I travel a lot. And I'm an easygoing person. So when I went to El Conq in Puerto Rico, I expected to have a great time. And though we found the Puerto Ricans overall to be truly lovely, genial people, we were shocked at the deceit we experienced at this resort! Definitely watch your back. Things were stolen from our room. (Use the safe!) Many things were falsely charged to our room, and the front desk did not want to hear about it. (We made good and certain that they did, and eventually got every line item removed. But it took a lot of work. Don't wait until your check out time, review your bill in advance! We did, and it still took two days to straighten out! Front-desk personnel will tell you to your face that they "do not want to deal with it.") Astoundingly, every single person checking out when I was (there were three agents open) had a bill dispute! Plus, one poor man approached the check-out desk and said, and I quote, "My room was broken into. Again." Expect erroneous charges, overall hostility, average rooms, very, very uninteresting location (no town anywhere near) and do not expect to see a piece of fruit during your entire stay. Greasy bland food. Expect absolute mediocrity if you choose to stay here. Or better yet, avoid this diabolical dump altogether! (P.S. - There is ZERO nightlife here! Absolutely negative nothing!!!)

We just returned from a stay at the El Conquistador Resort and Spa and I must say, "what a great experience we had." The staff is prompt, courteous and always eager to help. One of our bags was held up at the airport by TSA, but when it finally arrived at the hotel the next morning, the bell hop brought it to our room within 3 minutes. We also experienced a flat tire to our rental car while driving in the city, but when we returned, the parking services staff pointed it out to us and even fixed the flat immediately. The concierge staff was always very helpful and took time to make sure our questions were answered

The hotel itself is beautiful and very well maintained. It sits atop a craggy cliffside offering astounding views in all directions. How many other resorts can say that they take their guests to a private island? We stayed in the main building with a view that looks out over the tennis courts and the mountainside of El Yunque rain forest. Breathtaking! Outside our door each night in the garden were the sounds of the native Coqui frogs. Loved it!

If you are frugal and can't enjoy the finer side of life, then this resort is probably not for you. The hotel itself and the restaurants are indeed pricey, but the food was always top-notch and delicious and the service 5-star. Couldn't ask for a better experience. I highly recommend

My wife and I spent the week before Easter at the resort. Was there on a company retreat. Weather was not great, windy, overcast and at times rainy. The resort was ok but far from great.

Its actaully divided up into several different areas that are spread out across their property...really spread out. We stayed in the part of the resort down by the Marina. Rooms were fine, nothing special but clean and nicely appointed.

Would suggest that you get a room on the top floor at the marina so that you get high ceilings, and one thats on the corner so that you get an extra window. Each room had a DVD player and a nice LCD tv. (Had to unplug the DVD video cable from the tv to get the tv to show channels and the remote was missing batteries when we got there.) The rooms each have a balcony which was great for sitting and having a glass of wine at the end of the day. I suggest buying a bottle/and or snacks at one of the many general stores instead of the restaraunt/
bar..The rooms each have fridges that you can use to put what ever you buy.- but no snacks or drinks were in the room. (these could have been removed by my company ? )

The draw back to the marina was that in order to get to the main part of the hotel you needed to take a tram up from the seaside level the top level, then walk a long hall way to an elevator to the main hotel...sound like alot ? It is. The positives are that you are down on the water and by the water park and the boat that takes you to the resort's private beach island. If you are up top, it takes a long tme to get to these attractions.

In short, the resort was ok, good for a company event as it has everything a big company event needs, but its really lacking in charm, charater and the layout leaves a lot to be desired.

Overview
I stayed at El Conquistador with my mother for two non-consecutive nights while we are planning for my wedding which will take place there summer 2009. Coming from New York and my mother from Ohio, this trip was basically to sell her on why I want a destination wedding and more importantly, why I think El Conquistador is a wonderful venue for such an occasion.

Accommodations
We arrived and parked our car in the adjacent lot. We then took a short shuttle ride to check-in where we were greeted warmly by the front desk. Our room was an ocean-view room in Las Brisas. The attendant who walked us there with our bags was very friendly and quickly got us up to speed on the layout of the resort and answered any questions we had. The room was spacious and appointed with everything we needed. The attendant even explained the motion-sensor sliding glass doors off the balcony. The bright colors of the room were refreshing and for us two ladies, we really appreciated the well-lit spacious size of the bathroom. We could both move around freely when it was time to get ready to go out. Another layout feature I liked was the walk-in closet within the bathroom. This made it very easy to get ready in the morning after showering without waking the other person who was still sleeping. While these statements are true for both of the two Las Brisas rooms we had during our visit, the first room’s tub was not as clean as it should have been, but it was a minor disappointment. Finally, we really liked the toiletry products as they smelled very crisp and even stayed on all day. When returning to New York I continued to use the lotion as it reminded me of the resort!

Spa Facilities
I had visited the property the year prior for a couples’ massage but this was without an overnight visit. I found the attendants to be very gracious and the facilities superb. I found it to be a very soothing environment so on this trip I thought my mom should get to experience it especially because she had just come from 20” of snow in Ohio. I called the day of the appointment I wanted and easily was able to get her a massage appointment. Because there are other amenities to take advantage of, I made sure she arrived almost one hour before her appointment. When returning after the appointment, my mom looked so refreshed! She said it was one of the best massages she’s ever had and also enjoyed meeting other ladies in the lounge. She also mentioned that she liked the whirlpool and spent some time there relaxing afterwards.

Coqui Water Park
While my mom was at the spa, my fiancé and I decided to check out the new water park. We had heard quite a bit about it and wanted to see it for ourselves. It’s located at the bottom of the funicular which was a an easy ride. It cost $20/person for admission and it actually took quite a while to gain entrance as the computer processing was very slow. I understand that while we were there the front desk was undergoing training so tickets could be purchased there as to speed up the entrance time.

Regarding our experience, we found it to be more appropriate for children although there were some larger slides. We didn’t find it to be worth the $20 admission although the inner tubes were included in the price, but I can see the appeal for families. We also liked the lazy river, but I wish there had been a whirlpool portion along the river as I’ve seen at other water parks. We also would have liked to have lockers available as we didn’t want feel comfortable leaving them wrapped in our towels on the beach chairs. We were sure to be very vigilant. Overall, I think this was a good addition for the resort and my wedding guests with children will probably enjoy it.

Blossoms
My fiancé, mom and I went to Blossoms for dinner. I don’t believe a reservation was required, but we made one and were promptly seated when we arrived. I ordered the orange beef which was delicious, while my fiancé had a beef peppercorn dish which wasn’t as spicy as was advertised (he likes spicy!) and my mom had a seafood dish which she enjoyed. The only complaint was that the waiter didn’t bring chopsticks when I asked and I also thought it was odd that they didn’t have chopsticks out on the table already as it was an Asian restaurant. This obviously wouldn’t keep me from returning, but it was just an observation. Overall, we were pleased with the restaurant.

Wedding Planning Offices
For anyone considering a wedding at El Conquistador, the staff is very easy to work with. Although you can only reserve one year prior and not before, they were still willing to meet with me and answer all of my questions. My fiancé, mother and I took a tour of the facilities and discussed our timeline. As a nice touch, they sent up a fruit and cheese plate after our meeting. My mom and I really appreciated their attention to detail and look forward to having my wedding here next year.