Click Clack Hotel Medellín
Paisa playground
High-energy El Poblado
Click Clack Medellín might seem stern at first, being housed in Brutalist blocks, with imposing crossed girders and concrete follies inspired by the piercing shadows cast by the (very strong) sun here, according to architects Plan:b. However, inside it’s as fun-loving as can be, encouraging people to get together for good times, whether that’s over festival dining with street-style eateries (Thai, Greek, a Chinese bao stand), in convivial work and play spaces strung with greenery and packed with local art, or at happenings designed to ignite a spark. Rooms have chic, often comedic stylings and cheeky bathrooms, and design throughout is equally irreverent – from the slides in the lobby right up to the rooftop pool deck – all guaranteed to turn the most solemn-faced frowns upside down.
Planes
José María Córdova airport is just a 25-minute drive away. Transfers meander through Antioquia’s verdant hills and cost COP150,000 (around $40) for up to three guests, or COP175,000 (around $45) if you’re arriving between 10pm and 5am.
Trains
The nearest Metro station is Poblado, a 10-minute taxi ride away – it’s on Line A, which runs from north to south.
Automobiles
Driving in Medellín takes patience and vigilance – traffic delays can be long and you’ll wonder what you did to offend the many motorcyclists, but generally not overly stressful. With the city’s metro and cable-cars and trips easily arranged out of town, you might find you don’t need wheels. Should you bring them, there’s no carpark at the hotel, but the valet will take care of things for COP50,000 a go.
Worth Getting Out of Bed For
Medellín is a city powering forward, where skyscrapers vie for loftiness with the mountains sheltering the Aburra Valley it occupies and an innate go-go-go-ness (whether the local paisa are working or playing) keeps this dynamo’s energy high and makes its troubled past seem like a distant memory. El Poblado neighbourhood where the hotel is set is perhaps most emblematic of Medellín’s drive; it’s certainly the city’s coolest, thronged with indie boutiques, picnicking parks, myriad restaurants, and vivacious bars and discotecas blaring reggaetón – here’s where in-the-know locals and tourists alike come to let their hair down. At the hotel you can kick things off with a leisurely swim on the roof terrace, and from up here you’ll get the lay of the land. Then muse over the modern Colombian and Latin American works in onsite art gallery La Cometa before furthering your knowledge at the Medellín Modern Art Museum and Lokkus Arte Contemporáneo. Medellín’s most infamous son, cartel leader Pablo Escobar, may be long dead (indeed, his gravesite in Itagüi is still causing controversy – an outcry was had when rapper Wiz Khalifa laid flowers on it in an alleged homage), but his (larger than) life and staggering wealth (around $30 billion at his peak) still hold some sway in the city. See artefacts from his empire at the Casa Museo Pablo Escobar, and take a day trip to his crumbling countryside estate, Hacienda Nápoles, where you can play paintball in his former stables if you wish. The Memory House Museum offers a more sobering look at Colombian conflicts, and the art deco Museo de Antioquia winds the clock back further. After delving into such a gritty history, go green and find leafy respite at the Jardín Botánico, which has striking pavilions, a butterfly house, cactus garden and Orchideorama – home to rare varieties. And close to the hotel you can pick up snacky things and spread a blanket out in Parque Lineal La Presidenta (on Sundays the farmer’s market is set up next door) or lively El Poblado Park, where there are art installations and often screenings or fairy-lit parties. Be sure to hire a bike too: Sundays are reserved for Ciclovía, where parts of the roads are shut down to encourage people to bike or walk about. For unique souvenirs, Makeno Concept Store showcases the work of paisa artisans, from fashion to ceramics to jewellery; but locals also love rummaging through the flea markets at San Fernando Plaza and Parque Bolivar. Comuna 13 – a sprawl of former slums to the west of the city – was once its poorest and most dangerous barrio, but its transformation into a thriving, diverse community has been drastic – and, thankfully for both the residents and tourists who don’t want to climb hundreds of steps – its infrastructure has been boosted by escalators and lifts. Most tours focus on the dynamic and message-laden graffiti art that scrawls through its streets; the hotel can help you to book. To get yet another view on the city, try from up above on the cable-cars that run along lines J, K and L. And, if you have a day or two to spare, head out to see how Colombia’s turbo-powered coffee is made with a visit to a plantation, or go to Guatapé to climb the 649 steps to the top of rock formation El Peñón before unwinding with watersports. On request, the hotel can organise private helicopter rides and tours focused on culture, flowers and history.
