El San Juan Resort and Casino – Hilton Hotel

Bring your own toilet paper. If you run out you’ll have to wait 45 minutes before anyone brings any. Even then you’ll still have to jump in the shower before they show up. Made me feel degraded and humiliated. My first and last time there.

This place is a disaster!!! Do not stay here!!! Go to a mission it will be cleaner and better service!!! I can not believe that this place is actually owned by Hilton!!!
Not sure where to start… we checked I and our room had pubic hairs all over the bathroom, the room was never made as of 7:45PM… We showered in cold water, and I am worried I may have caught a STD sitting on the toilet bowel… We called the front desk and they came up to the room and threw a couple of towels at us… Sleep on the beach at least you will not come home with bed bugs or worse some sort of disease… HILTON YOU MADE A MISTAKE PUTTING YOUR NAME ON THIS MESS!!!

Stopped at the bar in the lobby to hear the piano player. Ordered a glass of wine. I had just had another kind so I wanted something to change my palate I ask for a olive knowing that they would have one. The bartender started to say something then I explained that it was to change the taste in my mouth. He delivered my wine. A gentleman Sat down he delivered a plate of nibbles. Why wasn’t I given the plate too? I find that in the hotel you are treaded different as a single woman than a single man. I am single due to my husband passing. I still want to go out and enjoy a drink or dinner without being treated like a second glass citizen.

I really want to give this place 5 stars because I love the look and feel of the hotel, the grounds are beautiful, and it’s right on an awesome stretch of beach, but we had some issues with our stay. We went there for a long weekend (Fri — Mon in April 2015) and the noise level on Friday and Saturday night was awful. There is is a club in the hotel that doesn’t close until 4am, and between 4am — 5am I couldn’t sleep due to drunk people with jersey shore accents yelling and blasting music in the hallway. Granted, I could have attempted to call the front desk to see if they did anything, but I didn’t want to be «that girl.» Sunday night was way more chill and the loud party people had checked out.
Cleanliness wise there was some black ashy looking stuff in our bathroom sink. I don’t know if someone dumped out an ashtray there, but didn’t rinse it. That was odd. Also, the furniture is a little worn and rough around the edges. At that price point, I was expecting better furnishings. On the flip side, the room was large, and we had an outdoor area that I used for hanging out my swimsuits to dry.
People have commented on the dress code, which I think is lame, but I get they want the lobby to have a certain look to it, and it’s only enforced at night.
Breakfast buffet is pricey (like $ 25/​person), but awesome. There’s an omelet station, lots of fresh fruit, and yummy pastries. There is even an outdoor seating area. As for food/​drinks by the pool, we were surprised that it wasn’t crazy hotel pricing. Granted, we’re from NYC so paying less than $ 14 for a cocktail is a good deal to us.
The casino was pretty small, but they had lots of penny slots which were fun for me because I’m not a gambler.
Service from the staff was great. There was someone at working near the pool that I tried to ask for directions, and he didn’t really speak English, but it was NBD. No communication issues at all with anyone else.

I am not at this hotel right at this moment but I am booked to visit at the end of February. I was here last June for 5 days and a great time. Some ppl have posted negative reviews but I have not had a negative experience and I doubt that I will. This will be my 3^rd visit and I cannot wait.

I’d call it a dump, but that would be an insult to dumps across the world. My recommendation to Hilton, bulldoze and refresh. It is a smokers paradise. The hotel claims to be non-​smoking, but this simply not the case. The no smoking policy is not enforced in any way. If you’re a non-​smoker, you will be miserable. The hotels ventilation system will push second hand smoke into to your room at all hours. Oddly enough, the smoke is not present in the casino or hallways, but the ventilation system will make sure you are showered with second hand smoke. I changed rooms twice, same result in all three rooms… Stench! Avoid unless you smoke ! This hotel’s glory days are well in the past.

We came here with a big party and had 5 different rooms all reserved for two queen beds. Upon arrival the hotel advised us they were fully committed and gave us all rooms with a king bed and a cot. They did offer us free continental breakfast for the weekend! Other than that the hotel is nice and has plenty to do along with some good restaurants.

Still a great hotel after all the years. Yes it needs an update and that will happen but just returned from a quick New Years break and could not have had a better experience.
Friendly staff, delicious food, loads of conveniences and a nice pool and beach.
Not to mention the best vibe of any lobby in the Caribbean .Nice casino as well.
5 minutes from the airport. Close to other good hotels for dining options.
Would highly recommend.

Actually half a star if possible. Look, we come from the states, pay a good amount, and want good service. Not here! Never again will we comeback.

