El Conquistador Resort

We loved our trip to El Conauistador! On our son’s 13th birthday we celebrated at the Coqui water park. We had a cabana and our server, Hector, was absolutely wonderful! He was so attentive and super sweet. He helped make the day extra special for us and our birthday boy!

We had the best family trip. The view are STUNNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Breathing each and every time I stepped out side. Special special shout to Yajaira at the coqui water park desk. She was the friendliest staff member. We loved visiting her. Her hospitality was far beyond anything we could as for. We will definitely be coming back.

Avoid room 1235 - next to marina pool / water park (kids, music bass, 7a gardening equipment) - 15 min from main lobby (funicular + elevators + walk) - no hot water for shower (sink has hot water though; shower valve is broken), gave up asking for fix after being gaslighted for 2 days Front desk is ill-equipped to deal with large volumes of customers (spring break + conference), fixes, accommodations (basically regular hotel-type requests) On-site restaurant food is mediocre. Probably the best one is the Mexican restaurant by main lobby pool. In general, the serving staff is nice, the only bright spot of our stay. Ferries to Palomino Island are too infrequent (once every 60 min. Music bass at Palomino Island is too loud. There is a nearby beach outside the resort which is much lovelier & larger. We love Puerto Rico, but not this particular stay. We hope El Conquistador improves.

I am so disappointed about what has been done to the El Conquistador I could cry! My family started coming to the El Conquistador in the 90s. Back then it was Caribbean, it was Spanish tile and wood, it was LUXARY! People dressed up for dinner at REAL fine dining restaurants. This trip was my first return since 2013. Deeply saddened for the resort and the people of PR when hurricane Maria devastated the island. We didn’t know if it would reopen, and then Covid.. When we heard it was reopening we said, ‘we will return!’ Big mistake! The once 5 diamond award luxury brand is no longer. Seeing other reviews of people reminiscing of the ‘good old days’ validates my dissatisfaction. The decor is horrendous as another reviewer wrote, the ikea style ‘contemporary’ furniture and the black and white everywhere? Yuck. Looks like your local Hilton garden inn. Another red flag on our first night we went to cigar bar, locked. Walked to the front desk and was told ‘they opened at 7pm and nobody came in so they closed’. What?! On a Friday night at 8pm after dinner we can’t smoke a cigar? Absolutely ridiculous. From what we understand from the front desk everything is now 3rd party vendors and only open and operate when they want to, not what’s advertised. All the literature on TVs, pamphlets, website, it’s all contradictory. Nobody seems to know what’s going on. Fine dining? That’s a wild claim. As we wait to be seated and see the placard on the wall that says ‘pants and collard shirts’ as they walk in people in jeans and athletic wear. The food has been absolutely terrible. The hallway lined with local vendors looks like a flea market. The hallways used to be lined with exotic birds, so far I have only seen one and never out of its cage. Service has not been great either, not what I expected from the El Conquistador. So sad. The services are a sliver of what they used to be. They used to have Alto Grande in the rooms. Now it’s a cheaper PR coffee. But you can BUY Alto Grande if you want that. Palomino island used to have steel drums and Sala music playing. Today was some day club pop remixes, Madonna, Beyoncé and Luke Bryan. Really? Where am? I had to find the DJ and request something that at least sounded like I was in PR and not Miami. If you want luxury, choose a known brand like the Ritz or the Four Seasons, at least there is a standard, not whatever this is anymore. The new owners of this property don’t deserve to use its name.

Yajaira at the water park was fantastic. Her service and welcoming spirit was amazing. She was a great host and made our stay enjoyable.