El Conquistador Resort, The Waldorf Astoria Collection

This was our third trip to Puerto Rico and our first time staying at the El Conquistador. The hotel is quite old and everything from Maintenance, to cleaning and Customer Service is lacking considering the price. Food and drinks are way over priced. The additional parking fee of 16.75 per day is a little tough to swallow when your paying 400 per night for a room. The only reason we gave two stars instead of one is Palomino Island. Which also serves overpriced drinks and food, but the beach there is comfortable. The décor is all very late 60’s contemporary including the furniture. The carpet and shower curtain in our room smelled very Musty. We would not stay here again and would not recommend it to a friend. Our view was nice with full ocean view, and the small boat harbor but not worth the money.

My 3^rd visit to Puerto Rico, booked them on Hotels​.Com and I must admit, I was pleasently surprised. We drove there at night and it was a little hard to find, even with a Puerto Rican local driving me around.
Its a pretty big resort, with tons to do and plenty of food choices! I especially love the free ferry to thier own private island. Spent the day laying in the sun but they have water sports a mini hiking trail, horseback ridding and a little outdoor bar and restaurant.
Go with family, go with friends, or go solo, which I pretty much did. I work hard and it was the perfect mini getaway

High cost hotel with POOR management staff. You certainly don’t get what you pay for. Trust me, you would be better off taking your family on a cruise. Don’t believe the positive propaganda!
Ocean view equates to palm tree view
I guess the very narrow view between the palm trees counts as ocean view. I should have saved my money and just looked @ the palm trees at home. What a joke this place is!

Stop reading all the 3 star reviews and below, NOW!!! Seriously, I did research for months prior to booking our trip here, and it. did. not. dissapoint. Period! Everything about this resort screams five star, from the grade A customer service, to the delicious on-​site restaurants, and E-​V-​E-​R-​Y-​T-​H-​I-​N-​G else in between!
On that note, where do I even begin?
How about I start by addressing the complaints I repeatedly see:
Distance– Seriously, is it really a vacation if you are amidst the hustle and bustle of the city? If so, then go right ahead and pay for the over priced boutiquey hotels in San Juan. If not, then enjoy the scenic 40 minute cab ride (or be smart and rent a car) and come here. I promise you’ll enjoy being secluded on acres and acres of trees with flaming red leaves; excellent cliffside views; no honking of horns, construction, or crowds; and while you may not be beachside, there’s a private island with beautiful white sand just a 15 minute ferry ride away!
Expensive– What would one expect when buying a bikini or lotion in a hotel/​resort gift shop? I live in Las Vegas, and know that if I stay on the Strip for some odd reason… I would never buy my necessities while I’m there. In other words, bring them! Or, again… rent a car and drive 10 minutes to Walmart. If you want convenient, expect to pay the price. Just saying.
Food– The food was down right delicious and affordable, and being that I again, live in Vegas… I would like to think I have valid grounds to make comparisons. For example, the grilled skirt steak at Ballyhoo was far better and more tender than any high dollar steak I’ve ever had in any Vegas steakhouse (no joke), the burgers and drinks at Palomino Island were perfection, and the mafongo and seafood chowder at Stingray Café was fantastic. We ate at many other restaurants… I’ll spare you the delicious details, but will say we did not break the bank. Eat to taste people. Again, just saying.
I really could go on forever, but this is turning into a novel. Trust me though this place is excellent! It’s not run down, the smell of fresh flowers lingers, and the friendly service throughout the resort will leave you feeling right at home & you’ll never want to leave.
We can’t wait to go back!!!

