Condado Vanderbilt Hotel

Gorgeous hotel! We stayed in the ocean view suite, which had gorgeous views and was very clean. The pools were awesome. Loved having an infinity pool as well as one for swimming. They have a row of deck chairs that are positioned out over the ocean. My favorite spot. Staff brought out fresh pool chair covers and towels, no fee but we tip. Being in a suite, we received turn down service, including bottles of water and a full ice bucket every night. Since we were celebrating an event, they brought comp goodies too. We liked the amenities but you will spend some $ tipping though. If they bring you ice or set you up by the pool, etc. Other hotels there will just up charge you for everything so we didn't mind tipping. Front desk staff were barely courteous friendly and the concierge was never around. Staff at the door didn't always open it for us either. Conveniently located & there were several cute restaurants within walking distance. Food and drink inside the hotel were on the expensive side so recommend that you venture out for most meals. We went in October so less crowded, no rowdy guests. Hotel was beautiful, but if you go during the summer, you will encounter wait times at the front desk & likely a crowded pool. Will definitely be back.

The hotel is beautiful. You’re presented with such a beautiful smell on entry. The winding stairs and the ocean view in the distance secures your vacation mode. We were booked to stay Thursday - Sunday. However, that first impression was immediately disrupted by my welcoming. 1. Thursday - There was quite a wait to check in given that our check in was 4p and it was after 4p. I was greeted with kindness, but did not receive the same welcome to my right and left. I booked the 2 bedroom suite and was told that one of my rooms was available. She mentioned that I would receive a phone call when my other room was available. I gave a card for a $600 incidentals hold. She gave me one wristband (key), and didn’t offer any more (5 ppl were staying in the suite). I asked for one additional key. She then pushed the welcome letter to me stating that this is our welcome letter. I clearly saw the other two guests getting a full layout of the welcome letter with traffic control-like directions to where the amenities were. Also, we were not offered any assistance with our luggage, whereas the other two guest were. The double queen room was nice, and the city view was beautiful. The entry way door looked to have been kicked in, so I made sure to notify the front desk via phone call. We went to OSJ, and I never received a phone call that the room was ready. We stayed out past 9p. When asked when was the room ready, I was told 6:15. The king bedroom was incredible. We had two balconies. One facing the city and one facing the ocean. We were there celebrating my birthday so 2 bottles of champagne were waiting for us, which I believe was courtesy of my travel agent suggesting that it was birthday. The door wasn’t fixed so we slept with both inside doors latched and locked. 2. Friday - No one came to check on the door last night nor the morning, so I mentioned it to the front desk before we left for the day. Came back late afternoon and spoke to Alejandro about the door and he said he’d have someone take a look. No one came the entire day. 3. Saturday - Still no fix to the door. Went out early morning and received a text at 1:38, PR time, from Krystal, our supposed butler stating “don’t hesitate to contact me if you need anything.” That was the first I’d heard from her the entire trip. A HUGE disappointment!!!!! I spoke to Alejandro on arrival back to the hotel. He reported that a butler should have been waiting for us at check in, checking in with shift changes, and provided contact information. I received NONE of that until Saturday afternoon. I also reminded him of the door that no one had fixed. Alejandro gave apologies, offered at $400 credit, and said he would send someone up. The service guys came up to fix the door at 7:37p and we were sent bottles of champagne at 7:44p and 7:50p. The guys “fixed” the door but did not fix the latch, which was loose at the top, so I called them back to fix that. I was unaware at the time, but when my sister went to lock the lock on that door when we were going to bed, it wouldn’t even lock!!! 4. Sunday - I asked for a late check out (12p vs 1p) given that our room wasn’t ready on arrival, and the front desk lady (blanking on her name but I believe it started with a G) approved the request, said she’d have a bell hop gather our luggage 15 minutes before that so it will already be downstairs waiting for us, and suggested we go to Pannes for brunch. Very sweet and accommodating. We put all of our luggage in the doorway. Walked the east wing for the first time and found that there was a rooftop, bigger pool, an infinity pool, and a restaurant on the east wing of the hotel. Granted we could have found it on our own, but this is something I could have been made aware of with a FULL discussion of the welcome letter. Nonetheless, our luggage was still in our room when we came back upstairs for a quick room sweep for any left items. Our driver arrived at 1250 so everyone went to the van, while I checked out. At check out, with Leena, I briefly told her about the many disappointments of our stay, and asked for a copy of the $400 credit to ensure it would be put back on my card. I mentioned that the driver was waiting on me to take us back to the airport. She took at least 3-5 minutes to return. Mind you, two people checked out quickly and were told they’d receive an emailed copy of their receipt. Leena came back and said that the $600 hold was not charged, and the $400 credit was applied. However, I owed $218 worth of tariffs for the stay. I was charged $197, $210, and $210 daily for our stay. Apparently, the tariffs are the hotel taxes and gratuity, which the 20% gratuity was NOT worth it because we didn’t receive the treatment that came with the room. Heavily disappointed, yet again, because this is something that I should have been made aware of at check-in!!! I did not have enough time to discuss the charge further because our driver was pushing us to leave. Again, the hotel is beautiful. The common areas are modernized. The turndown service was great. The staff, at face value, have immaculate customer service, but there’s a lack communication to certain guests of amenities and amongst staff, AND the follow-through is an after thought. We were a group of people of color (POC), from the states, and one of very few groups of POC seen on site the entire stay. The blatant DISCRIMINATION was subtle and loud all in the same breath. We found that discrimination against African Americans was isolated to the Condado area. I expected the red carpet to be rolled out being that we were in a suite with a butler, as advertised on the website, and that it was my birthday celebration. All I expected in return was genuine communication and apology, follow-through, and what we paid for. Yet, that was far from the case. We were given false information, subpar treatment from non-POC counterparts, and bottles of champagne. I did not associate our treatment here with all of San Juan, because we had an incredible time, and encounter genuinely wonderful people elsewhere, so I will revisit the island. Thus, I would NEVER recommend this place to anyone nor stay here again, which would most likely be fine for this company.

