Fortaleza Guest House Reviews

overall, i\'m happy to have stayed here. the hostel is definitely not one of the best that i\'ve ever stayed at, but it\'s secure enough and it\'s very cheap, and it\'s right in the middle of old san juan, and that\'s all that matters. it definitely helps to know some basic spanish if you stay there, but the guy is nice. there are no beaches nearby, but if you stay in the beach areas (ex. isla verde), then you\'ll have to take a cab to old san juan every time, so may as well do it the other way around.

I stayed both at Fortalezza and Posada San Francisco during my stay in San Juan, and Posada is the winner, hands-down. My room at Fortalezza had a damp odour to it and there is no real common area at the place. The staff seemed nice, but communication was difficult (to me) as they only spoke spanish.

Very friendly and helpful staff and an excellent value overall.

Great for back packers who want to stay in a charming place CENTRALLY located in the heart of San Juan and its beauty and bustling, we met gringos from New York, Swedes, Spaniards, Puerto Ricans, etc. here

The hostel is conveniently located at the heart of old San Juan, with lots of restaurants nearby. The staff only speaks a little English but he is nice. There are two toilets with showers on each floor, though one bathroom is too small for taking a shower. The staff cleans the public area every day and the toilets very frequently. The dorm room I was staying in is not air-conditioned. However, when I opened the balcony door and turned on the two fans, the ventilation in the room was acceptable.

The Fortaleza Guest House is a wonderful place to experience Old San Juan however, the facilities, atmosphere, and cleanliness is horrible. The staff does not speak any English. The rooms also do not have air conditioning, which makes the room extremely hot/humid in the summer. Overall, the location is the only plus in this hostel. I would only recommend if you want to live in Old San Juan.

Very nice location in the center of action of Old San Juan. However, it is noisy at nights because there are some bars nearby that close late.

Located in an excellent area. Place was clean. We had a lot of fun!

Great location, clean, has everything a traveler needs. The guy who works there was very nice, but we had to talk to him in Spanish, so be prepared. One thing that could be improved: there is no way to know in advance whether your room will have a/c or just fan. We had one with fan and it was a little too hot. But then again - for this price, I can hardly complain.

The hostel is located at an excellent location in Old San Juan. The manager was extremely helpful but it would have been great if he knew english. The beds are clean however the restrooms need maintenance. Its an excellent place to crash and the best bang for your buck. If you like to party, this place is really close to most of the bars. Its pretty quiet inside which is a huge plus. Wish there was a bigger community area to socialize with others.

The staff was very friendly and accommodating! They don't all speak English, so a little Spanish is helpful, but not needed. The building is old, but kept very clean. This time of year they book up fast, so it's best to have a reservation ahead of time. My original reservation was at Posado San Fransisco, but all 4 of us had to find somewhere else to stay last minute because she gave away our rooms even though there was a deposit. I wouldn't recommend the Posado for that reason.

I did NOT enjoy my one night at Fortaleza Guest House. It was filthy, one of the bathrooms so much that I didn't want to use it more than once. When we arrived the owner wasn't there and his nephew had to try and figure everything out. We could only pay in cash, and only got a receipt for the payment when I asked for it (and the nephew had spent 10 minutes looking for the receipt pad). The only good thing to say about the hostel is that the location couldn't be more central in Old San Juan.

Clean, Safe, Good Location & Excellent Service. Good Price As Well.

We stayed at a hostel 2 blocks away in San Juan the night prior for less than half the price and were far more impressed with that establishment. Though Fortaleza was fine overall, in every aspect it was very overpriced and in comparison to our other hostel, it fell short in every other aspect as well.

* Great value * Kind, helpful staff * Bathrooms could be much cleaner * Lots of street noise

Decent value for the money and great location. Could definitely be cleaner, especially the kitchen.

Not the hilton, but it works. Clean sheets and towel. Brush up on your spanish first.

Facilities were very clean but the room was small for four people. Adequate for a one night stay. The staff person was very accommodating when we asked to leave our bags until we could board our cruise ship.

The hostel is nicely located, still very old and poorly equipped

I stayed both here and San Juan international hostel when I was in San Juan. I liked San Juan International alot better for several reasons: 1) Once you find San Juan International it is easy to drive back to there as here you have to fight for parking in Old san Juan which is a nightmare. 2) There is no common space here like a living room to socialize and talk to other travelers. 3)The upstairs kitchen is sort of falling apart. 4)They make you give them a 10.00 key deposit.