El Conquistador Golf Resort & Casino

Puerto Rico

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Beware this rip off. Visited: April 2008 Posted by cfleming My husband and I stayed at the El Conquistador in April. The private island was not private! Boats pulled up to the beach and docked there, so anyone could use the beach. There was a private party one night, and the pool was closed to the guests of the hotel. Citigroup took over the pool, and paying hotel guests were told to leave the pool. And forget about trying to get a drink at the poolside bar - we were ignored! We were treated as a nuisance rather than a guest of the hotel. We were pelted by plastic Easter eggs from hotel guests (brats), and when we called the front desk to tell them about it, they said they had not been aware of this situation. I suggested that they go outside and look at the eggs on the ground and maybe try to send Security to look for the little darlings throwing the eggs. "That is impossible" was the answer I got. The food was overpriced. The guests of the hotel seemed to all be on ego trips and full of themselves. They should have paid as much attention to their little brats running around the hotel throwing plastic eggs at people and running around in circles at the bar as they did to primping and posing for each other! It was an out of control day care center for over indulged adults who really have no clue as to what a nice vacation or hotel is. 3 users found this review helpful. 2 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? Beware! Visited: April 2008 Posted by blondrea I travel a lot, and I'm an easygoing person. So when I went to El Conquistador 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! I suggest you 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! The front-desk personnel told me to my 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." If you stay here, expect erroneous charges, overall hostility, average rooms, and a very, very uninteresting location (no town anywhere near). Also, do not expect to see a piece of fruit during your entire stay. I had greasy, bland food. Expect absolute mediocrity if you choose to stay here. Or better yet, avoid this diabolical dump altogether! Finally, there is zero nightlife here - absolutely nothing! 13 users found this review helpful. 3 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? This was the worst weekend ever. Visited: November 2007 Posted by wlugo I stayed with my family at this hotel last weekend. In my opinion, this resort was very distant from the five-star hotel they claim to be. Attendance was very poor, and the personnel lack people skills. My AC unit stopped working at 2:00 am in the morning, so they transferred us to another room - which was located at the other end of the hotel. To my surprise, the new room was smaller than the previous one. I opened an incident, and they told me the manager would contact me. I am still awaiting the call. The staff acted as if they didn't care about problems. The hotel was under construction, so 50% of the pool was closed. Also, the prices were very high. There is no way I will spend another weekend at this hotel. There are less expensive and better hotels in Puerto Rico. 25 users found this review helpful. 2 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? It appeared the management didn't care. Visited: November 2007 Posted by jaked Actually, this was the third time we stayed at this hotel - but never again. We went to the Spa at the Golden Door and were ripped off. That manager sent security two hours later, and we never heard from them again. The G.M. was apparently too busy to help us. 15 users found this review helpful. 4 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? It is incredible! Visited: March 2007 Posted by amazedbythebadreview I have to say that anyone who could write a poor review of this hotel, or criticize the resort for having a ferry that brings you to a private island that makes you feel as if you've fallen off the end of the world has to be totally insane. I have stayed here six times, and every time has been better. Yes, it is somewhat pricy. But, it's not Motel 6. Yes, there is frog noise. It is the national treasure of Puerto Rico! Rather than complain about it, try opening the window and enjoy the free nature soundtrack. Do not be fooled by bad reviews. This place is amazing. 12 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? It was nice - but expensive. Visited: March 2007 Posted by nayka The resort itself was terrific! The restaurants were nice - pricy, though. The beach on a separate island was different. The food was not good (bad fast food). Also, the beach was windy all the time. 13 users found this review helpful. 5 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? This was a very nice place. Visited: March 2007 Posted by nayka This was a very nice resort. The rooms, views and amenities were good. However, the water in the beach was too shallow and full of small stones. I had great time, though. 7 users found this review helpful. 6 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? Don't even think about it. Visited: January 2007 Posted by travelpro I'm at the 'resort' now, and have been moved twice because I keep thinking that this dump of a room cannot be the standard. Apparently, it is. I'm still afraid that some rodent is going to run across the room. The bathtub is so bad that I'm not going to venture into it. Maybe it's a marketing scam to get you to use the Spa. I find it hard to believe that anyone from Golden Door has ever stayed here. I can't wait to leave, which will be as soon as I can get a flight back. I suggest you stay in a bus station before coming here. 20 users found this review helpful. 14 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? What a pleasure! Visited: January 2007 Posted by l__saidenberg I have just returned from a four-day stay at El Conquistador, and was not in the slight bit disappointed. The golf, in particular, exceeded all expectations. It was beautiful and challenging. Our meals were just fine, though pricey. The boat trip, to and from the island beach, was a treat. However, the coral in the shallow waters, made wading a difficult proposition. The Golden Door Spa was terrific - the staff couldn't have been nicer or more attentive. All in all, this resort delivers - proficient golfers will be in heaven. 