Wanted to stay at El Conquistador...but completely booked! Need suggestions

We are seriously considering booking another cruise out of PR, but I'm having a bit of difficulty pulling everything together.

Last year we stayed at El Conquistador and it was AMAZING! I couldn't wait to get back! However, every date I look at (a couple days before the cruise), they are completely booked (August) for what I'm trying to do. The only available dates seem to be starting the date OF the cruise, which obviously won't work. I REALLY wanted to visit their private island again and I'm crushed!

So...anyone have any suggestions of other great places similar to this? I don't suppose that their are other hotels with "private islands" are there?

I'm open to staying various places (we were planning on renting a car). I wanted to stay toward the Fajardo area because we wanted to take a day to visit El Yunque, which we didn't get to do last time.

Then maybe a day closer to port after that...for instance we stayed at the San Juan resort and casino last time, which I believe has completed the remodel and has been renamed.

We are looking for places that are on the beach as well...not really looking for a hotel that you would have to walk to a beach to get there. I don't know...give me some suggestions please. :D

We are seriously considering booking another cruise out of PR, but I'm having a bit of difficulty pulling everything together.

 

Last year we stayed at El Conquistador and it was AMAZING! I couldn't wait to get back! However, every date I look at (a couple days before the cruise), they are completely booked (August) for what I'm trying to do. The only available dates seem to be starting the date OF the cruise, which obviously won't work. I REALLY wanted to visit their private island again and I'm crushed!

 

So...anyone have any suggestions of other great places similar to this? I don't suppose that their are other hotels with "private islands" are there?

 

I'm open to staying various places (we were planning on renting a car). I wanted to stay toward the Fajardo area because we wanted to take a day to visit El Yunque, which we didn't get to do last time.

 

Then maybe a day closer to port after that...for instance we stayed at the San Juan resort and casino last time, which I believe has completed the remodel and has been renamed.

 

We are looking for places that are on the beach as well...not really looking for a hotel that you would have to walk to a beach to get there. I don't know...give me some suggestions please. :D

La Concha or The Vanderbilt, no private island, but will have all you want. No need to look elsewhere :)

La Concha or The Vanderbilt, no private island, but will have all you want. No need to look elsewhere :)

Both of those look super lovely, but a little more than what I'm willing to pay since we plan on staying for several days.

Hey Kim,

We have stayed at the Gran Melia twice and loved it. It is a beautiful resort with an absolute gorgeous pool and beautiful grounds. There is a beach as well. We were lucky both times we stayed it was only $99 a night through Hotwire. There should be a review of mine with photos from a few years back here in the PR forum. Great location for visiting el Yunque!

Just looked back. My review is in the Royal caribbean forum. San Juan and brilliance Easter cruise! Last page is the Gran Melia.

Hey Kim,

We have stayed at the Gran Melia twice and loved it. It is a beautiful resort with an absolute gorgeous pool and beautiful grounds. There is a beach as well. We were lucky both times we stayed it was only $99 a night through Hotwire. There should be a review of mine with photos from a few years back here in the PR forum. Great location for visiting el Yunque!

 

Just looked back. My review is in the Royal caribbean forum. San Juan and brilliance Easter cruise! Last page is the Gran Melia.

Now THAT is exactly what I'm looking for and they have a decent price (I haven't got to check all the 3rd party places, but just on their website so far).

I tried to search for "San Juan and brilliance Easter cruise" in the RC forum and nothing comes up. Do you have a link?

I did find the location of this place (looks to be before Luquillo and Fajardo area and after Isla Verde area). So, that area would work.

How far away is el Yunque? Are there any food places around...especially fast food since keeping our eating habits down will probably be necessary and the hotel restaurants can be expensive if used the entire time.

Tell me more! Tell me more!

Both of those look super lovely, but a little more than what I'm willing to pay since we plan on staying for several days.

We always stay 4/5 nights precruise. It is our vacation, and it has to be special. Our girls like to be spoilt on holiday. Go for LC or V, you will not regret it;)

 

Just looked back. My review is in the Royal caribbean forum. San Juan and brilliance Easter cruise! Last page is the Gran Melia.

Ok, I did find a way to also search with your name AND brilliance easter cruise and found the review. For some reason, I'm thinking that I have read this review in the past.

There are a few things that stuck out in my head when I was reading it...you said you would never return there again...

"As a side note, we would probably not stay here again if we could find other affordable places in this area. Staying here a second time we were not quite as blown away with our beautiful surroundings and so the little things like the rude office staff helped us come to this conclusion. Its not a bad place, but we like to have new experiences too!"

I have this same philosophy when cruising and if I can help it, I TRY not to cruise on the same ship because I want that "wow factor" of something new. Maybe I do need something new as far as a hotel as well. I absolutely LOVED El Conquistador and walked away saying "I could spend a week here for vacation without the cruise"....which is probably true, but then again that wow factor might also be gone the second time around because it's something we have already did.

I'm definitely going to consider this place as an option. I'm open to more as well. I would also like to find something in Old San Juan. Last time we stayed at the Old Sheraton Inn and loved the location. There doesn't seem to be much in that area that is within walking distance of everything (at least not from what I can find on the map). I did see your little apartment you rented on your review. I'm really not sure that kind of place is for us. Hmmm Any other hotels in the area?

I remember how absolutely blown away we were with the Gran Melia our first visit. We missed that Wow experience on the second trip but it was still a very nice place to stay. It was about a 20 minute drive to El Yunque. We did eat at the Luquillo Beach kiosks...the hamburger place was great. We also went to Richies cafe which had great Puerto Rican food and even more gorgeous views!

