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Puerto Rico's most iconic resort is back in business! This award-winning oceanfront resort sits 300 feet above sea level, overlooking the Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean and adjacent islands. Enjoy the dramatic views, the private island of Palomino, the 18-hole Arthur Hills golf course and the Coqui Water Park - it's all part of this Caribbean paradise.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Family
Business
Languages Spoken
English, Spanish
Location
1000 El Conquistador Avenue, Cabezas, Fajardo 00738 Puerto Rico
I stayed here from January 1 - 4th in an ocean view room at Las Vistas that had a beautiful view of the main pool area and you could see the ocean all the way out to Palomino Island. As you may know, Puerto Rico experienced an island wide blackout for our complete stay; however, we were completely unbothered at El Conquistador due to their generators and staffing.
Palomino Island is beautiful and accessible using a free ferry provided to hotel guests only on the property. The hotel is extremely well maintained and they have this cool funicular that takes you from the main hotel to a bottom area containing a waterpark, a marina, additional rooms, and the ferry.
While the food wasn't the greatest (Sicilia) the experience was great. We also tried the juice bar by the funicular and the coffee was great but the acai bowls were just ok. The outdoor bar overlooking the main pool also had good pizzas and great drinks. The pool area had an amazing DJ that played all sorts of great music. The concierge was also well staffed with about three people willing to offer advice on local restaurants. That being said, I would avoid Pescaito and try Sabalos instead.
Overall, we had a wonderful stay at El Conquistador. We found the price to be very reasonable for the amount of items provided and that the resort fees were also reasonable. The ferries, the funicular and water slides were all extremely safe and well maintained. Staff was always available to help. The day prior we stayed at the Grand Hyatt Reserve, which was significantly more expensive and I would choose El Conquistador over there everyday.
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Date of stay: January 2025
Value
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Location
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Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip:Â Check for deals on benefit sites.. also las vistas building had coquis in a beautiful central...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Viviany Alicea, Marketing at El Conquistador Resort
Responded Jan 10, 2025
Thank you for staying with us and for sharing your experience. We're glad you enjoyed your stay. We hope to see you again soon!
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
The check in was slow and not at all5 stars. they were not engaging and did not feel welcoming, we had just arrived off a 13 hour trip and NOT EVEN a glass of water was offered. There was no bellhop so we took our own bags to room. Our vaca travel told us it was free breakfast — it was not! NONE of the restaurants will accept cash and you have to use credit card or charge to room. The workers (other than Italian restaurant) are giving 2-3 star service but they are charging 5 star fees for mediocre at best service to guests.
The pool area should offer water bottle service as a freebie and good gesture, especially for the amount of families and kids at this resort. The resort shoukd also have some activity organizers, offer local/featured food from area restaurants to live up the dull atmosphere. Have pool games, activities, etc! one day at 10 am they had heavy/hard core music playing by the pool— ridiculous.
We were there 10 years ago and upon arrival were given a warm welcome at that time, a drink at check in and offers of things to do while visiting. You have one chance to make an impression, your front desk workers have to be smiling, engaging, and giving legendary service. again this was achieved 10 years ago, not this visit once! Every time we went down there to ask a question they seemed bothered, annoyed, and not interested in serving — they are in the service industry for goodness’ sake!
The grounds have litter and garbage scattered throughout and honestly the resort is beautiful— take pride in keeping it tour ready and pleasing.
We will not return and we spent a TON of money for mediocre to fair food and even worse service.
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Date of stay: November 2024Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Viviany Alicea, Marketing at El Conquistador Resort
Responded Dec 3, 2024
Our sincerest apologies for not exceeding expectations. We take guest service very seriously and will work with our teams to reinforce the importance of providing attentive, professional, and friendly interactions at every touchpoint. We understand how these details can make a big difference in creating a memorable experience, and we will share your feedback with our management team to explore ways to implement these improvements.
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The resort was lovely/beautiful. We had a great time in PR. No troubles booking the ferry to Palomino Island. Just a word about some hidden fees- I paid $150 to rent chairs/sturdy umbrella on Palomino Island (which includes 4 bottles of water and 2 fruit salads.) This wasn't posted anywhere. Note: There are free chairs/umbrellas as well, but they were hard to come by, and those umbrellas did not provide good coverage as they were much smaller than the ones I rented. There is also a resort fee of $65/night. Overall, we had a great time. The pool was great. My kids enjoyed the many activities at elcon(like building towers, playing ping-pong, chess, etc.) Room was clean. Everyday, there was maid service. No issues there. Just wish for more transparency in extra fees. Perhaps these fees are posted somewhere, but I couldn't find them. If you book the el Yunque rainforest tour through the company in the lobby (Salttours), be aware that sandals and crocs are not allowed, and that you should bring towels/wear a bathing suit.