We attended a wedding at this hotel. It was a destination wedding. We were tired and traveling with two young kids but we’re happy to find that check in was a breeze at 6pm local time. The hotel is huge and it’s easy to get lost– I’ll get to that in a moment. Our room was large with a huge bathroom (yay) full length mirror and a nice balcony overlooking the water and hills. The kids had plenty of space to play and spread out. Now look– I got lost about ten times when traveling the grounds. Take a moment and learn your way if you end up staying here. When someone says they are on the 5^th floor they are not– that’s the lobby. If I had known that I wouldn’t have been looking like a creeper trying to find my room a gazillion times. Ok enough of that.
The food– since we were attending the wedding we didn’t have to eat much on our own but what we did eat was pretty good even though it was standard American fare. Some people said the food was greasy and too Americanized. I’m not gonna complain– when traveling with small kids familiar foods are ok. We also didn’t get to go to the beach because you had to take a ferry and what not and with us just being there for a quick weekend we just enjoyed the pools.
Staff was friendly but didn’t go out of their way to go above and beyond when making special requests. Restaurants and bars in hotel closed early and food options were limited after hours which was kind of sad for a large hotel. Three stars for large room, being kid friendly and quick check in.

Not as nice as expected. It needs updating, especially in the bathrooms. The rooms are a bit dirty even after housekeeping.
The staff at the hotel unapologetic and totally unhelpful in planning tours etc. We sent emails and called before our arrival and no one got back to us and low and behold we get there and all the tours are sold out.
You have the feeling the entire time you are being taken advantage of. They charge you for everything… Breakfast, coffee, parking, shuttles, water park, microwave in your room. Never have I stayed at a resort as costly as this and had to rent a microwave. Let me rephrase this… Never have I ever stayed anywhere and had to rent a microwave.
Water Park. We were excited about this since we have kids. They were entertained but it’s only three water slides and surprise, surprise you pay extra every time you go and the prices are STEAP!
For such a costly nightly fee you expect something… but you get less than you would ever imagine.
In addition, never as a Hilton Honors Member have I received such cheap arriving drinks. A bottle of warm water that I had to go search for throughout the compound. It was such a pain to find the one of two stores you can redeem your coupon in we thought it was a joke… literally I thought we were on a hidden camera show. Also, the complimentary coffee they give you as a Hilton Honors Member is served 4−7am. It’s like they don’t want to you to have that complimentary cup of joe unless you set your alarm on vacation. Hey, no one goes on vacation for the freebies but it’s insulting the same.
For the price of the rooms you just except more and for sure you don’t expect to be taken advantage of every time you leave your room.
One couple we spoke to mentioned this is a place you come to once and not ever again… our sentiments exactly.

If you are looking for an authentic Puerto Rican experience, look elsewhere! That being said I’ll try to give the most useful review I can. For reference we stayed at the end of August 2015.
I can overlook dated décor and accommodations, even less than clean facilities but good customer service is a must. While most staff members are friendly and happy to help some are all too eager to charge you for every little thing. Right off the bat the woman checking us in rubbed us wrong telling us about all the extra charges that could be accrued and the $ 900!!! deposit/​credit card hold required for incidentals for our 9 night stay.
The $ 900 deposit for incidentals upon arrival was somewhat of a shock so it would have been nice to know before we arrived. Luckily it wasn’t a hardship for us but for others it may be out of their reach. It would be nice to make guests aware prior to checking in or even booking.
The woman who checked us in had a bad attitude and was all too eager to take our money and inform us about policies like the no guest policy so I couldn’t have my mom come babysit my kids. She made us feel like second class citizens because we booked through Costco Travel. She set off our vacation on the wrong foot and it took 2 – 3 days just to get passed that bad experience.
Unless you plan to stay at the resort the whole time and eat disappointing overpriced bad American food, rent a car! But don’t rent from the Enterprise on the grounds unless you don’t mind paying more than twice as much for the same car. We rented from the enterprise in Fajardo that is not at the resort and paid $ 46/​day for a minivan compared to the $ 102/​day that the resort Enterprise was asking but you’ll have to find your own way to pick it up and don’t mention that you’re staying at El Conquistador. The onsite Enterprise may be a convenience for guests but charging OVER TWICE as much for the same vehicle is robbery. Shameful.
It actually worked out nicely because the Enterprise in Fajardo was out of mini vans so they told us we needed to pick it up from the resort even though the woman who called to tell us was extremely rude. She tried to say that because we were staying at El Conquistador we had to rent from there. I not so politely told her I didn’t HAVE to do anything. After that everything was fine and the Enterprise associates at the resort were very nice and helpful even letting us park in the Enterprise lot saving us $ 16/​day.
Our room was not the cleanest (dirty handprints on the walls and doors, black mildew stains in the shower, filthy chair cushions…).
The food at the resort leaves much to be desired. Overpriced and not even very good for the money. No local Puerto Rican food! What’s that about???
The distance from the hotel lobby/​parking lot to our room in La Marina village was rediculous. Literally a 20 minute trek with a toddler each time we wanted to leave the room. Not much can be done about that but it would have been nice to be given options on where we would like our room. Again making us feel like unwelcome guests for booking through Costco. Thankfully we were right by the Coqui Waterpark which was absolutely this resorts saving grace.
Coqui waterpark was great! Friendly, helpful and thoughtful staff, decent food, not crowded, fun slides… When the staff heard that my husband and I were celebrating our anniversary (our 8 year old son said something) they brought us each a free cocktail which was a very nice gesture. Really the waterpark was the best part of the whole stay.
The shops were nice with friendly staff and really nice merchandise. They kept strange hours though and closed for lunch and breaks so we didn’t get to shop as much as we would have liked but we still had good shopping experiences.
As for Palomino Island we stayed there long enough to see it and for the ferry to unload. Little shade and where there was shade there was bird poop. All the nice spots were taken early in the morning. The Caribbean is having problems with sea weed because of El Niño so the beach wasn’t very nice at the time.
Overall by the end of the trip we had a good time but were not very impressed by the resort, the amenities, and the treatment by some of the staff. When we go back to Puerto Rico, if we go back to this resort we would only stay for a night or two to take advantage of Coqui Waterpark and shopping.

