San Juan Hotel

[Pinky3]

Need recommendation for pre cruise hotel.

 

[lorimay]

I went to Trip Advisor and started there.
I fell in love with a small boutique hotel called The Olive Boutique hotel, its not on the ocean and a cab drive away from the port, but its newly renovated.
Got a great deal on one of their suites, overlooking the Lagoon for about $230 on black Friday.
There seems to be a lot of nice hotel options, it depends on what you're looking for.

Good Luck!

 

[bumbershoot]

We have Caribe Hilton booked. We were very close to booking the embassy suites but our pre cruise stay is 5 nights and that was a lot of long cab rides to get to OSJ for sightseeing.

 

[bumbershoot]

Hotel el Convento was my absolute love but it's not as resorty as we want. We want beach and water and expansive grounds so I'll keep el Convento for a future different sort of trip.

 

[DLgal]

La Concha or Marriott Stellaris

 

[ACDSNY]

We loved El Convento for exploring Old San Juan.

 

[ludari]

I stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott San Juan Isla Verde and it was wonderful and right on the beach. During my post cruise stay in Puerto Rico I spent a lot of time exploring Old San Juan and really enjoyed that part of the city so next time I visit Puerto Rico I want to stay at Hotel El Convento in Old San Juan.

 

[Birdie dog]

I really, really liked TRYP by Wyndham. I'd definitely stay there again.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_R...la_Verde-Isla_Verde_Carolina_Puerto_Rico.html

 

[shoes99]

We have Caribe Hilton booked. We were very close to booking the embassy suites but our pre cruise stay is 5 nights and that was a lot of long cab rides to get to OSJ for sightseeing.

We have Caribe Hilton booked. We were very close to booking the embassy suites but our pre cruise stay is 5 nights and that was a lot of long cab rides to get to OSJ for sightseeing.

We stayed at the Caribe Hilton for two nights post cruise and the third night we took a taxi to the Embassy Suites to be near the airport. Both were fine. When we arrived
at ES we didn't leave the property, we did our sightseeing from the Caribe Hilton taking an arranged tour of the Fort and the Bicardi Rum factory.

 

[DavidCruzNYC]

Hi i recommend Hyatt Place. Its inexpensive and very close to port, 5 mins away. It's brand new, super clean, great pool and free breakfast buffet. Also, its close to everything, Old San Juan, Condado, beach are all a cab ride away. ProTip: Use UBER do not use local taxi. Uber is a fraction of cost. It cost me $15 to go to old san juan when on an uber it cost $6. Just sit up front so the local taxis dont give your driver any problems. (taxi/uber war)

 

[lorimay]

Hi i recommend Hyatt Place. Its inexpensive and very close to port, 5 mins away. It's brand new, super clean, great pool and free breakfast buffet. Also, its close to everything, Old San Juan, Condado, beach are all a cab ride away. ProTip: Use UBER do not use local taxi. Uber is a fraction of cost. It cost me $15 to go to old san juan when on an uber it cost $6. Just sit up front so the local taxis dont give your driver any problems. (taxi/uber war)

Well that's scary..... People are nuts

 

[jrabbit]

We stayed in OSJ at the Sheraton Hotel and Casino OSJ. Across the street is where the Cruise Ships dock for their stop in San Juan. The Pan American Pier is across the bay and is an easy taxi ride.

Food in the hotel restaurant(s) seemed expensive. Food in OSJ was reasonable and terrific. We're going back next year and will spend several days in OSJ before our cruise.

BTW the following pictures were taken from the Roof Top Pool area of the Sheraton

Arrows pointing up show where the Day Stop cruise ships dock, the arrow pointing right shows the Pan American Port where you start / end your cruise.


Day Stop docks for Cruise Ships


And finally the Pan American Port where your cruise Begins / Ends

 

[SleepyDeb]

We stayed at El Convento and absolutely LOVED it. Historic and beautiful. Right in the center of Old San Juan. We had free upgrade to a Jr Suite and the room was one of the most beautiful I have ever stayed in, and I've stayed in some amazing hotels when I was traveling on my company's dime. It is not a resort though, if that's what your looking for.

 

[bumbershoot]

Figuring out what sort of place we wanted was the hardest part.

If it had been 2 nights then el Convento would have been an absolute. But once we stretched it to 5 nights that changed the whole deal. And really if I'd booked Embassy when the price was still way low it would have been worth it. But I delayed and the price kept going up (while el Convento was coming down!) and those free waffles in the morning and wine at night lost their value. Plus I have 3 places I want to eat at in OSJ so far, and 2 of them are breakfast places, and THEN I found a place I want to try to eat at near Caribe Hilton, and the concepts of being near the airport+free waffles, or having a tiny-looking pool (on the roof?) and no nearby beach just fell by the wayside.

