Puerto Rico/Caribe Hilton Trip Report
Feb 28th, 2004, 11:58 AM
#1
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Puerto Rico/Caribe Hilton Trip Report
My husband and I and our 2-year-old son just came back from San Juan, Puerto. This was a quickly planned trip to escape the cold of the Northeast (well, it was really cold when we decided to book this trip..it?s in the 50s these days). We picked Puerto Rico over other islands for several reasons: direct from Newark, flight not too long, and a good price with Continental.
We got a good deal on Priceline for the Caribe Hilton (more on the hotel later).
I?ll start with the restaurants since fellow Fodorites seem to love good food.
RESTAURANTS/BREAKFAST: Just because it was more convenient for us with the baby, we had the buffet every morning at ?Las Palmeras? restaurant at the hotel. It?s the standard buffet you?ll find at every resort (fruits, all sorts of pastries, omelettes on request, cereal, etc..). $17.50/person. The food was fine. Nothing to complain about.
LUNCH: We had lunch one day at the ?Atlantico Pool Bar & Grill? located at the hotel. I had the chicken fingers with fries and my husband had a cheeseburger with fries. Again, the food was fine with nothing to complain about.
We also had lunch at ?El Picoteo Bar & Tapas? at the Convento Hotel in Old San Juan. The restaurant is in a courtyard setting (very pretty). My husband had some sort of baked cheese and tomato sauce (he said it was excellent). I had chicken croquettes and some type of pastry stuffed with ground beef (the croquettes were odd-still can?t figure out if I liked them; but the pastry was excellent). We?d recommend this place.
We had lunch at ?La Bombonera? in Old San Juan. The place is basically a diner. It?s a good place to get a quick, cheap lunch.
We had lunch at ?Las Palmas?, a restaurant at the Copamarina Beach Resort on the Southwest side of the island during a day trip (more on that later). My husband had the standard burger and fries and I had a caesar salad. The food was just okay. We liked the feel of the restaurant though...set outside by the beach, open and airy feel to it.
DINNER: Our first dinner was at the ?Madrid-San Juan Restaurant & Tapas? at the hotel. I had the salmon filet with veggies, my husband had the veal chop with veggies. We were both disappointed. The food wasn?t awful, but it wasn?t that good.
Our second night, we had dinner at ?Carli Café Concierto? in Old San Juan. I had a filet mignon with veggies and my husband had a salmon filet. The food was EXCELLENT!! We would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone (it was our favorite place to eat in Puerto Rico). The place is owned by Carli Munoz who was once a pianist for the Beach Boys (says Frommer?s). He was there and played the piano during our dinner. The restaurant is really geared for adults, it?s small, dark inside, mood lighting, very sexy type of place (you can eat outside as well, but you won?t get the same feeling). They don?t have high chairs so our son had to sit on my lap. I would recommend making reservations if you go on a weekend because the place is so small. We were there on a Wednesday and at 6pm so it was not crowded.
We also had dinner at the ?Parrot Club? in Old San Juan (our 2nd best dinner in Puerto Rico!). I had chicken on a skewer with bbq sauce, rice, black beans, and my husband had the brazed pork shank. The food was EXCELLENT! I swear we got our food 5 minutes after we ordered! Quickest service we ever got anywhere we ever traveled! The place was packed when we got there so it was a bit loud. It is bigger than above restaurant, and fyi they don?t take reservations. Mood lighting as well at that place, but not as dark as above restaurant. The walls are like a burnt orange with paintings of palm leaves in some places. We?d also highly recommend this place.
For our last night, we had dinner at ?Morton?s of Chicago? located at our hotel. We had sworn we wouldn?t do it because we refuse while we travel to do restaurants we can find back at home. But our son was on the edge, sick of going to so many places we think, so we decided to stay close to the hotel. The steaks were good of course.
All our dinners cost between $55-$75, except for Morton?s which was about $110 (all this includes tips). Please know that for those prices, we didn?t get appetizers, nor starters, nor desserts (only entrees)--the son would go off the deep end if we stayed that long in a restaurant
OLD SAN JUAN: We did the required walking tour with the stop at El Morro Fort, and it was lovely. It is a must-do. Our son enjoyed the people-watching (gets that from Mom). We also rode on the Trolley for awhile. For the parents: it was fine maneuvering the stroller despite the cobblestone streets. Definitely do NOT rent a car to drive around San Juan. Traffic is awful, the streets are narrow and parking sucks (people park on sidewalks!).