I typically do a lot of research ahead of time if we’re traveling. I was notably worried after reading some of the Unilocal reviews on El Conquistador and wondered if I screwed up booking a trip to this place for my family over Thanksgiving vacation.
I shouldn’t have sweated it.
We arrived early on Saturday the 21^st and there were a lot of people in line waiting to check in/​out. The line moved quickly. Originally, I booked a garden view room through Expedia. Second-​guessing that decision immediately once I saw the view as we walked onto the property, I inquired about a room with an ocean view. For about $ 35 a night, the girl at the desk offered to upgrade us to a room in the Marina down below. Fantastic.
The bellman brought our bags down and gave us a tour along the way. Upon entering the room, I was pleasantly surprised since I was expecting a horror show that some of the negative Unilocal reviews portrayed. The room was clean, updated, and nice. The view, while partially obstructed by some palm trees, was fantastic. We put on our bathing suits and immediately headed to the main pool at the top of the resort.
An hour an a half in, my 7 year old whacked his head on the pool bar while fooling around with his sister. Totally his fault. He came over to us sniffling and we realized there was blood on the back of his head. LOTS of blood. In the time it took me to see it and say, «Uh oh», we were descended on by hotel personnel: servers, security people, and medics alike. It literally took about 45 seconds from the time I saw all the blood until we had people there cleaning him up. I was pretty amazed.
It was clear that he was going to need stitches and the hotel staff asked if I wanted an ambulance. Shuddering at what that might end up costing, I asked how far the local hospital was and decided to take him in our rental car. Jean, from security, offered to send one of his guards with us in case we needed anything from translation to support of any kind. We took him up on it. Jean was fantastic.
Rolando F accompanied us to the hospital and was the intermediary with the staff (who spoke little english). He really made the process easy. He insisted that we call him by his nickname «Chickie» and we bantered back and forth while waiting to be seen. We were seen very quickly for the amount of people that were in the waiting room. A number of stitches later, I could only marvel at how smooth that experience went. On the way back, Chickie insisted that we stop at a local pharmacy to pick up some children’s tylenol because, as he said, «that boy is going to have one heck of a headache tonight». I was rattled from the experience and didn’t even think of it. Good call, Chickie.
The rest of the week was uneventful, fun, and relaxing. The food was good, room service (both food and maid service) was good, the bar/​grill staff at the pools was fantastic, and we really had no complaints.
The bottom line is that I was amazed at how friendly and excellent the people at the hotel were. We will never, ever forget Chickie and we think very highly of him.

