Old San Juan hotel recommendation?

[barb in ga]

We're sailing on Adventure January 4th, and need a hotel for Saturday Jan 3 precruise.

 

Last time we cruised from San Juan, we stayed at the Marriott Stellaris, which meant we had to cab to Old San Juan. We want to be able to visit the Fort on Saturday, walk around the town, then go back to the hotel for a while before having dinner in OSJ.

 

The Sheraton Old San Juan is around $250, which is probably the most I want to pay. Is this a pretty decent value at this price for the location? Any recommendations would be welcome.

Thanks, Barb

[TheWulf]

I loved the Intercontinental hotel.

 

Super clean, excellent amenities, pools and massive hot tub open 24/7 with waiter service.

 

I've also tried the Hilton, it's not a bad place to stay but it feels a bit older and run down. They do have a nice artificial private beach but anyone can walk onto it from the street.

 

I also can't find The Old San Juan hotel anywhere online now. I remember seeing it though, if I remember correctly it was about a block down from the Hilton but it wasn't on the water.

 

You'll probably be ok anywhere on Avenida Isla Verde.

Make sure to hit up Cafe del Angel for Mofongos. They are excellent and walking distance from either location.

[seashinesunshine]

We're sailing on Adventure January 4th, and need a hotel for Saturday Jan 3 precruise.

 

Last time we cruised from San Juan, we stayed at the Marriott Stellaris, which meant we had to cab to Old San Juan. We want to be able to visit the Fort on Saturday, walk around the town, then go back to the hotel for a while before having dinner in OSJ.

 

The Sheraton Old San Juan is around $250, which is probably the most I want to pay. Is this a pretty decent value at this price for the location? Any recommendations would be welcome.

Thanks, Barb

 

We love Da House. One suggestion is to take the bus from the Condado area to OSJ, really easy and cheaper than a taxi. Busses stop running at 9pm though, so if you stay later you will need to take a cab back.

[pdc2013]

I found S.J suites to be of good value, right on Fortaleza st. close to the pier.

[skagen]

Have done the Old San Juan Hotel & Casino as well as Intercontinental. Intercontinental was immensely better. Neighborhood not as enjoyable to walk around but a far, far better hotel experience. I'm reading the port messages as we're booking another San Juan hotel and are likely staying at the Intercontinental again.

 

The Intercontinental has really nice grounds and walking access to nice beach.

 

The Old San Juan Hotel & Casino was nice in being able to see the ships and nicer neighborhood to walk around, but our room had a dank smell and it was outrageously crazy in the lobby ("how do we get out of here") feeling with everyone coming and going.

[trippingpara]

We stayed last time at Casa Blanca on Fortenza Street. Absolutely loved it. My review in my signature below has quite a few photos and a brief review of it. Right in Old San Juan and close to the cruise pier and everything else is within easy walking distance. I highly recommend it!

[donovan52]

We spent two nights at La Terraza before our trip in December and absolutely loved it! Great location (much shorter walk to everything than I expected), clean, super friendly staff, has a small rooftop pool (and an elevator so you don't need to lug your bags up the stairs). We definitely plan on staying here again.

[CruisinCrow]

A lot of these hotels seems to have a 2-night minimum. Where do people stay if they only want to stay one night?

[trippingpara]

A lot of these hotels seems to have a 2-night minimum. Where do people stay if they only want to stay one night?

 

For our upcoming cruise, we're staying at Chateau Cervantes in OSJ for one night. They didn't seem to have a problem with it. Its about 1 block away from the pier.

[In your dreams]

Picked you to throw out this question (gotta start somewhere...) Where can I go to start a search for renting a place in San Juan during winter months? Preferrably Old San Juan. ..or could you direct me to a starting point?

[Aplmac]

We stayed last time at Casa Blanca on Fortenza Street.

Absolutely loved it.

Right in Old San Juan and close to the cruise pier

and everything else is within easy walking distance. I highly recommend it!

I had great plans for Casa Blanca

even visiting their lobby last time we were there

but my plans changed rapidly when I saw they wanted $300 :eek: for one night

- which is all we need: a place to crash for one night

between when we get to P.Rico on Saturday March 28th.

in order to catch Carnival Liberty on Sunday March 29th.

 

I am NOT paying $300 to crash for one night!

Geeez, my 3 night cruise PR to Barbados is costing me under $500!

 

Sheraton, even closer to the pier,

with not so great TripAdvisor ratings wants $250!! :eek:

 

 

Anybody know a clean guest-house for like $100-125??

or is that too much/too little to ask these days?

 

.

[trippingpara]

Picked you to throw out this question (gotta start somewhere...) Where can I go to start a search for renting a place in San Juan during winter months? Preferrably Old San Juan. ..or could you direct me to a starting point?

 

I would look at VRBO, Home Away or AirBNB. I use VRBO regularly for when we take our annual trip to Hawaii. Great way to find a short or long term rental. They have quite a few places available on those sites in San Juan, including OSJ. Good luck!

[trippingpara]

I had great plans for Casa Blanca

even visiting their lobby last time we were there

but my plans changed rapidly when I saw they wanted $300 :eek: for one night

- which is all we need: a place to crash for one night

between when we get to P.Rico on Saturday March 28th.

in order to catch Carnival Liberty on Sunday March 29th.

 

I am NOT paying $300 to crash for one night!

Geeez, my 3 night cruise PR to Barbados is costing me under $500!

 

Sheraton, even closer to the pier,

with not so great TripAdvisor ratings wants $250!! :eek:

 

 

Anybody know a clean guest-house for like $100-125??

or is that too much/too little to ask these days?

 

.

 

That's crazy for Casa Blanca!! We didn't pay anywhere near that when we stayed there. I had booked them through Hotwire and I believe I paid around $125 or so (but this was a couple years ago too!). I have seen a few places on Expedia around $100 to $125 a night. They just tend to be out of the main places that tourists want to be in. I believe the Milano in OSJ was pretty reasonable and is within walking distance to the pier. You might be able to find some condos on Home Away. I did see some in OSJ for pretty reasonable prices but I don't recall if they required longer stays or not.

[In your dreams]

thank you so much...a good start to a fun search!

[Aplmac]

A lot of my locals have been recommending El Canario by the Lagoon

-they having all stayed there several times, it seems.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g147320-d150244-Reviews-El_Canario_by_the_Lagoon-San_Juan_Puerto_Rico.html

 

.

[barb in ga]

We stayed at the Sheraton Old San Juan on Saturday, January 3rd one day prior to our cruise.

 

The location was excellent for walking around OSJ, which was my primary interest. We took a Saturday afternoon walking tour with Flavors of Old San Juan. It was very interesting.

 

Our room was $308 with all taxes and fees; not cheap, but January is high season. We also took a lovely walk along the water to a busy square with lots of vendors in the evening. Our room was a very good size, with a large bathroom. Staff were helpful, and the room was quiet.

Barb

[In your dreams]

Hi Barb,

Did you fly to San Juan to board the Adventure there? How is that ship? We were on the Independence OTS in December....so nice! Thanks for the tip on the Sheraton.