Loved this hotel, it was so old school style and vintage. The location was really good, in the heart of San Juan. We were an 8 min walk to the Fort, a 15 min drive to the airport, a 10 min drive to the berth cruise port (cruise port where ships start and end their cruise). The staff was so nice, hotel was very clean and comfortable. Our 2 queen bed suite was very comfy, beds were soft, AC was incredible, water pressure in the shower was decent, water in the shower was super hot which was great. Our room didn't have a window, but I didn't mind it at all. I would def stay here next time, super comfy and the free breakfast was nice. read more

Fortaleza Suites - Cat asleep on my suitcase - Hotels Near Me - San Juan, Puerto Rico

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We stayed 6 days in room 10 upstairs. It has a good size kitchen, one bathroom, dining room and a bedroom with balcony. There are two beds and a large wardrobe with an iron and extra bedding. The lighting in each room is terrible, so bring your lighted mirror if you want to do make up. The balcony gives you a great view of all the action on the street, however, there will be cars honking at all hours of the day and night because this street only fits one car. If one car stops to unload at either hotel, then all of traffic must stop and wait. There is a tiny alley near the hotel that you can pull into and get out of the way to drop off or pick up your luggage but otherwise it's not recommended to drive all the way up to this part of San Juan. Traffic is terrible. The walk up the stairs to the second floor is manageable and the staircase is wide lined with pretty tile. Downstairs is a mini kitchen with free ice water, coffeemaker, powdered chocolate milk and powdered sweet tea. Also an ice bin and a snack machine with a few couches in the common lounge. The reason for the three stars is mainly the small jobs the housekeeping did for us. They basically just emptied the trash and made the beds. They didn't wash dishes or put away dishes. One day they didn't come at all after I called and text several times because we had returned from the beach the day before and wanted the floor swept in the kitchen. Next to our room was the housekeeping area, so I went in there and grabbed trash bags for myself, and emptied the trash and placed it next to their trashcan. I was tempted to use their washer and dryer because who would know but I didn't. They do need to come every day because in Puerto Rico you do not dispose of the toilet paper in the toilet. They only provided a tiny trashcan in the bathroom so daily housekeeping is necessary. Buy your own things for the kitchen. They only had salt and pepper and the salt was flaky. We went to a nearby grocery store and bought coffee, eggs, and Pam spray. I left the Pam but brought home the sugar packets. They should stock more spices and oil than just salt and pepper. The other reason for three stars is because only one out of four front desk people was friendly. Every time I would walk by, I would greet the front desk person and they barely said anything back if they even bothered to lift their head to look at us. At one point my daughter told me to quit trying to talk to the one guy because he was never going to respond. He is the same guy that told me housekeeping would be on their way and they never showed up. When I talk to him again later that day, he said housekeeping was gone and that he would see what he could do but of course he didn't do anything. This was not a language barrier because I speak both English and Spanish. I just don't think they like their job or care for the clients. The other issue is that the larger room next door was loud with some party. Lots of cackling and yelling. I text the front desk at 2am but they didn't respond or do anything about it. They text us nightly to be quiet and considerate. There's a sign that says you will be fined. I doubt these people were fined. I sure didn't get a discount for being woken up by rowdy obnoxious neighbors. Oh and keep pushing the buttons on the AC remote. It's set to stop at 70° but somehow I got it a bit lower. We couldn't adjust to the hot weather right away and needed it cooler. The location is ideal and centrally located. There are tons of gift shops on this street alone and restaurants just around the corner. You are midway up the hill so you can get a workout going up the hill towards the fort or downhill towards the cruise ships. Parking took a minute for me to figure out but the best place to park was La Puntilla because it's only $3 per day. This lot closes at night so I had to park in the more expensive parking garages that were $26 per night. Those are 24 hours and closer to all the action. It also fills up towards the evening. Overall the room was great. We got to stretch out. Sit, lay down, Eat at a table. Cook and reheat our food. They just need to work on their customer service. Crack a smile. Say hello. Peace sign. Something. read more

