San Juan - Where to Stay
 

My husband and I are taking a Caribbean cruise - actually our first vacation without the kids in far too long to mention.

We're starting the cruise with a couple nights in San Juan and I need some suggestions. I read about Numero Uno - a smallish guesthouse on the beach - but I'm not sure. We don't want to spend a lot of money - no more than $150 a night and we'd like it close to a beach *and* old San Juan.

Any suggestions?

If you want to be on the beach, concentrate on that and don't worry that you're not "close" to Old San Juan. It won't take long in a taxi to get there, even from Isla Verde, which has the best beaches in the San Juan area.

You don't say when you're doing this cruise. Numero Uno is probably the best choice in the cheaper places on the beach, and I think you'll like it there. Pamela's (the in-house restaurant) is good as well. At Wind Chimes is usually cheaper, but it's not directly on the beach. Given how overpriced San Juan can be, I doubt you'll find anything cheaper. I really like the Courtyard Isla Verde, but it's going to cost way more than $150 during most of the year.

Thanks for the advice. We're taking the cruise the last week of January - 11 blissful nights!

Can you recommend anyplace directly in Old San Juan? Of course, budget is an issue (unfortunately). Thanks!

There are several places in Old San Juan, though of course none is on a beach. El Convento is just lovely, but it's far out of your price range, as would be the Wyndham Old San Juan (right across from the cruise-ship pier). There are 3 cheaper places we recommend in OSJ: the Hotel Milano, the Howard Johnson, and the Caleta (the latter may not allow a one-night stay, though). I think there's at least one more cheap place there, but I can't remember the name.

We Have overnighted at Numero Uno several times and really like it. It isn't posh but the rooms have been updated. Pamelas restaurant is excellent and if the weather is good you can eat outside at tables on the beach.

Granted, it was the off season, but we got a fantastic rate at Sheraton Old San Juan (Doug, I don't think it's a Wyndham any longer). But you still might find something reasonable, albeit more than $150/night. That's a pretty low budget for PR in winter, which gets ridiculously expensive.

I'd recommend staying in Old San Juan if you're planning to do a lot of beach and island exploring for your ports of call. The best beaches easily accessible from San Juan still won't be as nice as the best beaches of many of your ports of call, so if you really want nice beach time, on your cruise may be the best time to do it.

That being said, if being on beach is really important to you, I would also recommend Numero Uno guesthouse as a good value on the beach. It's really wide stretch of sand right there and the restaurant is quite good, as others have mentioned.

It's tough to find an inexpensive room in OSJ. We stayed a couple of nights at the Sheraton OSJ (ejcrowe is correct, it's no longer a Wyndham) during off season and even with a rate of $145, by the time taxes were added, the total was somewhere around $180 per night.

Hotel Milano is in a great location and great price if you go for their cheapest room. You cannot be picky though. The room is small and the bathroom tiny, and there is no window in the room. We stayed there for a night previously and it was fine for a night or two maybe if you don't plan on spending a lot of time in your room.

I was looking into booking the Courtyard Isla Verde around Thanksgiving time - perhaps that is a lower season rate but I was getting rates of about $140 at the AAA rate.

Forgive my living far in the past. Yes, the Wyndham turned into a Sheraton about 3 or 4 years ago, if not longer. Unless you really want to stay on the beach, I think the recommendation of staying in Old San Juan is a sound one. Many of the city's best restaurants, not to mention nightlife,are there, and you'll have much more to do on your one night in San Juan within easy reach.

We stayed 2 nights post cruise several years ago. We stayed at El Prado Inn. It was totally only for 2 nights. The location was very good, a short walk to a nice beach. It was cheap but that is about all I can say about it. It wss clean, just old. Very safe right across the street from a park and police station as I recall.