DAY TRIP: We rented a Toyota Camry for $60/day (Hertz has a desk at the hotel) because we just had to go to the Caribbean side. We went to Cana Gorda Beach in Guanica. It took us about 1 hour ? to get there and about 2 hours ? to get back (traffic). The roads are great. We hit about 5 tolls. Costs are 35 cents for some and 50 cents for others. On the way back, there?s one toll that?s $1.25. We first had lunch at the Copamarina Beach Resort. The resort is lovely. It?s one of those small, laid black places with a nice beach with calm, clear water. I think it would probably be nice to stay there for a couple of days.
After our lunch, we headed to Cana Gorda Beach, right down the street. It costs $2/car to get in. There were maybe three other groups of people there (we loved that). The sand is golden brown and the water is calm and clear which makes it lovely to swim with a toddler. We were out some 100 feet and the water was still waist-high. Our son definitely enjoyed it. There was a bit of sea weed though. There are also picnic tables if you want to have eat there. And there are trees on the beach to provide shade if needed. We?d recommend this day trip.
Oh and be ready to pass slow drivers from the RIGHT lane. A lot of people don?t seem to know if you drive slow, you should stay in the right lane so people can pass you on the LEFT. I thought it was a universal rule, no? It was driving me nuts and we weren?t speeding-we doing the speed limit! My husband says I need to get over that.
HOTEL/CARIBE HILTON: Please know we got a great deal on Priceline for this hotel, so we wouldn?t dare complain. The criticism you?ll see is to help people who are thinking of staying there or who may use Priceline...we just want them to know what they may get so they?re ok with it when they get it.
HOTEL/THE GOOD: The sand on the beach is golden brown, the water is clear, the surf is gentle. There are rocks further out arranged to break the rough surf. There are also hammocks on the beach, as well as beach chairs.
There are several pools. There?s a swim-up bar. The water from that pool cascades into a 2nd pool with a basketball hoop. The water from that pool cascades into the larger 3rd pool. There?s a small pool 1 ft 6in deep for little ones (and a playground).
The staff of the hotel was really nice.
HOTEL/THE BAD: It?s a convention hotel...so....there were conventions while we were there, meaning lots and lots of people. You feel like you?re fighting your way to your room building. We were on the 8th floor of the Tower Building. We were given a standard room with two beds (non-smoking which the most important thing for us) with a view of the parking garage, the highway, another hotel tower, and another tower in the process of being built, and some water in the middle. The room was a bit on the small side. The bathroom was surprisingly big with 2 sinks, a vanity, a tub, a separate shower and a separate toilet. There was a small balcony with 2 chairs and a table. We usually like to sit on the patio after the baby goes to sleep while on vacation (didn?t do it on this trip-who wants to see a highway and a parking garage?
HOTEL/THE UGLY: So at 7am, the construction work would begin on that building. Ahhhh...lovely...We were lucky though. The hotel has another tower that is RIGHT NEXT to the construction. I think it?s the Garden tower. Do NOT stay there. It has to be loud as hell in that tower. Ugh!
Also in our room, you could hear people in other rooms flushing their toilets! Yes! Just like I?m sure they could hear us flushing! How lovely is that?? It was loud too! Great plumbing, huh?
The sliding door to the patio was really hard to slide open and close. But the best part was that when the people in the room next door decided to go on their patio in the middle of the night (twice), it actually sounded like someone was trying to get into our room via the patio! I almost had a heart attack! It really sounded like it was our door! Ha!
HOTEL/BOTTOM LINE: We would never pay full price to stay at this hotel. We just don?t think it?s worth it. To be fair though, maybe the oceanview rooms are better.
WHAT WE WANTED TO DO: but didn?t do. We really wanted to do a day trip to Culebra. But we thought it would too much for our son so it will just have to be for another time.
OVERALL: We had a great time. We hate comparing places because we don?t think it?s fair because each has its own charm...but we?re beach lovers so we have to say the beaches we saw don?t come close to the ones in St. John, USVI, which for us are the best ones (we?ve seen so far).
If you have any questions, ask away....
We got a good deal on Priceline for the Caribe Hilton (more on the hotel later).
I?ll start with the restaurants since fellow Fodorites seem to love good food.
RESTAURANTS/BREAKFAST: Just because it was more convenient for us with the baby, we had the buffet every morning at ?Las Palmeras? restaurant at the hotel. It?s the standard buffet you?ll find at every resort (fruits, all sorts of pastries, omelettes on request, cereal, etc..). $17.50/person. The food was fine. Nothing to complain about.
