My friends and I stayed at the Faranda Cali on a friends trip to Colombia.
The Faranda is located in the historical center of Cali, close to the boulevard and other historical sites, like Iglesia Ermita. Check in was relatively smooth and the hotel is relatively modern, given its surroundings. The area around the hotel is not the best, but they don't reflect the inside of the hotel.
The general vibe of the hotel is Art Deco. I don't know what that has to do with Cali, Colombia, but that's what the Faranda was giving. There's one small elevator for the hotel, so if you don't mind stairs, I would advise using them at least to walk down. There's also a bar on the top floor that gets very loud when there's an event. So again, if this is a problem, request a room on the lower floor.
I also wouldn't count getting any kind of workout in their "fitness room" which is a tiny room with ancient equipment and no ventilation. The bar staff also randomly come and go, so if you go to get a drink at 8:00 p.m. there may or may not be a bar tender at the bar in the lobby which is the first thing you see when you walk into the place.
On the positive side, the room rate seemed to be excessively reasonable. Breakfast was pretty okay and security is very tight at night, so you can feel pretty good about staying there.
It was good to try but I think I'll pay a little bit more and stay somewhere with nicer amenities next time.