This resort is nice and has been around for a very long time. Located in Fajardo this resort is great for the family. Always night life events and different places to eat. Also a fairly big water park with a lazy river and a bunch of slides.
Great for the kids and adults. In the lower level of the resort there is the docks. You can take a ride to islands around the resort such as Palomino.
Overall a great place.

Two hours after I posted the first review I had to lower the rating to 1 star from my original 2 stars.
More issues with the room, general confusion in the hotel despite there being a lot of staff. To be fair, the staff are incredibly nice. But this hotel just doesn’t work. Stay away.
And food is outrageously expensive here!

Hotel facilities are amazing and unique! This is a 10 star hotel! Very impressive pool, activities, services, entertainment, and restaurants. Except the jacuzzi…
All employees treat you like a queen and king… except the checkout staff and on Palomino restaurant. They looked angry… The boutique in front of the dock is beautiful and the service is outstanding. The guys on the kayak station in Palomino are fun, fun, fun. I’m coming back! Try the yuca mofongo at the café in front of the reception and visit Palominitos, but pay for the ride in kayak.

Where should I start? We just got here and the experience so far has been short of impressive. We arrived the hotel around 9pm and the queue for check in was long and the staff looks like they rather be somewhere else. Had a little issue with adding the Hilton Honors details but will see if they will be resolved by the end of the stay as promised.
We reserve the Ocean View room and was placed at Las Marinas area at the bottom of the hotel. The room was far below standard of what a Waldorf property would be. Dirty, run down with spider web in the corner of the bathroom. Disgusting stuff in the closet and the ceiling by the entry way was eww as shown in the photo.
Will update about the experience but so far has been a nada. Not recommended and would definitely won’t be back!

We were very disappointed and surprised how run-​down this place was. Is this really a Waldorf property? When we first arrived, we were welcomed by the valet and bell hop service, and walked into a grand lobby… but as we browsed through, we noticed little things like water-​damaged ceilings, badly maintained furniture, the dried up golf course, and mediocre staff service at this supposed resort. The attention to detail was seriously lacking.
We had a big party, 11 family members, separated into three rooms. Our room ended up being in a completely separate building (Las Olas) from the rest, which we didn’t mind, but soon realized it was way too far from the main property. It took us about 10 – 15 mins to walk, get on a separate elevator, and wait for/​ride the cable car to get to the room.
When we got into the room, we realized our cell phones got barely any signal, and the free wifi was worth crap. The room itself was poorly cleaned, ants in the bathroom, and curly little hairs on the complimentary shampoo. Ewww! Chair cushion was stained, accent cushion on the bed was filthy, and brown marks on the headboard. It was a decent view though, partial ocean view. We ultimately requested for another room (hopefully a cleaner one!) closer to the main property.
So we take the journey to go back up to the main bldg, get our keys to the new room, and ended up in the same bldg (I believe it was the La Vista) as our other family members. This room was a complete downgrade, if you can imagine. It was as if we were being punished for wanting another room.
Consistently dirty like the other room, only this time the cushion was busting out of its seams (see pic), no fridge, dirty floors, no view (I didn’t care at this point), and the tiny TV (aka computer monitor) from the 90s. Bad insulation, loud noises early in the morning, it was the complete opposite of a relaxing vacation. Everything about this room felt like a motel 6, with a touch of color to hide the hideousness.
When we tweeted about our experience thus far, the mgmt staff was quick to DM my husband. Long story short, they only offered a free breakfast for our party OR complimentary airport shuttle service for my husband and myself. My mother in law wanted a free night’s stay for herself, but their response was that our complaints didn’t warrant a free room, because most of our gripes were service-​related. What the!!!
Speaking of which… the service was definitely bad all around. We went to the billiards/​karaōke/​bar area one night, which was great for the entire family to hang out. But the waitress was absolutely rude and inexperienced. She was completely clueless and constantly forgot about our drink orders. Palomino island was beautiful (according to other family members) but the bartender was terrible as well! Valet and bell hop service was okay, but I expected more customer service from them, especially for all the fees and tips we had to pay. Maybe we expect too much since we are from the islands of «Aloha», but it really was sad to experience such lack of care at a potentially great property.
The only positives were the gorgeous views and water park. All the other «amenities» were skewed by the aforementioned bad service.
I could go on but I think you get the picture. For the price we paid, it was not worth it at all. This was suppose to be the highlight of our trip, the last impression before we left the island, and it just went to sh$t. Never returning, until they get it right.

