Freedom of the Seas - Hotel in San Juan before cruise

[Salem615]

Hi

 

I am debating on doing this cruise that goes out of San Juan. It looks amazing. Has anyone gotten a hotel in San Juan before the cruise? If so what is your experience? I would love to find one close to the port and has a cruise shuttle if possible.

Any help would be appreciated!

[alfaeric]

So you know, no hotels have shuttles. They all use taxis.

 

There are a couple of hotels pretty close to the PanAm pier, but there's not much around them to do. If you get in on a late flight, and want to head to the port right away, they would work fine.

 

But if you get there early enough to tour around or go to the beach- then you want to stay in a different place. We've never done beach, so I can't comment on hotels in the Condado or Isla Verde. But we've stayed at El Convento and the Old San Juan Sheraton and really enjoyed both. There are quite a few others that are nice, but we've never stayed there.

 

I'd also suggest going to the San Juan forum here to either ask the question, or do a search on hotels. Your question is a pretty common one, and someone may have answered it for you already.

[mdsgu]

Have cruised out of San Juan several times. I would highly recommend El Convento in Old San Juan. Beautiful hotel and they have the best tapas bar around. Ask some locals where to get the best mofongo -- you'll get several suggestions, but you can bet they will all be good.

 

Hilton El Caribe is also a tried and true good one. Excellent service. Very "corporate" and lacking some of the charm of a hundreds-year-old former convent, but reliable and clean.

[Clarea]

Hi

 

I am debating on doing this cruise that goes out of San Juan. It looks amazing. Has anyone gotten a hotel in San Juan before the cruise? If so what is your experience? I would love to find one close to the port and has a cruise shuttle if possible.

Any help would be appreciated!

Be sure to check out the San Juan forum: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=131

[Dewaldcruiser]

My wife and I always come in the day before when we cruise out of San Juan. This time, we are staying at the Condado Plaza Hilton. Appears to have a decent beach and pool along with a couple of restaurants.

[BillOh]

Hi

 

I am debating on doing this cruise that goes out of San Juan. It looks amazing. Has anyone gotten a hotel in San Juan before the cruise? If so what is your experience? I would love to find one close to the port and has a cruise shuttle if possible.

Any help would be appreciated!

 

 

I haven't read all your replies, but check out any you pick to see if they are open for business. In 2014 we stayed at the Hilton Condado Plaza. It was very nice and I would recommend it. However, when we booked our 2018 cruise out of San Juan that sailed last April this hotel was not open for the public yet, it was hosting Hurricane relief workers. In January when I thought I'd make my reservation they said they thought they would be re-opening to the public in June. I haven't checked. FYI, their facebook page seems to update faster than their corporate website.

 

We ended up at the Sheraton in Old San Juan. It was nice, a little pricier, but lots of places to visit nearby. Loved the roof top pool.

[Salem615]

Thank you for the suggestions!

[Cigar King]

We have stayed at the Sheraton OSJ several times. They were our hotel in December as well. They were still closed and they never contacted us to tell us that or offer any assistance. I get the hurricane, but, their home office should have taken better care of their impacted customers.

 

Fortunately, we found another hotel, the O.Live...super nice place. Give them a look.

[davekathy]

Salem615...Hampton Inn or Embassy Suites. No shuttles from the air port to the hotels or to the Pan Am pier. Approximately a 20 minute taxi ride to the Pan Am pier. Both offer a free mangers reception in the evening and free breakfast in the morning. Both are close to restaurants and stores.

[danp]

Have cruised out of San Juan several times. I would highly recommend El Convento in Old San Juan. Beautiful hotel and they have the best tapas bar around. Ask some locals where to get the best mofongo -- you'll get several suggestions, but you can bet they will all be good.

 

Hilton El Caribe is also a tried and true good one. Excellent service. Very "corporate" and lacking some of the charm of a hundreds-year-old former convent, but reliable and clean.

 

The El Caribe may still be closed,I think it may open in January

[dsvd79]

We stay at the Hyatt House near the pier. You get a great view of the ship in port. It is a clean, modern, and has a fantastic breakfast. Also on the property is an Olive Garden, and a Longhorn Steakhouse.

[Dewaldcruiser]

We have stayed at the Sheraton OSJ several times. They were our hotel in December as well. They were still closed and they never contacted us to tell us that or offer any assistance. I get the hurricane, but, their home office should have taken better care of their impacted customers.

 

Fortunately, we found another hotel, the O.Live...super nice place. Give them a look.

 

The same thing happened to us several years ago at a different Sheraton in San Juan. Luckily, I checked up on my own and found that our SJ Sheraton had closed. The corporate Sheraton offices never told us. Seeing that it happened to you recently certainly raises a red flag for booking any SJ Sheraton in the future.

