jwhatti

Hello,

My wife and I are planning a trip to Puerto Rico in late Jan early Feb 2010 and while trying to decide on a hotel, I've seen that some include a 14% "resort fee". Do all hotels with casinos include this fee and are they all the same amount?

I've also seen that casinos (specifically the El San Juan) have a dress code. but I can't find what exactly the code is. Is it pants and a collar shirt, or will jeans be okay. Are they picky on shoes... I don't want to have to pack more than I need.

We are leaning towards the El San Juan - manly based on price and location. But if another hotel/casino has a lower resort fee and more lax dress codes, that may changer our decision.


Thanks in advance for your input!

tom42

I don't believe that ALL hotels in Puerto Rico carry a resort fee, but most of the bigger hotels do. I think that the fee may vary a bit - the Ritz Carlton has a 12% resort fee for example.

Regarding El San Juan, the dress code is basically no shorts in the lobby, casino or other public areas after around 6:00 pm. Long pants and a collared shirt are fine. Jeans are okay. As a wording of warning - my experience is that they really crank up the a/c, so you may want to dress accordingly.

I am not sure what you mean about the shoes - are you asking whether you need to wear shoes or whether sneakers are ok? Sneakers wouldn't be appropriate in the evening but a nice sandal would be perfectly fine (although your feet might get a little cold).

San Juan in general is not really a shorts and t-shirt place in the evening, no matter what hotel you choose.

jwalker28

The resort fee depends somewhat on where you are staying. Pretty much all the hotels in Condado will charge them. I believe it was 100.00 total for a 5 day trip my wife and I took. As for dress code jeans and a polo would be perfectly acceptable they really just want to keep the board shorts and beach wear out. A word of advice though Old San Juan and Condado are very trendy places we found that most people were well dressed when they went out for the night.

doug_stallings

People in San Juan dress up, especially locals. You will probably have to wear long pants, and collared shirt, and closed-toe shoes in casinos, but they're not exactly formal.

Virtually all hotels in San Juan (not just those in Condado) charge a resort fee, but it's not always a percentage (actually that's rare, except for the Ritz-Carlton).

tom42

Actually, in San Juan, charging a percentage of the room rate as the resort fee is the rule not the exception. In addition to the Ritz Carlton, El San Juan, Marriott, Renaissance, and the Condado Plaza all charge a resort fee based on a percentage.