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Hotel El Colonial

4.3 (27 reviews)

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Dirty floors why not fix this?
Kim F.

Ok here's an honest review of this place. First the good... OPEN BAR! Also the staff is amazing! The common areas are great and trendy. The rooftop is a little funky but ok. The area is great! You could walk to the port but there are cobblestones that might make it difficult if you have big or a lot of luggage. There are great restaurants and bars nearby. Great shops too. Cons: we had no hot water and this is a common complaint but they do nothing to fix this problem. They make excuses that the building is old. Yeah I've been in older buildings with hot water. Also low water pressure! They charge a stain fee if you get makeup on the cheap sheets. The room isn't as comfortable as the common areas. It's noisy and the finishes in the room are not nice. I guess it depends on what room you get. The floors were dirty so much so I didn't wanna walk barefoot in the room. If you're bougie don't risk staying here. There are no elevators but for a tip the staff will help with luggage. Overall it depends on what's important to you. Some of the things wrong are easy fixes. They could make this hotel so much better with minor work. SMH I stayed one night. If I had a longer stay I would have moved to another hotel.

room

Und the most quaint, beautiful hotel I've ever stayed in! We were offered cocktails at check in, and the staff were just incredible, we spent much time at the lobby bar getting to know the handsome bartender. Everything was clean and quiet, and the rooftop was definitely our favorite part! Our rooms were comfortable and clean, ours overlooked a small seating areas which was very unique, and our friend stayed across the opening from us so we could chat from our own rooms! Will certainly be returning!

Tiny bathroom with one bright light
Thys D.

Absolutely the worst hotel I've ever stayed in, or as I started calling it, "the truck stop bathroom with a bed in it." We wanted so much to love this place. I'm not sure what rooms the higher ratings had (we had a double with a Juliet balcony), but ours was nasty. The bathroom NEVER had hot water, so only cold showers, and it smelled horrible. I realize the building is old (we've traveled all over the world), but many things could be done to fix this place up. The sink faucet moved backed and forth. We couldn't wait to leave. The last morning, I didn't even shower; just wanted to get out. On the positive side, the bed was comfortable and the staff very pleasant. The location is ideal.

Back toward plaza colón
Nay W.

Im loving this hotel & it's still only my first day! 200 year old building. 3 floors of rooms. No elevators. My room was on the 3rd floor, but the stairs are easy & not huge. Staff was VERY welcoming & I got an early check in unexpectedly. I was there for 4 nights. Coded entry for the building. Key card for the room. The bar in the lobby is open & they make sure to offer a drink before u treck up the stairs or step out. Regretably, when I returned to my room for a nap, around 530p, music was heard in my room kind of loudly. Took awhile for me to fall asleep, so maybe play white noise or some other music on a device. Thankfully, by the time i returned at 1130p, there was nothing but the ac going. Around midnight someone threw something very loud (firecracker), so street sounds are very prevalent in this building. My room is next to the housekeeping closet so there was a lot of bangs & things moving at 8a while I was still (trying to stay) sleeping. I would definitely come back. Play music on my phone when napping and request a room not by the cleaning closet. Met an owner at the bar on the 19th. Luiz is da man! From check in to check out. What's app is used for communication w/ the front desk. There is no room phone so you'll need to dl it if you don't have it.

Private terrace with outdoor bath/shower
Lisa D.

Personalized attention abounds in this boutique hotel. My husband and I truly enjoyed our stay in Old San Juan, with this wonderful place as our home base. From the open bar to such thoughtful extras like cold, scented face towels when coming in after a hot, humid day, we couldn't have asked for a better experience. If you're up to it (as - old building - there is no elevator), spring for a room with a private terrace. I think we nearly spent as much time out there as we did inside!

Kirsten T.

I've been here 15 mins and I'm sold! Not fancy but a great price and top notch service. And free drinks! A/C works. nice rooftop view.

View from the rooftop of the cruise ships

Second time at this wonderful hotel! Realize it is private so no guest outside of those who are staying are allowed in. The rooftop gives a wonderful view of the fort and the city. A couple of great surprises were being recognized by a couple of the staff who are all absolutely amazing. Louis (I'm sure it is misspelled), I am binging Dark. What a show! Can't wait to come back and see you guys again!

Lobby and Open Bar at the Colonial

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Review Highlights - Hotel El Colonial

My husband and I truly enjoyed our stay in Old San Juan, with this wonderful place as our home base.

