El Conquistador Resort , A Waldorf Astoria Resort

El conquistador has been, without a doubt, the best resort and experience ever. From the water park, to the pools, to the private island, it was beyond amazing.

I was so very excited to stay here as we travel to Puerto Rico at least once a year and we have never stayed at this resort before. Palomino Island is absolutely breath taking and the restaurants on the resort grounds are very impressive. When we got to the hotel, we were blown away at the view that the hotel had as well as the room itself, however that quickly changed when we saw two HUGE roaches in our room. The first night we stayed there we saw one on the floor by our bed and the next night it was crawling on the headboard!!! It was not something you like to see right next to where you sleep at night and took away from the peacefulness of our room and left me not wanting to fall asleep afraid that I would find more! It left us dissapointed that the room that we fell in love with, had that type of an issue. I am not one to write negative reviws, but this was something that was hard to look over.

Our stay at El Conquistador was perfect! We loved their private island and spent most of our time there. The beach was beautiful and water was warm. One of the employees informed us we could rent a car from Enterprise directly at the hotel. The rates were good and made for a great day trip to Old San Juan. We'd definately go back!!!

Their top restaurants are average. Service is average as well. However, the spa is great as well as the whole venue overall. Would return again but just know that you will get average food and average service. I really do not know why the hotel does not improve on their food and service. It has been this way for years...

Hotel had spectacular views. Staff could have done a better job orienting guests during check-in. No one told us about the white card that we needed to have with us at all times to be able to charge food to the room. Thought it was just for self parking as marked in the card until we were asked for it first night after dinner. We didn't like the 1 towel per guest policy at Palomino Island. Would still come back for the spectacular views.

This was a beautiful hotel with lots to do. If you stay here you have to go to Palomino Island, just a short free ferry ride away. The rooms were very clean and the bathroom was very large even with a walk-in closet. A very neat experience. I would definitely stay here again.

My boys and I had a great time...location perfect and staff extremely friendly and helpful. Had a tremendous time golfing and snorkeling.

Pros: Spectacular setting, very friendly and helpful staff, varied amenities and activities in expansive grounds Cons: Tired property with infrastructure woes (elevators, hot water, telephone reliability, air handling systems); pricey food and drink even for a resort location An interesting combination of family-friendly and convention hotel, although evening entertainment options are limited. Basic systems are in need of major rehabilitation.

3.5 hours direct NY to San Juan; no transfers; one hour coach to hotel; easy. most beautiful location overlooking Atlantic and out-islands. choice of restaurants on and off-site; choice of pools; spa, golf, tennis; friendly, helpful staff; water park; all water sports; casino. our 8th year back

Five couples descended on El Conquistador for a long weekend to celebrate a milestone birthday, and we accomplished our goal! The location and scenery are breathtaking. The resort sits high on a cliff, with magnificent views of the rain forest from “Garden view” rooms, and ocean and islands from the other side. The grounds are very well kept, with lush tropical plants everywhere. A tram-way (I can’t spell Funicular) connects the hotel with the marina below, where you catch the boat for a 15 minute ride to the private island beach. Three pools at the hotel and the water park at the marina are all well maintained and spotless, with ample lounges, umbrellas and bars conveniently located. There were servers pool-side, but it was always faster to go get it yourself… Our room was clean but dated, and showed signs of wear. An area of carpet a couple of feet square had the pile completely worn away, leaving the backing exposed. The bed was very comfortable, but the lounge (the only other seating was a straight chair at the desk) was only bearable when piles of pillows were thrown against the vertical, hard back. One floor lamp provided all room lighting (no desk lamp). One couple of our group moved twice after check-in: once because the bathroom reeked of mildew and had missing tiles around the tub, again to avoid noisy kids. We ate in the three “fancy” restaurants in the hotel, as well as most of the other cafes. The steak house was average; several of our $37 bone-in rib-eyes were tough and short on flavor. The Italian restaurant was outstanding; I had the best $35 veal parmigiana in memory. Service in both was inattentive and slow. We had to ask several times to get the wine served in the Italian restaurant. The Chinese/Japanese restaurant was everybody’s favorite, with excellent sushi, entrees and excellent service. The casino was small, but never crowded, with 5 card tables, one roulette table and scores of penny slots. In 4 nights of blackjack we finally got one dealer to smile and “join the party” at the table. We all had a wonderful time, in large part because we brought the party with us, but when we have another big event to celebrate, we will probably look elsewhere.