We spent 2 nights at this hotel over the Easter holiday. Check-in was a lengthy process since the front desk manager gave us a smaller room than the one we booked and attempted to convince us that we were incorrect despite our having paperwork documenting our specific reservation. This problem was resolved after a few hours and we did receive a room consistent with our booking. The room was fairly small however and one of the showers leaked due to poor grading of the tile. We did report this to the front desk. We heard many customer service complaints while we were there. We were given conflicting and inaccurate information about an excursion to El Yunque. On a positive note, Shannon at the front desk was professional and helpful. The hotel itself is quite pretty and in an excellent location. You can easily walk to the forts and around Old San Juan. Breakfast at the hotel was excellent and service was good. The wine and cheese hour was good, with a wide selection of wines and cheeses. The hotel was clean with comfortable common areas and many antiques. Overall, after check in, our experience was very positive mainly due to the hotel's location. El Yunque is worth the trip if you can plan a day to visit. The pool is postage stamp sized but the view from the pool area is amazing.

The hotel is really beautiful and perfectly situated in Old San Juan. There aren't many hotel options so if you can afford it, we'd definitely recommend El Convento. We stayed in two rooms (see below) and both were unique, comfortable, clean and beautiful. Unfortunately we were in OSJ for such a short time that we didn't enjoy many of the amenities of the hotel - wine hour, pool, restaurants - which we regret especially for the price.

Our one issue --
Due to flight delays, we missed the entire first night of our two night stay at El Convento. While paying about $350/night, this was a huge bummer. We had called ahead to say we would be very late, but when we checked in the following morning, our requested bed arrangement had been given away and all they had was one queen bed. Since we had paid for the night, we felt cheated. They kept saying that they "had to give it away since we weren't there" but our opinion was that we paid for it so it should have been there. After our reserved room became available later that day, they moved us. When we complained to a manager upon check out, she did give us 15% of the first night but was fairly rude about it and clearly told us we were at fault for not arriving earlier. We realize we reserved it so we should pay, but the attitude left a bad taste in our mouths.

All in all - we weren't overwhelmed with the attentiveness of the staff. Our baggage had been delayed and delivered to the hotel later in the day. When we arrived back at our room, there appeared to be a message on the phone. But the voicemail didn't work so I called to the front desk for my message, which was never delivered to us. Come to find out, the message said our baggage was downstairs, and had been for hours, and we had been making do with the same travelling clothes for two days.

Also, it was very crowded/Easter weekend and many people were at the front desk with complaints, of varying sorts, so we weren't the only ones with issues.

We stayed only one night in San Juan before our cruise and we chose the El Convento based on others reviews on TripAdvisor. I was so happy we did! Even though it is in the middle of bustling Old San Juan, you feel as though you've entered a sanctuary with a lovely courtyard and big rooms. We opted for one of the less expensive rooms and even though the windows didn't have the best views, the room was very large and comfortable. On the day we had to leave for the cruise the town was so busy there were hardly any cabs available. We were able to walk right down to the piers to our ship. The terrace where the continental breakfast is served looks right out at the Cathedral and we could here Easter Morning Mass going on. The only thing I didn't care for was the tapas restaurant at the hotel. While the dessert was delicious the tapas itself was very bland. We're from Chicago and I've had much better, flavorful tapas here!

The staff, especially Jamie the bell man, was extremely accomodating and helpful. Many of my family whom we were traveling with stayed at big resorts and were disappointed - my husband and I were so happy with our choice!

We spent three days at El Convento before debarking on a cruise and those three days were wonderful, ammenities are above most exclusive hotels. Our problem arose on our return from the cruise. We had reservations for one night before flying home. We wanted to relax after the cruise and not rush to the airport. However, that last day almost ruined my entire trip. We were off the ship at 9 a.m. and the dock is only a few blocks from the hotel. Upon arrival they told us we could not have a room until 3:00 p.m. Having not slept well the night before I was exhausted and wanted to just lay down. Waiting 3 hours in a very uncomfortable "lobby" and another 3 hours up on the 3rd floor in their honor bar area was exhausting. Next time we stay in San Juan I think we will pick one of the bigger hotels where we know we can get into a room upon arrival. This small "boutique" hotel is just not equipped with enough staff. Having check out at 11 a.m. I can't understand why it would take 6 hours to clean so few rooms unless they don't have enough help. Try the El San Juan Hotel and Casino across from the airport. Wow, they've done an amazing job with this hotel.