Fairmont El San Juan Hotel

It was great to see all the environmental friendly amenities. The hotel has a lot of wear and tear, our bathroom door kept getting stuck. Rooms were spacious and clean. Staff was friendly and helpful. Nice little walk to the beach.

My wife and I had a 36 hour layover in San Juan so decided to stay on Isla Verde instead of Condado. The Fairmont by far exceeded our expectations! While it's not the most airy, modern or sleek beachside resort, its historical elements (dark wood lobby and mid-century low-rise architecture) really work in a place like San Juan. Our room was also very modern despite the older age of the building. The beach was the most picturesque we've seen on the island, and the resort really focuses on details when it comes to beach service (very attentive staff, well-appointed towels/chairs/umbrellas, and great food/drink). If you don't mind the price point and are interested in a little taste of the area's rich history, this is probably the best overall resort we've found on the island that's not consistently $1K+ per night.

Very nice staff. Good food. Absolutely not a 5 star establishment. Only stay here if you're looking for a cruise ship type of experience with guests who play sports in the pool while wearing their t-shirts and beer drinking guests are congregating around the pool until 2am. Walls are thin, and ypu hear everything going on outside until 2 or 3am making it hard to rest. Just remember, the closest thing to a budget cruise ship experience on land. If you do stay here, dont spend up for the ocean view villas (lile we did). Way overpriced for the accommodations. On the other side, bathrooms seem pretty newly updated although our plumbing fixtures had cracks letting them spray all over the place other than where you want. Feel ripped off

HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE! STAY AWAY FROM THIS HOTEL! We booked and paid for a one night stay at this hotel while we were on our way to St. Barths. We landed in San Juan at around 9:30pm and arrived at the hotel around 10:30pm or so. When we got to the hotel and tried to check in, we were told that unfortunately the hotel was overbooked and they had no room for us, even though we booked the room and paid for it months in advance. They offered to send us to a different hotel that we were not familiar with - so we ended taking the cab at around 11pm or so to go to another hotel. This hotel is totally unreliable, do not stay here because you may book it and they may send you who knows where on the island. They should be closed down and not allowed to operate in the hotel industry. M. Covaci

This was, without exaggeration, one of the most disappointing hotel experiences I’ve had anywhere in the world. I booked a king room. When I checked in, I was never told they were sold out of that room type. Instead, I was quietly sent upstairs to a room with two beds and a terrible view, which I only discovered after opening the door. No apology. No real effort to make it right other than a menial breakfast credit and that’s only after I asked. Just bait-and-switch hospitality at its finest. The front desk staff were beyond unhelpful. Zero orientation. No overview of the property. No mention of restaurants, bars, pools, events—nothing. They took my money and effectively shoved me toward an elevator like I was an inconvenience for daring to show up. Every staff member I encountered seemed to actively resent being there, and even more so, resent interacting with guests. I arrived in a great mood; they fixed that fast. The collective personality of the staff could generously be described as that similar to a wet dish rag. This was my fourth stay here, and somehow it gets worse every time. This one sealed it—I will never stay here again nor will my friends, family, or the rooms I book for corporate travelers during the annual SESA conference. Let’s talk price, because that’s the real insult. This hotel is not worth $600+ per night. It’s a $400 hotel at best, and even that’s being charitable. For a property carrying the Fairmont name, this one is frankly embarrassing. It may actually be one of the worst Fairmonts in the world—and I don’t say that lightly. I’ve stayed at Fairmonts from Banff to Quebec City to Baku, Azerbaijan, and this one doesn’t even belong in the same conversation. I usually stay at the St. Regis or Marriott as an Ambassador, but with the St. Regis permanently closed, I hoped this could be a reliable alternative. It isn’t. Not even close. Save your money. Save your mood. There are far better places in Puerto Rico that actually understand what hospitality means—this just isn’t one of them. I would now recommend the Vanderbilt if needing to be in San Juan area or Royal Isabela on the west side of the island.