El Conquistador Resort

This is the kind of property seasoned colleagues quietly warn you about—yet, against your better judgment, you assume *they* must have exaggerated. They didn’t. It’s bad. Very bad. At first glance, the resort makes an impressive entrance: a pleasant drive up, manicured grounds, and a stylishly appointed lobby that suggests you’re in for a genuine four-star experience. Unfortunately, that illusion evaporates almost immediately. The first real blow comes at check-in, where the resort casually presents a $1,300 deposit and additional resort fees for a five-day stay—charges that appear nowhere on their website or on Expedia at the time of booking. This lack of transparency isn’t just disappointing; it’s infuriating, and frankly, unacceptable for a property that positions itself as “premium 5 star.” Logistics only worsen the experience. Parking is a long, inconvenient walk from the main building, and both self-parking and valet come with eye-watering price tags. Add to that the resort’s significant distance from the city, and you’re essentially funneled into dining on-site. Unfortunately, the frustration continues there: meals are astonishingly overpriced for food that is, at best, forgettably mediocre. Back in the rooms—already average for the over priced rate—the staff constant door slamming of the utility rooms kept us up all night, there’s also, no microwave, meaning any overpriced leftovers you bring back are effectively useless. It’s a small detail, but symbolic of the resort’s broader pattern of overpromising, underdelivering, and nickel-and-diming guests at every turn. In the end, this property fails spectacularly to meet the standards it claims to uphold. The disappointment is real, the frustration constant, and the overall experience simply not worth the time, money, or aggravation.

We recently stayed at the El Conquistador right before Thanksgiving. We arrived on a Sunday and departed Wednesday. It is about a 45 minute Uber ride from the airport. Check-in was easy and efficient. The Hotel is huge, with different sections to it, and many restaurants and bars throughout. During this time, the hotel was not crowded at all. Definitely a good time to go. My friend loved the golf course, and we enjoyed many of the amenities. There are several pools in the upper section of the Hotel, and then down by the Coast is the awesome Water Park. When we were at the Hotel, we spend out days at the Water Park and then would eventually make our way up to the Upper pools. The Water Park is cool with 3 water slides, a lazy river, and a few pool areas to relax in. There are plenty of lounge chairs, but I could see that it would be much busier in the summertime. There is a restaurant right next to the main pool that is very convenient. Also, a bunch of hammocks are set up. The pools upstairs are also very nice. Some are more kid friendly than others. And there are plenty of bars close by for the parents. There were 3 hot tubs also, with varying degrees of temperature. The service for our 4 days was fantastic. All the staff was friendly, and the facilities were clean. The restaurants were also good, especially the Pizza and Japanese restauraunts. I wish we had more time to try others, because the other guests really enjoyed their meals. Too much stuff to do and taste. Our room was nice, as we had a King bed and pull-out sofa. The bathroom was very spacious, with a big shower area. Also, a double sink which is good. The closet was in the bathroom, which was a bit weird, but we did not mind. We had a view of the small Hotel Harbor and ocean, and it was very nice. We had an amazing experience and will definitely be back.

We chose to stay at El Conquistador after staying all over the island and having gotten married in OSJ, we're very familiar with the entire island. We chose Las Vistas Ocean View as it was closest to the lobby and other restaurants, assigned room 4211. The view was beautiful, I only wish we had a room on the 3rd floor to get an open balcony. We were promptly checked in around 1:30pm and given a room, which was a plus as we had our baby with us. They also brought the crib a few minutes after we walked in and it was all setup. We encountered numerous helpful and friendly staff, the first interaction with Mario was asking how to get to Ezkina restaurant with our stroller and he walked us to the elevators and explained where to walk around the pool, some people would've simply told us where to go. We spent a day at the private island for my wife's birthday, reserved a cabana with bottle service and a chicken wrap which was tasty. It is a nice place, however, not a true cabana, there were 6 beach chairs, large umbrella, plus a table and 4 chairs. I would recommend requesting cabana 24 or higher as the water is clearer and more shallow for the kids on that side, our area #5 was near the dock. Otherwise it was a great experience for the day. Our dinner that night at Ventanas was great, food was tasty and service was amazing. While we were full and skipped dessert, our waitress found out it was my wife's birthday so brought out a complementary tres leche! Coffee and quick bites at El Cafecito were great, get there earlier to avoid lines, but it was never more than 10 minutes. We also picked up a smoothie at Oats Juice bar which was good. We had 2 pool days, one at the water park and one at the main pool. Food and drinks are walk up service at the water park. There are 3 slides, which were fun and the lazy river was never packed with plenty of floats available. We also got to join in the toasted marshmallow night which was nice. We had dinner at Sicila that was so tasty and huge portions, I didn't even finish my dinner. Angel and Marisol checked in on us to ensure everything was good, greatly appreciated the level of service. The ice cream at PalettAmerica was nice. Overall was a great stay and we would return to this hotel again. Our only minor hiccup was at Ballyhoo after we returned on the ferry, the water station was empty so I asked for 2 cups of water at the bar. The bartender just pointed and said water cooler, I said yes, I went to it and it is empty (as he can see me, my wife, and baby standing there). It seems he was so offended to do his job, while I was also holding cash in my hand to tip him for getting us water, he made 1 cup of water and left it by his station and walked to the other side for me to walk over and grab on my own, while 3/4 of the bar was empty! This is not expected at a 5 diamond resort, regardless of the time of day, it soiled the great experience we had on the private island. I spoke to a manager, who happened to be Mario again, and he apologized, got me another water and said he will speak to the bartender about his behavior. It left such a bad taste in mouth, as we were waiting for the funicular I looked up the F&B director to send him a message. Funny enough, I walked right into Miguel in the lobby, I explained to him what happened and he said he will address it. Then Miguel went above and beyond and am very grateful as I was not looking for anything more than a training refresher to the staff. While we were at dinner that night, he sent a bottle of champage to our room wishing my wife a happy birthday. This is what 5 diamond service is supposed to be and he certainly delivered.

Fix the internet please. We staying here now. It D barely works. Very spotty ‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

Best Experince, Great Resort with alot of Facilities and Fun, special Island Beach and very good Restaurant, specially the sea food on the Marine, Thank you Gilberto for the Best service and best Recommendations for food 😀 .