Purchased from
$ 334 for a 3 day 2 night stay with breakfast buffet and 2 free drinks a day. I know!!!
We checked in on December 16^th at 12:30pm even though check in is at 4pm and we actually could have checked in any time that day, even if it were 4am! Bummer.
I was disappointed to have gotten only 2 days worth of free drinks. And I did not like how much dirt and how many bugs would be in the pool. This is the only reason I give it 4 stars.
The pool aside from the stuff in it was nice. The pool bar is where all the dirt and bugs fall at so really, that area is not the smartest to place that in.
The rooms are immaculate! Coffee… but it looks like we had decaf and did not realize. Yaucono regular comes in a yellow and black pouch. The decaf is a blue and black pouch. Darn! No wonder it tasted like crap.
It was such an enjoyable time. Too bad it went by so quick. We even met some really friendly people staying there who we talked to for a while. Oh, by the way, I went with my fiancé and our 18 month old daughter.

We booked El San Juan for our 25^th wedding anniversary, out of a myriad of other worthy hotel options in the San Juan, Puerto Rico area…
We could not be more impressed and delighted!!!
This was such an important milestone in our lives, and El San Juan made it That more memorable. We are so impressed, we are in love with the hotel and with the staff!!!
From the time we arrived we were treated as royalty by Jonathan at the Front Desk to the mimosas served to us at the breakfast buffets by Jose Correa in honor of our 25^th. Finishing it off with Kalani Trinidad in the lobby was absolutely heavenly!
We felt very special, the surroundings were magical, no other hotel in Puerto Rico would have come close, and we will be sure to make this known to everyone we come in contact with.
El San Juan demonstrated in a casual yet very elevated way why it is the absolute spot in all of Puerto Rico to live life at the high point.
This time was absolutely incredible — we will never forget this, and…
To all: IF you are looking for over the Top luxury and elegance, you will not go wrong here, these folks are way, way out of the ordinary, what a delicious stay…
We will absolutely be back!

We came here on vacation and decided to stop into the hotel. We lounged on one of the over sized couches and enjoyed the live music with a couple of drinks. When we got up to leave, I mistakenly left my wallet on the couch only to realize about an hour later that I no longer had my wallet. We came back to the hotel and «Keith» the bartender had picked up my wallet and turned it into lost and found. The wallet was returned back to me safe and sound. Such a fantastic experience at this hotel and the entertainment is lively and energetic. This is a MUST to visit when in PR, the weekends are packed, the drinks are good, the people are friendly and the entertainment is on point.

This place is absolutely beautiful but WAY TOO expensive. I understand they are catering to the wealthy tourists of San Juan but DAMN! 27+ bucks for 2 mojitos?! Their casino was so small too. No poker tables which I thought was a standard nowadays. I did put 20 bucks on black and won!
Woohoo! If you’re in San Juan and you don’t mind paying as if you’re at Caesars Palace then this is the place for you.
In my opinion there are plenty of places in Puerto Rico where you get more for your money.

We had an amazing 5 night stay in the casino and resort. This place is HUGE and BEAUTIFUL!!! There’s like 5 pools and 4 hot tubes to choose from. One pool has a swim up bar that’s super cool and another pool is in a secret cut with a water fall.
There’s always tons of wait staff standing around patiently awaiting to serve you $ 14 Pina coladas. Just do it haha they’re good!!!
²⁴⁄₇ beach access for guest. Pools close at 9PM
There’s 10 different restaurants & bars to choose from. The casino is also a blast!!!
We stayed in the Garden Rooms which were nice but in desperate need of a face lift. We have a private back balcony and it’s a nice spacious room.
They will change your sheets everyday if you put the little card on your pillow that’s located on the bathroom sink.
Def would be coming back here if we get the chance!!!

By accident we happened upon this hotel and what a surprise. We thought we would go in and check out dining and the casino. We never made it past the hotel lobby! We walked into one of the most amazing experiences in San Juan. First of all, there is a large oval bar in the center of the lobby with an enormous crystal chandelier hanging over it. The bar was full of patrons as was the entire seating area around the whole lobby. There was LIVE music being from a local band playing lively latin music. People were dancing salsa, etc all over the lobby as others sat by sipping cocktails.
We lucked into a hightop table with a great view of the dancing, the band, the bar and all the passersby. Then when the lobby band took a break, a DJ played more dance music in a lounge area that opened out into the lobby. After a bit the lobby band played again and when they were finished their last set another band started playing in the lounge area music very familiar to me from the radio stations in florida. Even more people started dancing throughout the lobby. It was A-MAZING…finally I felt like I was getting a real taste of the local culture.
The service was excellent. We sat there for several hours and needless to say, we never made it to dinner! The energy there was electric. Even if you don’t stay at this hotel, you MUST stop in for the experience!

