I booked a long weekend retreat for eight executives, who were sadly disappointed in travel time, service, food quality, and getting around villa. Trip to/from airport to villas was longer than anticipated. Room service took an hour to arrive. Butler service was almost non-existent. Food quality was very poor at The Strip House and most of the food was barely touched. Too difficult to get from villas to marina, main hotel, spa. Had to wait for trolleys to arrive to transport you around the complex. Would not visit again.

On the good side, employees were nice, scenery was nice, villas were clean.

What an odd experience I had at Las Casitas....
first of all, while the place is pretty there were hardly any guests so it felt VERY lonely and there were hardly any staff members in sight during the daytime. (No staff at the tropical pool at ALL to take a drink order or anything).

At night, it was a bit creepy coming back to this place with NO ONE around except for the hired security guard. The place is not well lit at night and that made it feel weird too. I'm all for solitude but this was just...odd.

On my last day, I called the Bell Captain to ask that they send someone to assist me with my bags and I was told to "bring them down the stairs and bring them by the pool area"...I thought I must've heard wrong! I asked again and then they showed up to assist me.

I really would NOT recommend this as a full-service luxury resort, it isn't. The staff is simply not trained for that level of service. Don't let the high rates fool you. This place is sort of sad - even the umbrella tables by the tropical pool are tattered; a real eyesore at a place that is all about luxury.

The best part of this resort is Palomino Island so it's not such a bad idea to stay at The Marina area and have your meals down there where it's nice and calm. FYI, the casino at the El Con attracts tank top wearing guys with beer bellies and it is not a pretty site, it also makes the place appear less luxe since there's no dress code to dissuade these gut-bearing guys that visit by the dozens...better to stay at The Caribe Hilton; a WORLD of a difference in Customer Service and the service there is given with an open hand (not a tight fist like at the El Con).

some technical glitches both before and after our arrival....upon arrival at the airport, our requested hotel transportation was not there.......initially annoying as we were tired after a long flight, but actually lucky as we took a taxi-van to the resort for less less than half the resort-quoted price.........getting to las casitas, the initial impression is a good one....the villas are attractive, pastel stucco..fountains and well tended plantings abound..we had a two bedroom villa with a large terrace overlooking the sea....great space with nicely appointed kitchenette and living area..huge master bedroom..smaller second bedroom with twin beds and no windows.....teeenage kids had no issues with no windows..two baths..groceries we had pre-ordered to be the villa were not there.......thus were especially pleased that carmen rios, a las casitas staff member, had taken the time to send a bottle of wine accompanied by several nice cheeses and fruit...apparently she appreciated the lengthy two-stop journey from london and our late arrival..the gest was a lovely welcoming.........overall, the staff members in charge of las casitas were attentive, helpful and kind..........carmen went above and beyond..

groceries were ordered the next day, again...a great idea to have snacks, drinks, etc on hand with two teens.......good idea..we ate breakfast both in the room and in one of the outside cafes..slow service, but a nice breakfast..

eating out and recognizing it was a busy time, we made reservations through las casitas for three of our evenings..getting to the venues, no record of our reservation was found..thus, some scrambling needed........food overall was good in all establishments but not extradordinary....expensive...

no one in the family particularly liked el comquistador side, the antithesis of the las casidas side.......las casidas was quiet, relaxing, generally handled being fully booked well...........el conquistador was teeming with guests, poolside jammed, noisy...too much

unfortunately, all dinner facilities are on the el conquistador side..plus, getting to the resorts only beaches is on the el conquistador side...in addition, guests must queue and take fast-moving ferry transport to the resort-owned island......first getting to the ferry by taking a funicular...........too much

the island beaches were crowded on one side, but after walking ten minutes, less peopled beaches could be found....once there, fine, but the hassle of getting there was more than we were willing to do generally..........

most often, we stayed at the pretty pool near our villa......only issue being lack of chairs.........just too many visitors looking for relative quiet..the pool itself attractive, infinity pool with lovely view....

This was our sixth visit to Las Casitas and we were pleased to see that LXR is making some needed changes to the hotel, since they have taken over ownership and management of the property.
Manny Melendez, Operations Manager of Las Casitas, was so gracious and helpful, he did all he could to ensure our stay was enjoyable. We see improvements to the running and efficiency of Las Casitas under his direction. Eggy Lopez, our butler, as always went out of his way to make our stay comfortable and easy. We had some issues with the sofabed in our casita which Eggy tried very hard to resolve for us, Joanne, a server at Las Casitas Cafe, remembered our family from past years and is always so pleasant and smiling each morning at breakfast!!

We would love to see some updating of menus at the restaurants, when you return year after year, you get very tired of seeing the same menu choices-particularly for lunch and breakfast when you eat at the restaurants closest to your casita. Enjoyed the new Strip House-an excellent meal and cocktails. Otellos was again a good meal with quality service. New water park is fun-meant for young children, under 10, not much amusement for pre-teens or teenagers.

We go to Las Casitas to have a relaxing vacation in a beautiful environment, staying at Las Casitas vs. El Conquistador, provides more serenity and privacy while still being able to utilize the amenities, such as the casino and restaurants, of a larger hotel. We enjoy the Goldern Door spa for both services and group fitness classes.