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Date of stay: April 2024
Value
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Location
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Service
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Trip type: Traveled with family
Room Tip:Â Beware of cost of rental chairs/umbrella on Palomino Island ($150) Not sure why this wasn't...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Viviany Alicea, Marketing at El Conquistador Resort
Responded May 1, 2024
Thank you for staying with us and for sharing your experience. We're glad you and your family enjoyed their stay. We'll make sure to share your review with the team so we can continue to improve our guest experience.
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Currently on the way to San Juan airport hoping to make our flight, we loved it so much last year at El Conquistador that we came back…unfortunately this seems like it was a mistake. Not sure what happened between last year and this year over there but their front desk and concierge services are tremendously poor compared to last year. At first we had to go down twice (they never answer room calls at the front desk, that’s not new this year) because we hadn’t received maid service for two days. 6 hours after the second trip the room was cleaned. Mold in the room bathroom on the floor and in the shower rod, shower walls were not really clean and don’t ask me what the stuff was that floated up from the tub stopper after taking a bath. The kicker was the concierge, Karla I believe, set up our ride to the airport with a transportation service they use and next thing you know 30 minutes later we are at another resort where the driver expected to leave us…I would think that when the concierge asks which airline we are going to she knows we are going to the airport. Of course you cannot reach anyone at the resort so I’m going to start venting on travel sites instead. Really too bad it is a beautiful location but if you are paying close to $500 a night to stay there I’d think you would want better staff assistance.
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Date of stay: March 2024
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled on business
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Viviany Alicea, Marketing at El Conquistador Resort
Responded Mar 11, 2024
Our sincerest apologies for not meeting expectations this time. Please know that we will be addressing this review with the team so we can learn and improve.
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My friends and I stayed here for 4 days/3 nights and we had a great time. El Conquistador is a wonderful, premium resort.
Room: We stayed down by the harbor, and our rooms had great views of the water. The rooms were very new and comfortable with strong air conditioning, a large bathroom, and a nice balcony. We took the funicular many times; it has great views of the water & puts the fun in funicular!
Restaurants & Bars: The resort has every type of food a person could want: Mexican, Italian, American fare. And it was all delicious, but expect high-end resort prices. We also spent each night at a different bar enjoying the local coconut rum! Our favorite bar was the High Tide on the top of the main building. And, of course, you can easily go into town for local fare that is less expensive.
Beach & Pools: There are multiple pools and a waterpark! Even as adult men, we had fun riding the lazy river and the water slides. Then we took the ferry (15 min ride) to the beach on Palomino Island and swam in the ocean. A new large ferry that holds about 150 people was comfortable and a very short wait. The island beach has plenty of lounge chairs and umbrellas, so we never felt crowded.
Amenities & Recreation: In addition to the water park and beaches, we had fun renting kayaks and jet skis at Palomino Island and exploring the water and nearby sights. We never ran out of things to do onsite, but we also went on local evening kayak tour in town and an ATV tour of the rainforest. I highly recommend both.
Service & Safety: Every employee was very polite, and while my friend speaks Spanish, the employees all spoke English as well. The resort feels very safe and we were out late each night.
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Date of stay: May 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Viviany Alicea, Marketing at El Conquistador Resort
Responded May 20, 2024
Thank you for taking the time to review our resort. We're glad you and your friends enjoyed their stay. We hope to see you all again soon!
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Overall, this resort is disappointing. If you are looking for something at the higher end of the scale, this isn’t for you. Think of it as a mid-level Marriott. Maybe one step up.
The good: beautiful location, and the private island with the beach is very pretty (but more on that below). Fajardo, a very short drive away, is a fine little town with multiple good restaurants and character.
The bad:
The resort food. It’s not completely inedible, but I’m not a picky eater, and it was … bad. Even the basic breakfast and lunch items were pretty rough. You will definitely want to go off resort for food.