I honestly don’t know where the bad reviews are coming from. We stayed in the villas on the north side and it was wonderful! The rooms were spacious and clean and there was a pool practically out our door. A «butler» gave us a tour of the surrounding area and every time we walk by the staff greet us. It wasn’t all that busy because it was the down season but it is amazing!
We are at the seafood restaurant near the marina and the food was pretty good. It’s only our first day so we still have a lot to experience.
The only thing off was the pool by the hotel part. It was oddly eerie. The spacing was weird and we immediately went back to the infinity pool near our rooms. The inside of the hotel in beautiful though.

NPS = 8
Beautiful, gorgeous views and impressive rooms!
The service was also on point and extremely family friendly.
We stayed at El Conquistador for a wedding in Fajardo and it did not disappoint.
The service was great and they were very attentive. The bellman memorized my name and the welcome to the hotel was very enjoyable.
One of the tests I like to do is to not bring a razor with me (thanks, TSA) and asked for the hotel to bring one to the room. Most if not all hotels deliver on this.
Well, el Conquistador did not disappoint as they brought me two shaving kits with shaving cream as well.
The hotel is very family friendly and the lobby at night becomes a playground for kids and parents alike. There are arcade games, pool, and even a ballroom with music blasting (salsa, anyone?) and everybody having a good time.
El Conquistador is the place to stay if you are in Fajardo, PR.

Come for the view, leave for the food. Don’t overpay at the spa.
The view we had of the bio bay and ocean was amazing. The views are extremely beautiful and the resort is very well kept and high end like I expected. Lots to explore for couples and families. We were on our honeymoon, so i wanted luxury! I got that… but not when it came to the food. We ended up leaving for breakfast and dinner once we found some local places. La Vistas for breakfast and La Estacion for dinner were our favorites. The food at the resort is very cheap, processed, and fried. I can get that at home, so no thanks. We survived on fresh fruit and coconut water from the little shops, which was fine. Starbucks had decent coffee and tea so they were used to seeing us every morning.
The pools and Palomino island were wonderful. Catch an early boat to the island… it gets very full and long line after 11am. Pack water and lunch to stay over there.
Self parking was also fine, not a long walk at all to our own car. The shuttle was always a super long wait so we never used it.
The spa… oh the spa. While it was certainly nice, we made a huge mistake. First off, there are no prices listed on the services. And when I called to schedule a couples massage, I should have asked. I expected a couple hundred or more… but it was over $ 600!!! It was my fault for not asking, sure, but holy hell that was way too expensive. We did the paradise for two, which was 100 min massage but I’ve been to spas all over the states and Costa Rica and never paid close to that. It was an ok massage with a glass of bad Chardonnay and some figs. The bad part was, both my husband and I couldn’t relax the whole time because of the sticker shock. Don’t make the same mistake we did! We regret even going to the spa.

Outstanding customer service!!! I can’t say it enough, the employees are so helpful.
The facilities are a bit run down, but not in a bad way. It gives the resort some character that reflects a 1960’s architecture with a modern look and facilities.
My favorite was Palomino Island. It has horse back riding, outdoor games, stores, boats & jetskys for rent and so much more. The food at the island restaurant is kept basic and it’s really good. I had the steak wraps and they are the best.
They also have some trails all over, observation points with breath taking views, a hidden beach where you can relax to the sound of the wind and ocean.
The experience is so worth it! Snorkeling pays off, bring your underwater camera.
There is something to do for all ages, so check out their webpage for more info!

