Hotel Suggestions

We are a family of 8, all adults except the 3 kids (16,14 and 11). We are flying in on a red eye the day before the cruise, so we'll have the day before and the day of the cruise to explore San Juan. I know we want to check out Old San Juan, the forts and would love the possibility of the beach (although this is not a necessity as I am sure we will get our share of beaches on the cruise.) We are open to taking the public bus to get to Old San Juan...but it might be cumbersome with luggage on the day of the cruise. Torn between the Condado area, Isla Verde or staying in Old San Juan itself. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

When are you going? If it’s soon, you might be best off finding out which hotels are open to the public first.

The Embassy Suites in Isla Verde is not close to Old San Juan (not in walking distance, but you can get a cab for $20-$25), but it’s close to a big beach. You can walk to the beach in about 5 min. However, I read today (Jan 4, 2017) that someone had their reservations for March cancelled by the hotel, which says it won’t be open by then.

The Sheraton Old San Juan is a highly recommended hotel. It’s smack downtown in Old San Juan, and you can walk around everywhere once you’re there ($20-$25 cab ride from the airport). Not sure if it’s open or not. The website said it would be taking reservations after Nov 2017, then Jan 8, 2018. Not sure if it will really be open next week or not and I haven’t seen anyone give updates about this hotel.

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Thank you! We are going in June so hopefully most will be open by then.

When are you going? If it’s soon, you might be best off finding out which hotels are open to the public first.

 

The Embassy Suites in Isla Verde is not close to Old San Juan (not in walking distance, but you can get a cab for $20-$25), but it’s close to a big beach. You can walk to the beach in about 5 min. However, I read today (Jan 4, 2017) that someone had their reservations for March cancelled by the hotel, which says it won’t be open by then.

 

The Sheraton Old San Juan is a highly recommended hotel. It’s smack downtown in Old San Juan, and you can walk around everywhere once you’re there ($20-$25 cab ride from the airport). Not sure if it’s open or not. The website said it would be taking reservations after Nov 2017, then Jan 8, 2018. Not sure if it will really be open next week or not and I haven’t seen anyone give updates about this hotel.

 

 

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We just booked the AC Hotel San Juan Condado, it is a couple blocks from the beach and gives you exchange privileges at Marriott San Juan & Stellaris Casino which is beachfront. It's also on a bus route to Old San Juan. The reviews look positive and apparently it was accepting guests and held up well after the hurricanes.

Thank you! We are going in June so hopefully most will be open by then.

I’m hoping so too. I booked the Sheraton Old San Juan for this coming June a year in advance (last June, before the hurricane). I haven’t gotten any notice from them about being closed or cancelling my reservation, but it sounds like a lot of people are getting that at the last minute.

Some hotels have been housing relief workers, so even if they’re open, they are not housing the public, and the Sheraton is one of those hotels. Trip Advisor has a couple recent reviews, but they’re all from relief workers, so it seems they are still housing them. They are making a lot of money on relief workers because the government is paying for it, so they continue to extend their “temporarily closed until...” dates for as long as the relief workers are staying, and there doesn’t seem to be a definitive date for how long that will go on, which is why people’s hotels keep getting cancelled at the last minute.

The price for the Sheraton has gone up since I booked it. I got a king room for 2 nights for under $400, and now it is close to $600. Still not a bad deal for the location, but if I were you I’d choose something soon because the price will probably continue to go up.

The Sheraton website is now allowing reservations (I tried to make one just to see), but their website hasn’t been updated and still says they won’t be taking any until after Nov 2017. One of the 3rd party booking sites I tried still has a later date listed, so that’s why I’m weary.

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Another thing you might try is to book a hotel in San Juan, but also book one in whatever connecting city you’re flying from. That’s what I did, just in case.

I booked an extra hotel reservation in Orlando for the 2 days we’re supposed to be in San Juan at the Sheraton, just in case our hotel gets cancelled. If it does, we’ll stay in Orlando for those 2 days and change our flight to get to San Juan the morning of the cruise instead.

