public transport in San Juan
 

I'm trying to select a hotel in the San Juan area. Is there good public bus transport from Isla Verde or Condado to Old SanJuan? How long would it take? We enjoy both beach time and city wandering. I also have read that Condado is a little run down now. Any comments? I'm considering the Coral Princess in Condado, the Embassy Suites in Isla Verde, the Courtyard in Isla Verde. I would appreciate info on both bus transport and comments on the hotels above or any other suggestions. I would like to pay less than $300 per night. Thanks

I stayed in the Isla Verde area two years ago and was very disappointed. It's quite a distance from Old San Juan and waiting for the bus took FOREVER.. The buses don't keep a schedule and are often an hour late, then two come at the same time and they're packed.. I regretted not renting a car.. If I did PR again, I would stay in Old San Juan at El Convento or at the NOrmandie (( think that's the name)... Isla Verde is all chain restaurants, looks like Florida... Condado was seedy.. Old San Juan was the only bit of PR I really enjoyed for its character.. Isla is good for the beach, however...

thank you so much Melody13. Your answer was just the kind of information I was looking for.

Condado is a very short cab ride from Old San Juan. Isla Verde is a little further - I estimate that a cab from Condado to Old San Juan would be about $8, from Isla Verde about $15. I have taken the bus once or twice and didn't find it too inconvenient - but maybe I was just lucky.

I usually stay in Isla Verde and do not find that it is all chain restaurants. There are chain restaurants there but there are many non-chain restuarants. The dining scene, however, is more hotel based than in Old San Juan or even Condado.

Condado was a bit run down a few years ago but there is a lot of construction going on - they are making many improvements. It looks a lot better now (well, as of last summer anyway) than it had in the past.

Please be aware that if you stay in Old San Juan, you will not have access to a beach right at your hotel.

I cannot comment on any of your potential hotel choices as I have not stayed at any of them. I do know that the Embassy Suites is not on the beach -it is a couple of blocks off the beach.

I styaed at the Stellaris resort and casino in Condado and loved it!! It is not at all run down; it's a bit artsy and touristy at the same time. But you can totally tell it's and up and coming neighborhhod in San Juan. I went to Isla Verde and it cost 15$ for a cab and 10$ to Old San Juan. I prefered the neighborhood of Condado to Isla Verde because it didnt look like an american suburb!

travelbug,

I too have been researching hotels in San Juan as well as access to good public transportation.

The Isla Verde appears to have luxury hotels, which are lovely, but in addition to the room rate, the taxi fares back-and-forth to the main land are expensive.

We are flying nonstop from JFK to SJU for $158 RT in January, 2007, so, I didn't want to break the bank with a high room rate.

I contacted the Condado Plaza Hotel & Casino (6 restaurants, casino, 3 pools, tennis courts, access to beach), which is currently undergoing extensive renovations. I booked through the AAA web site, which was the lowest rate, and followed up with a phone call to the hotel. I am supposedly guaranteed a double room in the newly-renovate tower. (Completion of renovation is expected April 2007.) Our room rate varies during our stay: starting 1/15 for 3 nights @ $179.55, and starting 1/18 for 3 nights @ $236.55 (breakfast not included). I think there is a municipal tax of $5 per person, per day also.

I would have like to stay at El Convento, but the room rate was way too high.

Now, however, I am a little concerned about the "seedy" comment regarding the Condado area.

Maybe mccoyte can tell us more about the Condado area and his/her trip experience.

thanks for the answers. I'd also love to stay at El Convento but just can't manage the cost. There doesn't seem to be many suitable hotels in Old San Juan. Beach is not as important to us as access to Old San Juan, although a pool would be nice. Because of the distance, I've eliminated Isla Verde but would like to hear more about Condado.

We stayed in Condado this week for one night(Nov 27th). Our hotel, Holiday Inn Express had renovated rooms with new beds and the rate $110 included breakfast.

The area seemed run down in places but is definitely in the process of being done up. For example our hotel was about 100yards from the corner where a new Cartier store was opening. Roses were being distributed and the flower beds surrounding it had been planted the evening before. Very close by there's a new Gucci store!
Within a short walk there's a Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Walgreens and several local restaurants. There's a new condo redevelopment and some of the old concrete buildings definitely look tired and unattractive.

The beach was sandy and was OK, some trash scattered about but we'd just returned from Vieques and in comparison it didn't appeal! Maybe Isla Verde has a better beach
Across the street from Cartier was a beautiful fountain with timed water jets and many banners welcoming tourists to Puerto Rico. Police are dotted about the area and it felt safe but we weren't really there long as we arrived at 3pm, took a brief walk to the beach and then caught a cab ($12)into Old San Juan to El Morro.
We returned by cab about 9pm after dinner.

