Hotel El Convento
Information & Amenities
Hotel Information: Designated Puerto Rico's official guesthouse for visiting heads of state and other dignitaries, Hotel El Convento contains sections dating to 1651, when a Carmelite convent opened on the site across from San Juan Cathedral, the Western Hemisphere's oldest. The convent housed nuns for 252 years until closing in 1903. In 1959, the building was converted into a hotel. Entertainment, government, and social notables made it their San Juan destination. Pablo Casals played his cello in the courtyard.
San Juan investors restored and reopened El Convento in 1997 as a boutique hotel with contemporary amenities. Guests enter on a black-and-white marble floor amid Spanish antiques and tapestries. Popular with guests wishing to explore Old San Juan, Hotel El Convento is also family-friendly, providing children with easy access to the Puerto Rican Children's Museum across the street.
Insider tip: A block west of a small sculpture park outside the hotel entrance, visitors can walk out to a guard tower and peer through slits just as Spanish soldiers did in the 17th century.
Property Amenities
Hotel El Convento is in historic Old San Juan. The Puerto Rican Children's Museum and San Juan Cathedral are across the street. The hotel offers three restaurants, each with its own unique charm. Patio del Nispero serves breakfast and lunch in a garden courtyard. El Picoteo is an open-air tapas bar with antiqued masonry walls. Italian fare is served in the intimate Trattoria Bohemio. Complimentary bottled water and coffee are available all day in the lounge, which also includes a self-serve honor bar.
A computer in an air-conditioned library provides complimentary Internet access. Complimentary wireless Internet access is available in public areas.
Valet parking:
$15 per 24-hour period in lot with in/out privileges.
Fee does not include tax and is subject to change without prior notification.
Ground transportation:
Shuttle vans and private cars of varying prices are available. They can be reserved during the process of booking a reservation for this hotel, via this Web site, and added to the total trip cost.
- Spa tub
- Concierge services
- Complimentary newspapers in lobby
- Fitness equipment
- Restaurant(s) in hotel
- Bar/lounge
- Parking (valet)
- Parking (surcharge)
- Parking (secure)
- Banquet facilities
- Exhibit space
- Conference room(s)
- Event catering
- Meeting rooms (small groups)
- Audio-visual equipment
- Business services
- Internet access - wireless
- Internet access in public areas - high speed
- Internet access in public areas - complimentary
- Express check- in
- 24-hour front desk
- Porter/bellhop
- Express check-out
- Security guard
- Multilingual staff
- Safe-deposit box - front desk
- Number of rooms: 58
- Number of floors: 5
- ATM/banking
- Tour assistance
- Medical assistance available
- Dry cleaning service
- Library
- Coffee in lobby
- Patio
- Elevator/lift
Room Descriptions
Hotel El Convento offers 58 guestrooms, all non-smoking, in a yellow, five-story building. Wooden doors with louvered panels open to French balconies (no step-out space) offering views of Old San Juan. Rooms also face wide, open-air, balustraded corridors overlooking the hotel's open-air garden courtyard, with tables and upholstered chairs outside each room.
Decor features handcrafted furniture of dark wood and wrought iron, including Spanish antiques and replicas of antiques. Floors are terracotta-tile, ceilings white, and walls colored. Small marble bathrooms contain pedestal sinks and shower/tub combinations. Amenities include bathrobes and slippers, compact refrigerators with complimentary bottled water, 32-inch LCD televisions, and Bose CD players and radios. DVD players can be rented. In-room massage is available from an independent provider.
