El Convento Hotel earns top spot for historic adaptive reuse
The Old San Juan landmark in Puerto Rico was ranked No. 1 in the Historic Hotels of America list.
El Convento Hotel in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, has been named the No. 1 hotel in the 2025 “Top 25 Historic Hotels of America Best of Adaptive Reuse” list, a national ranking that highlights creative and sustainable transformations of historic properties into lodging facilities.
Located within the historic walled city of Old San Juan, El Convento Hotel was built more than 350 years ago, in 1646, as a Roman Catholic convent for nuns of the Carmelite Order, and served as one of the Caribbean’s most important religious facilities for nearly 250 years, the organization said.
The convent closed in 1903 and remained vacant for 50 years. Its transformation began in the mid-20th century when entrepreneur Robert Woolworth led a full-scale restoration to turn it into a boutique hotel.
“Reborn as El Convento Hotel, it soon emerged as one of the most popular vacation destinations in all of San Juan,” the release stated, noting that celebrities such as Rita Hayworth and Truman Capote were among its early guests.
The property’s original Spanish-style architectural features have been preserved through ongoing renovations, including a courtyard anchored by a 300-year-old níspero, or loquat, tree.
“Further restorations and renovations have rejuvenated the building’s historical and structural integrity, revitalizing the Spanish-style design features of the original convent,” the organization added.
El Convento Hotel, owned and operated by International Hospitality Enterprises, was inducted into Historic Hotels of America in 1999 and is one of the oldest properties on the list. Its 2025 recognition underscores the role of adaptive reuse in historic preservation, sustainability and cultural tourism.
The 2025 list, released during Preservation Month, includes 25 historic buildings across the United States that have been converted into hotels. Other recognized properties include the Woolverton Inn in Stockton, New Jersey, a former 1792 farmhouse and barn; the NOPSI Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana, once the city’s utility headquarters; and the 21c Museum Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, which occupies five 19th-century warehouses.
“Historic hotels preserve the past to serve the present, making them beacons of sustainability, as well as fantastic destinations for solo travelers searching for new experiences, couples in need of a romantic getaway and families setting out to make lifelong memories,” said Lawrence P. Horwitz, executive vice president of Historic Hotels of America and Historic Hotels Worldwide.
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El Convento Hotel in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, was originally built in 1646 as a Carmelite convent and has since been transformed into a boutique hotel recognized nationally for historic preservation.
