Fairmont El San Juan Hotel - European Plan

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

1435 reviews

• 

  Another great stay!

  Second year in a row coming to the El San Juan with my wife and 20's kids for a 5 day getaway. Staff couldn't be nicer and more accommodating. We will come again...great stay!! A special shout out to Frances at reception who checked us in and gave us a great room!

  Jan 23, 2023
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  The greeting was very good. The accommodation was not what was expected.

  I originally requested a partial ocean view. However, after speaking to (Frances) she upgraded me to a Villa, pool view. However, I was more looking at hedges. Needless to say I was not happy about this and of course i informed her of this. After a couple of days she again asked me how I felt and expressed my dissatisfaction. I decided to check out in person and spoke to Frances. She was very professional and cordial and was able to get me a discount on the final price. Frances was excellent and very kind and understanding. You're lucky to have her. Also, Medina at the front door and greeter was excellent.

  Jan 23, 2023
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  Had a great trip, but was disappointed with how hotel treated us

  At the end of the day, we had a nice trip as I decided to let all these issues go. But I would never go back to this hotel & I already have told 2 people that are booked here to switch hotels. I assume I will receive a formulaic pasted response. I wanted to update & expand my original review after my entire stay. I stayed at the hotel 12/27-1/2. We had connecting rooms in the Tower on the 6th floor. Here are my issues: - As I stated in my previous review, we did arrive earlier than Check-in, but my Travel Agent had alerted the hotel. I understand that the rooms might not be ready, but I still think the Check-in process was bumpy, & this initial communication set the tone for the entire trip. When we arrived, there was a long line at the Check-in & only one person working. The client seemed to be arguing over a mistake made on the bill. So this required a lengthy conversation, not a quick check-in. Someone else that was waiting had an issue wit their room. No one said “we will be with you shortly” or even offered us any water or told us to go wait on a couch. After a while of waiting, I finally went to see if there was someone else to help with the line of people waiting. That is when someone asked us for our number & they would text us when our room was ready. We decided to go sit outside & wait for the text. No one offered us any water. Then finally we got one room after continuously checking in for a few hours. Then one room wasn't ready until 5PM (check-in was at 4). They never gave us the key to the other room. Everything required so much legwork on our behalf. - Our room (623) smelled like cigarette smoke. - The A/C was making a very loud rattling noise. The hotel sent an engineer to look at it & he said the blower was broken & would need to be fixed or replaced. He said he would open a ticket. NO ONE ever came by during our entire stay to follow up. I also asked if they could find a noise machine for us & they said no. - Saying NO seemed to be the theme of our entire stay. Most things we asked for were met with the staff saying NO. - Which leads to me my largest issue. The first night we were there, we were woken up very early by what sounded like little kids running back & forth. My kids used to be little so I understand. So I went to the front desk & asked if we could change rooms to the top floor. Ruth said they were checking out that day. So I was fine. But I was still shocked at how bad the acoustics are. The next night, someone came into the room above us at 3AM & partied until 4AM. We did call the front desk & it seems as if security did call them. There were lots of loud noises and doors slamming etc. So the next morning I asked Ruth if we could move & she said NO. The hotel was at capacity. I asked her if she could look at people checking out & in, maybe they could take our rooms & we could take theirs. She said NO I will not look into that. I said we will pay more for a Pool Villa. She said NO. I said it does not seems like you are helping with a solution but are just replying with NO & being rude. She said she was not being rude. She took out a notepad & wrote down the name of another hotel that we could move to – the Royal Sonesta. She asked if I needed their number & I said no thank you. I asked to speak with the hotel manager. She said she was the most senior person on property as the hotel manager Jerry Delcourte was off for the day celebrating his birthday. I find it odd that the hotel manager took December 30th off – one of the busiest times of the year – and left the hotel to someone who could only say NO. I decided not to move & I guess other people checked in the next day that did not wake us up. But I still cannot believe we were told to find another hotel. - The first morning, my husband went down for breakfast & the 2 hostesses working there are rude. They said it would be a wait but would not tell him how long. There were many tables open but they said he could not sit there. This is unclear as breakfast is a buffet! Then he checked in on the table & said she was looking for him 44 minutes ago & could not find him to tell him the table was ready….? He was sitting at the bar waiting for a table. In general, people seemed to be upset with the breakfast check-in situation. - By the way, the argument I saw at check-in was someone arguing that they were charged for breakfasts even though they were included in their reservation. When I asked for a Folio print out the night before we left, I saw the SAME issue. So I called the front desk & the woman said do not worry, the charges won’t be there when you check out. Well when I received my final bill when I was back home via email, I WAS charged for many breakfasts. So I had to call & have it taken care of & get refunded after the fact. - Also, know that the pool situation is intense. If you do not wake up early, you will not get one. - To be fair, there were some very nice workers: omelet chefs, housekeeping, Gerardo (at breakfast bar), the staff at the pool check in, especially the women who do hair for the kids & Amalfi at the pool. The nice people stood out & hopefully are recognized for being excellent customer service workers. Also, the massage therapists were excellent. - The restrooms at the pool were always gross & dirty. One stall was out of service for the entire week so only 2 were functioning. - The rooms in the Tower are shabby & feel like a Hilton.

  Jan 22, 2023
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  Girls weekend

  This is my 18th year going with my girlfriends, Francis at the front desk always remembers us and greets us with the biggest smile. She is so accommodating, her service goes beyond her meet and greet. She will take care of any problem or find someone to. We love her!

  Jan 21, 2023
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  Great hospitality

  Thank you to Yvonne for her attentivness. Her great attention to details ensured an amazing trip. Jerry and Frances equally extended a warm farewell. Rooms are big. The lobby really stunning. The pools and the beach will haunt me forever, what a beautiful and idyllic scenery. I loved the reusable water bottles and nespresso machine in the room. Beds are comfortable. The vibes everywhere are awesome and I loved the mix of young crowds with elder travellers and families. The casino was nice. The housekeeping were super friendly and room cleanliness was very efficient daily service. Shout out to the lady cleaning room 326. Carl helped with my loyalty and although short e interaction was pleasant. Will definitely return.

  Jan 20, 2023