I love Old San Juan! My two girlfriends and I stayed at a two bedroom AIRBNB perfectly located in OSJ just this past May. I would definitely check out Airbnb if you want to stay in OSJ. Way cheaper than hotels and you can cook your own meals.

We also enjoyed driving the Pork Highway and stopping at one of the many roadside restaurants to eat! We want to make it to the Volkswagen museum (Yauco?) and the Arecibo observatory our next trip. We also went to Vieques and did the Biobay on a little motorized boat! Your family and mine seem to enjoy a lot of the same cruise excursions so I have a feeling you would enjoy it!

Have fun planning!

Lauri

I remember how absolutely blown away we were with the Gran Melia our first visit. We missed that Wow experience on the second trip but it was still a very nice place to stay. It was about a 20 minute drive to El Yunque. We did eat at the Luquillo Beach kiosks...the hamburger place was great. We also went to Richies cafe which had great Puerto Rican food and even more gorgeous views!

 

I love Old San Juan! My two girlfriends and I stayed at a two bedroom AIRBNB perfectly located in OSJ just this past May. I would definitely check out Airbnb if you want to stay in OSJ. Way cheaper than hotels and you can cook your own meals.

 

We also enjoyed driving the Pork Highway and stopping at one of the many roadside restaurants to eat! We want to make it to the Volkswagen museum (Yauco?) and the Arecibo observatory our next trip. We also went to Vieques and did the Biobay on a little motorized boat! Your family and mine seem to enjoy a lot of the same cruise excursions so I have a feeling you would enjoy it!

 

Have fun planning!

Lauri

Thanks for the info Lauri. I really appreciate it.

When we went to Luquillo Beach, I didn't see any kiosk vendors. Is this within the beach area or somewhere else? I remember you talking about this hamburger place before I went there, but I never did see it.

I started looking at the airbnb prior to you posting this and there are so many different choices (and cheap). Do you remember which one you stayed at? Did it have a/c? We felt that the Old Sheraton was a great location and walked everywhere but really wanted to make it more toward the graveyard but it was too far of a walk in 100+ degree weather. It would be really nice to find a place somewhere in the "middle" for easy walking everywhere. When you get a place like that, do you just walk to/from the cruise port hauling your luggage? Or best to get a cab? I doubt that we would cook our own meals. When I'm on vacation, that's the last thing I want to do. :p

We did the biobay, but from Fajardo, and it was really disappointing. I have always heard that Vieques was a lot better and brighter but having to deal with the ferry back and forth probably wouldn't work out and I've heard you have to stay on the island in order to do that trip.

Gosh...I just need a week vacation in PR to do everything! :D

The Airbnb we stayed at in May was " Cozy 2BD in the heart of OSJ" hosted by Eduardo. It was on San Justo St. it was the perfect location for all touristy places in OSJ. And great A/C too! We saw other nice offerings too. Could not believe how affordable the apartments were seeing how expensive the hotels were. We stayed at the San Juan Suites once and it was awful. I am not high maintenance but I need a window!

The kiosks (restaurants, actually) were right out in front of Luquillo Beach. Maybe you went to a different part of the beach. It was quite a row of restaurants..maybe 10-15 of them if I remember right.

We have always taken a taxi from the airport to OSJ. In May we were able to use Uber from OSJ to the cruise port and it was about half the price of a cab. Uber cannot pick up at the airport. They can drop off at the airport though.

Our Vieques trip was in 2011 or 2010, I think. We used a tour company....we met them at a Marina and they brought us to Vieques..took a school bus ride..half our group went to eat at an authentic restaurant while the other half did the Biobay. We got back very very late but at least we did not have to stay on the island. Maybe they don't offer that anymore. It was the experience of a lifetime!

We had two cruises out of PR where we stayed a few days pre cruise in OSJ and a few days post cruise out by El Yunque, but we still would like a whole week or longer to really see all the island. Driving there is very easy though I would not recommend driving in OSJ! PR is definitely one of our favorite places!

Have fun,

Lauri

Hi Kim!! Did you try looking into the Wyndham Rio Mar? It's a beachfront resort very close to the Gran Melia, just across the street from the entrance to El Yunque, 5 minutes from Luquillo beach and about 15 minutes from Fajardo. It's also about 30 minutes from the airport. How many of you would be coming over this time? Depending on the head count and your budget, Google "airbnb Fajardo" and I think you'll find some interesting places.

About visiting the Vieques Bio Bay (Mosquito Bay) without spending the night, you might be looking at a serious chunk o cash. As far as I could find out, only one company is offering Vieques Bio Bay tours from the PR mainland. I priced one tour for 4 persons on late July (no dates available yet for August) and it came out to a whopping $826.80 including taxes and fees (about $206 each!!). So you might want to check the moon calendar to see what type of moon you'd be looking at when you want to go.

There are a lot of small, boutique hotels in OSJ. If you want to be closer to the top (north) part of the city, try something like El Convento, Decanter or Plaza de Armas hotel. Al three are closer to the top parts of the hills. El Convento is closer to Ell Morro, some good restaurants and is an easy, downhill walk to the pier (about 15 mins). Decatner is very close to El Convento and Plaza de Armas is more centrally located, maybe halfway from the pier to El Morro. Al three are a downhill walk to the piers. If you don't want to walk, yuou'll find taxis just outside El Convento and Plaza de Armas.