El Conquistador Resort with Kids in Puerto Rico (Review)
El Conquistador Resort beckons travelers from its perch atop a seaside cliff above the sleepy fishing village of Fajardo, Puerto Rico. This 500-acre Waldorf Astoria Hotel is situated between the converging waters of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It looks like something straight out of a maritime fairytale. Tempted? Read on to discover why you’ll love El Conquistador Resort with kids.
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Why Puerto Rico
It’s easy to see why Puerto Rico is known as la Isla del Encanto, or the Island of Enchantment. Expect warm Caribbean breezes, verdant jungle backdrops, tropical white sand beaches, delicious food, and friendly people. Just a two-hour flight from the continental U.S. and no passports required for American citizens, Puerto Rico makes the perfect getaway for families seeking fun in the sun.
A Complete Destination Resort
El Conquistador Resort in Puerto Rico is counted among the Caribbean’s most complete destination resorts. It offers 23 different restaurants, a 100-acre private island, the on-site Coqui Water Park, Camp Coqui Kids Club, an all-ages arcade, and much more.
This Waldorf Astoria property is divided into five villages. All villages share the main resort’s grounds. This includes Las Casitas Village, a separate luxury resort with private villas and 24-hour butler service.
Activities for the Whole Family
If your children are anything like mine, sunbathing isn’t going to cut it when it comes to a Caribbean vacation. El Conquistador Hotel Resort in Puerto Rico keeps active families content with everything from tennis lessons with a resident pro, and golf clinics on a championship Arthur Hills 18-hole/par-72 course. Hotel guests also enjoy environmental tours in and around the surrounding El Yunque Rain Forest.
Look also for a fun activity called footgolf. This precision sport combines the best of soccer and golf so that players of all ages and stages can play together.
El Conquistador’s Palomino Island
Hop aboard a complimentary ferry to El Conquistador’s private Palomino Island. Here, hotel guests can revel in water sports like snorkeling, kayaking, scuba diving, windsurfing, paddle boarding, and jet skiing (for additional fees).
After that, float on the gentle ocean waves while relaxing on inflatable rafts shaped like pizza, donuts, and manatees. You can also try coconut painting and lawn games on the island. Those who want to stick with turf instead of surf can hike to discover hidden waterfalls or saddle up at the stable for a horseback ride across the beach.
More Water Activities
Back at the resort, water babies can dive back into the water, thanks to four freshwater swimming pools, plus three additional private pools at Las Casitas Village.
Meanwhile, Coqui Water Park is a state-of-the-art, 2.4-acre aquatic playground themed around El Yunque Rainforest. Highlights include an 8,500-square-foot infinity edge pool, a rope-bridge and an 8,000-square-foot lazy river.
Young thrillseekers will flip over Coqui’s iconic Torre de Yocahu, a tower from which three high-speed water slides flow. Kids must meet a height requirement (different for each slide) and can ride unaccompanied. El Gigante Dormido (The Sleeping Giant) boasts an intense 40-foot drop.
Dining at El Conquistador Resort
Take a break from water play with a traditional piragua. This Puerto Rican shaved ice dessert is covered in fruit flavored syrup and topped with everything from gummy candies to coconut kisses.
When it comes to kids’ palates, El Conquistador understands that not all kids like the same things. Twenty-three different restaurants, each with its own menus and atmospheres, ensure there’s something for the most discerning young eaters.
Order everything from American-style burgers and fries to papaya-glazed pork belly. Adventurous eaters will want to taste traditional mofongo, Puerto Rico’s signature combination of mashed plantains, garlic, and pork cracklings.
El Conquistador Resort accommodates those with food allergies with advance notice. My nut- and dairy-allergic daughter had plenty to eat (and how)!
Favorite Family Restaurants
- Cozy’s Gourmet Market: This grab-and-go spot offers countless sandwiches, fruit, imported meats and cheeses, bottled beverages, and freshly baked cakes, cookies, scones, and muffins.
- Las Brisas Restaurant: This casual restaurant offers a full breakfast buffet (a la carte too), plus panoramic ocean views.
- Starbucks: We’ve all picked up a latte and lemon cake at the familiar chain, but the Puerto Rican version is the only place you’ll find an impossible-to-resist Churro Frappuccino.
- Virgin Burger: This 50s-style outdoor café serves burgers and sandwiches served on buttery pieces of traditional pan sobao, as well as salads, tropical drinks, and hand-churned milkshakes.
- Iguana’s: The place to eat on Palomino Island, this casual lunch joint is all about burgers, chicken, seafood and bar-style snacks.
- Blossoms: This upscale restaurant offers Pan-Asian cuisine, including a sushi bar, teppanyaki tables, and Chinese specialties. Kids might even be invited to join the chef as he prepares the meal!
Also not to be missed, parents can pick up pre-packaged kits containing chocolate bars, graham crackers, marshmallows, and roasting sticks. Then join other families around the communal fire pit. Kids love sitting around the fire while coqui frogs sing late into the night.
Scout About Program
El Conquistador acts as a steward of the surrounding rainforest and introduces curious kids to its native flora and fauna through its original Scout About program. Using a map, kids seek out specially marked points of discovery hidden around the resort while collecting color-coded wristbands. Collecting them all earns kids a spot on the resort’s Hall of Fame!
Ki’ Spa for Kids
Wind down from all the activity at the 26,000-square-foot Waldorf Astoria Spa. Even little ones can get in on the pampering at Ki’ Spa (“earth spirit” in the native Taino language). This dedicated spa program offers treatments just for kids.
Each service incorporates products indigenous to the surrounding rainforest and ocean. Therapies can be enjoyed mommy-and-me style (or daddy-and-me, of course).
My daughter and I highly recommend the Sun Healer massage. This soothing treatment combines aloe, avocado, and dilo oil. It smells like marshmallows and soothes sunburns like a dream. What a wonderful way to cap off an amazing visit to Puerto Rico!
Book your stay at El Conquistador Resort today!
Learn More
Discover what to do with kids in San Juan, Puerto Rico’s capital city.
Go ziplining with kids at Toro Verde Adventure Park in the jungles of Puerto Rico.
Explore the best beach resorts for families around the world.
Follow these quick tips for a great family beach vacation.
Which experience at El Conquistador Resort with kids would you enjoy most? Let us know in the comments below!
A Note from The Offbeat Travel Mama: My daughter and I fell in love with Puerto Rico as hosted guests of El Conquistador, A Waldorf Astoria Resort. As always, opinions are my own.
Just the pools are enough to transport my family here. What a beautiful resort for families
The pools are definitely amazing, Christie!
I have always wanted to visit Puerto Rico, it’s on my travel bucket list. This resort sounds like a terrific place for a family to stay.
There’s a reason they call it the island of enchantment, valmg. It will have you and the rest of your family head over heels.
It loos beautiful there! This is somewhere I would love to bring my family!
It was hot and breezy and beautiful just like you want an island escape to be, Brandy!
Sounds like a fun family vacation. We love staying at resorts while we are on vacation.
We do too, Pam! It’s so convenient to have everything in one place when traveling as a family.
What a great place to take the family! I cannot get over that they have a spa just for the kids!
Isn’t that fun, Kelly?! It’s a great, non-threatening way to introduce little travelers to their first spa treatments. Our attendants were very kind and made sure to explain everything to my daughter before proceeding. (She was a little shy since she’d never had a “grown-up” massage before! Needless to say, she put the experience at the top of her list.)
What an amazing experience. The kids would absolutely love to cook with a chef and the pools, water slides, kayaking and windsurfing. They would also be in a fun competition to collect the color-coded wristbands.
That’s one of the things I loved most about the resort, Chavonne. There was truly something for everyone!
Oh my goodness what a beautiful looking resort – I could definitely imagine going there myself! x
Not just going, Sarah. Going and relaxing and poolsiding and beaching and all the wonderful things one MUST do on a tropical getaway!
El Conquistador looks like a fantastic family getaway! I love the grounds, and all that water is amazing. I could see my family staying there for a couple of weeks.
It was truly amazing, Colleen. Whenever I travel, there are some destinations that stay with me more than others long after I’ve left them, and this is definitely one of them. Can’t wait to go back to the Island of enchantment very soon!