LUNCH: We had lunch one day at the ?Atlantico Pool Bar & Grill? located at the hotel. I had the chicken fingers with fries and my husband had a cheeseburger with fries. Again, the food was fine with nothing to complain about.
We also had lunch at ?El Picoteo Bar & Tapas? at the Convento Hotel in Old San Juan. The restaurant is in a courtyard setting (very pretty). My husband had some sort of baked cheese and tomato sauce (he said it was excellent). I had chicken croquettes and some type of pastry stuffed with ground beef (the croquettes were odd-still can?t figure out if I liked them; but the pastry was excellent). We?d recommend this place.
We had lunch at ?La Bombonera? in Old San Juan. The place is basically a diner. It?s a good place to get a quick, cheap lunch.
We had lunch at ?Las Palmas?, a restaurant at the Copamarina Beach Resort on the Southwest side of the island during a day trip (more on that later). My husband had the standard burger and fries and I had a caesar salad. The food was just okay. We liked the feel of the restaurant though...set outside by the beach, open and airy feel to it.
DINNER: Our first dinner was at the ?Madrid-San Juan Restaurant & Tapas? at the hotel. I had the salmon filet with veggies, my husband had the veal chop with veggies. We were both disappointed. The food wasn?t awful, but it wasn?t that good.
Our second night, we had dinner at ?Carli Café Concierto? in Old San Juan. I had a filet mignon with veggies and my husband had a salmon filet. The food was EXCELLENT!! We would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone (it was our favorite place to eat in Puerto Rico). The place is owned by Carli Munoz who was once a pianist for the Beach Boys (says Frommer?s). He was there and played the piano during our dinner. The restaurant is really geared for adults, it?s small, dark inside, mood lighting, very sexy type of place (you can eat outside as well, but you won?t get the same feeling). They don?t have high chairs so our son had to sit on my lap. I would recommend making reservations if you go on a weekend because the place is so small. We were there on a Wednesday and at 6pm so it was not crowded.
We also had dinner at the ?Parrot Club? in Old San Juan (our 2nd best dinner in Puerto Rico!). I had chicken on a skewer with bbq sauce, rice, black beans, and my husband had the brazed pork shank. The food was EXCELLENT! I swear we got our food 5 minutes after we ordered! Quickest service we ever got anywhere we ever traveled! The place was packed when we got there so it was a bit loud. It is bigger than above restaurant, and fyi they don?t take reservations. Mood lighting as well at that place, but not as dark as above restaurant. The walls are like a burnt orange with paintings of palm leaves in some places. We?d also highly recommend this place.
For our last night, we had dinner at ?Morton?s of Chicago? located at our hotel. We had sworn we wouldn?t do it because we refuse while we travel to do restaurants we can find back at home. But our son was on the edge, sick of going to so many places we think, so we decided to stay close to the hotel. The steaks were good of course.
All our dinners cost between $55-$75, except for Morton?s which was about $110 (all this includes tips). Please know that for those prices, we didn?t get appetizers, nor starters, nor desserts (only entrees)--the son would go off the deep end if we stayed that long in a restaurant
OLD SAN JUAN: We did the required walking tour with the stop at El Morro Fort, and it was lovely. It is a must-do. Our son enjoyed the people-watching (gets that from Mom). We also rode on the Trolley for awhile. For the parents: it was fine maneuvering the stroller despite the cobblestone streets. Definitely do NOT rent a car to drive around San Juan. Traffic is awful, the streets are narrow and parking sucks (people park on sidewalks!).
DAY TRIP: We rented a Toyota Camry for $60/day (Hertz has a desk at the hotel) because we just had to go to the Caribbean side. We went to Cana Gorda Beach in Guanica. It took us about 1 hour ? to get there and about 2 hours ? to get back (traffic). The roads are great. We hit about 5 tolls. Costs are 35 cents for some and 50 cents for others. On the way back, there?s one toll that?s $1.25. We first had lunch at the Copamarina Beach Resort. The resort is lovely. It?s one of those small, laid black places with a nice beach with calm, clear water. I think it would probably be nice to stay there for a couple of days.
After our lunch, we headed to Cana Gorda Beach, right down the street. It costs $2/car to get in. There were maybe three other groups of people there (we loved that). The sand is golden brown and the water is calm and clear which makes it lovely to swim with a toddler. We were out some 100 feet and the water was still waist-high. Our son definitely enjoyed it. There was a bit of sea weed though. There are also picnic tables if you want to have eat there. And there are trees on the beach to provide shade if needed. We?d recommend this day trip.
