San Juan Hotel Prices

[JUST TRIPPIN']

We love cruises and especially cruising out of San Juan.  My issue is the cost of hotels recently and all of their fees for what you get.  Maybe its just my " frugalness " but paying $300+ a night minimum for a hotel room that you have to worry about things like hot water, thin walls or hotel cleanliness is scary.  Is San Juan taking an unfair advantage of cruisers who need to stay somewhere?  Probably.  It makes us rethink sailing out of San Juan but ultimately, I know thousands more will not think twice about it.  Are we the only ones that feel this way?

[SpaceCowboy9]

Last time through San Juan, we went a couple days early and got an airbnb/vrbo - $106/night  in 2019 (including all fees).  Had a great time.  The place was a little wonky, but it was clean.

 

You just need a place to sleep and shower.

[njhorseman]

5 minutes ago, JUST TRIPPIN' said:

We love cruises and especially cruising out of San Juan.  My issue is the cost of hotels recently and all of their fees for what you get.  Maybe its just my " frugalness " but paying $300+ a night minimum for a hotel room that you have to worry about things like hot water, thin walls or hotel cleanliness is scary.  Is San Juan taking an unfair advantage of cruisers who need to stay somewhere?  Probably.  It makes us rethink sailing out of San Juan but ultimately, I know thousands more will not think twice about it.  Are we the only ones that feel this way?

We've stayed at numerous hotels in San Juan over the past 50 years and haven't had any more problems with "hot water, thin walls or hotel cleanliness" than we have anywhere else in the world so I'm having trouble understanding what your concerns arise from . 

 

And hotel prices are high most everywhere these days. They've gone up tremendously in Manhattan for example.

[JUST TRIPPIN']

26 minutes ago, SpaceCowboy9 said:

Last time through San Juan, we went a couple days early and got an airbnb/vrbo - $106/night  in 2019 (including all fees).  Had a great time.  The place was a little wonky, but it was clean.

 

You just need a place to sleep and shower.

We thought about an airbnb but have been told many places will cancel last minute if they get a better long stay offer.  

 

[JUST TRIPPIN']

27 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

We've stayed at numerous hotels in San Juan over the past 50 years and haven't had any more problems with "hot water, thin walls or hotel cleanliness" than we have anywhere else in the world so I'm having trouble understanding what your concerns arise from . 

 

And hotel prices are high most everywhere these days. They've gone up tremendously in Manhattan for example.

If you are staying at a higher priced hotel ( $500+ a night ), you probably wouldn't have any issues.  For example, the hotel we always stay at and love in Isla Verde has had absolutely scary reviews lately but they are also $100 more than we have ever paid.  Note, we are Canadian (exchange rates apply) so we are maybe more sensitive to price increases. 

 

[njhorseman]

54 minutes ago, JUST TRIPPIN' said:

If you are staying at a higher priced hotel ( $500+ a night ), you probably wouldn't have any issues.  For example, the hotel we always stay at and love in Isla Verde has had absolutely scary reviews lately but they are also $100 more than we have ever paid.  Note, we are Canadian (exchange rates apply) so we are maybe more sensitive to price increases. 

 

I've never paid anywhere near $500. Assuming prices have gone up $100 a night recently that would equate to $400 pre pandemic and I've never paid that much. Prices are very date sensitive and if you're looking on weekends in peak season the prices can be substantially higher than average.

[Ashland]

We just stayed at the newer Sheraton and it was $900 total for two nights .... felt it was a rip off.

[princeton123211]

On 3/31/2022 at 10:20 AM, JUST TRIPPIN' said:

For example, the hotel we always stay at and love in Isla Verde has had absolutely scary reviews lately but they are also $100 more than we have ever paid.  Note, we are Canadian (exchange rates apply) so we are maybe more sensitive to price increases. 

Most hotels around the world right now are operating at reduced capacities due to labor shortages but charging more to make up for some of it and limit their losses. The alternative would be to open at 100% and have most people have a horrible experience-- this way is less expensive overall for them and lets them keep their reputations somewhat intact.

 

This is just going to be the reality of it for some time to come until the labor shortages in the hospitality industry even out. As Horseman said-- its not an issue specific to San Juan but they might be feeling it more than other places. Most hotels have a "take it or leave it" attitude--  they are not looking to give out any deals. Could be a good opportunity to cash in some credit card points/miles into a hotel program to make things less expensive. 

