El Conquistador Resort & Golden Door Spa - Waldorf Astoria Collection

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.

Dirty room. Expensive food and drinks. RUDE STAFF.

Stayed here for 2 nights, and I should say it was the best stay ever. Its true that the resort is a bit expensive, but the amenities (water park, pool, private beach!!!) outrun the price. Also its very close to the bio bay and Culebra island ferry dock, so an A+ for the location too. Overall, pricey but an amazing experience....

Lovely location with a lot of options onsite. Plan on staying on location or only do the tours through the hotel. The resort would be exceptional with an activity director and friendly staff. We tried to use the Dance Club every night and no one participated or they closed it.

the hotel was beautiful. It spread over a very large area. The pools were great. Had a night club but it closed well before the advertised 2am. We were greeted by 2" long cockroach in our room when we arrived and food crumbs that housekeeping failed to vacuum up. My biggest fault with this hotel is everything was priced outrageously. Mixed drinks were no less than $13, a small beer was $12 and even a bottled water in your room costs $3.50. We ate dinner in one of the hotel restaurants one night and they charged us $7 a glass for iced tap water. For lunch i paid $16 for a burger and small side of fries. The option of eating outside the hotel is limited to a pricey cab ride or renting a car and ending up lost in some rough neighborhoods. I have traveled a lot and would prefer if staying in a hotel like this to get an all-inclusive package.

We had a wedding and had approximately 80 guest attend. The El-Con was so perfect for this that at no point did anyone need to leave the complex. The beaches, pools, restaurants and bars were all exceptional. The only real bad part of the vacation was having to leave. I will certainly return to the El-Con in the near future.