Hotel El Convento

El Convento is truly a five-star experience; I am certain there is simply no better hotel option in Old San Juan.

From the moment I booked our stay, directly through the hotel, the staff were responsive, attentive to my requests and concerns, and generous in their answers. I was apprehensive about travelling to Puerto Rico in the midst of the water crisis, but the hotel was right to assure me our stay would not be affected one bit.

We arrived early, and the lovely ladies at the front desk greeted us and took our luggage into safe keeping while we spent some time at El Parque de Las Palomas, just down the street. They telephoned soon after to say that our room was ready, although it was still hours before the official check-in time. When we reached our room, our luggage had been delivered upstairs for us, and we had a beautiful birthday surprise arranged by the hotel staff, personalized to my son in a hand-drawn card on the hotel's lovely stationery.

Our room was just perfect, clean and beautiful like the rest of the hotel, and reflected a tasteful mix of Spanish colonial history and modern design. The hallways, pool, veranda, and especially the central courtyard are just stunning. It was magical to get up early, survey the Old San Juan skyline, with the Cathedral right next door, and then proceed to sip tea and coffee in the company of birds flitting about the níspero tree. The daily Manager's reception provided outstanding cheeses with tiny gourmet toast crackers, Pellegrino, and wine and was included with our stay. We were touched each late afternoon to find our room had been made up a second time and that delicious chocolates, personalized by the hotel, were waiting for us on our nightstand.

The beauty and comfort of the hotel would have been enough, but this was a place where detail mattered, right down to the "El Convento" branded water bottles always on ice for guests, the Molton Brown soaps and lotion, the bathrobes and slippers, and even the classy uniform dresses all of the women wore. The food at the restaurant was excellent, and the open-air patio was enchanting, with the chango birds flitting about.

And then there was the location - for this reason alone, one could choose El Convento. Old San Juan is a walkable city, but it helps a great deal in the heat to have your hotel room nearby to afford a quick rest, dip in the pool, or some chilled water. You cannot beat the ideal combination here of convenience and luxury. And being in the center of it all does not mean your sleep will be compromised; the antique wooden doors and related extras mean the rooms are quiet at night and the atmosphere very soothing; the air conditioning was ice cold but fully adjustable to one's needs. We availed ourselves of the option to go to the beach in Isla Verde at the Marriot, and that visit was easy, enjoyable, and clearly well arranged by both hotels.

In summary, El Convento is a phenomenal choice, the only one, perhaps, for guests wanting to be steeped in the real culture of Old San Juan while enjoying a luxury hotel accommodations, all at an affordable price. We felt like we were members of a private club and not simply hotel guests, a rare experience by any standard.

Locatie top

Absolutamente todo, ambiente,distribución, historia, zonas comunes y privadas

Easy checkin, pretty facility, downstairs courtyard, great location

Best location ever. Friendly staff ever. They were helpful all the time. Thank you.

Indira and Victor were absolutely amazing! They both recommended places to go. We’d highly recommend staying at El Convento and frankly with how great the food is we had both dinner and breakfast. I loved this place!!

The hotel is classically beautiful. I do think it would benefit from a little more love; the rooms are starting to look worn and the furniture in the rooms (more modern looking) don’t go well with the classic style of the hotel. I think it’s a special place and so would love to see some refresh happen. Service was fantastic and ppl were very warm and friendly. Coffee offered in the morning is a minor thing but feels wonderful; same with wine in the evening. I think the value is exceptional; beautiful hotel, well positioned in Old San Juan with warm service at their rates is a steal. Happy I chose to go this for a few days.

Très bel établissement, très bien situé. La chambre était spacieuse, très agréable. Quelques services appréciés : le wine & cheese Time, le café disponible le matin, les bouteilles d’eau fraîche disponibles toute la journée

Excelente

Authentic vibes

Wonderful experience. Juan L and Monica were amazing! Would definitely recommend!

Lovely hotel with lots of nice common space. Rooms were on the small side but well lit and comfortable. Juan C was great with breakfast each morning.

Great location, but it was not the five star hotel experience we expected. Front desk staff were young kids who didn’t seem to know anything about excursions around San Juan so we did everything on our own. Disappointing experience overall.

Great location at this historic hotel--over 375 years old---in the heart of old San Juan. 4.25 stars

Highlights:
- Location: steps away from places to eat, drink, and shop
- Rooftop pool: very small plunge pool but nice to have
- Wine and cheese hour daily from 5-6pm on the patio was lovely as was the hostess there. Also had bottled waters could grab.
- Coralys: stellar representative for the hotel. Emailed her before our stay to help with some beach tour ideas and she was fantastic and gracious in helping me and responding promptly .
- Relationship with Courtyard Marriott to hang out at their beach which was a 25 minute Uber away and a fun day
- Lots of open areas to sit from by the restaurant to small tables in the hallways and the patio a level under the pool.

Midlights:
- Pool besides being small there is no shade so not one to hang out at too long
- Included breakfast was very simple: choice of cook on egg and meat (bacon, sausage) with bread that varied each day you ordered from the staff with coupons

Lowlights:
- Staff quality varied at reception and restaurant: on arrival reception was not welcoming so not a great first impression and another time we talked to them similar cool treatment. Few girls that helped with the Marriot prep paperwork were nice. At the restaurant we either had wonderful wait staff or mediocre with long waits.
- Very small bathroom: had to squeeze to fit in with half of it being a shower

Our experience at this hotel was extremely disappointing, especially considering that our reservation was part of a Group with a confirmed block of rooms for a weeding.

Check-in was disorganized, and despite our group reservation, our rooms were not available when we arrived based on the fact that they had overbooked the hotel. After traveling and looking forward to the wedding weekend, this created unnecessary stress and frustration. I do have to say that I spoke to the front desk manager and demanded that they found us the room we had reserved, and after leaving the hotel for a couple hours, she did find us the room.

I was also concerned when we checked out that no receipt was provided. They said they would email us. I found out later that charges for housekeeping and bell service tips had been added to my bill without my prior knowledge or authorization. We did not use either of these services, yet gratuities were added automatically. I explained to them that my original confirmation receipt did not have or mentioned these charges at all. My total for the 2 nights, as it showed on the confirmation receipt was $756.02 and not$766.02. Once again, I contacted the front desk manager after I had already spoken to a couple employees after checking out and she told me she would give the $10 credit back to my card.

Other than those issues, the hotel is very nice, they treat you well, and it is a very special location within Old San Juan. I just hope they improve in those areas so future guests don't have the same experience.