Mentioned in 9 reviews

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La Terraza

La Terraza

(89 reviews)

$$

We stayed her for about 3 nights. We came to San Juan to explore the area a bit. It was fabulous…read more The service here was a bit good and not so good. A guy checked us in to our room.. he seemed nice. 2 young girls helped us a little during our stay, they were great. Came down 1-2x and we wanted to ask some basic questions... This bitter older woman was there. She seemed like she wanted nothing to do with us. Wonder if she was the owner. Our room was ok. They had a variety of disposable soaps and stuff in bottles. Usually hotels will have a small disposable bar soap or something. They had a tiny bottle of body wash which we used to wash out hands with. Our room didn't really have any windows lol... There were 2 windows that basically faced inside the hallway. The shower pressure was not all that great. Also, the walls are thin. We could basically hear everything from anywhere close. Our neighbors were pretty active at night. It was like in the movies. We felt like we were s silent foursome lmao... They were bumping, grinding and moaning... The sound was so clear as if we were in the room with them lmao... The pool upstairs is.... Not something I would even consider getting into. You have to wonder how often they even get a chance to service and clean the thing. It's more like an oversized soaking tub. The great thing about this hotel was its location. Everything we wanted to go see was within walking distance. Literally no more than 8mins away. Sadly, the day we were leaving I was persuaded by the guy at the front desk to allow him to get a taxi for me. There was a 3 day festival coming and he says Uber/Lyft won't be able to make it to us because they are clearing the street to get ready. However Uber showed someone can come take us to the airport for $9. Anyway, I let the guy call his taxi person. Got to the airport and I felt like I got ripped off. Charged me $40. That was a slap in the face. Why align your hotel with a shady taxi service??? For the money and location this honestly isn't a bad spot. We just needed a safe place to sleep close to where we wanted to walk to.

DO NOT STAY HERE. I stayed here in July 2025, and this place is infested with bed bugs. After two…read morenights, my sister and I were covered in bites. We found proof on the mattress: rust spots, molting, and live bugs in the seams. The mattress was filthy and clearly (see pictures) had not been replaced in years. Management is undoubtedly aware of the problem, yet continues to rent out infested rooms. We were switched to a different room, which was also dirty, but the damage was done. The management has since done absolutely nothing to rectify the situation. No refund, no compensation for our ruined clothes, and no apology for the immense stress. The presence of such a severe infestation implies gross negligence. Save yourself the trauma and spend your money elsewhere.

Palacio Provincial

Palacio Provincial

(35 reviews)

We stayed for one night in April…read more PRO: -convenient location in old SJ, easy to walk everywhere, great surrounding energy -beautiful hotel, with cute rooftop pool and a lovely AC'ed library you can read or work in -the evening social hour with complimentary rose was a welcome treat CON: -staff was professional and polite, but not warm or friendly (this is a minor point, and admittedly subjective) -shower floor was not guarded against water flowing out, so I ended up wasting two towels mopping up all the water that escaped after a 30 min shower (yes, I closed the door correctly) -our standard 2-bed room was on the smallish side. It's cozy for two guests, but will feel cramped if you have more people. -the worst part: breakfast service was SOOO SLOW!!! No one greeted us on arrival, so we weren't sure if we should sit ourselves (which we did after standing around for a bit). Once we sat down, it took about 10 min to be given our menus. Then it was another 30 min just to get our juice and coffee (and only after I got annoyed and asked). Then probably another 20 min for the food to arrive. Once we were done eating, we waited for 15 min for the check, then I just gave up and went to pay. There was no communication, and we were ignored for ages. They were NOT busy, and looking around, other diners were also waiting a lot and looking annoyed. We usually eat our breakfast in about 40min, but this dragged on for about an hour and a half. We were checking out and flying later that afternoon, so this was a stressful start to the day. I'm glad we stayed here once, as it's beautiful and feels like a big part of old SJ history; plus, you can't beat the location. But personally, I think there's better value at other places.

Great hotel! Classy and right in the heart of old town up the hill…read more What is with the diesel generator on the roof? So loud!!! It's ambient noise so... But seriously? Great service and super clean.

