I just returned from a family trip ( 10 people) to Fajardo Puerto Rico. Ages ranged from 3 to 65. We stayed at the Las Casitas Village at El Conquistador. Having vacationed last year at the Atlantis Paradise Island, we could not help but compare the two. I will try to enter a comparison somewhere on this site
First - Positive points on Las Casitas:
1) The villas and the grounds were absolutely beautiful, very clean, spacious and tastefully done. You are surrounded by gorgeous views of the Atlantic and the surrounding countryside including the mountainous rain forest "El Yunque" in the near distance
2)We were no more than 10 steps from a roman pool with two hot tubs and a short walk to the beautiful Infinity pool with one hot tub and a view which is magnificent. You are perched high above the Atlantic facing Palomino Island. Fantastic
3) Staff was extremely helpful and eager to be of service - joyfully. Some language problems but nothing you can't work thru. You have to be persistent sometimes to get towels, toilet paper. etc but eventually they will deliver
4) Golf course right behind the Las Casitas village so if you are a golfer this is where you should stay
5) Walking around Las Casitas villas is easy and soft on the feet. 6) There is one small restaurant at Las Casitas. They will bring you food and drink at the Infinity Pool
7) We used room service and Blossom (Chinese and Japanese ) main hotel restaurant delivery quite a bit. Food was good
Overall:
1) If you want to visit Old San Juan and El Yunque (the rain forest) you will need a car or arrange for a tour. I highly recommend Emmanuel "Manny" Mulero - 787-863-7312 -he arranged all our activities at the last moment and on a holiday and came through.I called him "The King of Puerto Rico". He was cheaper than the hotel services as well. We also went on the banana boat and snorkeling too - great experience
2) You may want to skip the kayaking. It was fun but somewhat difficult - it is pitch black - you do this at night time, you kayak through a mangrove swamp to get to a bay where if you swish your hands in the water it glows. Nice but I am not sure it was worth the effort although I am happy we did it. We felt like Indiana Jones.:-))
3) Las Casitas is set off on its own. I like this but be prepared to take the shuttle back and forth to the main hotel and the marina. We all enjoyed the shuttle rides thru the golf course. We never waited more than 5 - 6 minutes for the shuttle
4) Beach on Palomino Island is nice but we had difficulty getting clean chairs in the shade. It is somewhat annoying to have to travel by boat to get to the beach but it is a fun ride
5) Water park is small - three slides, small Lazy River and a nice infinity pool
6) Casino is very small with lots of penny and nickel slots.
7) Some shopping on site - enough for me but not all my family agreed
8) Pool at main hotel was nice - bigger than the Las Casitas pools but not huge
9) Somewhat expensive - a bit higher than the Atlantis
10) No teen club yet
11) On the weekend, it was crowded. Local people stay at the hotel on those days. Not packed with people but more crowded and noisy then during the week
Everyone enjoyed their stay and had a great time. My three year old grand-daughter cried when we had to leave. I took away an appreciation for the Puerto Rican people and their heritage which I didn't have before and an enduring memory of the beauty of Las Casitas and the wonderful staff
I will post my other photos to Flickr under OldAndSassy

Management needs to correct operations at this beautiful resort site. The pricing reflects an upscale luxury property, but there are annoying gratuities added to each bill.

The staff seems to operate at an 80% level and is indifferent to the guests' needs. For example, we tried to have breafast each AM when they open at 7:00 AM and yet, the waiters were still setting up instead of being ready to serve immediately.

Housekeeping never provided any turn down service in our room and we even had to kill our own large cockroach in the bathroom.

On Sunday one of the finiculars was not working.

Valet parking never cleaned our windows on the rental car.

Golden Door prices were outrageous.

El Conquistador has a great location, a beautiful new Water Park and many choices of dining. Management needs to train all employees how to provide service and how to deal with the guests in a friendly, yet professional way. In the end, one remembers the little things, not the huge golf course that is underutilized.

I had a wonderful time during my stay at the El Conquistador hotel..From the moment that I walked in the door I was made to feel welcome. It was nice to be greated with a beautiful smile by the lady at the front desk. Her name is Magda Walley and she not only took care of me when I was checking in, but anything that I needed during my stay she made sure that I had it. All I would have to do was call her at the front desk, and she made sure that I was taken care of right away. This kind of service by an individual makes you want to come back every year. I also got a chance to visit the waterpark, which was very nice. I highly recommend this hotel to anyone looking to go on vacation to Puerto Rico, and I will definitely tell them to make sure that they ask for Magda when they get there. Because I know that they will be in good hands. Look forward to coming back again real soon.

Michael

I travel a lot. And I'm an easygoing person. So when I went to El Conq in Puerto Rico, I expected to have a great time. And though we found the Puerto Ricans overall to be truly lovely, genial people, we were shocked at the deceit we experienced at this resort! Definitely watch your back. Things were stolen from our room. (Use the safe!) Many things were falsely charged to our room, and the front desk did not want to hear about it. (We made good and certain that they did, and eventually got every line item removed. But it took a lot of work. Don't wait until your check out time, review your bill in advance! We did, and it still took two days to straighten out! Front-desk personnel will tell you to your face that they "do not want to deal with it.") Astoundingly, every single person checking out when I was (there were three agents open) had a bill dispute! Plus, one poor man approached the check-out desk and said, and I quote, "My room was broken into. Again." Expect erroneous charges, overall hostility, average rooms, very, very uninteresting location (no town anywhere near) and do not expect to see a piece of fruit during your entire stay. Greasy bland food. Expect absolute mediocrity if you choose to stay here. Or better yet, avoid this diabolical dump altogether! (P.S. - There is ZERO nightlife here! Absolutely negative nothing!!!)