My husband and I got married at the Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston, MA in March 2018. We had a magical day and were so grateful to all of the Fairmont staff that helped make it happen. Since then, we have valued the Fairmont name. We’ve visited the Copley Plaza a few times and also stayed at the Fairmont in Austin, all with great experiences. Recently, though, we had a not-so-great experience. As background, we endured several personal tragedies in a 6-week period and we wanted to get away to rest and recover. We planned to visit Puerto Rico and booked at the Fairmont El San Juan Hotel for 3/9-3/13. From the start, we were pretty disappointed. We were given a strange room located right within the elevator bank with a strange, small bathroom and closets that didn’t fully open and had a strange smell. The view was of the roof of the casino. We decided to make the most of it and not ask to be moved and make trouble for the staff. When we showered, though, we found that the entire bathroom flooded. We also found two big dried yellow stains on our comforter. It happens, no big deal. But we had to ask the front desk to have the comforter replaced 4 times before it was finally taken care of. The blackout curtains didn’t work, our room was so bright by 7am every day. There was a lot of noise – partly because our door was in the elevator bank, so there was always a lot of activity just outside of our door, plus the noise of the elevators themselves, plus some other strange rattling noise. The air conditioning didn’t really feel like it was working and the room felt pretty warm. Given all this, we just really didn’t sleep well our entire trip. Also, there weren’t enough umbrellas on the beach. Sometimes the beach towels ran out. And both hot tubs were broken for the majority of our stay. All in all, it was just an underwhelming experience and we were really disappointed, especially since we spent over $600/night when you factor in the 20% resort fee. Plus, all we spent on food and drink at the resort. As reference, a burger and fries served in a takeout container on the beach cost $36!! And there was a fake happy hour that they didn’t advertise – you had to know about it independently – but it only included certain items and the rules felt like they were always changing because it wasn’t documented anywhere, and it only happened at one specific bar (i.e., not the bar at the main pool / not on the beach). We were hoping this would be our chance to recover a bit after all that we had gone through. But when we got to the airport, we were just so happy to get home and to not be spending so much money to stay in a hotel where we didn’t feel very comfortable. I submitted this complaint in March to the Fairmont. They said they had relayed the message specifically to the El San Juan and I should hear back. Two months later, nothing. I would not recommend.…
Mara from the front desk was AMAZING! I had my wedding and needed an additional room for the groom to get ready and she assisted with searching for a room that we could do early check in. Thanks to her we got the room early and were able to continue with the itinerary.
The resort is very nice, with comfortable rooms and beautiful grounds. Plenty of pool chairs and space. Rooms were well appointed and service was good. I do think it is overpriced for what you get. The room rates are decent, but all the fees add a lot of extra cost and the food and drinks are very expensive. I would stay here again only if the hotel was in a more appropriate price point for what they provide. I did like the location and the ability to walk to restaurants off property.
I stayed at the Fairmont El San Juan Hotel last weekend. It was my second stay and for the second time, the staff and accommodations were top tier. The location is a one-stop for entertainment, shopping, and leisure. From the live entertainment at the pool, the restaurants, and the nightlife, there’s no where else I plan on going when staying in Puerto Rico.
Wow! My sons and I are having an amazing time at the Fairmont. The manager, Ruth (elegant in her pearls) went above and beyond to make sure we were happy with our room and made my birthday so special. Natalia, Gabriel, Michelle, Julissa & JoAnna (at the beach) helped us with reservations and much more. Gracias!!!
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