best beach location to stay
 

I am looking for a nice hotel or condo type lodging--around #300/night on a beach--near other activities/city to walk/hiking, etc.--not isolated--I am starting my research--but there seems to be so many areas to choose from. Help.

I left one out important piece---I am asking about Puerto Rico.

Depending on when you're going the Courtyard Isla Verde in San Juan can be under $300 per night. There aren't a lot of condo-style places in Puerto Rico. Lots of simple paradores or apartment-style small hotels on beaches, but not close to San Juan. The one thing I can tell you is that San Juan itself is particularly overpriced.

Hotels would be OK, too. My biggest question is which area to stay in. Should we be just east of San Juan--I noticed there is a Marriott there---or southwest Puerto Rico? We aren't the type who will just stay at the resort all day, but we also don't want to pack up and change hotels--so we want somewhere where we can take in beach (hotel must be on beach), but also be near a town, history, culture, Ihiking, etc. I done read up on it a bit, but am still not sure of which area is best to stay in.

San Juan most closely meets your requirements as the Rain Forest is less than an hour away + you'll have old San Juan to explore. Personnally I am partial to Rincon. Take a look @ www.rincon.org or www.rinconpr.com.