Did You Know? Hotel El Convento

A landmark monument to the Conquistador Age, Hotel El Convento in San Juan, Puerto Rico showcases a timeless aura of Old World charm and splendor. As the first Carmelite Convent in the Americas, it housed nuns for 252 years until closing a few days before Christmas in 1903. Vacant for a decade, the abandoned building served as a retail store, a dance hall, and, for the next 40 years, a flophouse without running water, sanitary facilities, or electricity.

Opened on Jan. 27, 1962 as El Convento Hotel, it offered a tranquil, European-style alternative to the glitzy hotels lining the Condado strip. 

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