We are thinking of booking a southern caribbean cruise on the Adventure OTS that sails out of San Juan and was hoping to arrive the day before sailing. Any ideas on where to stay (or not to) near the port for that evening?
If you are looking at something close to the airport Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn are reasonable hotels in the Isle Verde area. For a more upscale experience El San Juan Hotel and Casino, and Intercontinental Hotel are on the beach and have very nice pool areas. The Caribe Hilton is also a popular hotel. If you are looking at staying in Old San Juan the Sheraton Hotel and Casino and Normadie are popular choices. If you want to experience something really different the El Convento Hotel is a 350 year old reburbished Spanish Architect Convent.
Hi DAP, if you'll take a look in our Port Hotels and Transfer section a little further down the main page, you will find a lot of posts about various hotels in San Juan. Just use your find feature, in the upper left hand corner and type in San Juan Hotels and it will pull up all the posts. We stayed in the Condado Plaza the last time we were there, and it was very nice. If you do go the night before (at least 1 night), you could do the Bacardi Factory tour or the Bioluminescence tour. Best wishes.
Hi DAP - I've already booked that exact cruise for this upcoming September. We will be heading into PR two nights early. I'm not sure exactly what you are looking for in a hotel, but we booked two nights at the Embassy Suites. We know two different groups who have stayed there and really enjoyed it. All the rooms are suites (two rooms), it's right near the airport (Isla Verde), breakfast (which I've heard is VERY good) and happy hour are complimentary, it's a short walk to the beach, and has a small casino and Outback Steakhouse inside the hotel, and the pool area looks nice. Overall, it seems like a really great place and has gotten very good reviews on the travel sites. We paid $160 per night, nonrefundable. I think it's $15-$20 more if you want the normal, refundable rate. Either way, this is a good bit cheaper than some of the other "nice" places.
We stayed at the Courtyard San Juan Mirimar. The hotel is really nice but the area is a little rough. It is not far from the airport or the pier. It will run you around 150-210 a night. Sounds like the Embassy suites is a better deal if you can get a room.
San Juan is the only place in the world I know of where you can get a double occupancy room at the Ritz-Carlton for under $300. per night off season and just over that peak season. If you're willing to splurge a little, I reccommend it. It also is a resort with casino.
One other thing to keep in mind - most hotels/resorts in San Juan will charge you a 10% resort fee. This is usually NOT included in the advertised price. I paid for mine at the time of booking, but I think some places put it on your bill at the end of your stay.
However, since I think almost all places charge it, it shouldn't affect your choice - just something to be aware of.
Linear Mode