Pros Excellent location as almost everywhere in Old San Juan is easily walkable from there. At check in you receive an email with much information about staying at the property including front door access code, room key instructions, quiet hours, use of the common area and kitchen, etc. Everything was very clean in the room. The interior has an attractive decor. Very friendly staff. Excellent room AC. The vending machine in the kitchen has nothing in it over $1. Comfortable bed. Cons Room 8. Absolutely no soundproofing between the door and outside common area and small kitchen. You wake up when the first person in the hotel leaves their room due to the lack of door 8 soundproofing. The vending machine man woke me up restocking at 6 am. Room 8 is a very small room. No counter space in the room. It has a very small nightstand and narrow ledge that the TV sits on and that is all there is in the bedroom. The extra pillows on the bed had to be put on the floor. The very small bathroom with toilet, shower and munchkin sink also very little counter space. There is no clothes rod, hangers or anywhere in the room and bathroom to hang anything out of your luggage. The TV had problems both days of my stay and was unusable. There is a broken electrical socket behind the nightstand allowing only for the light on the stand to work and nothing else. So you can't charge a phone or any other electric device on the nightstand. Inside the bathroom is a sign opposite from the toilet (see picture). It says that used toilet paper is not to be flushed but put in the small bathroom trash can instead. The sign says it's due to sensitive pipes. Hotel management informed me that this is a problem throughout Old San Juan and not just this hotel. I was not able to verify that with other businesses in the area but I'm sure glad that both of the forts didn't have this same problem! I give a 2 because there were some things about this property that I liked but my room was terrible. The staff and even the manager did not have the authority to move me to another room even though there were some available. Go figure that one out! If I returned to stay in this area, I would pick another property. read more

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They harass you with redundant emails requesting information they already have. Not a great place to stay for the busy tourist. Racist as well. read more

Had our bags gone through while in luggage hold, articles missing. Tried to contact staff about missing items, not sure they care. Cameras could have shown which staff were involved read more

I stayed in room 7 at the fortaleza for 6 nights and I was told via phone and text message that cleaning services was provided. However, our room was only cleaned once in our stay. The hotel has automated text messages that clients can reply to stating "yes, I would like my room cleaned for today". So, I would reply yes and leave our hotel and come back to find out the room was not cleaned. So, I informed this to the front desk and they advised I had to actually tell them in person to clean the room which I did and they still failed to clean our room. It was only cleaned once during our stay and I spoke to the staff several times.. read more

The staff was nice rooms where as expected older but clean. However locking and unlocking the doors was a task not sure why they don't fix starlet said all the locks are like that. Other than that the location was great. read more

Great location for the hotel. Right on Calle Fortaleza so no lack of things to do or stores to shop at... however there is no parking. The parking lot that they recommend is down by the entrance to Old San Juan which is a 4-5 minute stroll to the hotel. Be prepared to walk. I got lucky both nights we were there and found street parking but even then, the second night was a little further. Once you get there though... what a nice front desk staff. Super friendly and helpful. Bathroom was a little small and its wierd that its right next to the kitchen but the rooms were super clean and the A/C was excellent. Would come back here again, definitely. read more

Stayed here in October with 7 ladies in a 3 bedroom suite and we loved it. It's located in the heart of of old San Juan and the historical charm makes it more beautiful. The suite offered us the flexibility to cook in the room when we wanted and the option to walk to a near by restaurant. Our room had two balcony that looked over the street and it was a beautiful spot to drink coffee in the morning. The only down fall is that due to the old building our bedroom with the balcony heard a lot of noise from the street at night. The rooms were clean and fully stocked with towels and cooking utensils. read more

This hotel is very well advertised, centrally located; however, it does not meet expectations. If you stay on the first floor you are out of luck. There are no windows, you'll feel disoriented. The room service staff does not know how to hang towels for you and set them up. I found a pile of clean towels on the bed. Trash wasn't cleaned, you are expected to clean it yourself. The door to our room is right in the hallway, so you hear all the noisy people walking in while you sleep. Flushing from the top rooms are also heard very vividly. The shower is a mess, you can't control the temperature. Water start hot, reaches a temperature that can cause 3rd degree burn, then goes to cold. The suite I stayed on has a plug located right on the shower, this is dangerous. Garbage is not being picked up daily, this so called suites are not suites. I wouldn't recommend the establishment, but you can try. The front road is being repaired. They secretly taped a damage and lost list, how petty and unprofessional. I'm not happy with this selection and I will not be returning. read more

