We searched for a small quaint hotel near the water. The Cervantes certainly fitted the description. Sometimes searching and choosing a hotel is a shot in the dark but this experience was absolute bliss. Hotel was small just as we liked. The restaurant had a small menu, but GREAT FOOD and a continental breakfast was served daily. My husband, who brought me here for my birthday, and friends from California stayed here from March 3 - March 10. The shops, restaurants, and vendors selling their ware were all close by. The staff Luise, Amy, Nelmary and the front desk staff were friendly, helpful and exceptional beyond belief. We would all stay here again.

THE MILLERS, From Ohio

My wife and I stayed at Cervantes for four days and had an excellent experience. The decor in this small boutique hotel is unique. It is the work of an outstanding Puerto Rican designer, and although I don't generally like contemporary style, this motif is done so well that anyone would be impressed. We stayed in a junior suite, which was quite commodious. Our adult children stayed in standard rooms, which were a bit small but very comfortable. Appointments are first-class: marble tiled bath, comfy bed, attractive furniture, flat screen TV. (The standard rooms and junior suites are available only with queen beds.)

The restaurant on the first floor was ideal for breakfast--quiet and elegant and with a continental breakfast of many types of fruit and cheese. On two of the days I ordered white egg omelets, which were done with a flair by the chef and added little cost to our bill. The restaurant also has a very attractive bar, which was a perfect spot to relax after our busy days of sightseeing.

The staff is very accommodating on day and evening shifts. They speak excellent English and do whatever they can to be of assistance (e.g., using their PC to print out airline passes and copy documents). The reservations manager, Luis Correia, contacted us a couple of times by Email prior to our stay just to confirm that all was in order.

The only negative to our experience is that the attractive restored wood doors to each room's balcony are relatively sound porous. As a result, the noise from a construction site across the narrow street was very intrusive from 7:00 on. From what I could see of the building site, the work should be completed within a few months.

Overall, Cervantes provided a nice blend of luxury accommodations with value received. The cost is about 20%+ below El Convento, and the experience is far more personal.

We live in the Caribbean and visit Puerto Rico roughly once a year. We were excited to stay at this hotel as it looked gorgeous and was centrally located in Old San Juan. What a disappointment! It has been stylishly renovated but that is about the only good thing I can think to say about it. The staff were unwelcoming, the restaurant was utterly without atmosphere, breakfast wasn't served until 8am (although when we went down at 8:45am there was no sign of any staff at all and the coffee wasn't even on!) and the breakfast itself was just a slice of bread and some fruit served on filthy plates. The (standard) room was small with a closet-size bathroom featuring a shower with only cold water and a broken a/c unit (it turned out we were supposed to phone the front desk if we wanted to use the a/c but nobody bothered to tell us that!) The TV only worked after a member of staff had spent 10 minutes trying to coerce it to life and then offered a paltry selection of about 5 English-speaking channels, none of which provided news or movies. No tea or coffee making facilities in the room either. To top it off, the noise throughout the night was staggering, even by Old San Juan standards, with neighboring construction work kicking-in almost as soon as the bars had finished kicking-out. We didn't sleep a wink so we checked-out the next morning, although had to fight our corner to stop them charging us for the second night we had booked. Stay somewhere else!!!

Reminded me of a classic small European hotel: restaurant in the lobby, attentive and unobtrusive service in restaurant and hotel. Knew us when we walked in. Room the most elegant I have seen in North America. I was very tired and never awakened to noise which some may have heard.