Room Features
- Internet access - high speed
- Cable/satellite TV
- CD player
- Air conditioning
- Climate control
- Blackout drapes/curtains
- Internet access - complimentary
- Voice mail
- Multi-line phone
- Refrigerator
- Coffee/tea maker
- Bottled water in room (complimentary)
- Wake-up calls
- Housekeeping (daily)
- Turndown service
- Bathroom telephone
- Makeup mirror
- Massage - available in room
- Sewing kit
- Slippers
- Shower/tub combination
- Bathrobes
- Hair dryer
- Child care (in room, surcharge)
- Window opens
- Clock radio
- Desk
- Iron/ironing board
- In-room safe
- Television
- Rollaway beds
- Cribs (infant beds) available
Area Attractions
Puerto Rican Children's Museum - across street
San Juan Cathedral - across street
San Juan Gate - 1 block
Puerto Rico Indian Museum - 1 block
La Fortaleza (governor's mansion) - 2 blocks
Casa Blanca (museum and garden) - 2 blocks
African Heritage Museum - 3 blocks
Pablo Casals Museum - 3 blocks
Las Américas Museum - 4 blocks
San Felipe del Morro fortress - 700 m (766 yds)
San Cristóbal Castle - 700 m (766 yds)
Cruise ship piers - 700 m (766 yds)
Plaza Las Américas (shopping, dining) - 11.25 km (7 mi)
Piñones forest (bicycling, hiking, surfing) - 19.25 km (12 mi)
El Yunque Rainforest - 49.5 km (31 mi)
Fajardo Bioluminescent Bay - 64 km (40 mi)
Arecibo Radio Telescope - 80.75 km (50 mi)
Rio Camuy Caves - 88 km (55 mi)
Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU): Approximate driving time to Hotel El Convento is 25 minutes and distance is 14.5 km (9 mi).
Driving directions from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport: Follow Av Baldoriotyde Castro/Rte 26 towards San Juan. Continue over the Laguna del Condado bridge where the road becomes Rte 25/Av Muñoz Rivera. At the entrance way to Old San Juan, take the first turn right onto Calle Norzagaray. Turn left at the Plaza San Jose onto Calle Cristo. Go downhill 2 blocks and Hotel El Convento is on the right.
Getting there: - Taxis cost $26–$35.
Shuttle vans and private cars of varying prices are available. They can be reserved during the process of booking a reservation for this hotel, via this Web site, and added to the total trip cost.
Getting around: Complimentary open-air trolley buses operate throughout Old San Juan, including to a terminal where public buses (less than $1) go to destinations such as the Condado resort/beach district and Plaza Las Américas (shopping, dining). Public ferries run from a pier in Old San Juan across the bay to Cataño (less than $5). Taxis are stationed outside the hotel. Narrow one-way streets and lack of parking make driving difficult in Old San Juan.
Activities
A rooftop sundeck furnished with cushioned lounge chairs includes a 5.75-m-long (12-ft) plunge pool and three-person spa tub. On request, El Convento provides passes to the beach and freeform pool with swimup bar at a resort hotel 10.75 km (7 mi) east in Isla Verde. The recreational activities listed below are available either on site or near the hotel; fees may apply. |
- Fishing nearby
Restaurants & Bars
Patio del Nispero - Located in garden courtyard under 350-year-old nispero tree bearing crabapple-like fruit. Potted palm trees. Umbrella-table seating. À la carte breakfast. Lunch menu featuring daily specials, burgers, sandwiches, salads, and main courses such as Pecan-Crusted Sea Bass and Soy-Pineapple Chicken.
El Picoteo - Open-air tapas bar with antiqued masonry walls colored orange, high wood-beam ceiling. Also, terrace seating under awnings and umbrellas. Lunch/dinner menu featuring hot and cold tapas, Spanish-style pizza, paella, sangria. Open Tuesday–Sunday.
Trattoria Bohemio - Air-conditioned family-style Italian restaurant/bar with intimate dining room. High wood-beamed ceiling. Red-and-white walls. Candle wall. Celebrity photographs. Lunch/dinner choices such as pizza, Beef Carpaccio, Mussels Marinara, Veal Piccata, pizza, pasta, risotto. Live music Tuesday and Thursday nights. Closed Wednesdays.
Location
100 Cristo St
San Juan, 00901
Puerto Rico
Nearest major airport:
San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU-Luis Munoz Marin)
Area:
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Important Information
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on hotel policy.
Rollaway beds and cribs (infant beds) may be available and should be requested at the time of booking; fees may apply.
Photo identification and credit card or cash deposit are required at check-in for incidental charges.
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in. Special requests made via this Web site cannot be guaranteed and may incur additional charges.
- Pets not allowed
- Check-in time is 3 PM
- Check-out time is Noon