I arrived early at 130pm, and was told my room would be ready early since I am a Hilton Honors gold member. I kept checking with the front desk every 30 to 45 mins and there was always some excuse from the maid is cleaning it to the manager is inspecting it. Sometimes the response was rude. This is unacceptable. The staff needs to be professional. My room was ready at 430pm, past the normal check in time of 400pm. The hotel grounds and room itself were good as was the bed. Beach is very good also. The place just needs some maintenance.
At 11pm these drums and loud music started to play really loud. It was louder than the TV or my alarm clock. The front desk apologized but this is ridiculous. I’m on the 9^th floor and it was coming from the ballroom by the lobby on the 1^st floor. I had just traveled for 12 hours and was tired and I had this to deal with.
Bad service, loud music in the middle of the night, and lack of upkeep of the property are the reasons why this place gets 1 star.

You will regret the money spent to stay here!
My husband and I stayed here for almost a week and the whole time he had asthma episodes because of the mold that was all over the ceilings in our so called villa ($ 500 per night).We were not the only guest who had this problem as a few people we met would complain about the same issues …
Yes the grounds are beautiful. But the rooms are infested with mold and in our case my husband was sick the entire stay so we were hardly able to enjoy it. He couldn’t breathe.
In addition to being infested w/​mold the room looked tired and the sheets were dingy. The carpet was disgusting and so was the floor. The balcony was useless as it wasn’t even cleaned .The hallways looked worst then the projects in ny and so did the elevator …
I would never stay here again. It was definitely not worth it !!!

I stayed here, because it was free. One shouldn’t turn down a free trip and accommodations, but one shouldn’t be blind to the faults of said free accommodations.
1. It’s old. As in, «The oldest hotel on this side of San Juan» post American takeover and it shows. If you smell weed in your room, that’s not cannibis, it’s mold. Yeah, we had mold. We had the king size bed in our room in the main tower, which was huge. The bathroom was very small in relation to the size of the room and had zero counter space. Tiles lined the floor, which is very common in tropical countries. The rest of their description of the rooms was spot on. The iHome station is for iPhone 4’s and older though.
2. They close down beach chairs and pool by 6. Wtf. There’s still sun out, but they close it down? Pool bar done by then as well. Ridiculous
3. Their main lobby turns into some cray, cray night club starting around 8pm. Yeah, fo realz… Imagine The Jersey Shore meets Miami meets Vegas, but done in a really bad, tasteless way (which you wouldn’t think is possible) and that’s what it is like in the lobby when you walk through from a night out. Nightmare.
4. The have two pools. The action is on the one that’s closest to the beach, as it should be. The larger and older one is perfect place to hide from the herd, although you may have to lay next to a couple of leathery ladies from Tampa or Alabama (same thing). They’re the weird ones you will eventually turn into so get to know the future you.
5. The beach is dirty. Seaweed is everywhere… still, like pizza and sex, even a bad beach is still ok when you are flying in from the snowy tundra that is NYC. The weekends are a nightmare; everyone is off and it’s a public beach equals, shit show. This beach is best on the weekdays for peace. They have jet skies and other rentals on the beach to keep you entertained. THE most important TIP I’m going to give you: USE BUG SPRAY. Read that again… TRUST. They are INVISIBLE, they’re EVERYWHERE and they BITE. You will itch A LOT, unless you use: BUG SPRAY. You’re welcome.
6. You will see little & big lizards. They won’t kill you, but he little ones may try and sneak into your beach bag. Check before exiting beach or pool area.
7. To the left of the hotel, there’s about half a mile of average to poor places to eat that are over priced and a Walgreens, which is across from the cockfighting arena. Yes, you read that right. To the right of the hotel, is about 2 miles of stuff: 90% of which are tourist traps. Yes, you are staying on the tourist strip, so expect to get ripped off. Besides another Walgreens, there is a Taco Bell, Burger King, Wendy’s, a Ponderosa and a few local spots. The Arepas hut is a must, ditto Pinos, a dive bar that’s crazy cheap.
7.5 The cockfights aren’t as bad as you might think. Being from the Philippines, my grandfather, a kind, and gentle old man, used to run the cockfighting ring in the small town I grew up in. The cocks there faught to the death, because that’s what happens when they put razor blades on their ankles. There are no blades on these dicks, er cocks. Each and every cock lives to peck another day. 5 $ to get in, they sell hats and tee shirts and there are lots of fights between 6pm till ⁹⁄₁₀ … beers were $ 2, which was one of only two places that were that cheap within a three mile radius of this hotel.
8. It’s about $ ²⁰⁄₂₅ for a cab to Old San Juan from this hotel. Cash only. I heard some take credit cards, but I also heard they charge a fee of $ 10 to use it. Spoiler alert: yes, you are on US soil, but BRING CASH WITH, because unless you bank with Banco Popular, you’re going to pay $ 5 every time you use an ATM. The kicker there is, the only depense a max of $ 100, so you will be going back for more… translation: Banco RAPEulots is gonna tap yo pockets a few times on this trip.
8.5 There’s two busses that take you to Old San Juan, located just outside those walls in the front of the hotel. The T5 and the 53 both cost .75 cents. Now, there’s a wait… and the time it takes, depending on traffic, is anywhere between ²⁰⁄₄₀ min.
8.75 make sure you get a quote about parking. I didn’t drive but heard different prices for self parking and valet. It’s expensive and there’s no where else to park on this strip
9. Island Time is something that is real and you must get used to, because it exists everywhere. My first day, it took 40 min at the horrible diner, left of the hotel, to get breakfast and it was only half full. For the most part, the hotel operates on an American sense of urgency, but pace and effort that can be like watching peanut butter going uphill in January. Accept it or you will want to kill yourself and that’s not a good look on a holiday from the rat race.
10. I would never come back here, unless it was free

