San Juan Hotel
 

Travelling February 2015, 2 adults and 2 kids, 9 and 11.
We would like to stay at a hotel where we are close enough to be able to walk to shops restaurants etc but not be too close ie not too loud/busy.
Is San Juan Ritz a good option for this? Other suggestions? Many thanks

El Convento!!

El Convento is good if you want to stay in Old San Juan but if this is a beach trip, then you'd stay in either Condado or Isla Verde (is staying in the San Juan metro area). What kind of shops do you walk to? The area around Ritz Carlton isn't really a "shopping" area if by that you mean art galleries, jewelry, artisans, etc. There are restaurants within walking distance but for shopping, you probably would want to go to Old San Juan.

Condado is better for walking. You might look at the Condado Plaza, a Hilton, but the beach is small. The Marriott is also in a good location, within walking distance of restaurants and a Starbucks. But the Ritz Carlton is a nice hotel, albeit an expensive one. But it's not that walkable. By that I mean that Isla Verde is less walkable than Condado. I like La Concha, but it's not very family friendly.

I'm not sure what Doug means when he says the area by the Ritz is "not that walkable." It's quite walkable. If you take a right as you are leaving the hotel, you can walk past several restaurants, down to El San Juan and the Intercontinental and beyond that. That being said, I'd agree that Condado is better for purposeless strolling as it has more shops and a nice little park on the ocean.

I've stayed at all the hotels that Doug mentions and each has its plusses and minuses but none of them are as nice as the Ritz Carlton. Regarding the Condado Plaza, saying the beach is small is an understatement. The beach there sucks. When staying at Condado Plaza, you will mostly be at the pool or on the grassy area that is right on the ocean but with a rockwall in front, so you can't walk the beach in that area.