San Juan hotels are SO expensive!

[lyrehc0521]

My daughter and I are cruising out of San Juan on 1/6/19 and to play it safe we are planning to fly in on 1/5 and stay just one night. I've been researching non-stop and can't find a decent hotel for under $300/night. Once they add in taxes and resort fees it's closer to $400. I don't really care about night life or exploring San Juan. We just want to relax by a nice pool. Beachfront would be a plus but not required. Any suggestions?

 

Courtyard by Marriott Isla Verde Beach Resort looks fantastic, but comes in at $352.

[pghsteelerfan]

My daughter and I are cruising out of San Juan on 1/6/19 and to play it safe we are planning to fly in on 1/5 and stay just one night. I've been researching non-stop and can't find a decent hotel for under $300/night. Once they add in taxes and resort fees it's closer to $400. I don't really care about night life or exploring San Juan. We just want to relax by a nice pool. Beachfront would be a plus but not required. Any suggestions?

 

Courtyard by Marriott Isla Verde Beach Resort looks fantastic, but comes in at $352.

 

We've always stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott Isla Verda and love it! It's perfect for what you want to do and that's basically what we wanted (in our case, beach instead of the pool, but they do have a beautiful pool and swim-up bar). We've never payed that much though for a room though. I think we paid in the very low $200's both times we've stayed there. I don't know if the higher prices are the time of year or if it has to do with high demand since a lot of hotels/resorts had damage from the hurricanes and maybe not all are up and running yet. We've stayed in May 2013 for one cruise and September 2015 for another. The Courtyard's base prices may have gone up by now too. But even in 2013 when researching hotels for one night, pre-cruise, some of the others were way out of our price range.

 

I know there are beach front hotels in the Condado area (closer to San Juan) and there are others in the Isla Verde area. We never checked into the other hotels in Isla Verde since we were familiar with the "Courtyard by Marriott" name, have stayed at Courtyards in the past and have been happy with them. The hotels in the Condado area also had names we were familiar with, the their prices were way over our budget. There are some other hotels that aren't beach front that may be more in the price range you're looking at too.

[Ashland]

Try the Sheraton Old San Juan...or the Hyatt.

[JT1962]

That is one of the downsides to cruising out of San Juan. You can find some great rates on cruises, but that can be offset by higher airfares and expensive hotels.

 

We are arriving Nov 30 for one night and found similar rates to what OP posted. The issue appears to be supply vs demand. Many hotels were damaged or seem to be used by others helping rebuild. I wanted to stay in / near Old San Juan, but eventually decided to get the Hampton Inn using points. I could not see spending $ 400 after taxes / fees for one night.

 

The Comfort Inn shows a rate of $ 144 for 1/5/19 on TripAdvisor may be the best option.

 

 

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[Vineyard View]

Same pricing issues at the end of November. We arrive two nights early and the pricing was quite honestly so much higher than Last year during the same timeframe (meaning reservations made before the hurricanes). Of course they were cancelled as the hotels were either closed or filled with Feema. So this year the pricing is pretty over the top.

[maja651]

Have you checked the Decanter hotel in Old San Juan? We are paying about $225 a night there for a king balcony room for March 2019. We did book about 2 months ago though.

 

I just looked and found 2 different room types for $199 a night the night you mentioned.

 

Decanterhotel.com

[audcc77]

We have stayed at the Caribe Hilton on points twice for this very reason. It was 50,000 points for one night and we saved our points specifically for this.

 

By doing this, you don't need to stay the requisite 2 nights or pay the added resort fee.

 

I believe we didn't even pay taxes so check out was $0.

 

I'm hoping to do that again in January 2019 if its open but have Hampton Inn booked as a back-up.

 

If you are a frequent stayer at other hotel chains, you might look into that. Good luck.

[Vineyard View]

Have you checked the Decanter hotel in Old San Juan? We are paying about $225 a night there for a king balcony room for March 2019. We did book about 2 months ago though.

 

I just looked and found 2 different room types for $199 a night the night you mentioned.

 

Decanterhotel.com

 

Just an FYI - the Decanter has really nice rooms but their entry level rooms are interior rooms with no window. People have been surprised to find this - if that s important. Your king balcony will be a nice room. We looked there for our dates and we are just hitting a very high rate time. Good luck to OP.

[JT1962]

We tried Decanter at the end of November and they require 2 nights minimum on the date we needed.

 

 

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[gmachar]

We have stayed at Hotel Milano in Old San Juan and at Le Consulat in Condado - both very reasonable, but not ocean front (easy walk from the 2nd). Also Tres Palmas -a little further out, but a great little boutique hotel.

Charlene

[MeganGC1983]

We are stay at Decanter as well in a King balcony in Sept for $225

 

 

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[JT1962]

We have stayed at Hotel Milano in Old San Juan and at Le Consulat in Condado - both very reasonable, but not ocean front (easy walk from the 2nd). Also Tres Palmas -a little further out, but a great little boutique hotel.