Two years ago we stayed at the Coral Princess in Condado. While it was not a luxury hotel, the beach is two blocks away and we went everyday we could. The chair man was adorable. There is a wonderful excellent outstanding inexpensive pizza place on the main drag in Condado that we ate at twice that week. We did have a leak in our room at the hotel and they moved us to the suite, but it was ok. How much are you in your room?
Last year we took a cruise out of San Juan and stayed one night at the Sheraton Old Town. I used points so dollars were not important. It was ok. Close to old town, but you miss Condado. There is some nice shopping in Condado - for sure a wonderful men's shop and inexpensive breakfast places. The bus transportation is slow, but if you hit it right, it is wonderful.

I htought I had decided on the Caribe Hilton after reading very bad comments about the Sheraton in Old San Juan on another web site. Has anyone stayed there? After reading some of the answers to my question, maybe I'll reconsider Condado. The Hilton is supposed to be on beautiful grounds, but perhaps there isn't much around it - we do like to wander - whether it is along a beach or window shopping.

I just retured from El Convento for 5 days. It was wonderful. The public transportation (bus system) is very good. There are only a few hotels in OSJ. Try Hotel Milano if you cannot swing El Convento, I have stayed there many times. Good location, right in the middle of everything. I would not stay in Condado or Isla Verde if I could avoid it. I do not care for either, not much charm. If you want to get from OSJ to either place it is a short bus or taxi ride away. OSJ just has so much to offer.
As far as the Sheraton goes, I just would not stay there. The area is not nice, the hotel is scummy due to the smoky casino. AAHH we got an eyefull of things we just did not need to see. We went over there to dine at Fogato (one of the restaurants owned by the owner of Parrot Club) we could not eat there as the crowd was just not our type.

We are staying at the Caribe Hilton this spring. If I recall correctly, you can walk to the Condado from the Caribe. We did it 20 years ago and I don't remember it being far at all. It is also a short cab ride to Old San Juan.
I don't like the comments about safety and how run down things are as well. I am hoping that Puerto Rico hasn't totally gone to pot since we are returning after many years.

The Caribe Hilton is in between Condado and Old San Juan. I stayed there about a year and a half ago. I liked it but didnt love it. You probably could walk from the Caribe Hilton to Condado but there was quite a bit of construction going on back then so it wasn't really practical to walk. You cannot walk from the Caribe to Old San Juan but it is a very short taxi ride away. It is as close as you can get to Old San Juan, without actually staying there.

The grounds are very nice and there is a small, calm beach. There really isn't much to see in the immediate vicinity.

tom42:Did you notice that PR has gone down hill? We haven't been is so many years. The Caribe Hilton was a very nice hotel 20 years ago. I think it has been redone too. I have seen some bad reviews. What is your review? What part of the hotel did you stay in? I have read the towers are the most recently refurbished section. Thanks.

I have been going to PR since 1989 and would not say that it has gone downhill. Condado area did go through a period where two hotels and the convention center closed and were boarded up eyesores for many years. In the past couple of years, though, there has been a surge of construction going on - with new hotels being built and an effort to develop a parklike area right on the shoreline. Old San Juan, if anything, has improved - with the addition of some new restaurants.

I have only stayed at the Caribe Hilton once - about a year and a half ago. I can't remember which part of the hotel I stayed in but I was booked into the Exceutive Level (this is another story, as when we arrived, we discovered that the executive club room was closed for renovations). We did see a number of rooms before we settled on one. The rooms seemed to vary in size, furnishings and amenities. The final room was nice and had a great balcony and ocean view. It wasn't an Executive Level room due to construction issues but I believe it was a deluxe ocean front category room. Overall, I enjoyed the hotel - the grounds were very nice, as was the lobby. It was nice to be so close to Old San Juan, but on the flip side, I wish you could walk more places from there.

tom,

I, for one, appreciate you coming back to this post and further describing the San Juan you experienced.

My husband and I will be staying at the Condado Plaza Hotel & Casino in the middle of January, and I feel a lot better about this vacation now.

OTOH, all my husband wants is warm temperatures and sun...easy to please.

Thanks Tom for your reply! Last time we went was in 1987. Thanks again

Thank you so much for all the comments. I just booked a room at the Caribe Hilton. I'll let you know how it was when we return home in February. I also booked one night (at the beginning of a cruise) at the Hotel Milano in OSJ. I'll report on that too.

travelbug,

Did you meet your goal and get a room rate below $300 per night at the Caribe Hilton?

Just curious...

i am kane,
I almost made my $300 limit; the room is $270 plus all those high taxes which brings the cost over $300.
travelbug

travelbug,

It sounds as though you are satified with your room rate.

If I am correct, the Caribe Hilton is across the lagoon from the Condado Plaza Hotel & Casino where we will be staying January 15 - 21.