El Conquistador Resort was the selected location for our company's Award of Excellence gathering in mid-April. I cannot imagine a more ideal spot for an award-winning getaway!

My guest and I shared a beautiful room overlooking the marina, which made it an ideal location for a quick excursion to Palomino Island, the resort's exclusive property. A white, well-groomed, sandy beach; beautiful wildlife; stunning flora; and, excellent customer service greeted us on the island, along with opportunities for horseback riding; hiking; jet skiing; and, more than I can remember. Families with children wandered freely on the island, too, enjoying the safety and security of the beach.

On the main resort property we found excellent dining, bargain shopping, opportunities for organized tours, fabulous entertainment and a small casino frequented by resort guests and local residents. And needless to say, there were pools, pools, pools and more pools... each one more refreshing than the next.

Was there a bad experience during the week? Well, beside the need to depart - which was more sad than bad - I had an unfortunate experience in the grill next to the marina, for which the resort management more than compensated me. Slow service was the problem, which caused me to miss the departure time for my planned afternoon group activity.

When I returned to my room, intending to rest and do some shopping instead, I decided to alert the front desk - careful not to make a huge fuss - so that this incident could become a positive, teachable experience for the grill employees. Within 10 minutes, the hotel manager-on-duty called to get the details, and he promised to compensate me for the event. Within another 10 minutes, the manager called to advise me that the hotel had made arrangements with Golden Door Spa for a 25-minute massage at my choice of timeframes that afternoon. It was an unexpected treat, and I would gladly re-visit the Golden Door Spa at any location.

The highest compliment that I can offer is the fact that my guest and I are already discussing a return to El Conquistador Resort next year, even though we will be paying for the trip...not our company. It will be worth every dollar!

I would not recommend this hotel to anyone. I have traveled to many resorts and this was by far my least favorite. We arrived to a very dirty room...something splashed all over the walls and doors in the bathroom as well as something smeared on the walls over the bed. We immediately called the front desk and to their credit, they did have it cleaned immediately. We know another couple that was here with us who switched rooms 3 times before they got one that was acceptable.

The service EVERYWHERE in this hotel is SLOOOOW! Espeically the pool - we waited over an hour for pizza one day and were told not even to bother ordering a burger because it would be forever until we got it. You have to hunt down waiters to get food. There was just nothing relaxing about this. The casino bar and marina bar was slow you didn't even want to drink anymore once they got to you. The one place we received good service was at "Strips" a restaraunt within the hotel...there was very good food here and our waiter was excellent.

I would rather not waste more time with the details, but I really would find a different hotel to stay at if you are considering. Too many people, slow service, average food and Ritz Carlton prices!!

We did go over to the island to hang out and that was by far the best day - although - it takes an hour just to get over there by the time you get down the elevator, down the tram (one was broken, of course) and on the boat. Nothing seemed convenient.

Just returned from a 6 day trip to the BEAUTIFUL EL CONQUISTADOR... We traveled from April 19- 24th We stayed at the LAS OLAS SECTION OF THE RESORT in my opinion this is the best part to be in.... Centrally located to everything... need to take the funicular up to the main level but you can go down to the Marina by stairs if you choose to.. you also have a pool to your selves at the Las Olas... I feel it is more relaxing than the main level of the resort. The food is good... The better restaurants like the Strip house, Otellos and Blossoms are excellent. They are alittle pricey but I am from New York so I am used to expensive. There is alot of walking at this resort but that is okay because everywhere you go the views are absolutely breathtaking. I hope whoever wants to go to this resort does not get discouraged by the poor reviews that some people have made. We went to the waterpark 3 times while there my son Justin who is 11 loved it and SO DID I..... The beach is also something to see.. The ocean is so clean and gorgeous... I am definetly going back to the EL CONQUISTADOR IN the very near future. I Have nothing bad to say about this resort Oh I even won money at the casino... I will be posted some photos shortly..... Thank you CONQUISTADOR FOR A VACATION WE WILL REMEMBER FOR A VERY LONG TIME...DONNA FROM BROOKLYN

I just returned from a family trip ( 10 people) to Fajardo Puerto Rico. Ages ranged from 3 to 65. We stayed at the Las Casitas Village at El Conquistador. Having vacationed last year at the Atlantis Paradise Island, we could not help but compare the two. I will try to enter a comparison somewhere on this site
First - Positive points on Las Casitas:
1) The villas and the grounds were absolutely beautiful, very clean, spacious and tastefully done. You are surrounded by gorgeous views of the Atlantic and the surrounding countryside including the mountainous rain forest "El Yunque" in the near distance
2)We were no more than 10 steps from a roman pool with two hot tubs and a short walk to the beautiful Infinity pool with one hot tub and a view which is magnificent. You are perched high above the Atlantic facing Palomino Island. Fantastic
3) Staff was extremely helpful and eager to be of service - joyfully. Some language problems but nothing you can't work thru. You have to be persistent sometimes to get towels, toilet paper. etc but eventually they will deliver
4) Golf course right behind the Las Casitas village so if you are a golfer this is where you should stay
5) Walking around Las Casitas villas is easy and soft on the feet. 6) There is one small restaurant at Las Casitas. They will bring you food and drink at the Infinity Pool
7) We used room service and Blossom (Chinese and Japanese ) main hotel restaurant delivery quite a bit. Food was good
Overall:
1) If you want to visit Old San Juan and El Yunque (the rain forest) you will need a car or arrange for a tour. I highly recommend Emmanuel "Manny" Mulero - 787-863-7312 -he arranged all our activities at the last moment and on a holiday and came through.I called him "The King of Puerto Rico". He was cheaper than the hotel services as well. We also went on the banana boat and snorkeling too - great experience
2) You may want to skip the kayaking. It was fun but somewhat difficult - it is pitch black - you do this at night time, you kayak through a mangrove swamp to get to a bay where if you swish your hands in the water it glows. Nice but I am not sure it was worth the effort although I am happy we did it. We felt like Indiana Jones.:-))
3) Las Casitas is set off on its own. I like this but be prepared to take the shuttle back and forth to the main hotel and the marina. We all enjoyed the shuttle rides thru the golf course. We never waited more than 5 - 6 minutes for the shuttle
4) Beach on Palomino Island is nice but we had difficulty getting clean chairs in the shade. It is somewhat annoying to have to travel by boat to get to the beach but it is a fun ride
5) Water park is small - three slides, small Lazy River and a nice infinity pool
6) Casino is very small with lots of penny and nickel slots.
7) Some shopping on site - enough for me but not all my family agreed
8) Pool at main hotel was nice - bigger than the Las Casitas pools but not huge
9) Somewhat expensive - a bit higher than the Atlantis
10) No teen club yet
11) On the weekend, it was crowded. Local people stay at the hotel on those days. Not packed with people but more crowded and noisy then during the week
Everyone enjoyed their stay and had a great time. My three year old grand-daughter cried when we had to leave. I took away an appreciation for the Puerto Rican people and their heritage which I didn't have before and an enduring memory of the beauty of Las Casitas and the wonderful staff
I will post my other photos to Flickr under OldAndSassy