San Juan Hotels

[cruizeblues]

Thinking about going to San Juan a day early. What hotel do you recommend in San Juan that is inexpensive but decent?

[Alexis]

Hi,
We stay at the Wyndham Old San Juan. It is a very nice hotel, with a pool and casino, but it is across the water from the Adventures pier. (Pan American Pier, which is not where most of the ships dock) We love to stay there because it is right in Old San Juan.
The Wyndham Condado Plaza is the closest one to the Pan American pier. It is right next to the bridge between Condado and Old San Juan. It is a large hotel with it's own beach, (something that the Wyndham does not have), a casino, and within walking distance to everything in Condado.
These are not the cheapest hotels, but they are nice hotels.


I found this website to be helpful in researching the hotels.

[url="http://www.1st-hotelreservations.com/reservations/puerto_rico/san_juan.html"]http://www.1st-hotelreservations.com/reservations/puerto_rico/san_juan.html[/url]
And another:

[url="http://www.tripadvisor.com/Packages-g147320-Vacation-Package-Discount-San_Juan_Puerto_Rico.html"]http://www.tripadvisor.com/Packages-g147320-Vacation-Package-Discount-San_Juan_Puerto_Rico.html[/url]

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[fireguy091]

I've stayed here several times. Its reasonable and in the heart of old town where you can walk to just about everything, considering you will only be there for a day. And if you get lucky your ship docks across the street.
[url="http://www.wyndham.com/hotels/SJUHC/main.wnt"]http://www.wyndham.com/hotels/SJUHC/main.wnt[/url]


Serenade 10/30/03
Destiny 6/02
Monarch 5/99
Holiday 4/98
Tropical 6/95
Asure Seas 3/93
Asure Seas 5/91
Holiday 3/88
Ms Southward 5/85

[Toledosfinest]

We stayed at the Howard Johnson in January, and it worked out fine. We paid $90.00 for a room with a King bed and the hotel is across the street from the beach. There is a Burger King next store, and every restaurant is within walking distance. There is a brand new Walgreens 1 block down to buy all your supplies for the ship(pop. beer. etc). The hotel is only about 5 yrs old, and its good enough for the night. Its about 8 minutes form the airport, and maybe 15 minutes from the pier. (Serenade)

[Deets]

Ditto to what toledosfinest said. After doing a lot of research to find the "best for less" hotel in San Juan, the HoJo did just fine. We took a 25 cent bus ride down to Old San Juan, had a nice dinner at the Outback, ate breakfast at a local diner and took a cab to the pier.

The only complaint I had with the HoJo was that my pillow was too thick! I should have asked for another, but never got around to it.

Toledo, when did you sail on the AOS in January? We sailed on January 23rd.

Big Blue Basketball Fan

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'til we sail away again on the Majesty of the Seas!


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'til we sail away again on the Adventure of the Seas!

[Jeepers385]

If you want to stay at any of the Wyndham hotels sign up to be a Wyndham By Request member and periodically they send out 72 hr sale emails where you can get the hotels at discounted rates. I got the Wyndham Condado for $112/night back in February.

You might also want to check out Priceline & Hotwire.

Debbie

Carnival Destiny 2/8/04
Grand Princess 7/6/03
RCL - Nordic Empress 2/03 & 4/02
Crown Dynasty 7/00
Queen of Bermuda 7/87
Carnival - Mardi Gras 11/75

[Toledosfinest]

DEETS, we did the Serenade of the Seas January 17th -23rd. We had a wonderful time until the last night when the ship tilted, and everyone fell to the floor. We are booked on the Jewell of the Seas for November 14th. Can't wait to see her.
Maybe the Capt can flip this one over completely. RCCL goes one step further for entertainment.

[dobie]

We also stayed at the HoJo's prior to our 2/29 cruise. We had the $89 managers special, which was an "inside" room with a double bed. It was fine for the night before, and as others said, we walked to Walgreens etc. The night after the cruise we stayed at the Intercontinental, which I got for $123 on Hotwire. It was well worth it. They stored our luggage till our room was ready, gave us towels, we hung out by the huge pool and there is a great beach, lots of security. We walked to a Mexican place down the road for dinner. The service at the Intercontinental was impeccable, and it was a great way to spend our last day.

[happysinglemom]

Is the Condado close enough to the pier to walk over in the morning (with luggage)?

Adventure of the Seas will be our maiden cruise!
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[Jeepers385]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think there is a hotel close to the pier that you can walk.

Debbie

Carnival Destiny 2/8/04
Grand Princess 7/6/03
RCL - Nordic Empress 2/03 & 4/02
Crown Dynasty 7/00
Queen of Bermuda 7/87
Carnival - Mardi Gras 11/75

[jnwilson]

No you can not walk from the Condado to the ship, traffic is pretty heavy in that area and it is too far. I would strongly recommend that if you want to stay at a more expensive hotel - go for the Wyndham Old San Juan. It is wonderful, we have stayed at the Condado twice and will not be staying there again. It is about the same price as the Old San Juan but we found it dingy, small rooms that had not be updated since our last visit (eight years ago) and generally just overpriced for what you get. If you just need a place to sleep & shower before boarding the ship the next day, the chain hotels such as Howard Johnson's close to the airport are the best for the money. We will be using them pre-cruise from now on and they will be real handy to run back to the airport to collect luggage that happens to show up 15 hours after you do. That is what happened to us before our 3-20-04 cruise on the Serenade and we were wishing we were much closer to the airport for the night. Happy to say our luggage all arrived by 1 pm and we were able to board the ship by 2pm. Boy was I ready for that Miami Vice!

[sgttami]

We stayed at the Marriott last year and loved it...about 10 minutes from the ship...

Nordic Empress..*****11/04
Radiance of the Seas****3/04
Serenade of the Seas
Adventure of the Seas
Majesty of the Seas
Century (Celebrity)
Song of America
Monarch of the Seas

[j&b'smommy]

Do the hotels provide transportation to the cruise ship pier or did you have to get a taxi?

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[vacationbound]

Is there any way of knowing which pier the Serenade will be docked?? Is it always the same, or do they switch depending on availability??

[jst4fun715]

I believe the Serenade always docks at the Pan Am pier. From what I was told, the ships that leave out of San Juan use the Pan Am pier and those that just come in for the day use the one that is closer to Old San Juan.
For the OP, we stayed at a small boutique hotel called the Coral Princess. Cost was about $100 per night but that was high season. It was really nice, small, only 25 rooms but very clean and quite attractive. Includes a nice continental breakfast too. It's also in the Condado area. There is a website if you just type in Coral Princess Inn in a search engine.

Carol

Enchantment of the Seas 11/01
Mercury 12/02
Serenade of the Seas 1/04
Radiance of the Seas 12/04

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[tshirtnshorts]

Stay at the Marriott in the Condado. You will have to take a cab to the pier...10.00 at the most. You will love the hotel...excellent service...nice beach...great pool...
Get a ocean view/pool view in the tower.
And you can walk to alot of wonderful placed to eat and some are off the beaten path which are the best.

Enjoy!