Hotel El Convento

Hotel El Convento is a hotel in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico located in an old monastery, adjoining the San Juan Cathedral square, the cathedral being second oldest cathedral in the Western Hemisphere.

In 1646, construction began on the Carmelite convent, through a petition by King Phillip IV of Spain. The Monasterio del Señor San José de la Orden de nuestra Señora del Carmen was founded in 1651 by Doña Ana Lanzós, a wealthy widow who donated her money and her magnificent residence (a large double sloped tiled roof) in the street that since then bears the name: de las Monjas. Historian María de los Ángeles Castro tells us that the delay in the arrival of a nunnery was due to economic reasons but also for lack of since the fortifications of the city were still not complete. Three nuns brought especially from Santo Domingo served as founders.