The Royal Sonesta San Juan

As a 25-year member of the service industry, I am embarrassed by how the Royal Sonesta staff handled themselves and managed their property. I normally avoid complaints and confrontation (I have never sent food back in a restaurant and I judge a person's character based on their interactions with industry workers). However, the service and overall experience were so ridiculously bad I feel the need to provide a full summary of the events. Arrival: No offer of luggage assistance, no introduction to the hotel which I have come to expect from 4/5 star resorts – (e.g., summary of amenities, locations of spa/fitness areas, restaurants, where the buffet breakfast would be located, etc.). I should have clocked the couple who were actively speaking to the manager on duty expressing that they had had a terrible stay. Bathtub: The only reason we settled on RS was because of its bathtubs (mobility-preference for my 77 y/o mother). I paid quite-a-bit extra as the bathtub was only available in an ocean-view room. On the first night we realized the bathtub was broken. An "Engineer" instructed us to "fiddle with it" as the solution. The tub did not hold water, draining quickly. We relocated. The bellman was sent with the new keys but did not bring a luggage cart and I had to request he assist in our move. In our new room the bathtub did not hold water. An additional move was planned. I requested they confirm that the tub would work before we moved to a third room (at 11PM). When investigated, we were told that every tub in the hotel was faulty. We were moved back to our original room at 12AM – this time with a luggage cart after this was specifically requested. Hospitality = non-existent. No offers were made to improve our experience. I asked that we be compensated for the 4-hour long ordeal. Resort fees were waived and we were begrudgingly allowed two lunches. The next day, realizing that we would not be back in time for lunch, the new manager on duty agreed to provide two complimentary dinners. At check-out I was presented with a bill for ~ $280. This bill included a deduction of $200 and charges for the additional balances of our dinners. I reviewed that we had been told that our dinners would be complimentary. I was then (and only then) informed that we were given a $100 credit per dinner. In my experience in the restaurant industry two dinners includes: 2 appetizers, 2 entrees, 2 desserts. On both dinner occasions we did not overindulge (skipping some apps/desserts), we did not order the most expensive items, and we did not drink alcohol. We had even confirmed which restaurants would be off-limits. The Italian restaurant was not included, which, unsurprisingly, was not communicated to us! I explained that I would be paying for the tips provided to the wait staff and nothing else. I was then presented with a bill for $311.15 (more than the initial bill) that had the resort fees added back to balance. I advised that I would not be paying the resort fees as that was not the agreement. Eventually, the bill was corrected – after an additional three iterations. Other moments of note: - The young woman who requested new water in her room as it had already been opened and consumed. - The gentleman who reported that another guest had entered his room with their own keycard. - The hostesses did not communicate when seating us outside that we would need to cover our plates. After three mornings of witnessing other guests’ food plucked from their plate by the birds, I can only assume they do not make a habit of informing anyone of this issue (thereby wasting food). - I watched the table clothes being flipped over (2+ times) instead of being replaced thereby remaining dirty. Positives: Emmanuel at breakfast was a delight. William the Bellman I met briefly in the elevator was fabulous. The beds were comfortable. Those are the only positive things I can identify. In summary – this place is incompetently managed. Save your money and your sanity and literally go anywhere else.

I went for a large company meeting- 5 days. I scheduled to go a day early so I could enjoy 1 day since it was a very long distance to travel. My flight was delayed by a day due to the terrible snow storms and I could not get rebooked. I let the hotel know about the weather delay as soon as I knew and they charged me anyway. So I had to pay a lot of money for nothing. I was stuck overnight in an airport. No one would answer the phone at the hotel when I called to dispute the charge. I ended up talking to someone at a corporate location who said they’d investigate but I haven’t heard back. In this economy, charging someone over $400 for nothing is not cool. Don’t book here unless you have very very good travel insurance.

Great total and friendly staff

It’s a beautiful place – very clean, nice pool and right on the water. But what is best of all are the people who work there! They are so kind and helpful. I would like to call out, especially Irianna who helped me through a big problem/misunderstanding. She made everything right she was kind, professional, and wonderfully accommodating. I highly recommend this resort.

Great room cleaning service. Friendly and hospitable staff. The breakfast buffet food is decent. Food by the pool restaurant is very poor quality and extremely expensive. Wi-Fi performance has also been poor on some days.