El Conquistador - HELP!!
 

My fiance and I are considering staying at El Conquistador and are confused as h about all the postivies and negatives about this place. Please help. <BR>1. Slow service/it's big, what do you expect? <BR>2. Beach is 30 minute ferry ride, is it worth it? White sand, gorgeous?? What can you rent or get for free as far as boats, kayaks, etc.? <BR>3. How often does the ferry leave the hotel? Do you have to be an hour early to get on? <BR>4. Weather weather weather in NOVEMBER? WARM? Water warm? etc. Rainy? <BR>5. Price/over priced in November? Any package deals truly worth their name? <BR>6. Jacuzzis in the rooms? Or shared only? <BR>7. Pain in the A to get someone to set up an excursion for you at the hotel? Have to do it yourself? <BR>8. Nitelife. Any? Pain to get to San Juan, or too expensive to try? <BR> <BR>THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

A cab from the El Con to SJU will run close to $100. Weather in November will more than likely be rainy. We were there last December and it rained constantly. The bartender told me rule of thumb was if it was cold in the states, it would be raining in PR! <BR>As far as service goes we only ate at one restaurant and the service was typical Caribbean.

We stayed at the El C. for one night after spending 6 days on a Windjammer Cruise. The place is very big. It was a long walk from our suite to the lobby/restaurant/casino area. It is isolated, so without a car you are pretty much stuck at the resort. Restaurants are very pricey at the resort. We would have ventured off, but we didn't have a car and didn't know where to go. The beach is nice. If I remember correctly, it is only like a 10 minute ferry ride that leaves every 30 minutes, with no problem getting on board. There are chairs with shades on them if you get too hot. Plenty of toys but they charge for everything. Nothing is free. A soda at the bar was $5. It was neat to see iguanas wandering through the beach bar. The golf course looked great, but when I tried to get on, it was fully booked (even for a single!). We went in April 98.

My husband and I stayed at the El Conquistador for four days and we loved it! All of the restaurants had excellent food and we found the service to be very friendly (we really didn't notice if it was fast or not!) The beach was OK, but crowded and there were lots of organized games (volleyball, etc.) going on around us...we prefer more privacy, but we didn't really explore the island that much. Rental of jet skis, etc., were about $65 for a half hour (or an hour..I'm not sure), but the snorkeling there is great. The rooms we were in had no jacuzzi (we stayed in the harbour village). The main part of the hotel (at the top of the cliffs) has a small casino, shops and a dance club right next to each other. The only pain in the A was getting to the main hotel from our room. You have to take a tram up the cliff, walk down a long outside corridor, then an elevator...a round-trip could take as long as a half hour. But our opinion was that the rooms at the bottom were quieter (friends who stayed in the main hotel were kept from sleeping by late-night tennis players!) Hope this helps!

My husband and I stayed at El C for a few days this past summer. It is a beautiful resort, the restaurants are fabulous (even when compared to the best places in NYC) though expensive. However, we did find the ferry a pain the A. Several times we got to the pier a couple of minutes before departure only to discover that the people ahead of us are filling the ferry and we would not fit. And there were times when we were lined up at the beach pier for close to 50 min to return to the hotel at the peak time of 4-5 pm. Twice the trip back took way over an hour "door-to-door". Definitely something to consider.

The El Conquistador is an expensive dump. Our room was hideous and the bed was worse. For $300 a night plus $65 in room taxes my husband had to sleep on a roll-a-way bed. I wrote 2 registered letters to the management in The States and they went unanswered. Need I say more?

You're scaring me...is this place worth the money or not?? Maybe I should just go to St. Lucia and forget about it. <BR> <BR>?

The ocean view can be great, but not worth all the other negatives for a honeymoon. The resort is located far from San Juan and there's a reason a 10 foot chain link fence surrounds the compound. The golf course is awesome, and expensive. At the turn, I ordered a hot dog and soda, and they can only serve you the "hot dog meal" for $15! <BR> <BR>Getting to the beach is also painful as others indicated.

Alex here's an honest erport that encompasses all of the other experiences. The place is gorgeous, expensive, and an hour out of the way. You solve this by renting a car and NOT taxiing it. Also forget the tours. The rainforest is just 15 minutes away. All that said the trip to the island that serves as your beach is quite nice. However I would take some munchies because the prices there are like St. Barts. You'll love the white sand beach and the romantic location. Car rental is quite cheap Good Luck!

