Hotels a year away

[ldgiff]

Can you book a hotel room if you are over a year away? Not going to San Juan until April 2017; hotel websites say "unavailable". Do I need to wait?

[PORT ROYAL]

Can you book a hotel room if you are over a year away? Not going to San Juan until April 2017; hotel websites say "unavailable". Do I need to wait?

 

No problem, just send an E-mail to the hotel's Concierge- They will take are of it for you.

[Keith1010]

Very few hotels allow you to book beyond a year.

 

Many you can book one year out but some somewhere between six to twelve months out.

 

I would just keep checking.

 

I would not do this via e mail.

 

And I doubt they will book it for you.

 

Keith

[TLCOhio]

Can you book a hotel room if you are over a year away? Not going to San Juan until April 2017; hotel websites say "unavailable". Do I need to wait?

 

For our "neighbor" in Ohio, not totally sure why you want to book your location in San Juan so far ahead. Lots of "economic things" are very uncertain and up-in-the-air for this island right now. You could book a year ahead, but the prices might vary and change much as they try to sort out their financial mess affecting this location and their government. Even if you do a book later this month, you would want to check back and see if better options/prices might open up.

 

We super loved San Juan and nearby from our three days there last year at the end of our long cruise schedule. For San Juan, see more at: our “Pix's, Fun, Experiences”, with this posting:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2264847

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo sailing over 26 days that started in Barbados, here is the link below to that live/blog. Lots of great visuals from this amazing Brazil river and these various Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, etc.) that we experienced. Check it out at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 37,418 views for these postings.

[Arzeena]

Can you book a hotel room if you are over a year away? Not going to San Juan until April 2017; hotel websites say "unavailable". Do I need to wait?

 

Same situation here. Waiting for April 2017 dates to open up.

[Keith1010]

It is very rare that any hotel anywhere allows for booking greater then a year.

 

Patience is a virtue. :)

 

Keith

[ldgiff]

I know it seems like a crazy thing to do. But it seems to make the up coming cruise a reality. I do watch prices, but since it is during spring break, prices seem to only go up! Awesome pics and write up Terry in Ohio.

[Keith1010]

We will book early and then we continue to watch prices. If the prices go down we followup to get the lower price. If they go up then we are protected by booking early.

 

Keith

[slidergirl]

From someone in the hotel business:

 

I'm not sure where you are looking. I did a quick look on one OTA site and one hotel chain for rooms April 14-16 2017 and found a good deal of availability.

Most chain hotels (think Hilton, Mariott, Starwood) do a year out. Some that say "sold out" this far out may not have loaded their rate plans yet.

As for booking and watching for a lower rate: Be very careful of the rate plan you initially book if you are going to do this!!! The cheapest rates are usually the fully-prepaid, no cancellation/change rates. Don't rely on the goodwill of a hotel to change one of these rates because they later have a less expensive rate. If you are going to play the game, you have to be sure you are picking a fully refundable rate and that you pay attention to the "drop dead" date for a cancellation/change on that rate.

Do not contact the hotel concierge for reservations questions! Do not contact the hotel General Manager for reservations questions! You just waste their time because they will just refer you to the in-house reservations group. I can't tell you how many times the Concierge at my hotel emails or forwards calls to us because someone thought the Concierge had "pull" to anything relative to a reservation. And, no one is so important or entitled that he/she should bypass the normal reservation process and ask the GM (who doesn't know you) to extend special favors for a reservation (he'll just pass it on to Reservations, who will do exactly what they would have done had the person contacted them in the first place).

[TLCOhio]

Awesome pics and write up Terry in Ohio.

 

Keith1010: We will book early and then we continue to watch prices. If the prices go down we followup to get the lower price. If they go up then we are protected by booking early. Keith

 

Appreciate the kind comments and follow-up from the original poster from Ohio. Excellent summary points and wise strategy from Keith.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day' date=' Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, [b']Sydney to Auckland adventure[/b], getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 139,319 views for this posting.

[Arzeena]

From someone in the hotel business:

 

I'm not sure where you are looking. I did a quick look on one OTA site and one hotel chain for rooms April 14-16 2017 and found a good deal of availability.

 

Can you please post the hotel names? I know you cannot post the OTA site.

[slidergirl]

Can you please post the hotel names? I know you cannot post the OTA site.

 

Also, for a hint: always try a hotel chain's website first, then try an OTA (you know who they are) website…

For the April 14-17 dates I randomly selected:

Sheraton Old San Juan, Sheraton Puerto Rico hotel & Casino, Hyatt Place San Juan City Center, La Terazza del San Juan, etc…

 

Marriott and Hilton seem to be some who don't take reservations over a year out.

[Arzeena]

Thank you slidergirl.

[Ashland]

I booked our pre-cruise San Juan hotel for May back in December...thought I was getting a good deal...prices have just gone down so I canceled and rebooked...the reason I tend to always try and book with no deposit and no fee cancellation until approx 3 days prior to hotel arrival date. Getting a much better category of room for less. ;)

[masim17]

Does anyone know of any hotels that do not charge the 18% resort fee? Thanks.

[slidergirl]

Does anyone know of any hotels that do not charge the 18% resort fee? Thanks.

 

Well, the Sheraton Old San Juan and the Sheraton San Juan hotel & casino do not charge a 18% resort fee. BUT, they have a 16% "service" fee…

 

Looks like the Marriott and Hilton family hotels all have an 18-20% resort fee. If you don't want that fee, you may have to look deeper at independent hotels to see if they charge a fee. Most places in resort/vacation areas nowadays have that resort fee - it allows them to keep the advertised rate lower but get the money they actually want to charge.

[audcc77]

Does anyone know of any hotels that do not charge the 18% resort fee? Thanks.

 

You can work around this fee if you are a Hilton Honors member and have enough points for a totally free room or a points+$ room.

 

We have done it 2 times at Caribe Hilton. Once in March 2014 and once in Feb 2016.

 

Our bill both times when we checked out was $0.

[premier cruiser]

We too are sailing from San Juan in April 2017. This will be the first time sailing out of San Juan and we need some help in deciding on a hotel and area. We don't want to stay in Old San Juan but also don't want to be out in the sticks somewhere.

 

We are looking for an area that we can possibly walk the beach, enjoy hotel pool, shop and have some entertainment. Not at all familiar with anything outside of OSJ. It will be myself and 2 adult daughters.

 

With hotel and area suggestions please let me know approximately how far from cruise port they are.

 

Appreciate the help.:)

[Arzeena]

We too are sailing from San Juan in April 2017. This will be the first time sailing out of San Juan and we need some help in deciding on a hotel and area. We don't want to stay in Old San Juan but also don't want to be out in the sticks somewhere.

 

We are looking for an area that we can possibly walk the beach, enjoy hotel pool, shop and have some entertainment. Not at all familiar with anything outside of OSJ. It will be myself and 2 adult daughters.

 

With hotel and area suggestions please let me know approximately how far from cruise port they are.

 

Appreciate the help.:)

 

We just booked the Embassy Suites Isla Verde.