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Like everything in Old San Juan they had very limited space and had to make-do with what they had. So this is not your father's hotel. You enter this hotel via a jewelry store and beauty salon (see the photos I uploaded here). The check-in desk is right there at the rear of the store. The ground floor rooms have no windows to the street and I doubt have skylights as do those on the 2nd floor. I splurged for the Fortaleza Suite on the 2nd floor and had a small balcony overlooking Calle Fortaleza. This admits some street noise from trucks in the day and shouting bar patrons at Greeeeeeengo's across the street at night, but hey, it's the city and it's tolerable. If you want country solitude, go stay in the countryside. I'm a low-maintenance guy so I never needed any services for 3 days, although the maid did knock quietly on the door to ask. This suite is long and narrow with a kitchen, a full (but small-ish) bathroom off of it, then a living area with futon, large LCD TV, and eating table w/4 chairs, then a bedroom with 2 queen beds and the balcony over the street off the bedroom. The bedroom has double doors that close in case someone has crashed on the couch in the living room. There is no fan in the bathroom, but I found a box of 3 Stars matches that I put to good use :-) The skylights offer sufficient light during the daytime, while there are chandeliers and decorative wall lamps for night time. Quite a few electrical outlets which is nice in this day of thousands of devices needing charging. There's a little covered outdoor sitting area on the 2nd floor with 2 chairs where you can enjoy a drink, read a book or news, while enjoying the balmy Caribbean air. Everything is tiled or concrete or brick and block so sounds echo loudly, like closing doors in the hallway. The WiFi is served directly from their DSL router perched on a table on the 2nd floor. It worked well while there, even able to play some YouTube videos. Fortaleza Suites is walking distance to everything in Old San Juan, which is good when you see the ridiculous traffic jams that result when a vehicle stops on these 1-lane streets. A good value, would stay again. read more

Fortaleza Suites - Tell your taxi driver to look for this jewelry shop, not a hotel. - Hotels Near Me - San Juan, Puerto Rico

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I wish there were zero or negative stars. My fiancé and I got stuck in PR past our original planned date due to weather disrupting our flight. We got stuck in this pig pen. Actually I wouldn't even keep pigs here. First the beds were unmade and had stains on the sheets. When I went to brush my teeth the sink flooded from the pipes down below. Then the shower handles were literally broken off so we couldn't even shower. The staff was horrible and had no resolution for the unacceptable conditions. Unacceptable to a barn animal even read more

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Very nice hotel in downtown San Juan. Lots of architecture and old San Juan flavor. We stayed in the Presidential Suite, as there was 5 of us, before catching our cruise. Our flight did not get into San Juan until late, no problem with them. The suite was clean and cool! It worked perfectly for us. read more

Fortaleza Suites - Beautiful entrance to the Presidential Suite! - Hotels Near Me - San Juan, Puerto Rico

Every time we travel to Puerto Rico, we stay in a name brand hotel. However, this trip I wanted to stay in Old San Juan, in a boutique hotel and get the day and night energy of Old San Juan. Fortaleza Suites made us feel like we were home away from home. Initially, we were staying in a cute single room, but we were upgraded to their Presidential suite. It was a two bedroom, with a loft, living room, huge kitchen, and balcony overlooking the Old San Juan. This is where I plan to stay every time we come to Puerto Rico. Amanda, our host was helpful, friendly, and made great recommendations. We will be back! read more

Fortaleza Suites - Loving our view - Hotels Near Me - San Juan, Puerto Rico

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My Family and I stayed at Fortaleza Suites for 3 nights. Great location along with the emblematic "Colonial Times" architecture. Our suite had a balcony which we enjoyed both during the morning and at night. The suite was big enough for all 5 of us. The beds were comfortable and location is the best ! We were within walking distance to most eateries, gift shops and pharmacies. Check in was easy, staff was friendly and the place is safe. read more

Old colonial motif building in the heart of Old Town. Four of us shared the 2 bedroom, one bath presidential suite on the second floor, street side. Arrived late (2300) and departed the next morning. Room was clean. Plenty of space compared to two standard rooms in this or another typical hotel. Ductless aircons worked well, although the one in the bedroom closest to the street had a blue light shining down on the headboard making it difficult to go to sleep. Bathroom was generally modern and well appointed, as was the large kitchen area. Kitchen really only useful for longer stays when purchasing food and using refrigerator, etc., but it added to the total space. Hot water for the shower/tub never got more than barely lukewarm. Tap water tasted dirty. There was some filtered water in the first floor common kitchen area, down/up some fairly steep tile stairs. Leftovers in kitchen cupboards, like a little coffee, etc. - not very appealing. No bottled water anywhere. There is a downstairs 'kitchen' area for those rooms with no interior kitchens - not much to shout about. The street-side bedroom was very vulnerable to street noises literally all night long. Very little sleep as a result. TV with Dish worked fine. read more

