Hotel El Convento is Perfection in every way!!!!

El Convento deserves 5-stars for location, history, ambiance, ammenities, and service, all of which have been highlighted in other reviews. 

Among the features we particularly enjoyed was breakfast in the beautiful El Patio del Nispero. All food was expertly prepared extactly to order. We loved the delicious Caribbean eggs benedict, with mashed plaintains and delicious roasted pulled pork in place of the usual English muffins, which was a hearty start to our days of walking, walking, walking.

Service throughout El Convento was prompt and friendly. Everyone, housekeepers, bellhops, front desk staff, and servers, greeted us warmly and seemed truly delighted that we had come to stay. Each day we looked forward to seeing Carolina, the breakfast and lunch manager at El Patio del Nispero, who went out of her way to insure our happiness. Carolina provided marvelous recommendations, including hand drawn maps with detailed directions, to guide us through our first visit to Old San Juan and to Puerto Rico, and facilitated our dinner reservations for top restaurants in the San Juan area.

I give El Convento 4 stars instead of 5 stars only because of a surprise disappointment with our rooms. Six+ months in advance of our visit we had booked two "Queen Vista" rooms, stated on the website and in the confirmation emails to be "Luxurious accommodations with a Queen Size Bed, Beautiful Spanish Furniture and Spanish Louver Doors that open to a veranda with a magnificent view of the San Juan Bay." 

Our fouth floor rooms were comfortable, clean and quiet, sufficiently luxurious, albeit with minimal drawer and closet storage, and offered easy access to the lovely dip pool and deck. Unfortunately, the "veranda" was nothing more than a railing to prevent us falling out the window when we opened the French "doors" onto the "magnificent" view - directly into utilitarian roof tops (with AC units, vents, and other necessities), one of which (not the fault of the hotel!) had a nasty fungus growing where the area stayed damp from an AC vent. An obstructed glimpse of Isla Verde across the bay was available over the roof tops, but we kept the French doors and louvers closed except when requiring natural light.

In conclusion, El Convento is a jewel of a hotel and a magnificently revitalized piece of Caribbean colonial history. El Convento's location is perfect, the common areas are beautiful and welcoming, and the service is first rate. I looked forward to staying at El Convento in the future, but I will lower my expectations for the guest rooms.

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