You cannot walk to any beach, which is a bummer. The resort provides regular boat rides to their nearby private island with a very nice beach. The issue? Everyone needs to take the same elevators and the same funicular to the same line to get on the same boats. I went early in the day - 9 am - and had no problems, but if you waited until later in the morning or the afternoon, the whole process takes a very long time. The boat ride itself is only about 20 minutes, but you have to give yourself at least an hour or more just to navigate all the steps to eventually board the boat. And once you get to the beach, there simply are not enough seats. There’s a restaurant out on the island, but if you try eating lunch at 12 or 1, it’s going to take a very very long time. One family left after not getting any seating and not getting their food after waiting two hours. It’s probably better in non-peak season?
The rooms. We stayed in Las Casitas, the larger units on part of the property. We were under the impression that perhaps Las Casitas was a little bit more luxurious, but they definitely were not. (Though in fairness, I never actually went into a hotel room in the main property.)
Things are broken, toilets don’t quite work right, walls are badly patched, lighting is weirdly bright and sterile, A/C doesn’t work right, the furniture is bad and there’s not much seating even in the living room area.
The view from the balcony - even the “garden view” - is spectacular.
If the resort charged mid-level Marriott prices and was more honest in its marketing material, then certainly this would be a good choice for those who want it. But if you are looking for a really nice place where everything is good and easy and relaxing, this ain’t it.
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Date of stay: December 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Viviany Alicea, Marketing at El Conquistador Resort
Responded Jan 2, 2025
Thank you for taking the time to share your detailed feedback about your recent stay with us. We truly appreciate hearing from our guests, as it helps us identify areas where we can improve to ensure a better experience for everyone. That said, we sincerely apologize for the aspects of your experience that fell short of your expectations. We understand how frustrating it must have been to encounter these challenges during your visit. Please know your comments have been noted and shared with our management team so we can improve.
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We were here over spring break and the resort was fully booked (although not all of the resort is operational). I've read some of the reviews others wrote for the same timeframe and I think we got very lucky and experienced all of the potential for El Conquistador. Hopefully management can get the kinks worked out so everyone can experience the same.
The water park is nice and my kids had a great time. There will be a long wait for food, so plan accordingly and order 20 - 30 minutes before you want to eat. The waits for the slides weren't long at all.
The island is amazing. It's beautiful and well run, with plenty of chairs and waiters running between the restaurant and the beach. You can rent paddle boards or kayaks, but they only take credit cards or Apple Pay/Google Pay. The restaurant and store only take credit card or the white card they give you at check in (you never need this card anywhere else, so it would be easy to leave behind and then you'd be out of luck). We had perfect weather and have zero complaints about the island. We were able to walk onto the boat without a reservation in the morning, but I think that's the only time it's possible to do it and was only possible because several walkons ahead of us got on the employee boat earlier. There was space for 10 walkons and that is likely the best it is all day.
They HAVE to fix the ferry to the island. The system they have now with only the fishing boat to the island is unsustainable. In the interim, they could at least give people the option of private charters to get there and back. I would have paid to go and been happier than being denied altogether, which is what happened to a lot of people.
The rooms are large, if showing their age somewhat, and the views were amazing from the balcony. I was happy to be staying at the Las Brisas instead of the La Marina because one of the funiculars broke on the last day. We were able to go down and up without a line in the morning for breakfast. By the time we checked out, there was a huge line at the bottom, waiting to get up.
Timing was definitely on our side this trip. We checked in very late at night, so no lines at check in. We went to the water park the following day around 11 and snagged the last few chairs. We walked into Bono with no reservation at 6:00. We got onto a boat at 10:00 the next morning without a reservation. We had an early dinner with no wait that night. We checked out on the day the funicular broke and never had to use it with just one running.
The Fajardo biobay tours all launch from the same area that's 7 minutes from the resort.
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Date of stay: March 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled with family
Room Tip:Â You must make a boat reservation for the island the day of checkin. If you're checking in late,...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Viviany Alicea, Marketing at El Conquistador Resort
Responded Apr 2, 2024
Thank you for staying with us and for sharing your experience. We appreciate your feedback and will be sharing it with the team. We're glad you enjoyed your stay. We hope to see you and your family again soon!