 

[jrabbit]

Figuring out what sort of place we wanted was the hardest part.

... Plus I have 3 places I want to eat at in OSJ so far, and 2 of them are breakfast places, and THEN I found a place I want to try to eat at near Caribe Hilton, and the concepts of being near the airport+free waffles, or having a tiny-looking pool (on the roof?) and no nearby beach just fell by the wayside.

Hopefully the ChocoBar (Casa Cortes ChocoBar) is one of the places you want to eat. It's very good. I've only had breakfast there. We had the Chocolate Pancakes, Chocolate Waffles and Chocolate French Toast. All were very good. Had hot chocolate as well - really good. The "Europeo" hot chocolate was the BEST!! Everyone get their own, then get one of these to share.

 

[keishashadow]

We have Caribe Hilton booked. We were very close to booking the embassy suites but our pre cruise stay is 5 nights and that was a lot of long cab rides to get to OSJ for sightseeing.

When sailing CCL, we stay @ the Sheraton OSJ perfect to just walk bags over to pier & easy to walk about the city to sight see.

The Caribe Hilton is our favorite hotel in San Juan by far. The grounds are beautiful and they have always welcomed us back to the hotel to 'kill time before our flight". You can store your bags with bell services and enjoy strolling the grounds or the beautiful open air lobby. They have the digital key for Hilton reward members and you can 'self' upgrade yourself gratis if rooms are available on the map.

It is not what I would consider a walk into the old city proper of San Juan but people do. I'm told there is bus that runs right out front, we take a cab, it's reasonable. There is a residential area that is a bit sketchy along the walk into the city (positioned over the hillside down to the sea), was warned to not attempt the walk at night by several locals as crime is an issue.

Some pics

Nice gardens to explore




A fort on property but you cannot access it, under restoration


Yes, they have a resident iguana lol




Looking towards OSJ area

Swimming/snorkling area

Small reef, with public park across the lagoon

Looking towards airport direction, that's the Hilton Condado in distance

 

[lorimay]

Figuring out what sort of place we wanted was the hardest part.

If it had been 2 nights then el Convento would have been an absolute. But once we stretched it to 5 nights that changed the whole deal. And really if I'd booked Embassy when the price was still way low it would have been worth it. But I delayed and the price kept going up (while el Convento was coming down!) and those free waffles in the morning and wine at night lost their value. Plus I have 3 places I want to eat at in OSJ so far, and 2 of them are breakfast places, and THEN I found a place I want to try to eat at near Caribe Hilton, and the concepts of being near the airport+free waffles, or having a tiny-looking pool (on the roof?) and no nearby beach just fell by the wayside.

Please share your breakfast places.

 

[bumbershoot]

The "waffle-era"? Or something like that. And without my notes in front of me I'm thinking Cafe Berlin is the other. They had a lovely vegetarian menu at lunch (we ate there during a day stop) and I believe they have a daily breakfast too. (They also serve meat but we pay attn to the veggie items)

And now that chocolate place is on my list. Thanks for that!

I'm really scattered. Our flight leaves around midnight Friday night and we are not ready and it's going to snow this evening. Augh!


I doubt we will walk *to* OSJ from the hotel. It was hot and sweaty enough there in January, let alone before it's officially winter. But the cab from the airport area vs where Caribe is was more manageable for my mind.

Info about Hilton members is now irritating me that we booked through hotels.com. But we had "free" nights that will be expiring so we wanted to use them. Maybe they'll let us put our number on file anyway. Sometimes places do. If not, oh well.


The Sheraton was very tempting! Lots of good places there.

 

[mom4fun]

Has anyone stayed at the Double Tree? It looked nice.

 

[Explore]

We stayed 3 nights at the Double Tree before our Southern in January. We liked it. They would take you on a golf cart to the beach. It was across from a supermarket where we grabbed a few quick meals. There were several local/good restaurants within a reasonable walking distance. They have a restaurant and small pool/hot tub on the property. The rooms are a little small, but modern. It is not a resort, but when we went the price couldn't be beat (compared to all the others mentioned). There is a bus stop in front of the property, but we found them to be a little unreliable so we took taxis in and out of OSJ (Uber wasn't an option at the time) and to the cruise pier. It was me, my husband and our two boys; we would go back. I think it just depends on what your goal is and what your budget is.