I happened unto to yourquestion as I was curious and live near the Conquistador.Weather is alwaysiffy in Nov. It is Hurricane season although PR hadn"t had a hit in 120 years in Nov(our most likely hits are August and Sept) last year Hurricane Jose brushed close in Oct and Lenny was making a dash at us in Nov though didn"t really hit. Hurricane season means lots of low pressure area going over most of which don't amount to much. But it certainly Doesn"t Rain here whenever its cold in the states, That is nonsense. <BR>Personnally I think the hotel is gorgeous I have stayed there several times for special events and I can't imagine a "horrible" room. <BR>BUT november is iffy for the entire Caribbean except maybe aruba,bonaire and Curacoa I don't think they have ever been hit by a hurricane.

Best advice on how to get a room cheap at El Conquistador- Do not reserve beforehand. Go there and ask to see the accomadations. Explain that you are not happy at your present resort and would like to stay there. If they have rooms available-which they most likely will- they will give you a discount- as much as $100 off per night in some cases! That is what we did when we went in February. <BR>Loved it!

I second Joe and Helen's comments. El Conquistador is beautiful, expensive (what deluxe Caribbean resort isn't?), and isolated (which isn't a bad thing, expecially if you do a combo - a few nights in San Juan and a few at El COnquistador).

Thanks guys and gals. I'm now no longer just considering St. Lucia's Ladera/Sandals, etc. Some people must be extremely spoiled to have such bad comments about a place, or expect too much. I am going to be with the one I love, so who cares, we'll make the most of wherever we go. ;-)

My boyfriend and I returned last night from a 4 day stay at El Conquistador. To answer your questions: <BR> <BR>1. The service varies a lot. Except for in the casino, where drink service was awful, we never waited long for anything once we ordered, but sometimes it was difficult to get a bartender's attention even when the place was empty. Checking in & out took a while, as did waiting for a bellman when we were leaving (&gt;25 minutes, but it was a busy Sunday). <BR> <BR>2. The trip to the beach is more like 15 minutes, and it's a nice ride. The island is amazing, I wouldn't call it white sand but it's close. The water is multi-colors of blue, palm trees & parrots everywhere, a cool bar (Iguanas) in the middle, tons of water sports. Nothing is free, you can rent snorkeling gear ($12/all day) or rent a SeaDoo, kayak, etc. There are informal beach volleyball games, horseback riding, etc. If you're looking for privacy, there are 2 secluded (clothing-optional) beaches on the back-side of the resort, and there wasn't one person there when we hiked over there. <BR> <BR>3. The ferry leaves the marina every 30 minutes, starting at 9am, and we never waited in line or had a crowded boat. If you get there early, have a drink at Ballyhoo while you wait! <BR> <BR>4. Don't know about November, it was 87 degrees in April! There were 2 quick showers, but otherwise the weather was perfect. <BR> <BR>5. Check the Wyndham web site for packages, I'd recommend something that includes golf or spa because once you're there it's hard to part with $150 to golf 18 holes! <BR> <BR>6. We stayed at La Marina in a deluxe ocean-view room. It didn't have a jacuzzi. Las Casitas Village might have jacuzzis, we saw 2 by the main hotel pools. There is also a swim-up bar there that was a lot of fun...happy hour is 3-4, roll the dice for free drinks. <BR> <BR>7. It's not a pain to have someone set up an excursion, but you pay dearly. I heard people say they booked things on their own for 2/3 the price. <BR> <BR>8. We enjoyed the nightlife at the resort. The casino is a lot of fun, as is Drake's Cigar Bar which has a billiard table. The nightclub was not our style at all. We didn't go to San Juan, or even venture outside the resort, because it had everything we could want! <BR> <BR>Feel free to e-mail me w/any more questions!

Alex, you ask for people's input and then you insult all of the people who had less-than positive things to say. How rude and obnoxious. <BR>

Having spent the past 6 retirement years there,and in nov, dec, and jan and the weather is quite nice a little rainy towards the end of jan.Whoever said it was rainy there when cold in the states,should get there facts straight before stating it as a matter of fact.

"The bartender told me rule of thumb was if it was cold in the states, it would be raining in PR!" <BR> <BR>The poster you are referring to merely told us what the bartender said. If that is "stating it as fact" to you, then your comprehension skills are seriously lacking. <BR>

IMHO, a better rule of thumb is that if is unusually cold in Florida, the probability of rainy episodes in the Caribbean is higher. BTW, I lived many years in both. <BR> <BR>El Conquistador is a beautiful resort. If you are the type that lays on the beach all day, enjoys a nice dinner, and calls it a day, then is it likely that El Conquistador will offer a pleasant stay. If you are into walking around and explore the town and sights, El Conquistador is not for you. It is located about 40-50 minutes by car from San Juan and it sits on a hill, away from the town. Views are beautiful (the marina you see at a distance is where Michael Jordan and a lot of celebrities have their condos). I grew up visiting that area since I was a little girl (the place closed down for many years at one time). I recommend you do a little more research as far as alternatives (Cerromar, Dorset Primavera, Palmas del Mar, etc....)