Where to stay in Puerto Rico?
 

My wife and I are celebrating our anniversary in Puerto Rico in late June / early July for 4 days. We want to stay in the Condado area to be close to the beach, restaurants and Old San Juan. We were debating on where to stay and narrowed it down to the Marriott, La Concha, El San Juan or the Ritz Carlton.

We were leaning toward the Marriott but the pool area seems more geared toward families. Anyone have any thoughts on these choices, or another choice that we have not considered?

The hotels seem to be similar in price, so that is not of immediate concern.

Thanks.

My wife and I stayed at La Concha for 4 nights in January. We really liked the hotel and the location and would definitely stay there again. This was our first trip to PR and we didn't see the hotels in Isla Verde, so I can't comment on them. However, I have been told many times that Isla Verde has a nicer beach than Condado. We chose Condado anyway because we wanted the convenience of walking to many restaurants and bars and did not regret our decision. The beach was fine and we enjoyed it but it certainly wasn't as nice as other Caribbean beaches we have visited.

The Marriott is also in a great location in Condado and is more family oriented than La Concha. Actually when we were there we said if we come back to San Juan with our kids we would stay at the Marriott, but as a couple we liked La Concha.

El San Juan and Ritz Carlton are not in Condado. If you are only considering Condado, that leaves the Marriott and La Concha from the choices you listed above.

El San Juan and Ritz Carlton are in Isla Verde closer to the airport. Beaches are slightly better there, but you will have further to drive to get to Old San Juan etc..

Thanks for the advice. Did not realize that the Ritz wasn't in Condado. I will look into La Concha a bit more.

I'd say that La Concha is your best choice in the Condado area, followed by the Marriott Stellaris and Condado Plaza.

There is also a new hotel opening, which I think is called the Condado Vanderbilt. The old Condado Beach Hotel that closed a number of years ago is being totally renovated. Last time I was there, it looked fairly close to completion but I am not sure if it is open yet. In any event, it would give you another option to look into.

No mention of the Hilton Caribe...any advice on that one?

You guys may have already responded in my other post, so sorry if re-asking, but for those who haven't....we were leaning toward hilton caribe...advice?

I know I mentioned this already, but if you really want a good Condado location ( close to restaurants and bars), then Caribe Hilton is not the place in my opinion. I did not stay at the hotel so I can't comment on the facilities, but I do know where it's located and I would not consider it because the location is not nearly as convenient as La Concha or the Marriott. If it's not as big a deal for you to be a little further away from the center of Condado then maybe you will be happy with the Caribe Hilton. It is still walkable to the main part of Condado but it's not in the main part of Condado. I am not sure what the walk would be like at night but you could always get a taxi as well. Actually I am not even sure if where it's located is considered Condado as it's across a bridge.

oops, I didn't mention about the Caribe Hilton in response to you...that was a different post. However, my thoughts are the same about it. I definitely vote for La Concha btw.