Anyone stay at the Caribe Hilton in San Juan recently?

[Deborito]

I posted this in the Ports of call board but it's pretty quiet lately.

 

I just won Caribe Hilton on Priceline for a 1 night post cruise stay in February. :( I was trying for the Marriott. I checked out tripadvisor and the recent reviews are not very good.

 

Has anyone stayed there in the last few months? If you had a really nice room, could you share the room number so I can see if it is available?

Thanks for the help Debbie

[GarrenS]

Hi Debbie -

We spent 3 nights at the Caribe Hilton in late September. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay - check in was a breeze, the pool was lovely and our rooms were great. (I haven't quite gotten around to posting my review on tripadvisor yet, but I was going to give it 4 stars)

 

We did book directly with Hilton, and we stayed on the Executive floor (9th). This may have been why we had a good experience vs some of the reviews you've read recently...we had stayed there about 2 years ago and I was extremely apprehensive about staying there this time after I was reading the reviews, but it was great. Having the executive lounge was a great bonus, you could get snacks/water/sodas all day, and they had a continental breakfast in the morning (all complimentary)

 

Beds were very comfortable, room was very nice (none of the holes in the wall/old crappy furniture etc) I do stress that it is an older hotel, so some of the fixtures (shower for instance) were showing some age (like waterspots etc), but nothing that caused me any issues.

 

It is sort of off by itself, so it's a cab ride or bus ride to OSJ, or cab to Condado. But we liked the quietness of the area, and really enjoyed the private beach.

 

Let me know if you have more specific questions - I'll try to dig up the exact room #'s - my mom was in 928 and we were in 917(I think)

 

Thanks

Garren

[Deborito]

Thanks for the info. I have seen posts on tripadvisor about the holes in the floor and dirt rooms ect. Don't mind wear and tear, just want clean.

Do you have to be a gold member of the Hilton rewards to get booked on the executive floor? Debbie

[grabphin]

I've stayed there once, and my parents have stayed there at least 5 times. It was a wonderful hotel, rooms are great, nice beach, pool, etc. Seemed very clean to me.

[Deborito]

Thanks for your reply. Do you know which building or rooms you or your parents stayed in? (main buildiing, tower, or executive level ect) Debbie

[darrencantwait]

I have stayed in both the Caribe Hilton and the Mariott. The Mariott has recently been refurbished when we stayed there last March. Our room at the Caribe was in one of the older wings (not the tower). Our room may not have been as new or nice as the Mariott...but I liked the Caribe Hilton as a resort MUCH MUCH more.

[maxs mom]

We stayed at the Caribe Hilton this past June. We made our reservation directly with Hilton and just got a regular room. It was very nice. Food and drink is a bit on the expensive side, however. Two hamburgers and two beers was $50.00.

[BrainChemicals]

Two hamburgers and two beers was $50.00.

What were the hamburgers made out of, Kobe beef? Geeze, at that price, I hope you got a buzz off the beers.

[Deborito]

What were the hamburgers made out of, Kobe beef? Geeze, at that price, I hope you got a buzz off the beers.

 

 

LOL I have heard that the food is really expensive like $40.00 for breakfast ect. But someone told me that there are a few places not far away to eat at. Deb

[mchin]

We stayed at the Caribe Hilton in April. Here is the URL to my album from that cruise (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2501344430101820977lzrTIS) The first page couple of pages are of the hotel and grounds. Sorry, can't remember what room we were in, but as hiltonhonors members, we were placed in the Executive Tower. Room was comfortable and bathroom provided enough space. The grounds are beautiful......definitely a hotel to consider in the future.

 

Things to keep in mind:

 

1. They will not check you in early if you arrive before 4:00 p.m. We arrived at the hotel around noon and had to wait until 4:00 to get into our room. There is a place where the luggage is held so you can eat and explore the grounds.

 

2. Food is expensive -- averaged $40 per meal. The hotel is isolated from Old San Juan, so nothing close to eat other than the hotel offerings.

 

Enjoy your stay, I think you'll have a great time.