Adorable hotel, great location, nice rooms . Booked for one night , was centrally located and walking distance to everything in Old San Juan. Check in was easy and room was great . read more

Stayed at Fortaleza Suites on a girls trip. Unfortunately, we were moved to another building due to a power outage in our building. I chose to stay in a one bedroom room that they offered for just one night until the electricity came back on. My issue with the hotel is not so much the power outage (talking to locals, i heard this was common in PR). *My issue is that i was bit and infected with bedbugs (On my legs and arms). I hate to write a bad review, since the rooms and location were beautiful. However, i write this review in hopes that Fortaleza's manager and cleaning team ensure to clean and treat their rooms. Bedbugs are no fun and health concern. Please make sure this does not happen again. read more

My wife and I stayed here for one night of our vacation. We were upgraded to a suite due to a last minute cancellation and the rooms were quiet and beautiful. After we checked out they offered to store our luggage until we met up with family later. I would definitely recommend this to anyone wanting to stay in Old San Juan. read more

this is the coolest old spanishvilla type hotel! even thought they were doing some construction in the lobby, it was still great. the owner felt so bad about the construction that she put me in a suite far away so it would not bother me. the hotel reminded me of a european inn the honor system is in place. i was the only person staying there so she just gave me a key to the front door and told me to make myself at home. i will definitely go back there! the tile is beautiful, the furniture, etc. was awesome. i really felt as if in were in a spanish villa. read more

This is a splendid hotel, but if you're looking for a glamorous place with a big, luxurious bathroom, designer soaps and shampoos, a sprawling lobby with a helpful, waiting concierge, breakfast service, then this is not it. My husband and saved for a year to stay here because that's what we thought we were getting, but it's really just a very nice apartment. We stayed in the Fortaleza Suite and it had a beautiful balcony overlooking Calle Fortaleza. The bathroom is very tiny, too small for too people to fit (unless one person is in the shower). There was one of those soap, lotion, shampoo dispensers in the shower but it was empty (and the caps were off). There is no TV in the bedroom if you want to wind down and distract yourself after a day of trekking and shopping (you're right in the middle of a dozen tourist shops). The TV is in a different room with a dining table and a futon, plus the batteries were dead so we just skipped TV (which wasn't a bad thing). We tried to save them a bit of money by not overusing the air conditioner (we turned it off when we left in the morning) but it was turned on for us when we returned, which was very nice of them (because it was HOT). Two features that we really did not like was that the hotel was that the lobby was made up of two commercial businesses. Our car stopped in front of a jewelry store and we were shocked to know that the front desk was actually in the jewelry store. On the other side was a cosmetics shop. From morning to evening there were two young men out in front of the front door hawking samples of their skin cream, and I found it tacky to walk through them every day (especially because they never remembered us, and offering samples each time). Secondly, an older gentleman was at the desk one day when my husband had a question. The man looked like he would rather walk barefoot through a field of Legos than look up at my husband to greet and/or show that he cared about his question. He literally never looked up once, turning the pages of his paperwork. His answers were curt and terse. In my lifetime this was the first time I'd ever wished anyone ill will; the abominable way he treated my loved one. The other reviews do not lie. For some, this is a gorgeous spectacle of a hotel, harking back to the colonial period with furniture that looks like it could have been owned by Spanish royalty. I leave this review in case someone is looking for the same thing I was in a hotel. read more

I made a reservation at this hotel 5 months before my visit. At the time I made my reservation, my credit card was charged in full. The hotel took my money and kept it for 5 months, then it cancelled my reservation 5 days before my visit!!! They gave absolutely NO explanation for kicking my family out just a few days before our arrival. We chose this hotel because of its excellent location. When they cancelled our reservation, the hotel offered to re-book us in a hotel that was right by the airport, not even remotely in Old San Juan. Reservations are meaningless at this hotel, so be careful if you book here. I can't comment on the rooms because I was never able to see them, but I can comment on the hotel's business practices - which are completely unprofessional and would be unacceptable to any traveler. read more