 

Charlene

 

 

I looked at Hotel Milano. It had great rates but some really bad reviews on TripAdvisor. What was your experience with them?

 

 

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[tpnebraska]

I just searched Booking.com for your date and there are quite a few options for less than $400. We are going in February and staying at the El Canario by the lagoon. Granted, there are 2 of us and the room has twin beds, but it is just a little over $100 for the night. They don't have a pool but the beach is close. We are then staying in Old San Juan for 2 nights post cruise at the SJ Suites. Another option for you may be the Tres Palmas Inn, which is on the beach.

 

It may be worth a look for you.

[gmachar]

I looked at Hotel Milano. It had great rates but some really bad reviews on TripAdvisor. What was your experience with them?

 

 

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It’s very basic & small rooms, but clean - the lobby is a cool old building & they have a rooftop restaurant - great location - I would not hesitate to stay again.

Charlene

[starrcards]

We are staying on night pre-cruise on December 22 and was able to get a room for 5 for $200 at the Hyatt House. But we booked it six months ago (It is now sold out) . You have to understand that Puerto Rico is a winter vacation area and you are talking somewhat near the holidays. And most weekends are busy with cruisers.

 

Have you tried Air BnB?

[Clubber]

I looked at Hotel Milano. It had great rates but some really bad reviews on TripAdvisor. What was your experience with them?

 

 

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I've stayed at the Milano for a couple of nights. We had hot water and a comfortable bed. Great little rooftop restaurant and bar. The rooms are worn but clean. Reminded me of the old motels I used to stay in as a kid in the middle of nowhere in the 70s. Much better price than most other hotels. We have friends the usually stay at the Casablanca and they like it. I'd rather save the money on the hotel and spend it on an excursion.

[MA cruisers]

We're staying at the AC Marriott in October. Got our room for less than $200 including the resort fees and taxes.

[Mike981]

If your comfortable doing so, I booked third party (priceline or hotwire) a few years ago and saved a lot. We ended up staying at the Intercontinental.

[2paradise]

The cheapest hotel I could find for two nights next Spring was $900 once all taxes and fees were added. Uh no. The first night we won’t even get in until midnight.

 

I ended up booking an apartment in OSJ for $375 for the two nights.

 

So maybe try Airbnb?

 

Good luck!

[SeeingTheWorldBySea]

OP- are you going on the Freedom 1/6? We are booked on that cruise. There's no roll call yet, I wonder why. We booked 3 rooms at Courtyard Marriott Isla Verde. I believe the price was $279 before taxes, fees, etc. I've been looking around for something cheaper on the beach but haven't had much luck. I'm also worries about the airport noise, but it's only for 1 night so I am sure it can't be that bad.

[Dunfer]

Both of my stays were pre-hurricane, so I don't know how much help it will be. In March, 2016, we stayed at Fortaliza Suites (next door to the Milano), for $207.85. It was quaint and clean. You walk into a jewelry store to check in. We did have an interior room with no window, just like an interior stateroom on a ship, nice and dark! Then, in February of 2017, my daughter and I stayed at the Comfort Inn in Condado. It was only $164.70. Safe and clean, walking distance to the beach, that famous ice cream place, and Walgreens. I would stay at either one of these again!

[Something fun!]

Just like property prices are up, average hotel rates are up everywhere. This is not exclusive to San Juan.

[Stinger-pr]

There are a couple of reasons that hotel prices have increased in San Juan. First of all, inventory. There are a few hotels still closed either partially or completely while damage from the hurricanes is being repaired. The list includes the Caribe Hilton (full), Condado Plaza (partial), El San Juan hotel in Ilsa Verde (very partially opened) and the Ritz Carlton (full). These hotels are big properties that have a large number of rooms off the market right now. So demand for rooms is high, and so are prices. Try some smaller "boutique" hotels and guest houses. Usually the Condado area (closer to port) is usually more expressive than Isla Verde (closer to airport). Also, give platforms like AirBnB a try.

 

Another reason, specific to the OPs situation is that Jan. 6 is a major local holiday (Three Kings / Three Wise Men day). Add in that weekends are more expensive by practice and that as previously stated, PR is a very popular winter destination for those on upper latitudes and you have a formula for high prices. If any of the big hotels start to open before year's end (some are expected to) prices should drop a bit as room inventory opens up.

[cruisegus]

I am sailing out end of Jan 2019, but normaly use points.

I wont stay at anything that is not a major chain, Marriott, IHG, Hilton, Sheraton, etc.

I find some of those on 1/5 check out on Sunday for $250 to $300 just a few minutes ago.

pretty much the same prices i find at Ft Lauderdale, Miami and Galveston for same time of year, all major ports.

 

 

Anyway enjoy your cruise, we really like going out of San Juan

[cinnam0n]

I think a lot of it may have to do with the dates you need. We stayed at the Courtyard Miramar several years ago and paid $89.00 through Hotwire. We are booked there for a pre-cruise night November 30-Dec. 1 and the price is $159.00. When I look for your dates, it jumps to $244!