Intercontinental Resort and Casino Question

[rianvi]

Staying pre cruise at the Intercontinental. Wondering where the best place around there would be to eat. Not looking for a chain restaurant but perhaps someplace that serves local dishes. Not sure what is available at the hotel itself. I understand that there is a Walgreens near by. Any idea about how long of a cab ride from the hotel to the Pan Am Pier? Thank you in advance.

Rianvi:)

[Goldeneye]

We were there a couple of years ago, can be pricey but we did enjoy sitting in the open overlooking the pool.. The pasta dishes were wonderful and not too pricey.. I remember a chicken dish in a cream sauce..'mmmm

 

The gardens and pools are lovely, the rooms could be a tad cleaner.. I've heard some negative reviews but I was very happy with the resort..

[Kikkycat]

We'll be at the Intercontinental one week from today, staying pre-cruise, as well as for one night post-cruise. Also stayed there post-cruise a year ago.

 

At the hotel itself, there's one restaurant (the Ruth's Chris restaurant closed awhile ago). It's Italian by night and has both a buffet and a la carte menu for breakfast. We had breakfast there and it was expensive but also pretty good.

 

Across the street from the I is a shopping plaza which contains a little hole in the wall type place. It serves Puerto Rican dishes, and I've read it's pretty good - it's not an attractive place so we didn't try it. This time we intend to walk down Isla Verde Avenue (to the left as you exit the hotel) and go to Metropol. We ate at their Fajardo location last year and loved it! They have PR and Cuban items on the menu.

[rianvi]

Thank you for your responses.

 

Kikkycat...Is there a Walgreens near by or some place to by a few things for on the ship? we try not to take too much with us on the plane.

 

Two weeks we will be there. We check in on the 6th one night pre-cruise.

 

Thanks again...Anna:)

[Reader0108598]

Wallgreens across the street to your left a few blocks down, open 24 hrs.

Mi Casita ,resturant accross the street was good ,try the coffee :)

Burger king,ponderosa,bakery next to Mi casita right in the imediate vacinity

Grocery store: cross the street walk down to the street ponderosa is on.If you walk all the way to the end you will find a grocery store. Beer, wine,liquor,foods to make your stay more affordable.

 

BTW: Make sure you get a set price from your taxi driver before you enter his cab. We had a situation on the way to the airport from the cruiseship. Not pleasant but we refused to pay more than what was quoted to us at the cruise port.

 

Enjoy PR :)

Reader

[rianvi]

Reader...Thank you for the tips. We are looking forward to our pre cruise stay in SJ, having only been there once before on a port day in OSJ. Also for the pointer about the cab.

 

Have looked at the Metropol web site. Will probably have dinner there.

Panaderia Espana Reposteria was also listed as a sandwich shop to try. Open for breakfast as well. Will look into the Mi Casita and bakery.

 

Thanks again, Anna:)

[Reader0108598]

Your welcome Anna

 

I am going to plan a longer stay next time...we had a great time.

I am sure you will also!:)

 

Gail

[Reader0108598]

OOPS! Anna 24 hour Walgreens is accross the street from the intercontinental to your RIGHT!

 

There is a walgreens to the left on the same side of the road as the intercontinental but it is not 24 hrs. Sorry for confusing you.

[rianvi]

I appreciate all info. Thank you for taking the time to post.

Anna:)

[miss meow]

Question - - we are staying here pre-cruise...does this hotel have an airport shuttle by chance - or will we be taking a taxi?

 

Thanks!

[sadie8]

None of the San Juan hotels have shuttles, so you will definitely need a taxi. The rate from the airport is $10 plus $1 per bag.

[Lois R]

Staying pre cruise at the Intercontinental. Wondering where the best place around there would be to eat. Not looking for a chain restaurant but perhaps someplace that serves local dishes. Not sure what is available at the hotel itself. I understand that there is a Walgreens near by. Any idea about how long of a cab ride from the hotel to the Pan Am Pier? Thank you in advance.

Rianvi:)

 

I just stayed at this hotel on 1/15 along with 2 other friends and we

ate at Barrachina's for dinner. It was quite good:D and not far

from the hotel...$10 cab ride. Very authentic food..the music was

live but a bit too loud:eek:

We sailed from the Pan American Pier....3 of us with 7 pieces of

luggage cost 24 bucks to the ship via cab...the hotel got us a van.

[rianvi]

Lois R...thank you for the great info. We are looking forward to our pre- cruise night in SJ. And since we are doing a B2B, we will spend the day on the 14th in OSJ.

 

Anna:)

[Lois R]

Lois R...thank you for the great info. We are looking forward to our pre- cruise night in SJ. And since we are doing a B2B, we will spend the day on the 14th in OSJ.

