The El Convento was highly recommended by friends and also by Trip Advisor so we felt pretty confidentant in our choice of hotel. I have to say, it was a pleasure staying there.

In addition to the beauty of the hotel itself, these little things made the stay highly enjoyable: 1) Free internet in the rooms. 2) complimentary bottled water in the in-room fridge and 3) complimentary nightly wine and cheese hour which also included water, coffee, tea, soft drinks, beer, and mixed drinks. The wine choices were excellent as well, 4 different reds and 4 different whites. This area also had complimentary coffee, tea and bottled water all day. I found it so refreshing to not have to pay for an internet connection and also to not get charged $6.00 for a bottle of water like is often the case in many hotels.

The other great plus is the location of El Convento, right in the heart of Old San Juan and walking distance to great shopping and dining as well as the forts.

We stayed at this hotel for an overnight layover on our way to Antigua and it was such a great place! The rooms were very large and clean and beautiful. The hotel had such a charming feel about it that it is a challenge to capture it in words. Cute bar, great little courtyard area that was incredibly picturesque and located in a great part of town for walking the shops and cafes. We felt completely safe here and took advantage of our afternoon to check out what we could of the area. Admittedly we were kind of sad to leave and head to the island, we will definitely stay here again. All of this and it was a really good price as well. It was within good proximity to the airport, maybe a 20 minute cab ride. I highly recommend this hotel. Relatively small and intimate, doesn't feel like those large boiler plate chain hotels. Charming.

We have just returned from a 7 night caribbean cruise and decided to stay in San Juan 1 night post cruise. We chose El Convento based on Tripadvisor's review and the location in Old San Juan. Booked the hotel online for $220/night (twin superior). With taxes and fees, the charge was shy of $300.00. So this is not a cheap hotel. Called the hotel a few times to confirm the details of my reservations and requests I made. We requested for an early check in, a late check out and a roll away bed, as there were 3 of us traveling. We got to the hotel around 10:00 am. The hotel was beatutiful, has the elegant old world charm of Spanish colonial times. And being that it is a small hotel, it has the homey feel of a large mansion.

The ladies at the front office/reception were very nice. We were told that our room was not ready as it was still occupied and need to be cleaned and should be ready by noon. At this time, I have mentioned my request for the rollaway bed (1st request). I was told it will be taken care of. So we put our luggages in the holding area and went to the courtyard which was lovely and had drinks and we were admiring the hotel architecture. The bartender and the concierge at the courtyard restaurant were very welcoming. I went back to the reception around 11:00 to check if the room was ready, it was not. So we went out to lunch and came back around 1:30 and we were able to get into a room. The room was beautiful, spacious and had a nice view of the cobble stoned streets below. The bathroom was clean but noticed that there was no extra roll of toilet paper (there were 3 of us in the room). And no rollaway bed. I went outside our room to ask the housekeeper we saw in the hallway for a rollaway bed (2nd time). He said, I must let the reception know, which I have already done so. Meanwhile, my cousin just realized that she left a bag at the port. She called reception ASAP and a lady named Christine helped her right away, called the cruiseline and the 'lost and found' at the port. We thought that was really great. On our way out to pick up my cousin's bag and walk around Old San Juan, we stopped by reception to thank Christine and mentioned the rollaway bed (3rd time). Came back to the hotel around 6:00 and enjoyed their complimentary wine and cheese hour. Went to our room and again, no roll away bed. Rested for awhile and headed back out to look for a place to eat, went back to reception and asked to reccommendation. They were very helpful and pleasant. I mentioned that there was no rollaway bed (4th time). This time, the lady asked me if I want it at that moment. I said not really, since we were on our way out to dinner but would like to have it placed in the room when we get back. Got back around 9:30 10:00 pm , and guess what? No rollaway bed. Now I'm annoyed, called the reception right away (5th time) and even they were surprised that at this point in time, there's still no rollaway bed. Since we we exhausted from the day's activities, I just wanted to lie down. I pulled the bed covers and first thing I noticed was the bed sheets did not look fresh and clean. I grabbed the pillow and I was just shocked, the pillow case had stain on it. In my mind, this could not be for a supposedly small luxury hotel. I called housekeeping, a lady answered and told her about the sheets and pillow case. I even asked her to come see it for herself. Meanwhile the housekeeper came with the rollaway and the first thing he said to us was 'it was not my fault', not very professional, I thought. I then showed him the bed sheets and pillow case and asked him if he thinks they were clean? And of course, after he saw the stain on the pillow, he had no response. A lady supervisor came and explained that it was cleaned last night. Of course, they were cleaned the night before for the previous guests, but they were not replaced for the next guests (us) after the previous guests checked out. She did apologize, but I thought it was a stupid excuse. She left, and a houskeeper came back with 1 sheet set, and asked me if I want the other beds changed too? Of course, we do. Then, another housekeeper came with the extra sheets and another guy who seem be wearing a security uniform which I thought was weird. He did not do anything but stood at one corner, while the housekeepers were changing the beds. I even asked the housekeeper, if that was his bodyguard? He did not respond.

We got up the next morning, and one by one we showered. As the 3rd person showered, the bath tub was clogged and now we run out of toilet paper. I don't remember whether I called housekeeping about the clogged tub and the toilet paper or if I mentioned it to the receptionist on our way out to breakfast? But nevertherless, they fixed the tub and gave us 1 extra roll of paper which was placed on the table instead of replacing the empty roll in the bathroom. I know that is a minor detail, but it they claim that they are a small luxury hotel, small detail like that is what makes a luxury hotel stand miles apart from the big chain hotels.