[starrcards]

We stay at the Hyatt House near the pier. You get a great view of the ship in port. It is a clean, modern, and has a fantastic breakfast. Also on the property is an Olive Garden, and a Longhorn Steakhouse.

 

On a previous cruise from San Juan, we stayed t the La Concha in Condado. Nice hotel. Meh beach. Restaurants in the hotel are expensive but there is a plethora of restaurants of all cuisines on Ashford Avenue within walking distance of the hotel (try Pinky's across the street for breakfast). Local Bus to OSJ for .$75 (bring quarters) and a quick 10 min taxi ride to the port.

 

For our December Freedom cruise, we will be staying at the Hyatt House. We are flying in a day early and planning dinner at Casita Miramar (sorry, can get Olive Garden and Longhorn at home).

[BobNoxious]

Doing the LaConcha Renaissance resort here...

[BillOh]

We stay at the Hyatt House near the pier. You get a great view of the ship in port. It is a clean, modern, and has a fantastic breakfast. Also on the property is an Olive Garden, and a Longhorn Steakhouse.

 

 

Staying in the two different hotels I have stayed at, I have rode past these and noted exactly what you are saying. do you Taxi to port? Wondering if taxi's wouldn't want such as short fair.

[Cigar King]

I thought the taxis in SJU used a flat rate within zones? If that's the case, it may not matter.

[Clarea]

I thought the taxis in SJU used a flat rate within zones? If that's the case, it may not matter.

Yep, still using the zone system as of this past March.

[Jbabineau23]

Last year, we stayed at the Embassy Suites San Juan and we loved it. There is a manager's reception at night with snacks and beverages and hot cooked to order breakfast/buffet in the morning. We took a tax and it was a flat rate. We didn't rebook this hotel as it was going through refurbishment and the hotel was more than I wanted to spend. The rate increased a lot since last year. This year we are trying the Intercontinental Hotel San Juan in the Isle Verde area. We did a day pass at the Marriott Stellaris last year when disembarked and awaiting our flights back home. That was a beautiful hotel/resort!! Good luck!

[2Long2NxtCrz]

We went into San Juan three days early and I rented a condo in Old San Juan. Had the entire one bedroom house to ourselves! It was steps to Plaza de Armas and trolleys. We pretty much walked everywhere since we were in the heart of OSJ. We rented a car for a few excursions out of OSJ: to the beach, to the bioluminescent bay for kayaking, and up to see Areceibo.

 

It all depends on how long you are going to be there. The taxis are affordable and anywhere in OSJ is close to the majority of sights.

[polymedia]

I stayed at the Hotel Miramar in Condado last May and I'll be staying there in August as well. Nice hotel at a nice price. I stayed at the Casablanca in Old San Juan before that and really liked it, but I think it hasn't recovered from the hurricane yet as I was not able to book online.

[newcruiser1573]

We stayed at the best western palm inn suites in Condado. We loved the location and walked on the beach and to restaurants and there’s a Walgreens across from the hotel. Highly recommend.

[cruiseguy1016]

We have cruised out of San Juan many times and have stayed at several different hotels. Our favorite had been the Embassy Suites. We had it booked again this past March but it was closed due to hurricane damage. We ended up at Intercontinental and loved it! It is our new favorite hotel in San Juan.

[Flip flop lady]

We just got back on Monday from San Juan. We stayed at The Intercontinental Beach resort in Isle verde. It was absolutely incredible and we want to go back just to stay there a couple of days. After our cruise we chose to stay in Old San Juan at The Sheraton. It as just ok but the location is good.

 

 

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[cruiseguy1016]

We just got back on Monday from San Juan. We stayed at The Intercontinental Beach resort in Isle verde. It was absolutely incredible and we want to go back just to stay there a couple of days. After our cruise we chose to stay in Old San Juan at The Sheraton. It as just ok but the location is good.

 

 

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We usually go down one day before the cruise and spend one night in a hotel. We enjoyed the Intercontinental so much that we decided the next time we cruise out of San Juan, we are going to go 2 or 3 days early to spend more time there.

[Russ Lomas]

San Juan is a wonderful place. I would definitely recommend adding a couple of days pre-cruise if you have the opportunity to do so. Even cruising only a few months after the hurricanes decimated Puerto Rico last year, the three days we spent in San Juan prior to our cruise in December were as enjoyable as our cruise. So much to see and do.

 

 

We usually do economical hotels and use the public bus system (never on time, but cheap) to get around. As others have said, I do not believe that hotels offer shuttles to the pier. We used UBER several times when visiting San Juan and our experiences were outstanding for half the price of a cab. The people there are awesome