 

Anna:)

 

Hi Anna:)...the restaurant was good but we were not impressed

with the hotel:rolleyes:....rude gal at the desk:(and it seems the rooms

"tried to look new" but the bathrooms (my room and my friend's) were

not as clean as we prefer. The bed was VERY comfy though. I got

my room on Priceline so the value was ok but my friend's paid regular

price and in our view the room was definitely not worth the price.

And when I went out on the small balcony it looked at is it had never

been cleaned:eek:

[rianvi]

Hi Loiss...I have heard mixed reviews on this hotel. Heard the beach/pool area are lovely so we will see. We are there for only one night so we should be okay.

Thanks again, Anna:)

[gerig]

I was there last February and the pool, beach, staff and room were wonderful. We had dinner at Ruth Chris which did close but I heard it recently reopened. I'll be back there in 24 days.

[Geocat]

I was there last February and the pool, beach, staff and room were wonderful. We had dinner at Ruth Chris which did close but I heard it recently reopened. I'll be back there in 24 days.

 

 

Ruth Chris is open now. We were just there for 3 days...

[elena7seas]

Hi Anna:)...the restaurant was good but we were not impressed

with the hotel:rolleyes:....rude gal at the desk:(and it seems the rooms

"tried to look new" but the bathrooms (my room and my friend's) were

not as clean as we prefer. The bed was VERY comfy though. I got

my room on Priceline so the value was ok but my friend's paid regular

price and in our view the room was definitely not worth the price.

And when I went out on the small balcony it looked at is it had never

been cleaned:eek:

 

Hi Lois:

 

I'm sorry that your room at the Intercontinental was not as clean as it ought to have been. That is just not acceptable at an Intercontinental. Did you call Housekeeping and ask to have your room/bath cleaned again? I would have. :o

 

We were there for two nights in December 2009, and our room was great. It was spotless, and the room had been recently redecorated. The gentleman at the front desk was a little short with me, and I though perhaps it was because we had reserved through Priceline (my first foray!!). But he did warm up after a while. The concierge was very kind and helpful, as were the people at the entrance and at the "held luggage" room. Had the desk clerk continued to be grumpy and unhelpful, I would have complained to the manager, because the last time we were there, we were "Ambassador Class" and we were very well treated, so I wasn't pleased to think I would be badly treated as a Priceline customer.

 

We really enjoy the food and drinks at the ocean-side bar. That has been redone since we were last at the Intercontinental two years ago.

 

We dined at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse last month, and it was as good as ever.

[Cruisin KLS]

Stayed at the Intercontinental on 01/28 and 01/29. Very nice hotel. Found the staff very nice and after a long day of travel the gentleman at the front desk told us that he was upgrading us to a suite due to them being at full capacity! Definately worth it sense we got the room through Priceline.

 

The Pueblo is right around the corner - grocery store. They also sell liquor if you are looking for anything.

 

We ate dinner at Metropol. Good...not the best meal that I have had in Puerto Rico. Got mallorcas and coffe for breakfast both days at a bakery in the plaza next to Burger King. Out the driveway and to the Right. It was so good....wished that coffe on the cruise was going to be that good all week!

 

Paid $25 for 4 people and 7 bags to the pier.

 

-Kristi

[BlushPell]

Stayed last spring and Mi Casita was very good. Have eaten at Metropol as well which was good nothing fantastic though. The El San Juan next door has an amazing lobby and bar area. Bigger casino there too. Check it out even if you just walk through. They also have Starbucks coffee(two of them). The pool is nice drinks are $$ though. Also, like it was suggested before just double check on the cab price before you leave. All in all a good hotel for the right price.

[Kikkycat]

We didn't have any trouble with our check-in agents either pre or post-cruise.

 

There is a Walgreen's no matter which way you walk from the Intercontinental! The one on the left as you leave the property is a little bit closer though.

 

Ruth's Chris steak house is open, and I had forgotten they also have a Japanese restaurant, Momoyama, onsite. Didn't eat at any of their restaurants. We ate breakfast multiple times at Mi Casita, and one dinner (our stay was extended by 2 nights post-cruise by the snow in DC - we moved hotels to the San Juan Water & Beach Club with a Hotwire price of $88 per night). Mi Casita was great, but not haute cuisine. Very good basic diner food at a very reasonable cost. We ate lunch at Metropol, and it was good, but nowhere near as good as we remembered the one in Fajardo as being.

[sadie8]

We just completed our three night stay at the Intercontinental. We loved sitting under the palms on the beach and the pool area. Everyone at the hotel was extremely nice and we were happy with our room. We ate our breakfasts at MiCasita. Really enjoyed our dinner at Uncle Jimmy's BBQ on the 10th floor of the El San Juan. Go at sunset, beautiful views.

[FrostyJoe]

Can anyone tell me if the beach is a private beach?

 

Or of it's a public beach....if it get's crowded?

 

Thanks!

[sadie8]

The beach is public and it never felt crowded. There were definitely more people on the beach on the weekend, the most populated time was probably Sunday afternoon but even then there was plenty of space.