16 users found this review helpful. 1 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? It was stunning, but not for families with small children. Visited: December 2006 Posted by mommy2l_l El Conquistador offered luxury you'd expect from a golf & spa resort, with friendly staff and expensive stores scattered around the vast hotel (which was currently being added on to). It was so huge you need a map to get around. Also, it took 15 minutes to walk from the lobby to our room with an elevator and funicular ride to get there. There was no beachfront. Instead, there was a 20-minute noisy boat ride that took guests to the private Palomino island. The calmest water for small kids to play, was where the boats ferried guests, noisy was an understatement. The rest of the beaches were windy, and the water was choppy. It was a lovely place to stay without kids who would need the toilet within a two-minutes reach. Nothing was close by here! 13 users found this review helpful. 3 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? What a great place! Visited: August 2006 Posted by misshaynes El Conquistador Golf Resort & Casino was a great experience. It was a great place to visit with the family, and wonderful for the adults. There were wonderful restaurants and little shops surrounding and inside the hotel. I recommend this place to families and for romantic getaways. To anyone who reads this or is considering coming here - this is a wonderful place. 7 users found this review helpful. 2 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? This is the best resort ever! Visited: July 2006 Posted by kristalpr I'm from Puerto Rico, I enjoyed my stay here so much. It was like I was in another country. And to all of these negative reviews - what can I say, yes it's pricy! It is a luxury resort, and everything in Puerto Rico is pricy! The hotel is a great place. I stayed here with a bunch of friends, and it was awesome. I loved the scenery. Believe me, we stayed in the economical part of the main hotel. We only paid $160 each for a weekend! I recommend this resort. It's great! 10 users found this review helpful. 1 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? El Conquistador was pleasant, gorgeous, but sometimes crowded Visited: April 2006 Posted by redfield We just returned from a conference at the resort. We didn't mind the time it took to get from top side, down to the lower levels or off to the island. The resort was clean, the foliage was stunning and the views were the best we've ever seen in the Caribbean. At night we opened our window, turned the AC off and were lulled to sleep by the tiny coqui frogs and birds. Yes, the drinks were expensive, but there was a slighlty less costly convenience store on site and a fridge in the room. The gift shops had great prices on items. We were very shocked with that! The restaurants were very good, but by the fourth night we were bored with them and had the concierge recommend a restaurant in town. We ate at Pasion in Fajardo, and it was great. Six on horseback galloped down hill as they went bar to bar - a tradition. Palomino Island was spectacular. We walked over to the other side where it was private. It was like we had it to ourselves! Walking trails went up and over the hill, we could have gone horseback riding and loved watching the horses and riders pass us by in the water. The guide always stopped to take a picture of the riders with their cameras and even just led the children on horseback. We opted to rent wave runners and went about a mile and a half out. Drinks were fun - but one a day was all we really wanted. Lunch there was okay, but not great. But it's an island after all! The chickens, roosters and bunnies freely wandered the island and were quite tame, although won't let people touch them. I enjoyed the 15-minute water taxi ride over and back. It gave me a chance to meet other people and I loved the joyful shrieks of the kids when the boat hit the wakes! Other parents there loved the kids' camp and said their children couldn't get enough of it. We wished we had brought the kids with us, and are planning on returning in the future with the whole family. The only issue we had was with the pool where the chairs were often taken in the afternoon. We preferred the island anyway! The hotel had transportation to and from the airport and they were very organized and precise in that department. Things flowed smoothly there, and the small casino was fun to visit. Security was present, but not too obvious unless you looked hard. 14 users found this review helpful. 1 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? El Conquistador "wowed" me! Visited: March 2006 Posted by shannetta This was such a great place and such great service. It was like a world of its own. It is my number one pick in great hotels! 6 users found this review helpful. 2 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? This is a great escape - if you're not paying full price. Visited: February 2006 Posted by eva_hill We stayed at the El Conquistador Resort in February, 2006. We were generally pleased with our experience, but our opinion was tempered by the low rate we’d paid. My husband and I are regular Caribbean travelers; large resort hotels are not usually our style. However, we were looking to play tennis on this trip and good tennis facilities tend to be limited to large resorts. We were assigned to Las Olas Village, which was below the main level but above the Marina Village. The hotel was sited on a spectacular cliffside peninsula. While affording beautiful views, the site, with rooms scattered from top to bottom, required guests to undertake major expeditions to get anywhere, including a funicular railcar which was required to reach Las Olas and Marina Village. The common areas of El Con were extremely attractive and generally well-maintained; the views alone