El Conquistador Resort

Our Stay at Conquistador was highly disappointing. We’ve been to the island numerous times for business and vacation, and my husband has heard great things about the resort, and has wanted to take me there for a while, but it fell very short of our expectations. First, kudos go to 3 employees: waiter Kevin at Ventanas (breakfast), waitress Isadora at Ventanas (dinner), and Darnell at the Splash bar on the main pool. All of them were wonderful and gave us exceptional service. The first problem was reserving dinner at BoNo for our 2nd night there, a Monday night, using the tablet and app at the concierge desk. We successfully booked and got confirmation only to arrive at our reserved time to find they were closed. The hosts at the restaurants next door didn’t know why so we went to the front desk and learned Bono is closed Monday and Tuesday. The app should never have allowed us to make a reservation for a time they are closed! We ended up that night having dinner at the very mediocre Mexican restaurant on the main pool. The 2nd disappointment was when we enquired about booking a tour to go snorkeling at Culebra, and were told it would be $189pp, plus transportation to the departure marina, another $60pp + tip. We’ve booked tours on other islands like Grand Cayman or other tours in Europe where they would pick you up at the hotel and they didn’t cost nearly as much. Since we couldn’t rely on the weather, we opted to skip that – disappointing as we’d packed our snorkeling equipment for that one purpose. The other big thing happened at the water park. I went down one of the water slides, and for some reason was asked if I could swim and had unfortunately candidly answered “so-so” they had a lifeguard waiting at the bottom to rip me out of the water as soon as I emerged from the bottom of the slide. In a 3-foot deep pool! And they did that twice. I snorkel and water ski, I’m over 70, and I know how to go down a water slide without drowning. I was embarrassed and furious. We went over to Palomino Island 2 of our 3 days there – it was nice but we have nicer beaches on the mainland. They had plenty of lounge chairs, though the ones under the nice “grass” umbrellas cost $100 to use since they included wait service from the bar. And the last night we ate at the Japanese restaurant, Okinawa, but were disappointed to learn the grill at each table might as well have been for show. They apparently hadn’t yet successfully got the venting over the grills to work. I asked how long they’d been open and they said about a year! We did enjoy our Marina location, and in general had a nice stay. But the resort did not live up to the glowing reputation as a luxury resort. But we’ll likely not return next time we’re in Puerto Rico.

Boats to Palomino took on 40 something at a time so long lines and hours wait to go to the island. As your waiting online numerous times they put sales people with customers looking for VIP sales on boat ahead of you while you wait 1.5 hour in the sun..When asked staff about things most responded that they were there two weeks and had no clue..I go to Puerto Rico 3 times a year and this is a repeat visit from a year ago which was great, but this time it has seriously gone down hill. Emailed them about the complaints and got no response…got feeling from staff that GM is over her head..it’s a good hotel, not a great resort…sad it’s not what it used to be..wish they would even be responsive

This is my wife’s and my third trip here. We got married while it was under the Waldorf ownership. We were very impressed then and that once 13 years ago. We have been back twice with our daughters once three years ago, and then this past August 2026. We love this place for many reasons. The property is massive and has such an old hotel feel and style. Mostly because it is in many areas. If you have ever stayed in the Royal Hawaiian it has the same old hotel style, without ever feeling cramped. The hotel has had a lot of updates simce we first stayed. We did not stay in the updated section. It cost a little more and we also wanted to ensure we had the same view we had previously. The view is amazing. Very hard to capture the description in words. I would literally just stand on the balcony and take it in. Especially watching the boat come and go to the private island. The private island. I am not a hang in the sand and get my toes wet beach goer, and neither are my daughters, although my wife definitely is. It had enough for both us. You can get a nice meal there and walk to the sandy part of the beach. Or walk through the grass and see iguanas and put on a mask and snorkel and swim out to the live reef. We did the snorkeling. We brought our own gear bit they have some to rent. The guys renting the gear were super cool. They also have jet skis and kayaks for rent. The boat ride is amazing. Caught the last boat off the island every day and the captain caught the evening vibes with great music. We have gone when the weather wasn't so great, and enjoyed the rough weather boat ride. Although that may not be for all. We also enjoyed the water park. We hit this every morning until lunch. Was a great way to start the day going down the big drop slide. The whole family enjoyed the wings. A daily staple meal. We ate dinner every night at the hotel restaurants. All good. I will say the steak restaurant cutz was delicious. We didnt have breakfast there as we have a spot. I will say the hotel should link up with the local bakery and maybe offer their pastries. After dinner was night swimming and playing with games by the pool. Even watched some college football while soaking in the pool. Oh and not to forget the ice cream pops. Spent some dollars on them but worth it for a vacation desert. The staff- all very helpful if you do not have an attitude when you go to talk to them. I likes that everyone was friendly if you did t act entitled. This is their home and we were guest was my approach. I can get why some of thee staff can be salty after hearing how some people were talking to them. My family likes the saltyness maybe not for everyone. We didnt not go to the spa, the golf course or the newly renovated rooms so I can not comment on them. Our room was nice blthe view was amazing and I can see why some people are not fully ready for the experience after looking at the pictures. Like i said we knew what we were getting into. I heard that there are plans to renovate them. One gripe. Maybe offer shower curtains for the older rooms, or throw in a few more towels. Im a little ocd about water on the floor, and well i went through a bunch of towels. Thank you El Conquistador for another amazing stay. We will be back!!!

We had dinner at bono and it was delicious! Lamb popsicle especially stood out. Osbel was amazing as our server. We will be back!

Service at the restaurants was just okay except that we had the Best service at Bono by Osbel.