[cottagemama]

We stayed here a year ago in the tower on 8th floor. Room was clean, bed very comfortable , small balcony and huge bathroom. We had bid on priceline. Very satisfied. I was apprenhesive as well due to trip advisor reviews but everything was ok. Also booked a hotel in San diego this past Sept which did not get great tripadvisor reviews but it was wonderful so I now don't believe everything I read on tripadvisor. Just my opinion

[GarrenS]

Thanks for the info. I have seen posts on tripadvisor about the holes in the floor and dirt rooms ect. Don't mind wear and tear, just want clean.

Do you have to be a gold member of the Hilton rewards to get booked on the executive floor? Debbie

 

Hi Debbie -

Nope, don't have to be an Hhonors member at all to book the executive floors - it's just a slightly more expensive room (I think about $25 per night) which, once we included that we got free sodas/water/snacks and most importantly, breakfast, it was a great deal cause we didn't have to eat breakfast in their buffet, which is quite pricey.

 

Since you booked on priceline, I don't know if you can "upgrade" your room or not, but you could definately give it a shot. I'd try calling the hotel directly and seeing what you get. If they say no, then wait and call back sometime later and ask again - never hurts!

 

And I'm in complete agreement with the last poster - we arrived about 1:30PM and couldn't get into our room until just about 4pm, but because we had the executive floor, we could go up and hang out in the lounge on the 9th floor and have snacks and beverages - plus the concierge kept track of when our room was ready and came over and gave us our keys, so that was another nice benefit.

 

Looks like you are a west-coaster too (we live in Portland) so I'm guessing you are taking a red-eye to get there? (or maybe not!) but if so, the lounge could be helpful if you wanted to hang out without being in the lobby for hours.

 

Good luck!

Garren

[Deborito]

Looks like you are a west-coaster too (we live in Portland) so I'm guessing you are taking a red-eye to get there? (or maybe not!) but if so, the lounge could be helpful if you wanted to hang out without being in the lobby for hours.Good luck!Garren

 

Thanks Garren, We live in Raymond Washington. We are about 1 hour north of Astoria Oregon. We are taking a red-eye out of Portland 3 days before our cruise. We won Marriott Stellaris pre-cruise and will be staying at Caribe Hilton 1 night post cruise. If we get off the ship at 9:30 am what do we do until 4:00 pm check in?:( Debbie

[Deborito]

Thanks for sharing your pics. Feeling alot better. Lovely pictures and a beautiful daughter:) Debbie

[danp]

Deb,If you dont mind,what was your bid?

[Deborito]

Was trying for the Marriott. Bid resort only. You can add all areas but Rio Grande - Humacao so can rebid lots of times. Won for $162.00 plus taxes & fees. Deb

[weeza]

Just curious, if the restrauants in the hotel are that expensive, are taxis easy to come by in that area? We really don't want to rent a car. We will be flying in the night before - there will be 4 of us all together-my mom, aunt, sister and I. We booked the hotel at the same time we booked the cruise through RCL. I can see now that we could have saved lots money booking on our own.

 

Loved the pics!

[63galaxie]

Last year we stayed at The Normandie (pre-cruise), The Marriott (post-cruise), and the year before we stayed at the Caribe Hilton (pre and post cruise).

For us, the Caribe Hilton far surpasses the other two hotels. The open lobby with amazing views of the pool and the ocean with the winds blowing through it are a welcoming sight! There's a beautiful bar with tons of sofas overlooking the ocean which is a great place to sit and relax.

The staff was stupendous;friendly, full of suggestions for dining, and very accommodating with special requests.

The room (also on the Executive Floor which we were upgraded to when checking in using our Hilton Honor points) was modern with a balcony overlooking the tropical gardens and the ocean. The beds were sooo comfy!

There's a Starbucks in the lobby (try their freshly made local pastries, especially the Quesitos), big glass containers of fresh water laced with with fruits such as melon, lemon, and oranges in the lobby, big exotic plants, huge talking birds in rattan cages, upscale shops, a terrific concierge service, several restaurants, taxis onsite, and much more.

