This is the place to stay if you are looking for charm local color in the center of Old San Juan and lots of street noice on the weekends. It is not the place to stay if you are looking for luxurious and quiet surroundings.

After reading the reviews of this hotel on this website, which I usually trust, I was disappointed. My husband and I stayed at this hotel for 4 nights. The staff couldn't have been nicer --they were truly wonderful, turned themselves inside out. Our room, however left a lot to be desired. We stayed in the Casals suite, supposedly one of the nicest suites in the hotel and paid $635/night. While there were some beautiful antiques in the room, the room itself felt very old and tired, the tile on the floor must have been at least 25 years old and so dirty that the dirt was ground in. In areas around the doorways and walls, it was chipping, and looked more like a tenement. The staff at the front desk said the floor in this room was original to the hotel, which I find hard to believe, as that would make it upwards of 350 years old. There was no tile 350 years ago.

The bathroom was very small, with no room to store anything, but the shower was great. Marble in the bathroom very old, with very old, dirty caulking around the tub and in between the tiles in the bath.

The worst of it was Saturday night -- there was a wedding downstairs that went on to the wee hours of the morning, and it felt like the band was in our room. Impossible to sleep, then at about 5 a.m., some late-leaving drunken guests were screaming outside our window.

In all fairness, I asked to see the VAnderbuilt suite. They were very nice about showing it to me and in fact, it looked much cleaner and more comfortable. It had a separate shower, and the floor was a castillo tile, so you could not see ground in dirt. Felt much more cozy and comfortable.

Once of the nice things offered by the hotel is a complementary late afternoon cocktail hour -- they serve wine, cheese, crackers, coffee. They also have complementary high speed internet in the lounge. However, there is no room service at all.

Bottom line is that I would not stay here again, but only because I prefer more updated, comfortable surroundings. I was expecting something akin to the Ritz, and I was disappointed.

El Convento is simply great! We were there on the last night of our honeymoon and they updgraded is to the nicest suite in the hotel. The bathroom was ceiling to floor marble with large hottub with jets and standing shower. Walkin closet...rose pedals on the bed, flatscreen tv...beautifully decorated to put it lightly.
The staff was SO friendly and helpful. The wine and cheese in the evening was excellent and the complimentary breakfast was great.
Hotel is in a great area for exploring and eating. Tapas restaraunt in hotel was good as well.
This was our last stop after being in the caribbean for two weeks and staying at several different places, including cap juluca, and was our favorite bar none!
This was our favorite because of the decor, staff, and the wonderful history of the area. Thank you El Convento. We will always come back!

We chose the hotel based largely on these tripadvisor guest reviews, and we were not disappointed. We stayed five nights from Nov 8th. The staff were very friendly and efficient, the hotel itself is simply beautiful, the courtyard and its magnificent tree stunning. The fifth floor room was just right, perhaps a little small but we expected that, and with a great view over the bay. No balcony, but this was compensated for by the wide and open balcony running right round the inner courtyard on each floor, and where we could sit in the evening and watch the bats in the tree or gaze over the rooftops of Old San Juan. Great stuff!

The hotel organised two tours for us (we did not fancy the driving!) one to El Yunque Rain Forest and the other to the Camuy Caves, and both were very good - small personalised groups and not a huge tour bus.

Saw all the hotels in the Condado, but living as we do in the Caribbean anyway, this was not our scene at all, and we are really glad we stayed at El Convento.

Highly recommended.

I found the El Convento exceeded all my expectations. The location in Old San Juan is excellent. The hotel has a wonderful historic atmosphere without being shabby. (its most recent renovation is supposed to have cost $275,000 per room) Our room was large with a view of the small park plaza and the Cathedral. In fact, we had balcony seats for a special music/dance performance after Mass on the steps of the Cathedral outside our window. Wine /cheese , breakfast very tasty and there is free internet access in the "library/lounge". We enjoyed the rooftop pool and hot tub. There is a harbor view and we watched the cruise ships glide past at night. So many nooks and crannies with a large inner courtyard which cant be captured in pictures.