Oh and be ready to pass slow drivers from the RIGHT lane. A lot of people don?t seem to know if you drive slow, you should stay in the right lane so people can pass you on the LEFT. I thought it was a universal rule, no? It was driving me nuts and we weren?t speeding-we doing the speed limit! My husband says I need to get over that.
HOTEL/CARIBE HILTON: Please know we got a great deal on Priceline for this hotel, so we wouldn?t dare complain. The criticism you?ll see is to help people who are thinking of staying there or who may use Priceline...we just want them to know what they may get so they?re ok with it when they get it.
HOTEL/THE GOOD: The sand on the beach is golden brown, the water is clear, the surf is gentle. There are rocks further out arranged to break the rough surf. There are also hammocks on the beach, as well as beach chairs.
There are several pools. There?s a swim-up bar. The water from that pool cascades into a 2nd pool with a basketball hoop. The water from that pool cascades into the larger 3rd pool. There?s a small pool 1 ft 6in deep for little ones (and a playground).
The staff of the hotel was really nice.
HOTEL/THE BAD: It?s a convention hotel...so....there were conventions while we were there, meaning lots and lots of people. You feel like you?re fighting your way to your room building. We were on the 8th floor of the Tower Building. We were given a standard room with two beds (non-smoking which the most important thing for us) with a view of the parking garage, the highway, another hotel tower, and another tower in the process of being built, and some water in the middle. The room was a bit on the small side. The bathroom was surprisingly big with 2 sinks, a vanity, a tub, a separate shower and a separate toilet. There was a small balcony with 2 chairs and a table. We usually like to sit on the patio after the baby goes to sleep while on vacation (didn?t do it on this trip-who wants to see a highway and a parking garage?
HOTEL/THE UGLY: So at 7am, the construction work would begin on that building. Ahhhh...lovely...We were lucky though. The hotel has another tower that is RIGHT NEXT to the construction. I think it?s the Garden tower. Do NOT stay there. It has to be loud as hell in that tower. Ugh!
Also in our room, you could hear people in other rooms flushing their toilets! Yes! Just like I?m sure they could hear us flushing! How lovely is that?? It was loud too! Great plumbing, huh?
The sliding door to the patio was really hard to slide open and close. But the best part was that when the people in the room next door decided to go on their patio in the middle of the night (twice), it actually sounded like someone was trying to get into our room via the patio! I almost had a heart attack! It really sounded like it was our door! Ha!
HOTEL/BOTTOM LINE: We would never pay full price to stay at this hotel. We just don?t think it?s worth it. To be fair though, maybe the oceanview rooms are better.
WHAT WE WANTED TO DO: but didn?t do. We really wanted to do a day trip to Culebra. But we thought it would too much for our son so it will just have to be for another time.
OVERALL: We had a great time. We hate comparing places because we don?t think it?s fair because each has its own charm...but we?re beach lovers so we have to say the beaches we saw don?t come close to the ones in St. John, USVI, which for us are the best ones (we?ve seen so far).
If you have any questions, ask away....
Mar 25th, 2004, 05:18 AM
#3
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Thanks for all the info. We are going next month, staying at the same place. Not paying a dime, using our HHonors points, and hope to be upgrade to executive level. Sounds like the beach is mediocre at best. Sorry you had to deal with all that noise. I'll be sure to check and avoid being placed near the construction.
I'm sure it will be crowded, but its nice to know the food at the hotel is decent, not that we will eat all our meals there.
How is the neighborhood around the hotel, any close restaurants within walking distance?
Any further info you can give me regarding the hotel would be appreciated. [email protected]
Thanks again for the info, I appreciate all the time you took to write this short novel!
I'm sure it will be crowded, but its nice to know the food at the hotel is decent, not that we will eat all our meals there.
How is the neighborhood around the hotel, any close restaurants within walking distance?
Any further info you can give me regarding the hotel would be appreciated. [email protected]
Thanks again for the info, I appreciate all the time you took to write this short novel!
Mar 25th, 2004, 06:48 AM
#4
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Posts: n/a
hi guamgirl..honestly we couldn't tell you about the area or restaurants around the hotel because we didn't try to find out..we were just interested in going into and eating in old san juan. there's really not much left to say about the hotel. i think if you do upgrade, you'll be fine. my husband's parents stayed there a few years back and had a really nice room and only had good things to say about the hotel...so i think which room you stay in makes a world of a difference. the beach is just ok. but hey you're staying for free! that's great! have a great time.
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