Our favorite parts are the lovely pool which has a waterfalland a swim-up bar, the rope hammocks strung from the gigantic palm tress (we swayed forever listening to the roar of the ocean), the private beach and lagoon with lots of non-motorized water toys and comfy padded beach chairs, the ocean-side walk-way and the overlook which is lit up at night so you can feed swarms of fish, the small fort that is on-site, and the free food/beverages and the amazing view from the Concierge Lounge (plus free internet).

We didn't use it, but there's also an outdoor children's play area with a large plastic boat they can climb on. There's also spa services but we didn't use these either.

We ate at the outdoor grill (twice). The burgers and fresh crab dishes and drinks were all great, but a bit pricey (we just split the food and it was more than enough).

They have a small tropical garden area with a gazebo sitting on a pond complete with swans. It's also a nice place to sit and stroll and relax.

There's also another swimming pool (both of them have jacuzzis I believe) which is virtually unused. It's older but very private.

I guess you can tell, we are hooked on the Caribe!

Enjoy your stay Deb. We'll be staying here again next summer.

P.S. There's an excellent Subway only 1-2 blocks away from the Caribe. It's right across the street from the Normandie (just ask for directions at the hotel). They serve hot breakfasts for under $3, they have a full ice-cream bar with regular and exotic ice-cream flavors, coffee-drinks for under $3, and all the usual sandwiches, soups, and salads. We ate here every day for very little money. Try their Puerto-Rican soups!!

There's also a small local market across the street which sells everything from local food (think Plantain chips), disposable cameras, wines, candy, nuts, American and Puerto Rican foods, liquor, post-cards, etc. This is where we bought our snacks, wine, and small souveniers.

[SwimnwFishes]

We stayed at the Caribe Hilton last year, room 640. The lobby was spectacular and I loved that it was open to the outside and very tropical in feel. Pool area was lovely and we spent the time between when we arrived and when we were able to get into the room enjoying the wonderful views from there.

 

I think I would characterize the food in the restaurants as :eek: in price, and although good I wouldn't say it was anything super special! However, for those of us who need our caffiene fix, can you say Starbucks? :) Right there in the lobby.

 

Our room was what I would call worn. In my book, it wasn't Hilton level, I expect more from a Hilton. So much so that this year, that I didn't want to stay there and opted for different accomodations.

[Deborito]

Just curious, if the restrauants in the hotel are that expensive, are taxis easy to come by in that area? We really don't want to rent a car.

 

Weeza, I have been told that there are lots of taxis available. If there isn't one in front they will call one for you.

 

Thanks for the info 63Galaxie. We will check out that subway so we can get something for the flight home. Debbie

[Deborito]

Just called the Hilton to add my Hilton Honors number, but they would not let me because it is a Priceline room. He did confirm that I was getting a King room with an oceanview. He also let me request early arrival. If the room is ready when I check in I can get it before 4:00. We'll see what happens. I will give them a call in a couple of weeks and try to add my Hilton Honors number again. I had to do that with the Marriott too. Took 3 calls. Debbie

[kas141]

DH and I had dinner at the Caribe Hilton in July, and stayed at the Marriott. VERY disappointed in the Marriott, especially for the price, and we said over and over that if we go back to PR again, we'll stay at the Caribe. I had stayed there about 10 years ago and loved it, wish i had the common sense to stay there in July.... :cool:

[sunlover5]

We stayed there when we were on the AOS. We did it on priceline and we stayed 3 nights precruise. We got it for 75.00 a night and the best deal ever!! They put us in a brand new villa!! Granite in the kitchen, absolutely beautiful bathroom and we had a patio out to the ocean!! We too had them take our HH number but I found out it will not count since it was purchased on priceline. We had early check in too, but unfortunately did not get it. We had a small bag packed with swimsuits and they have nice restrooms, we changed and layed out till 4. You might want to have it as a plan if you don't get in early.

As others have mentioned the Subway is real nice.

You will have a great stay!!

[weeza]

Thanks everyone for the replies... I can't wait. The subway sounds great and within walking distance that my Mom should be able to handle without too much difficulties.

 

Thanks again.