The hotel is beautiful and the location is really great. I'm not quite sure if I will stay there again. Not so much for the numerous times we requested for a rollaway bed, but really more importanly, about the stained pillow case and used bed sheets. The rest of the staff were very professional and welcoming. Housekeeping really needs help.

My brother and I stayed here for two nights at the start of spring vacation. We flew into San Juan, stayed at the Hotel El Convento, then drove to Rincon and spent a week there. The hotel is beautiful. It is very well maintained, and we were very comfortable. I use a wheelchair, so we stayed in Room 501, which is their accessible room. It worked very well for us-it was kind of crowded with the bed and the rollaway, but it was a beautiful room, there was a lovely view, and the bathroom was indeed accessible. Accessibility was iffy in the rest of the hotel-if you are traveling with someone, as I was, no problem. To get to the restaurant, we had to navigate a steep step. Coming into the hotel, there is a very steep ramp that I was unable to navigate on my own. But the staff seemed very kind and helpful (Jaime was very nice).

However, a really serious customer service issue arose. I had decided to rent a beach wheelchair to use during my trip and I found a rental company able to supply such a chair. They asked if the Hotel El Convento would be willing to serve as the drop-off/pick-up point for the chair-the company would drop the chair at the hotel, we would pick it up and take it with us to Rincon, then at the end of our trip we would leave it at the hotel for the rental company to pick-up. I sent email to the hotel, and Carlos J. Gomez replied: "There will be no problem in receiving the wheelchair from the rental company. Our guest services staff has been alerted to its delivery on the 4th, and it will be safely stored until you need it. The same would apply on the 12th. After you drop it off, we shall keep it stored safely until it is picked up." When we checked out on Sunday, April 6, my brother asked at the front desk regarding the beach wheelchair. He was told that it had not been delivered. I thought there must have been some misunderstanding, so I went to the front desk to inquire. I was told with certainty that no beach wheelchair had been delivered to the hotel. When I seemed doubtful that she understood and tried to explain further, the woman at the desk stated "There is nothing like that here, and I would be the one to know." I was hugely disappointed,but it was Sunday, and I didn't have the contact information of the rental company with me. So I decided to try to have the best time I could under the circumstances.

When I returned to work Monday, April 14, I contacted the rental company, expressing my disappointment at the misunderstanding. The person who'd helped me with the rental told me that the beach wheelchair was indeed delivered to the hotel on April 4. She also said that it was a brand-new chair, but when it was picked up on April 12, there was sand on it-so someone had used it. Since I'd paid $395 for the rental, I forwarded her email to the hotel, attached my copy of the invoice, and very politely made it clear that I expected them to reimburse me. I sent that message first thing Tuesday morning. When I still had not received any response by Friday, I sent the same message again, adding that if I didn't hear back I would file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau of Puerto Rico; and whether the matter was resolved to my satisfaction or not, I would be posting my experience on TripAdvisor. Finally, Judith Gantenbein contacted me to apologize for the "inconvenience of not having the beach wheel chair available." Her email said, "My reason to call you via phone today was simply to tell you that we did receive your previous e-mail and that we are working on the solution to come to an agreement with you. Inquires to find out what had happened took a little longer then I anticipated. And I apologize for this delay as well. I will be contacting you via e-mail soon. Should you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us." I was amazed. I really am not the kind of person who always complains about customer service, I have worked in customer service and it's rough. But this was truly amazing to me. I waited two more days, then I sent them a note to say that they really needed to reimburse me immediately. Finally, a week after my initial request, Carlos Gomez responded, agreeing to reimburse me and apologizing for the delay, saying that they were really busy, but he knew it was no excuse. He also said that he would like to take me to lunch the next time I found myself in San Juan! I decided to let it go, because he did finally credit my card, but it really made me angry to be told that the delay was because they were busy doing their jobs-I am a customer, so dealing with my concerns is their job. I still have no idea what happened. I still don't understand why they said they didn't have the wheelchair when they did. Who used it??

I made certain choices for my vacation with the idea in mind of having a beach wheelchair. In Rincon, we stayed at an inn on the ocean with a beautiful swimming pool. We could have stayed someplace less expensive, but we wanted to be by the water. The particular beach wheelchair I rented allows for access to the beach AND to swimming pools. So I was expecting to be able to swim every day. Instead, I was able to swim in the ocean only once, the day we visited the Mar sin Barreras facility at Boqueron (they have beach wheelchairs there for disabled visitors). The entire time I was in Puerto Rico, I was able to look at the ocean, but I was not able to go for walks on the beach with my brother, I was not able to swim in the ocean more than once, I was not able to swim in the pool. It was kind of like going to the mountains for a ski trip, and the hotel gives your skis to someone else, and there isn't a single pair available for rental. So you're in ski heaven, but YOU can't ski, you can only bundle up, enjoy the weather and watch everybody else. Thanks, Hotel El Convento. If you had answered my email, explained what happened, and refunded me promptly, I would have given you credit for caring about your customers--mistakes happen. As it is, I think you were trying to take advantage of me. I don't believe you had any intention of answering my email, and if I hadn't persisted, you would never have responded.