Hotel Rumbao, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel — Hotel in San Juan

My issue with this hotel is the bed bugs. After our first night, I woke up with a few bites, but not so many that I thought of bed bugs. After the next night, I woke up with 5 times as many bites, and I called the hotel staff that evening to report it to them, and they told me they would send someone up, but that they were booked up and could not change our room. After 30 minutes of waiting, I called 5+ times to see if anyone was going to be sent up, but nobody answered until I called from the room phone, and a different person answered and actually sent someone up. The person who was sent up was nice but very dismissing. He simply shook our sheets and determined there were no bed bugs. The next morning, I told the staff at the front about the issue of the bed bugs and how I had bites from my neck down to my toes, and again they were very dismissive saying they almost never get bed bugs, which was definitely not at all what I was expecting to hear. They told me they would contact someone to see if there were any bed bugs and report back to me which they have not done. During this time I have gone to the doctor to see if they could confirm these were bed bug bites, and they confirmed the bites as bed bugs. I have pictures of my bites, and the 2 other travelers’ bites as well, but I have no idea what to do anymore. I have called the hotel multiple times throughout the day for an update, and they simply do not answer. If the hotel does not fix this with some sort of compensation or refund, this information will clearly have to be sent higher up somewhere with Marriott. Now apart from the bed bugs issue, only 1/4 staff members I spoke to was incredibly nice and thoughtful while the rest were not. We had an issue with our $35 vouchers because the person who checked us in did not tell us they were daily vouchers, so by the time we chose a day to use what we thought was only a single $35 voucher, it was too late to use the rest, and when I went to the hotel staff about it, they were very rude and dismissive yet again saying they always tell people at check in and they could not do anything about it, but like I said and the 2 other travelers who were with me can confirm, they did not tell us at all. Lastly, location is good for cruise people and those looking to explore San Juan, but that is it really because any good activities are 30+ minutes away. *UPDATE: If you read their comment, they are lying about them ever communicating to me, and if they are lying about that, they are more than likely lying about ever getting confirmation there were no bed bugs. Nobody has reached out to me for the past 2 weeks at any point, and nobody answers the phone calls from me and the 2 guests who went with me. Do not stay here unless you want to get covered in bed bug bites. We confirmed with the doctor that they ARE bed bugs, and when we got home, we even found bed bugs in our suitcases, so they are clearly lying...

Good location by the cruise port for Celebrity. The old town was within walking distance, so it was a good location to explore without the need for taxis.

We checked in late at 9:40pm. The welcome seemed unfriendly at first but the woman was probably focused on the processing, as she was warm and friendly after she had checked us in. She said we could leave our luggage there so we could dine before the restaurant closed at 10pm. We went back to collect our luggage an received a welcome rum cocktail.

We had booked via a cruise travel agent and our deal was was two nights with a $35 dining voucher for lunch or dinner each day. The menu didn't have many vegetarian options so one of our party couldn't eat anything except fries. The service was also very slow for our group of six, so if you're in a rush - don't dine here!

The hairdryer and a mug was missing from our room and this was very inconvenient as I was not able to wash my hair and this caused delay in the morning. When I tried to phone reception by pressing the first services button there was always an engaged tone. I tried over 10 times. In the end we had to go reception to request one. Better housekeeping is needed to ensure all rooms have a hairdryer.

One of the guest elevators was broken on 2 November 2024, which led to long lines and chaos at check-out time. Do not wait until 11am to check out! It is better to check out earlier and leave your cases in the luggage storage.

We made the mistake of trying to return to our room at 10:50am to collect our cases from floor 3 to go to reception on floor 2. It took so long, our key card stopped working when we got to our room at 11:01. We had to ask housekeeping to let us in. Then we had to queue for the elevator which took three attempts to get in. Get in when it is going up, to go down, or you will never get in.

After leaving your bags in the luggage storage on the ground floor, the nearby toilets on the ground floor are only accessible with a guest keycard. This is the first hotel I have ever been to in my 27+ years of travel, where there are no toilets available after checking out. No nearby staff could (or would) provide access either. Plan ahead if you do need the toilet after check out.

The location is the best thing about this hotel. The elevators are dire. The locked toilet on the ground floor is a joke. If the restaurant did not offer vouchers - I would say...

If you are a cruise passenger, DO NOT be fooled by the location of this hotel. It is seriously not worth the wait and the cost. The staff is not prepared for the amount of people from the cruises, and everything from the checkin, Baggage handling/storage, the housekeeping and the restaurants, are completely disorganized and unprepared. Book something a few blocks away and save money and stress!

To be fair, here’s a breakdown. The good and bad of staying at Hotel Rumbao -

The GOOD - Location is good and close to the cruise ships Room was well appointed & Clean The hotel is beautifully renovated in a historic building, right at the entrance of Old San Juan The art installations and decor is very impressive

The BAD

The front desk is out of control and disorganized. Massive lines, with inadequate check in service. We checked in at 10:30am and, looking around at the sizable crowd, we did not expect our room until after checkin time of 3pm, and were advised they would call when the room was ready. The call never came...we had to get in line several times(20-30 min wait each time and with a reprimand by the desk clerk), to inquire if our rooms were ready yet. Finally at 4:30pm - our first room was available. At 6:30pm we got our second room (3.5 hrs after checking time), and only after we persisted (calmly) with the front desk did we get the room. The second room had dirty towels, which were never replaced, even after requesting they to do so.

We checked out at 5am to catch an early flight…no one was around to help with a taxi - so make your plans the day before.

-Upon checkin, we were given a coupon for $35 to use at their food outlets.....The main restaurant was closed for a private party, which was extremely loud, making our wait for checkin quite uncomfortable. The smaller “cafe” restaurant had already shut down their “toaster”, so nothing but chips and snacks were available. So the coupon was useless! We called the front desk from a store to see if there were microwaves in the rooms..they didn’t know, and reiterated that the kitchen was closed. The next day, we met a couple who booked a hotel about a mile away, and they had a wonderful and relaxing stay. Not so, at the...