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Family with children please be aware that they offer a breakfast package and charge extra average $111 dollars per night and only give you a voucher for $45 dollars. Once I noticed that issue on March 25th 2023 I requested to be changed to the normal rate and so far they have not given me all my money back. Customer service sucks at this hotel : you talk to the managers, they say you are right and then the manager never gets back to you. See proof by your self and stay somewhere else ! If you decide to stay here note that: If you don't tip the cleaning lady of the first day they will not leave bottles of water for you. The bathroom is not well cleaned in between stays Food, drinks and water and extremely expensive Tours are over charged by the hotel The bioluminescence lagoon is in front of the hotel, no need to take a cab and pay $120 for it, you can literally walk from the Marina You can't take any food to the beach or water park, they will take it away from you
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Date of stay: March 2023
Value
Location
Service
Room Tip:Â Is better to rent a car to go around, but note that the hotel charges extra for...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Viviany Alicea, Marketing at El Conquistador Resort
Responded Apr 10, 2023
Our sincere apologies for not exceeding expectations. We are disappointed to read about the issues you had during your stay and we will be looking into these and further investigating what went wrong on our end. Customer feedback give us the opportunity to do better. Trust that we will share this review with the team and we will make sure to improve our services.
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Incredibly beautiful property with several beautiful pools, all rooms have an ocean view and they have their own private island to spend a day on the beach complete with a restaurant and bar. The property was in pristine condition, and even though they are still doing construction on parts of the property from the hurricane several years ago, it didn’t interfere in any way with our stay. We had a wonderful dinner at Bono on the top level of the hotel, with very attentive and very friendly service from our server, Januel. Afterward, we sat out at the rooftop bar for an after dinner cocktail and cigar. There are neighboring towns to visit (we did this one evening for dinner and had a lovely time) if you want to take a cab or car rentals are insight at the hotel and it was not expensive to rent. Highly recommend this resort!
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Date of stay: January 2024
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip:Â Book the ferry to the island early as well as any other excursions you are interested in. Would...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Viviany Alicea, Marketing at El Conquistador Resort
Responded Feb 5, 2024
Thank you for sharing your experience. We're glad you enjoyed your stay. We hope to see you again soon!
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
This was a pretty great trip. The restaurants are nice and they have about 5 pools in total. They even have a water park which my 7 year old brother was obsessed with. All the lifeguards at the water park knew my brothers name and when he fell 2 of them came to see if he was okay. They were so sweet. The lady at the front desk was so kind. One day my mom and I went to the the beach. The water was Cristal clear and I saw so many fish and a stingray even swam under me. My one complaint is how long it took the valet to get our car. It took an hour but everything else was amazing. Highly recommended!
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Date of stay: August 2023
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Viviany Alicea, Marketing at El Conquistador Resort
Responded Jul 11, 2024
We take great pride in our team and it brings us joy to know they made your trip memorable. We hope to see you all again soon!
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There unfortunately are not any comparable hotels in Fajardo. You could try renting via AirBnB or VRBO from a Casita owner, but the disadvantage is that they do not have resort access (mostly--check carefully). You could probably rent several hotel rooms for a similar price if you really want to stay at the resort. Note that the resort uses wristbands to identify guests, so you'll not have enough wristbands if you have more guests than the official occupancy. Other options include local rentals (many of which look very nice, but amenities vary) or staying in another part of the island. The resorts in/near Rio Grande have similar amenities but different characters.
You should call and ask specifically; we had several questions answered by just calling the hotel's general number. But in general, the golf carts are mainly for Las Casitas. You'll have to use stairs to get to and around the main pool. There are no golf carts at the beach because it is on an island. The hotel is huge and can include long walks to get just about anywhere, let alone the grounds.
I can't comment on the quality of the rooms, but always consider the old adage: location, location, location. The Marina level could be inconvenient if you want to spend most of your time at the main resort (pools, restaurants, etc.) or to get to your car/transportation for off-resort activities and meals. I don't know the current status of the funicular(s), but there's usually at least a short wait to catch one, and potentially a line at busy times; if one is out of order, then you're almost certainly looking at a wait to catch it. However, if your main objective is to go to Palomino or the water park mostly, then the Marina would be convenient. I'd suggest considering where you mostly would be spending your time and pick accordingly.
There are more places to choose from in the Cabezas area.
PRICE RANGE
$344 - $484 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
el conquistador resort, a waldorf astoria hotel fajardo, waldorf astoria fajardo, el conquistador hotel puerto rico, conquistador hotel puerto rico, el conquistador puerto rico
LOCATION
CaribbeanPuerto RicoFajardoCabezas
NUMBER OF ROOMS
511
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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