were worth the price of admission. Our room had an ocean view with a balcony. The room, while large, bright and generally comfortable, was very dated and worn. Everything looked generally tired and in need of replacement or renovation. Despite what was advertised, our room did not have a minibar or a fridge, though it did have a safe. The TV remote didn’t work, nor did the ceiling fan. El Con's cliffside setting meant that the only way to get beach time was to take the free ferry to Palomino Island offshore. Here, you spend quality beach time with hundreds of your closest friends in loungers lined up in endless rows along the beach front. Don’t assume that the "private island" experience is secluded or peaceful. Food … well, much has been made of the price of it. We found the casual dining places generally mediocre and, while priced less than the fine dining spots, not an especially good value for the quality of food. The fine dining, on the other hand, we found to be quite good and comparably priced to similar experiences in our East Coast city. We had excellent dinners at Stingray Café (seafood) and Isabela’s (steak). Reservations are recommended. And last but not least, the reason for our trip – the tennis. The tennis complex was impeccably maintained and beautifully sited, and we enjoyed playing every day. All in all, we felt like we got more than our money’s worth and had a very enjoyable long weekend. 12 users found this review helpful. 1 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? Dissapointment - avoid this hotel Visited: June 2005 Posted by cbenadia I'll remember this hotel for the worst experience in a hotel. The resort is dirty - real dirty - from the pool (moldy) to the balconies, to the room itself. The pool closed for a private party - nobody had told me that a check in. The next day the beach closed for a private party, again nobody had told me that a check in. A so called 5 start hotel should have mentioned it. The food prices are high and the quality is low and the staff is unexperienced. 6 users found this review helpful. 5 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? A disappointing experience Visited: June 2005 Posted by cbenadia Avoid this hotel at all costs. It is not what it claims to be. The pool closed at 3:00 PM for a private party, the next day the beach closed for a private party, one of the funiculars was broken so everyone going and coming to the beach party were using the only funicular so if your room is in level 2 (Las Olas) like mine was, you'll have to wait a long time to get from or to your dirty room. Not once I was informed of the hotel activities nor the limited services. The food is really bad, expensive and the servers aren't trained properly. I ordered a cold beer and was brought a cool beer so the waitress told me not to worry. I thought she was going to bring me another beer, but she added ICE to it - nice touch. Took over 1 hour to get my luggage after checking out. 5 users found this review helpful. 4 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? The hotel is vast and beautiful, with its own private island. Visited: April 2005 Posted by indira_s I was very pleastantly surprised when I arrived at this hotel. The lobby was magnificant. The views from the rooms were breathtaking because it was set on the side of a mountain. The private island was just a five-minute ferry ride away, but it seemed a world away from city life. I look forward to returning. 8 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? Would not spend my own money here... Visited: September 2004 Posted by ukjules I spent 5 nights at this resort for an international conference. My room and two meals per day were covered by my employer, so lucky me. Otherwise, the El Conquistador is NOT a good value. Like other reviewers have noted, the food is very overpriced for its quality. Example: at Othello's, a mozzarella salad, a vegetarian penne pasta entree, and two glasses of low-end wine set me back $60. A tropical storm hit the island while I was there, and Wyndham did not charge us for the one worst night. Many rooms flooded, and electric and water were on-again, off-again for 4 days. I understand now why so many rooms have water damage and a moldy smell. To its credit, the resort is in a beautiful location, overlooking the junction of the Atlantic and the Caribbean. Palomino Island was very pretty and well-equipped for water sports. But for beach snobs, the water is not crystal-clear as you might find elsewhere in the Caribbean, and there is seaweed/kelp on the sand. El Conquistador is definitely a convention resort, and so could be delightful in the right weather and with somebody else paying the tab. 4 users found this review helpful. 3 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? Do not stay here. Visited: June 2004 Posted by nilawinona We just returned from a 6 day stay and we would never recommend that anyone stay at this "resort." The rooms are sub-par -- paint is cracking, furniture is ugly and doesn't match, decor is hideous, towels are itchy and stiff. The rooms are dingy and look like they were furnished at a garage sale. We requested a room change after the first night and were moved to a slightly better room. The food is horrible. To state that the food is expensive is an understatement. The prices are offensive. It is one thing to pay a lot for good food but the food is a small step above airplane quality. For example, a buffet breakfast consisting of lukewarm eggbeaters, fatty bacon, and cold potatoes will cost you $40 for two people. It is a hassle to take the boat to the island and the boat does not follow any kind of schedule. The island is very nice but there are similar beaches at much nicer resorts. The grounds are in need of repair. Also, there is a very nice family of sharks that resides in one section of the beach. Fun to watch, but not so fun to swim with. I could go on but the bottom line is this not a good place to stay. I have stayed at many resorts and this one does NOT deserve a 4 star rating. 4 users found this review helpful. 5 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful?