Historical Traveller Reviews of Diamond Palace Hotel
Horrible Hotel
from A TripAdvisor Member
Stayed there one night last March and found it to be a dirty, overpriced
dump. The so called breakfast was so ridiculously bad, we just laughed.
It would be better to sleep at the airport than to waste your money
on a room at this disgrace.
will never stay there again
from im2busy
Wow, where to start. We stayed at this hotel before and after the cruise. Jan. 2005. Roaches in 3 differant rooms we rented. Water damage in all. Leaves in the pool. We ended up skimming it ourselves. Metal shower rod fell off the wall in the middle of the night. Air conditioner didn't work. Couldn't open any of the sliding doors. The rooms and bathrooms were in desperate need of repair. Maids walk in at 7:30 am and if you are still in the room they make sure you do not go back to sleep because they make every noise possible. There is only 1 person at the desk making for a very long line to wait in. The front desk people lack customer service manners. 1 day we even had to call for maid service. We had 4 poeple in our room but yet they still did not manage to leave enough towels for us. When we called house keeping they got very upset with us because we wanted towels. It is not worth the money. Yes it is a cheap price but it is not even worth that. Pay more or the same for a better place some where else. Very disappointed!!!!!!!!!!
wont stay again
from A TripAdvisor Member
The best part of the continental breaksfast was the fruit. The bathtub was very old and needed caulking. The toilet fixtures were rusty. The casino is very small. The pool and hot tub needed cleaning.
Pretty Slummy
from A TripAdvisor Member
We booked a suite for four people--or so we thought based on the description. In actuality, it was a moderately large room with a king size bed and dinky sofabed that would be too small for two adult-sized people. The bait-and-switch was only part of the slumminess of the place. Among the litany of things that went wrong: the TV had loud static after being on for a few minutes, the hairdryer didn't work, the bar in the closet fell down (which I guess is a good thing since we had no hangers!), we saw some little critters sharing the room with us, the toilet was temperamental, they began drilling at 8:00 in the morning right next to our room, hot water was sporadic, and our keys stopped working on several occasions. Last but not least, the front desk staff were surly and unhelpful most of the time. The Condado area is nice and convenient, but do yourself a favor and avoid this place even if you see cheap rates; the frustration isn't worth it.
Agree With Review of Nov. 13, 2004
from ceraney
Stayed at Diamond Palace, and find my comments almost completely agree with traveladvisor letter of Nov. 13, 2004. This was a very GOOD VALUE. Was there Dec. 17 and 18, 2004.
Great location - right across the street from the Marriot San Juan- short block to excellent beach at Condado - at less than half the price of the Marriot. Deluxe Room for 1-2 had one queen bed, but was roomy with excellent view of Marriot area and a peak at the ocean. Clean and well furnished, 9th floor, good height. South Tower.
Most customers were Spanish speaking tourists, but all employees spoke English as well as Spanish. As I said, a very good value for the money.
MY DIAMOND PALACE VACATION
from A TripAdvisor Member
My wife and I just got back from vacation at the Diamond Palace Hotel and Casino in P.R.. The hotel was great. The service, room and staff were great also. The room as well as the hotel in general was clean. A very special thanks to Johnny Arce ( front desk clerk) for giving us a suite when there was work being done on the floor we were located on.
I would stay at the Diamond Palace Hotel any time.
I am in P.R.
Diamond Palace was OK-ish
from time2play
I stayed at the Diamond Palace a few weeks ago and it really wasnt all that bad. The reviews about rude staff were not true for the most part. The only rude employee I encountered was one of the woman (who looked like management) while she was serving the free breakfast, she was just kinda cold and short with the guests. Anyway as long as I'm talking about the free breakfast... It was juice & cold ham sandwhiches 10 days straight with a few bananas offered a few days. My room looked as if it had just been renovated. A big surprise! Upon arrival the air conditioning was turned on and was pretty cold. I wanted fresh air from the balcony so I turned it off. Well I could not open the balcony door more than a few inches so I decided to turn the air conditioning back on. Well... it didnt work! I seen a hotel worker in the hall and told him it didnt work. I left the room to run to Walgreens across the street and when I got back it was all fixed. The room was clean although I did spot two small roaches two different days. TV worked fine! It had a fridge which was great for storing water & beer! Also the room had a safe, just ask for the lock at the front desk as they didnt offer it upon arrival. The pool was clean and enjoyable. Best of all the location was right within a block of the buses that take you to Old San Juan or to Plaza Las Americas which is the big shopping mall. For 25 cents the ride in itself is just fun. Overall for the 75 or so dollars per night it was worth it!
Worst part of my trip
from A TripAdvisor Member
this hotel rooms are really the pits ...the walls have water damage ..where the paint is falling on the carpet ...and the toilet was leaking....the beds are hard like hell.....the worst thing was i was in a suite ......i couldn't believe how small the suite was ......for what i paid for it ... I will not ever ever ever ever be staying at this hotel again ...the complimentary breakfast was dry bread and cheese
BUt puerto Rico was good and the area (Condado) is a good place to stay
Complete Shock
from A TripAdvisor Member
This was a needed trip for relaxation. But from the moment we arrived at the Diamond Palace it was a disaster in the making. The receptionist was rude, the room was a dump, old with broken TV, no balcony, dirty carpet, chipped furniture & hard bed. Upon voicing loud complaints a nice bellhop took us to another room & made up some excuse to management so that we could at least have a queen bed, as requested. I (wife) wanted to move immediately, instead we opted to leave San Juan early & doubt we will ever return. Never again to the Diamond Palace...I believe their advertising is purposely misleading & for sure they do NOT like Americans! Stay AWAY!
I should have read these reviews before I booked:
from mszkitty
Because we were getting into San Juan late at night, and were leaving early the next day for a cruise, we just wanted someplace inexpensive to sleep for the night. You know the old saying..."you get what you pay for"? I should have heeded that advice. This hotel was awful to say the least. We had booked three rooms. In our room (a suite) the floor next to the bed was soaking wet...smelled like spilled beer and the air conditioning barely worked. Ok...no problem...like I said...we only needed somewhere to sleep. However, my sister's room was a disaster. The tub was backed up with dirty water, the toilet kept overflowing, and the ceiling in the bathroom was leaking water. She wasn't able to change rooms, because she was told they were completely booked. She had someone in her room working all night long until 5am in the morning. They couldn't even take a shower (they had to wait and shower on the cruise ship). When she complained to management, she was told that because she booked it thru Hotels.com, she would have take it up with them. The hotel management was not helpful at all. Not sure what the outcome of that will be as we booked these rooms and paid in advance.
Bottom line....DON'T stay at Diamond Palace Hotel.
Top Local Tips for San Juan
Old San Juan
If time allows spend time walking around Old San Juan. The architecture is very interesting, lots of clubs, restaurants, and shops. Food is expensive, but try the local cuisine..
godd things in san jaun
get the phone book and call the first listing under massages in the tellow pages. they are by the plaza american mall. on elinor street 1 block from rosevelt go domn to old san jaun by the gov. mansion and church and get a great cigar. eat eat eat eat walk eat eat eat sleep
Barrachina's / El Convento
Barrachina's the food was wonderful, the prices were resonable. It is were the original Pina Calada was made & they are wonderful (this from a person who normal does not like them!) El Convento - great atmosphere - food way to expensive. 4 shrimp = $18usa as an entree? our bill was $ 80 for 2 drinks, 2 entrees which came with nothing but the 4 shrimp for me & 3 strips of meat & a couple of slices of green peppers for my husband. The chocolate mouse cake was wonderful though as was the atmosphere. So go for dessert & have your meal at Barrachina's!