Featuring breathtaking views, this lovely hotel is located on a beautiful hillside overlooking the ocean, reminded me of Italy. They have a private island beach and an entertaining water park. As an HHonors Diamond member, my room was upgraded etc.
I must say we really enjoyed staying at this hotel, in large part due to the Palomino island beaches and the Coqui water park. Breakfast buffet was excellent, omlettes, fresh fruit etc. My room had amazing views of the Caribbean and the hillside. Definitely coming back!!!

A couple of thing about this place
The El Conquistador was a hot sh&t hotel when Miami Vice was #1 on Friday nights. Its a huge fabulous property that is showing its age. Is that a bad thing? No not really, just giving you Unilocalers a heads up on what to expect.
The goods —
— The views — awesome. fantastic. amazing
— The property — huge, immense. This place is built to handle large size conventions/​shows. When the show people aren’t there, the immense-​ness is a bit of a bummer IMHO.
Access to Isla Palominos & Isla Palominito (where part of Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed) via their ferry — kick ass — Its the hotels private island.
— A couple of different pools to lounge at
— Golf courses on the property — I suppose that;s a good thing.
— Pretty much every amenity you could need — stores, lots of places to eat, lots of bars, full size starbucks, etc. etc.
— The staff is super friendly
So why am I giving this place a 3?
— The propery is showing its age. The rooms are dated, hot stuff 2 – 3 decades ago and they have tried to face lift them but their lacking. If you compare this to the W on Vieques (see my review) its day and night.
— Everything is over priced. Stupid expensive over priced. The drinks — 9 bucks for a little cup, the quality of the booze is poor and depending on who makes your drink — no bueno.
— The food weather it be at the pool or or somewhere else is lacking.
— The 45 buck resort fee — this one burns me. So all of the resorts in PR charge a resort fee. That’s just a part of life. But what do you get for the fee? At other resorts that gets you the use of fins, snorkels, kayaks on the beach. Not at the El conquistador. If you take the ferry over to Palominos, you gotta start paying for everything that other resorts let you use gratis (fins, snorkels, etc. etc.)
— If you want to taxi out of the property (and you will after you try the food) it will cost you 10 bucks to get to La Estación (litteraly at the front gate of the property), 20 bucks if you want to go a ½ mile down the road to another resturant or get a ride to the ferry.
I realize that since your paying the price to rent a room here you shouldn’t complain about over paying for everything but — hey, I am.
— quick tip. On the ride to El Conquistador, have your driver stop at a store and stock up on some supplies (You pass by a very nice walgreens on the way in). Sodas, beer, rum, chips, etc. a 6 pack of Medalla cost 6 bucks in the store — you’ll pay six bucks a piece at the bar. If you wait to go to the store after you arrive it will cost you a 40 buck cab ride round trip — you’ve been warned :-)

El conquistador must have been THE shisnetz back in the 80s. It’s a great place, full of activities and lots of options not to leave the place at all. However, I find it that the quality of service and the actual hotel rooms lack the Waldorf Astoria signature. It’s really all in the details
The hotel includes a $ 45 resort fee but what it really pays for. I will never know. Unlike the SPG brand hotels a resort fee might include free WiFi, swimming gear, a complementary drink, etc. But here. maybe pays for the ferry that takes you to the private island.
The hotel has many pools so if you don’t want to be stuck with the family of 10kids you can move around and avoid the crowded areas. Theres also quite a few hottubs within the property. The Waterpark is easy to access via the finiculaire aka the train-​thingy that takes you up and down the different levels. We didn’t have a chance to check it out but families loved it.
The average drink cost $ 16 and I swear the hard alcohol is waterdown. So stock up with Don Q rum and chaser options before arriving. I would highly recommend going outside to the Conquistador to eat. Food is a million times better and a lot more affordable.
Our room was very basic considering it was an ocean view upgrade and again there isn’t much Waldorf-​Astoria to it. Our bathroom toilet was the same as those public bathroom toilets with the stand alone long handle so you can flush with your feet. You know. cooties! The bed was comfortable and pillows on point for my taste. The couch. has seen better days. That poor thing was so smushed and missing fluff. Our room did have a great view and it was spacious enough for two people. Consider a higher floor room than a lower level. We where in the lover level and you could hear evvvvverything going on in the hallway and by the pool.