or next door to San Nicholas for lunch (great lunch specials!). So plenty of food options within a 2 min walk.
Review of Selina Cartagena Coworking
Pros:
- Secure. It is difficult for non-coworkers to find the entrance and if they did, it will be locked. The door cannot be propped open and the cowork key is different than the room key for those with a CoLive package.
- Natural light. If you love natural light, you can get your vitamin D here! Every section of both floors has windows along one of the walls.
- Set up lends itself to seeing people and not walls. I prefer to see people, nature and amazing landscapes.
- The upper level hot desk overlooks the harbor and Cartagena skyline and the lower level windows are open to the patio, rooftop and a skylight. A much better view than a wall or cubicle.
Cons:
- The direct sun in the afternoons causes the upper level to be uncomfortably hot. The upper level only has one air conditioner, compared to the two on level 1, and we workers feel that difference. It was the #1 complaint in the coworking chat.
- Cowork ran out of coffee mugs often. So I used a bowl. The coffee cups are also very small. My second week, they did add a second set of mugs which helped a lot.
- Mosquitos. There are mosquitos on the patio and sometimes the mosquitos find their way inside to the lower level to the one hot desk space. By the afternoon, when the patio door has been opened enough, you may find yourself with a bite or two if you work near the door.
Insider Info:
- Coffee is not in an obvious place; it’s on the patio outside. Head outside on the second level to grab you morning jo.
- Instead of using one of the small coffee cups, grab one of the bowls from the kitchen dishes. They are perfect large coffee mugs and easy to drink from!
- Top floor is the energetic floor that is motivational compared to the second floor that visually can feel like a call center at times. I recommend the top floor for your mornings and for those who down work afternoons Cartagena timezone, and the lower level for those who are heat sensitive.
Overall, this is a solid coworking space that offers everything you may need to get the job done. You can easily work here for week or two no problem. If you’re looking for more long term, check out some of the cafes in the area to give you more variety and novelty.