So apparently my first review is not a «recommended review», so I’m posting again.
Okay, so this hotel is literally a piece of garbage. My first night here the bathroom ceiling started leaking. My friends shower curtain rod fell off and broke the tile. Another friends electronic room lock broke and locked him out 9 times. My cousin had a room with a broken safe, so she couldn’t lock up her valuables. I honestly can’t believe that this qualifies as a Hilton.
People pee in the pool and they try to make the lobby seem like a legit night club. It’s not, it’s a hotel lobby. People connect to wifi and check email. Maybe do a paper or 2.
Apparently in the hotel, you can’t wear shorts, even though this is the Caribbean. Unless you’re Puerto Rican, then they don’t say anything to you. It actually seems a bit racist. You pay a lot of money a night too have security tell you to change. The bartender will take your money ($ 50 to be exact) to chill a bottle of champagne for you and then leave. Melvin will take it out and tell you to” get dee fuk outta mi bar” and give you the champagne, but not your money.
Melvin the bartender will cop a freaking attitude with you about anything and act as if he owns the bar and you’re a measly peasant in his shit ass kingdom. Camelot my a#%, this place is as oppressive as the USSR under Stalin (USSR had a great hockey team though, I know because I play. This place doesn’t have hockey).
Security hands out dress code cards, which helps you know what to wear as your room falls apart.
There’s this dude called «Harris?» who goes around laying on everything.
I’ve stayed at a lot of hotels throughout my ice hockey career and I swear, this place is the WORST EFFING HOTEL I’ve ever stayed in! Fact! If you want to spend money on a decent hotel, stay next door at the Intercontinental. I would have given this place a zero, but I didn’t have that option.

Besides the fact that this hotel has a casino in it to attract the crowd from other hotels. This hotel also have many different events at night from Thursday — Saturday nights.
The three night we were there, all three nights were crowded with drunk gamblers and clubbers. This is nothing bad but its just a descriptions of the hotel for those who want to book this hotel, expect the loud noise at night. (However, the noise did not bother me at all and my room was right up top of the hotel entrance on the 3^rd floor).
The good thing about this hotel is it’s in the middle of everything. It’s near all the good food places and not too far from the airport.
Services/​Staff:
— Hotel maid is very sweet, every day she called or try to catch you before you leave your room to see if you need re-​fill on shampoo, conditioners and etc… And that’s every day.
— Casino staff/​dealers are friendly. They try making conversations with you and suggests places to eat outside of the hotel.
— Security & Other Staff throughout the hotel are friendly and helpful as well. Although they are just walking around, however they are always asking for help or if you need anything please ask. It seem that everyone who works in this hotel are always on point when it comes to services. (which what makes me feel comfortable and like this hotel).
Pools:
I like the fact that this hotel has about 3 to 4 different pool sections from 3.5 feet deep to I believe 6 feet deep. It section out and all the way tour the beach area also. It’s not over crowded at all during the day, very beautiful and quite at night.
Beach:
Beach entrance is right by one of the poolside area with staff standing right outside the entrance to ask you if you want the beach chair and towels… etc.
Food:
I don’t suggest the food in this hotel/​resorts because it’s expensive and NOT AS GOOD compared to restaurant that are couple blocks away. Plus, if you’re not from Puerto Rico and you’re here on vacation, don’t you want to try authentic Spanish food outside the resort?
Convenience store:
There are many convenience stores located inside this hotel, however, if it’s not a rush. You should walk to Walgreen which is 8 minutes walk from the hotel. It’s safe and a straight from the hotel. These convenience stores in this hotel charge double the prices compared to Walgreen or any convenience store outside.
Events:
There are so many events going on in one night, your biggest problem would be deciding on which event to attend. For those who like gambling the casino open from 12:00 PM –2:30 AM. They have about 8 tables game and the rest are machines.