San Juan Hilton or Marriott
 

We will be visiting Puerto Rico in a couple of weeks and plan on spending 2 nights in San Juan. Currently, I have an ocean view reservation at the Marriott. Now, I'm finding a slightly cheaper rate at the Hilton for an ocean view room. I have Gold status with HHonors, so this will probably entitle me to an upgrade if available as well as breakfast. I've heard the location of the Hilton is not as good as the Marriott. Can anyone compare these two properties? The Marriott gets a higher rating on TripAdvisor.com, is it that much better than the Hilton?

Thank you!

Failed to mention that if we switch to the Hilton, we'll book a King Executive room.

The thing about the Caribe Hilton's location is that it's kind of isolated. You can't walk anywhere from the property. If you stay at the Marriott, you'll be able to walk out the door and quickly find a dozen excellent restaurants and nightspots. The Hilton does have the only private beachfront in all of San Juan, and I'd consider that a plus.

All beaches in PR are public. A court decision many years ago ruled the beach at the Hilton was not private. I don't know that the ruling was overturned. The beach, which is man-made, is "private" in the sense that there is no public access to the beach except if you enter through the hotel or swim in. As others pointed out the hotel is isolated and there are few restaurants in the vicinity. The hotel is one of he oldest hotels on the island and it may have seen better days. I have read that extensive renovations have been made in the past few years.

Thanks Doug and rqf. I'll post some replies on the hotel I select in San Juan as well as the Westin when I return.