need a hotel recommendation

hubby and i are booked on aos on 8-27 flying in on the 26th. looking for a good hotel near the pier... please help

We're on the same cruise! I booked the Intercontinental through Priceline for $120 on the 26th. We fly out on the redeye Friday night and get to San Juan around 10 in the morning. The Intercontinental is on Isle Verde Beach near the airport, short cab ride. We plan to hang at the beach (great beach) and pool (even better pool) ALL DAY, check-in when the room is ready, Ruth Chris for dinner in the hotel, then off to the ship in the morning. After boarding we will leave the ship to goof-off in Old SJ and then on with the cruise!!!!

It seems that all the "resort" level hotels on priceline are nice and will save about a hundred dollars. The going rate on Expedia, etc, is pretty high for San Juan, that's why we went through priceline.

Sorry, I didn’t address the “near the pier” idea. Honestly, you will need a cab from any hotel to the pier, so stay where you want to play. The three main choices are Isle Verde Beachfront area, this is a great beach and is near the airport, so short cab ride to the hotel, but little longer ride to the pier, 15 or 20 minutes though, nothing major. Or, stay in Condado area, about half way between the airport and the pier. Carib Hilton and Marriott seem to be popular. Or, right in Old San Juan. Either way, to me the main attractions are the beach and Old San Juan. Hotel location related to the pier doesn’t matter too much because it’s all relatively close.

http://www.langland.org/cruises/sanjuan.asp

Take a look at this link. It shows some hotels and the piers. San Juan has two piers, one in Old San Juan area and the other is the Pan American Pier. I believe we will be departing from the Pan American Pier. The airport is just to the right of the picture and the beach furthermost to the right is Isla Verde. Our hotel would be just to the right of where the picture ends. I stayed at the Intercontinental about five or six yours ago, before it was an Intercontinental and it was really nice. It has a great beach and pool area. Now that it is Intercontinental it appears to have been renovated and is even better. Many people seem to like the Marriott, Carib Hilton and Sheraton Old San Juan.

I don't have the link, but if you search for Intercontinental Hotels and find the web page for the one in san Juan it has great pictures of the hotel, pool and beach. My next favorite is the Marriott, it also has great pool and beach.

We stayed in the heart of Old San Juan at the El Convento.... we loved it.

A bit pricey but San Juans only 5 star - check it out www.elconvento.com

We flew down 3 days early and spent 2 nights there. Walked all over Old

San Juan. Can't wait to get back. If you have any questions... just ask.

Also: we went to dinner at a restaurant on the beach called Pamelas. It was located at the Numero Uno guesthouse (small boutique place) right on the beach. You might want to look at that if El Convento is too high. www.numero1guesthouse.com It was very nice and was located within a gated community....

is their any area to avoid when booking a hotel? gonna check out the website you sent now thanks

http://www.travelmaps.com/SanJuanVicinity.html

Here is another map that shows the airport also. Also shows many hotels.