The hotel, staff, and location are ideal. Minutes from many great local restaurants so you aren't forced to eat every meal at the hotel. One thing we found disappointing was that there is not consistency between the various bars on the property. My wife's favorite thing to do on a tropical vacation is drink mudslides. We were only able to acquire two during our 5 day visit. There was always an issue with not knowing what the drink is or not having the ingredients. Pretty weak for being a 5 star hotel. Otherwise, it was great. PR is also lovely. Check it out!!

I loved the entire experience at this hotel. Our room on the 12th floor of the west tower was beautiful and spacious, with a balcony and expansive view of both ocean and city. The king bed was incredibly comfortable with soft linens and good support. Housekeeping service was top notch, twice a day. Exceeded expectations. To get to the casual restaurant Ola, we hopped on the elevator and it was right there. We had delicious meals at Ola -- all of our breakfasts and some lunches and dinners. Service was very good -- friendly and reasonably efficient -- and since the weather was so nice, we sat outdoors, overlooking the pool (yes, more than one) and ocean. Just about perfect. The pools are right outside the restaurant. Pool service for chaise lounges, towels and umbrellas was great. Almost every staff member we encountered seemed very eager to do whatever was needed to make our stay special and comfortable. The other restaurant onsite that we enjoyed was Tacos and Tequilas. Again, friendly, accommodating staff, excellent food and fair prices for a resort. Concierge service was excellent as well. Five stars. We'll be back.

I really wanted to love this hotel with it's charm and old school character. It does something's wonderfully and others not so much for a high priced hotel. First the good.. Friendly staff from check in to check out From the front desk ,butler service,pool staff and restaurant servers. Excellent breakfast choices, great food at tacos and tequila. The spa session was amazing and friendly staff there also. The 1919 restaurant did not live up to the hype for the money we thought. Staff does not look like there really enjoying themselves with what looks like an arrogant sommelier and head waiter that made the experience feel stuffy with everyone talking into there headphones. (We'll try either marmalade or Mario Pagan on our next visit) our suite was a little outdated and could use some TLC for the rate charged.7out of 10 overall.