Hotel Rumbao, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel

Hotel Rumbao, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel

(40 reviews)

Lest start with location: can't be beat. Right on the corner with the entirety of old San Juan…read morelocated right behind this location. We are able to walk old San Juan each evening to find a new place for dinner as well as walk up and explore the fort on our first day. We were uneasy 10 minute Uber drive from the hotel over to Isla Verde Beach. (Pro Tip: visit the Walgreens on the first floor and pick up a soft pack cooler, a 12 pack of local beer and a bag of ice for the beach). Breakfast: we had breakfast five mornings on site at the restaurant on premise (Kueros). We sat out on the second floor balcony overlooking the port and enjoyed the buffet, which was ample in selections of breakfast items. Service: if you're like us, you will discover that Services not specialty at most restaurants and bars in old San Juan, Puerto Rico that is not the case at this hotel and restaurant. Our morning breakfast servers to the bar staff all the servers were fantastic.! Room: we had a corner room with a Juliet balcony. The room was wonderfully appointed with an unbelievably comfortable bed. We slept like babies every night with no noise and wonderfully working air condition.! thank you Port: cruise ships dock directly in front of the hotel. During the five days we were there we experienced one day without a cruise ship two days with one cruise ship one day with two cruise ships and one day with three. Jesus Christ, to be honest, the passengers from the boat made old San Juan come alive.! We would highly recommend this location for anyone visiting old town San Jose. It's a perfect place to operate out of. We went to the beach one day. On another day, we drove to the east end of the island and explored the waterfalls and hidden beaches.

We were very excited to stay here. Pros: hotel location is the best, walkable to many places,…read moreWalgreens is next door so convenient to grab anything in case, food at Kueros for dinner was delicious. Staffs most of them are friendly, always smile. Cons: unfortunately the service is inconsistent. We had problems here and there during our stay, definitely can improve for better service. Because I highly won't stay here again if we will visit San Juan again. - Late check in, not ready until 6:30pm. We were exhausted especially my toddler. We went for a long walk & explored around to kill some time after keeping suitcases at bellman. Was kind of front desk to offer some food credit to use at Kueros restaurant. But we were ignored for the good 20-30 mins, no one came and asked anything to get order or drinks. Food were delicious so it made up for that slow service. We came back next day for dinner and service was faster and better with same waiter. - We only request cleaning room once during 4 nights stay because we know hotel is busy and we still have enough towels and stuffs. Room was finally cleaned when we came back hotel around 6pm ( not done around 3:30pm when we were back first time). But pillows of 2 queen beds were exactly how they looked when we left. They made the beds very quickly and rush. Can check my photo for reference. Quite disappointed. - not sure what area in hotel were renovated as informations on hotel website, definitely needs some updating in the room. Stain in bathroom floor, very squeaky wooden door when try to open mini fridge every time. You have to push down the door so it won't be squeaky. Heat/AC in room wasn't functioning right. We were cold because rained a lot during our stay; changed to heat but 30-45 mins go by, only cold air coming out. We decided to turn off for the whole stay, temperature in room was better. - I bought fruit cups from Rumbao Market twice for my son. First time was good, expiry date was handwritten on the cup Feb 5th. Second time the next day was terrible, same expiry date. There is mold on strawberries & blueberries, melon were soaked in their own juice, sour and yucky. I fed my son a bit of that unfortunately until I realized the fruit cup wasn't good to eat at all. $10 to the trash. - buffet breakfast is a hit or miss. We paid extra to include breakfast but I wasn't impressed especially it is over $30 per person. Again, fruit sometimes don't look and taste good, like they were pre cut too early, soaked in their own juice, and get sour. However, coconut oatmeal is the highlight for I and my son. Love the flavor! The staffs are attentive and helpful. That is a plus. - it rained a lot during our stay. There was one evening ( last night before departure) when it didn't really rain, we stopped by the pool and looked at the lights and cruise ships. We were there for 20 mins. We headed back room, changed quickly and wanted to use hot tub. 10mins later we were back, pool was closed without any advanced notice. We thought the automatic door had problem, so called front desk. Waited 15mins. There was an engineer (my guess), came and said it was closed for guest safety in the rain. It didn't rain and we were just there 10 mins ago. And why front desk didn't know that information to tell us so we wouldn't need to wait. - destination fee was double charge in my room bill for 3 nights out of 4. Unfortunately I didn't stop by front desk to check bill as I usually do to catch that. Filed a request on Marriott website, waited 5 days as email, hotel still didn't contact. I called hotel accountant, they realized the double charge and said will work on refund. Will contact me back in 5-10 business days.

Hotel El Colonial - hotels - Updated May 2026

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