[kdawg954]

So we did Old San Juan precruise for 2 nights and Isla Verde 2 nights post cruise over Xmas/new years.

 

Was extremely worried about cost but man it worked out very well.

 

Highly encourage an AirBnB from a highly reviewed host in Old San Juan.  We ended up on San Cristobal street in the thick of everything for $99 a night for a 2 person apartment.  Previously we stayed in the Ocean Park area for under $100 as well.  The key is booking early and again a highly reviewed host (although that Old San Juan get was rare as the host literally had his room booked for like 2 months except for those 2 nights, but there were others).

 

Post cruise we got our favorite hotel in San Juan, the Hampton Inn by Isla Verde, for $150 a night, plus the resort fee . . . so yea it was like $200 a night after taxes/fees.  Worth every penny as the service is as good as I've ever had in any hotel, with free breakfast, free happy hour and use of beach amenities (chairs/cooler/umbrella/towels/etc).  We had a late flight check out night (11 pm) and they allowed us to stay in our room until 2 p.m for free and then held our luggage while we used the pool area, happy hour and shower area until we were ready to leave.  My second visit here and both times service was outstanding.  They even weighed our bags that night lol.  Great dining options right next door.

 

Book something reasonable and refundable early (both hotel and or airbnb) and just keep your eyes open as deals come up.  

[PORT ROYAL]

On 3/31/2022 at 2:35 PM, JUST TRIPPIN' said:

We love cruises and especially cruising out of San Juan.  My issue is the cost of hotels recently and all of their fees for what you get.  Maybe its just my " frugalness " but paying $300+ a night minimum for a hotel room that you have to worry about things like hot water, thin walls or hotel cleanliness is scary.  Is San Juan taking an unfair advantage of cruisers who need to stay somewhere?  Probably.  It makes us rethink sailing out of San Juan but ultimately, I know thousands more will not think twice about it.  Are we the only ones that feel this way?

For an acceptable price point, consider a Guesthouse.  People we know have booked and enjoyed the Navona.  Old Town, simple, clean, centrally placed and not far from the ship.

 

[blmjcs]

We just booked at the Sheraton Old San Juan and the cost was $345.86 for a King Deluxe.   We booked here to be close to the port and will only be here 1 night.   We decided to fly in one day early to try and avoid any flight delay issues.  Hopefully it will be clean and quiet. 

[Ashland]

On 7/5/2022 at 8:10 AM, blmjcs said:

We just booked at the Sheraton Old San Juan and the cost was $345.86 for a King Deluxe.   We booked here to be close to the port and will only be here 1 night.   We decided to fly in one day early to try and avoid any flight delay issues.  Hopefully it will be clean and quiet. 

This is our favorite hotel/location. So sorry we opted for the newer Sheraton on our last pre-cruise this past March...Won't make that mistake again !! Enjoy !!

[TTEllis]

On 4/1/2022 at 2:09 PM, Ashland said:

We just stayed at the newer Sheraton and it was $900 total for two nights .... felt it was a rip off.

Let me get this right you paid $450 a night for 2 nights at a total cost of $900?? In San Juan P.R.?

Rip off?? You got robbed Einstein. 😳

They gotcha.😬

[Ashland]

On 7/8/2022 at 10:47 PM, TTEllis said:

Let me get this right you paid $450 a night for 2 nights at a total cost of $900?? In San Juan P.R.?

Rip off?? You got robbed Einstein. 😳

They gotcha.😬

Yep...We did...Prices were high but this was crazy. Won't stay at this Sheraton again....We'll go back to the Old Town Sheraton. I guess the off set for us was we got an amazing rate for our B2B OS on Explorer and our first class flights on AA.

[TTEllis]

4 hours ago, Ashland said:

Yep...We did...Prices were high but this was crazy. Won't stay at this Sheraton again....We'll go back to the Old Town Sheraton. I guess the off set for us was we got an amazing rate for our B2B OS on Explorer and our first class flights on AA.

That's great, $900 for a 2 night stay in San Juan thats pitiful though. That must have been one hell of a hotel room. I had no idea there was anything in San Juan worth $900, much less a 2 night hotel stay. 

[PORT ROYAL]

On 4/1/2022 at 7:09 PM, Ashland said:

We just stayed at the newer Sheraton and it was $900 total for two nights .... felt it was a rip off.

$450! Wow…. Paid less for a corner suite at the Cairo Fairmont