San Juan help

[czmom]

We are hoping to stay 2 nights in San Juan at the end of our cruise in January. I'm looking into Isla Verde hotels on the beach, but whoa $$$$. Any recommendations?

We'd like to explore Old San Juan, visit the rainforest, and play on the beach. Any other must dos? My kids will be 8 and 10.

 

[Steve Dexter]

We stayed at the Hampton Inn & Suites San Juan at 6530 Isla Verde Avenue in January before getting on the Wonder and really liked it. It's not walk-able to Old San Juan, but the neighborhood was very walk-able with lots of nice restaurants. There is an excellent doughnut shop across the street.

 

[dmask]

Hilton Caribe has a private beach, close to Old San Juan (cab) and close to port. Might be worth checking with Disney, it was one of the hotels where transfers were offered. It can be pretty expensive, but keep watching rates and the resort fees really add up. Just booked the 2017 San Juan 3day cruise and took a quick look at the rates (ouch). We might give the Sheraton Old San Juan a try on this trip. Cruise meet up groups can be a great source of info!

 

[shoes99]

I just booked the Caribe Hilton post cruise. We will be on the repositioning cruise from NYC.
The rate was $161.10 Hilton honors member rate, but when you add the resort fees and taxes
it comes to $207.20 per night. The Embassy suites closer to the airport is $176.60.

 

[czmom]

I just booked the Caribe Hilton post cruise. We will be on the repositioning cruise from NYC.
The rate was $161.10 Hilton honors member rate, but when you add the resort fees and taxes
it comes to $207.20 per night. The Embassy suites closer to the airport is $176.60.

That's close to $100 less than I'm getting for January!

 

[ludari]

I stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott and it was great. I got an ocean view and the amount of time I did spend in the hotel I found pleasant.

 

[cedricandsophie]

We had two one bedroom suites at the Embassy Suites in Jan. The cost was 250 per room for two nights which I didn't think was bad. The pool was lovely and the rooms were so quiet even though the planes from the airport went right over, the breakfast was fine. We took a cab to Old San Juan for dinner and walked around. Then the next day we walked across the street and rented a car for a day for about 50 and drove to the national park. Took the hike to the big waterfall which was great. We had 5 of us and took a cab to the port for about 60. All in all I thought it was all reasonable for two days.

 

[SnowWhite2]

We stayed at the DoubleTree and although it was not on the beach, it did have a private beach with a golf cart shuttle. The hotel was beautiful and the staff wonderful. It was reasonably priced. Cabs were very plentiful.

I highly recommend the Taste of San Juan tour. It gives you a tour of old San Juan and a stop at 6 different local restaurants. It was awesome.

 

[jrabbit]

We stayed at the Sheraton Old San Juan - no beaches, but full access to OSJ. We loved the location.

I will second, third and fourth the "Taste of San Juan Tour" - that's how we started our trip and it was fantastic.

 

[mareed]

Also interested in a few nights after cruising from Galveston to San Juan next January. The Hampton Inn looks highest rated on TripAdvisor and has decent rates for the area.