Usually I wouldn’t fly in the day-of, but since Florida is so close and would be a direct flight during a good weather season, I feel like it’s a safe alternative to being in San Juan with no hotel. I can cancel it up to 48 hours in advance so there’s no risk.

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We just booked the AC Hotel San Juan Condado, it is a couple blocks from the beach and gives you exchange privileges at Marriott San Juan & Stellaris Casino which is beachfront. It's also on a bus route to Old San Juan. The reviews look positive and apparently it was accepting guests and held up well after the hurricanes.

Did you book this online or over the phone? Have you seen reviews from anyone that says they honored their reservations? Just wondering if this hotel is actually open currently or if it’s one of the hotels taking reservations for a later date, but still housing the relief workers currently. Thanks!

EDITED TO ADD: I just checked Trip Advisor and it appears it’s open to the public, and also a very nice hotel and MUCH less expensive than the current prices for Sheraton Old San Juan.

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Did you book this online or over the phone? Have you seen reviews from anyone that says they honored their reservations? Just wondering if this hotel is actually open currently or if it’s one of the hotels taking reservations for a later date, but still housing the relief workers currently. Thanks!

 

EDITED TO ADD: I just checked Trip Advisor and it appears it’s open to the public, and also a very nice hotel and MUCH less expensive than the current prices for Sheraton Old San Juan.

 

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Yup . Booked online through Marriott direct and had them pricematch a rate on trip advisor. The reviews post hurricane were positive for the most part and were from guests in December. For the price I figured it was worth booking!

You mention dealing with the luggage on the day of the cruise. If you are on Royal Caribbean and the ship leaves at 8 PM you can take your luggage to the ship and then go sightseeing. I haven't done it but I know people who have. Not sure if you are supposed to check in for the cruise and then leave, or check in after you are done sightseeing.

Thank you! I have made about 3 fully refundable reservations, AC Condado included. That is the one I am leaning towards. I heard the bus is a pretty easy way to get to Old San Juan.

Consider checking out the La Concha resort also.

Just booked at the Hyatt, would love to find something cheaper though.

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We have reservations at the El Convento. Anyone else? (We do not like the required one-night prepayment policy, but this may be the norm in SJ.)

We have reservations at the El Convento. Anyone else? (We do not like the required one-night prepayment policy, but this may be the norm in SJ.)

It’s not the norm for PR, but it is common for hotels to offer a “cheapest rate” deal that requires pre-payment. If you booked through a 3rd party, that could be another reason. If the El Convento is a boutique hotel (not owned by a big chain like Marriott, Hilton etc), it wouldn’t be too surprising for them to ask for money upfront. Hopefully it’s refundable. I wouldn’t book anything that asks for non-refundable money up front.

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Just stayed at AC hotel on January 5. Beautiful hotel with great service. Really nice roof top bar.

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We just booked the AC Hotel San Juan Condado, it is a couple blocks from the beach and gives you exchange privileges at Marriott San Juan & Stellaris Casino which is beachfront. It's also on a bus route to Old San Juan. The reviews look positive and apparently it was accepting guests and held up well after the hurricanes.

I'd book a back-up too. We were scheduled to stay at the AC Hotel and confirmed by phone (directly with the resort), email and facebook multiple times. Two days prior to our stay we received a cancellation email. When I called about it no one could really give me a reason as to why we were cancelled when other guests reported staying there without any issues. Luckily we had a back-up and ended up staying there instead.

We have reservations at the El Convento. Anyone else? (We do not like the required one-night prepayment policy, but this may be the norm in SJ.)

We haven’t stayed there yet, but my sister and I toured the property a few years ago (she’s a TA) and it’s a lovely property. It an old convent - hence the name - so the rooms are on the small size but well appointed.

There is a nice rooftop terrace with a small pool and I think hot tubs, a bar and awesome views. It’s in a great location and close to the Old San Juan cruise port but not the new Pan Am one. You can walk to most attractions in Old San Juan.

We have reservations before our cruise in March

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