OSJ & the SHERATON--A REVIEW!

[Smileeface]

We arrived in San Juan on 7/18/09 a day before our 7nt cruise on RCI Adventure of the Seas. We taxied over to the Sheraton Old San Juan for a fare of $19 plus $1 per bag/suitcase. The Sheraton Old San Juan is nothing special as far as Sheraton hotels go. The lobby is not very deep. As you first walk in, the staircase is almost very close to the entrance and the lobby is almost directly to your left. The casino looked nice although we did not play in there, and the pool area at the top floor is open roofed and has beautiful views of the pier and surrounding area. The hotel's main attraction is it's central spot to all of old San Juan. Our room was nice with a small partial view of El Morro showing us how close to it we really were. We were very hungry at this point, so we just settled on the hotel's Chicago Burger Co. set outdoors with umbrellas. Three burgers, one fish sandwich, four sodas and $75 later, we felt we had paid too much. To top it off a pigeon pooped on my daughter's blouse there! We did laugh about it--what else could we do?! So after going back upstairs to deal with the pigeon poop, we set out on foot from the hotel to the right as you are facing the pier. Following that path we found the Tourism office on the right side of the street which gave us maps, walking tours, information on the free trolleys, and they had a small bar table set up in there where they gave us complimentary rum drinks. With the walking tour map in hand we walked along and visited the fountains, statues, a small garden/park area, the city walls and made our way to the outer edged walls of El Morro, the city gate/door and a beautiful church. We were too late to inside El Morro, so we just walked along the ocean side. It was an easy and enjoyable walk. Wear decent walking shoes as there are alot of cobblestone streets and paths. It was hot but breezy and there were vendors everywhere selling bottled water for $1.

We found a little puerto rican/ mexican restaurant right there in OSJ with really good food for dinner called Tio Danny's (address: Plaza Garibaldi, 313 Fortaleza Street) I liked it enough that I asked them for a business card to recommend. We ate a shrimp dish similar to shrimp scampi with yellow rice, a small green salad, cup of red beans and we each had a glass of wine. I think the plates were about $13 each and quite delicious and the bill was very reasonable. There were alot of people walking about at night which was fun to see. We strolled around the streets and pier area after dinner, but by 10pm we were pretty tired so we headed back. We wanted to get up early enough for the hotel's 10:00am check-out and a visit to El Morro.

Unfortunately, the fact that the lobby is small and narrow proved to be a problem in the morning. Everyone in the hotel it seemed had the same idea we had, to check out but leave the bags checked in and held with the hotel. It was a lobby of wall to wall people waiting to wheel their luggage over to the holding area. It was cramped and taking too long until finally they guided half of us over to an outside area by the casino--- problem solved. We then walked over a few blocks to La Bombanera, but the line to have a sit-down breakfast was long. It took us about 5 mins to decide just to ask for some pastries and water to go, and we were on our way. I would say the pastries were good, but not great, although I realize now that we did not have the mallorca pastries. Of the ones we selected I've had better before and would not make a point of going there again. In hindsight I would have just gone to the Starbuck's across the street from the hotel instead. I'm wondering if the great reviews of La Bombanera on these boards are for the full breakfast??? Oh well...
We also found a Walgreen's close by La Bombanera and got canned juices in there. We then waited by the pier for the free trolley (airconditioned bus) to take us to El Morro. We waited about 30 mins it seemed until it came along. It stopped several times on it's way and left us right at the walkway to El Morro about 15mins later. The 15 mins was taken up in slight traffic and stops, not distance really.

El Morro is an incredible fort, and I found the short film presentaion very interesting. Luckily admission was free--courtesy of President Obama's stimulus they are dedicating one weekend (or day?) a month of no charge for national monuments and such. That was a nice treat. We spent about an 1&1/2 there before heading out. Great photo opportunities there. With map in hand we decided to walk back to the Sheraton which was easy and quicker than waiting for the trolley. By that time traffic was at a snail's pace, and we walked way past many cars. It was easy too as we were walking downhill. My recommendation if someone in your group is older or not very fit: use the free trolley or taxi uphill to the fort and then walk back down to the Sheraton and pier area. It's actually easy to do and enjoyable. Along the way we ran into Barrachina which is well recommended on these boards for dinner. It was very pretty inside, and it's the home of the original pina colada! There is a nice plaque outside stating this too Well we didn't eat there, just ordered pina coladas to go which made the walk even better. We're so bad that just as we finished those drinks we were passing by the Tourism office and walked in and got free rum drinks as well. So our attitudes were very well adjusted by the time we got back to the Sheraton to retrieve our luggage. This round it was quick and painless! Next, we taxied over to Pan Am pier to meet up with the AOS. Taxi fare was $10 plus $1 per bag.
All in all a very good stay in San Juan. For Old San Juan, the Sheraton has a prime location, that's for certain. Carnival passengers were very lucky as their ship, the Victory, was docked right there in front of the hotel. There is much more to see in Puerto Rico, but we know we will make it back there someday in the not so distant future.

[Caribbean Sunsets]

I liked the Sheraton for it's central location and also that our ship was leaving from the pier across the street.

I agree with the how busy and crowded the lobby is at check out. Trying to get an elevator was also difficult because guests not already in the lobby were trying to come down to check out. Express check out is the way to go.

[orquidia]

the 10 am checkout policy of that hotel is sad.

[dsvd79]

Is there a concierge there? We were thinking of booking a tour prior to going on Serenade in December.

[Smileeface]

If you book with Sheraton OSJ, double check about the check out time. I realized at home looking over my initial reservation that I printed out at home, that it says 12:00pm check out. But when we were there they told us 10:00am. The hotel seemed really packed that morning on check out too. I was really surprised they said 10:00am since I've never seen that at any hotel I've stayed at. Be sure to double check if that is a concern!

There is concierge service there although we did not use them.

[alschmid]

Just got back from the Sheraton as well. Depending on what type of tour you want to do - I would recommend booking yourself to save some money. We used the concierge to get a rental car and think we probably would have gotten it cheaper ourselves somewhere.

[lovetocruiserccl]

We stayed there when it was the Wyndham. Love the location. Check out time was at 11 am then.