I am a frequent traveler and I had some issues with this hotel, most of which are not worth detailing - but, along with some good experiences I left here feeling neutral.

There is a shuttle bus service from the airport, which is quite convenient. I believe it was $10 each way. It's quite a haul from the airport to the hotel, so I recommend it (rather than taking your chances on an airport taxi).

The rooms are nice - ask for one facing the volcano. The hotel is located across the street from Metro Centro, so you can walk over to do some shopping or grab a bite to eat.

I found the doormen to be very helpful, and provided us with more information than the concierge did. They also gave us all the options (not just the high-ticket/low interaction group tours) for sightseeing. They were very friendly and made recommendations, seemed very eager to please.

There's a nightly turndown service, which is nice. I didn't take advantage of many of the hotel's amenities or restaurants, as we were on the go most of the time.

If I return to San Salvador I will probably go to the Hilton Princess to see if the service is any better there.

What a great hotel. From the moment I got out of the taxi the door man was smiling and the front desk referred to me by name. The hotel is on par or better than what you would expect from Inter-continental; the rooms were nice, the lobby was spacious nicely decorated and inviting. There is a shopping center across the street which makes it convenient if you are looking to do something between meetings. But what really sets this hotel apart is its staff.

After the first day the doorman always knew my name (even though the hotel looked like it was full, I’m not sure how they do it; they either have a list or a great memory). The maid service was outstanding (leaving flower petals with the toiletries laid out after the evening turn down service). I visited the Mexican restaurant on three occasions for a night cap and after the first night the bartender recognized me and had my drink ready and waiting as soon as he saw me walk through the door.

Even when they do have a problem the staff at this hotel rises to the occasion. For example, I put my valuables in the room safe but when I tried to get them out the safe wouldn’t open! Maintenance immediately came up to my room to asses the situation and they were ready to move me to another room and pull the safe out with a sledge hammer if I was in a hurry to get my things out of the safe. It turns out all that was needed was replacement batteries and they had the problem solved in 30 minutes. They apologized for the inconvenience and were very friendly the entire time.

There were only two issues that prevent me from giving this hotel a top rating and one of them there is not much they can do about. The first issue is with the pool, it looks huge and beautiful in the marketing picture but in reality it is somewhat behind the hotel and not that large. Of course this is not a resort hotel so you wouldn’t expect resort amenities.

The second issue was very frusturating. I’m not sure if it was TACA’s fault (the regional airline) or the hotels fault but Intercontinental has a TACA desk inside the hotel where you can check in for your flight the night before in order to prevent having to go to the airport early. In theory it’s a great service and a great idea but in practice the desk is severely understaffed. With the hour and a half you spend waiting in line to talk to the TACA agent you might as well leave for the airport early. The whole thing can be easily fixed if they just add one more person to the desk during peak days/times.

Other than the issue mentioned above this hotel is a wonderful place to stay if you are visiting San Salvador.