My partner and I stayed at El Canario by the Sea for the first time in 2004. We came back this year with my sister and brother-in-law and shared room 300 on the third floor. It is a very clean and basic hotel that cannot be beat. The location is excellent: Steps to the beach and Ashford Avenue (a Walgreens is less than a block away); the staff members are warm and friendly; and the price is great. We loved waking in the morning and having both Puerto Rican and American coffee, a variety of rolls and pastries, juice, bananas, cereals, and bread and jams, all served downstairs in a lovely courtyard. The beds are comfortable and each room has a window air-conditioner. Above all, everything is clean, clean, clean.

My husband and I went there for a weekend to celebrate our 1st year annivesary...yes its not the Hilton, however we just wanted a bed to sleep in and a place to come to when we were just to tired of viewing the island. If you plan on staying in your room, then Yes go for the Hilton or the Marriott, however if you want to save money for those delicious piña coladas and gas, then this hotel is just fine. The rooms are a little small, who cares,bed was fine they have breakfast in the morning which I thougth was nice and the beach is literly only steps away which was also nice...by the way location, location, location it is right in the middle of el condado...it's worth every penny...

We stayed here for one night before moving to the Marriott. The stay was fine considering that we were sightseeing in Old San Juan for the day and then going to the beach. Dont rent this hotel if you plan on relaxing in it because there's no view of the beach/ocean, very little light comes in and its behind a huge, tall building. Its only good for the bed and the locale. Right on Ashford Ave in Condado and $15 ride to Old San Juan and the airport. My advice? Spend $100 more and stay at the Marriot right next door, thats worth it.

Stayed there three days with a friend and everything was fine until the last day. Our toilet did not flush and we contacted the person at the front desk who told us to go get the plunger across the hallway. We walked across the hallway and didn't find a plunger. We told the person at the front desk this and said that we would be out for the next few hours and that they could come into the room to fix the toilet. When we came back, we asked if our toilet had been fixed and the guy at the front desk said that it was still not fixed but that he had called the manager.

They then came to our room later that night to give us the plunger. Then left us to fix it ourselves. No manager came. No repair person came. Just the same person at the front desk.

Since this was late at night and we were leaving in the morning, we decided to just tell the manager in the morning that the toilet was not fixed. When we told the manager about how unhappy we were about our room that night, she said that we should have told them that the toilet was not fixed (we did more than 5 different times that night) and that it was OUR fault for not asking for another room. All we wanted was an apology for the inconvenience.

This place is ok if you don't mind the loud noise from others in the hotels, the strong smell of bleach everywhere, and substandard service. For twenty more dollars, you should try to stay at one of the other hotels in the area.