Hi - we're trying to decide which hotel in san juan to use our $200 marriott credit towards. we are only spending one night there, arriving back from vieques. we plan on spending the evening and next day exploring old san juan - before we head to the airport in the late afternoon. So not sure if distance/convenience is a factor here.

At this point deciding between the stellaris and the renaissance la concha. I've heard mixed things about the renaissance la concha - since it's new, but is it worth a try?

The Renaissance La Concha is a beautiful new hotel. I'm not sure what you're hearing, but friends of mine who work in Puerto Rico weekly, always choose La Concha.

But for a single night, I just don't think it matters much. Either La Concha or the San Juan Marriott will give you a nice central location on a pretty good beach (La Concha, though, is much more luxurious). My favorite, however, is the Courtyard Isla Verde, which is on a better beach than any in Condado but Isla Verde isn't as convenient to everything else you want to do, so I'd choose one of the Condado hotels.

Doug,
How far is it from the Courtyard Marriot to Old San Juan? Is it taxi-able (is that a word) for dinner?

We'd like to stay one night on either end of our Virgin Gorda trip to make travel days less hectic and I'd love to see Old San Juan.

A "nice beach" isn't important to us as we'll have that on VG. How about staying IN Old San Juan? (we'll have two kids, 8 & 11)

Thanks for your help.

-TT

Old San Juan is about a 20 minute cab ride from the Courtyard Marriott - should be around $20 each way.

I'm not sure you'd enjoy being in Old San Juan as much with 2 kids. I think you'd want the beach (and the best hotel there, El Convento) isn't particularly kid-friendly. Condado is actually a good location if you have kids, and in that case I'd probably steer you to the Marriott over La Concha (again, for the kid-friendliness factor). I don't think kids plus all-white interiors go together very well either.

The Courtyard is very family-friendly, though, despite its distance from Old San Juan. And that 20 minutes can be almost an hour when traffic is really bad on weekend nights, though I doubt you'll be going there at night since most restaurants in Old San Juan are also not very family-friendly.

Thanks for everyone's feedback. I will go with La Concha. Since we're coming back from beaches in Vieques, the beach is less of an importance than a place that is convenient, comfortable and accepts my $200 in Marriott credits. Plus, not a huge fan of children so everything I've read here points to La Concha. Thanks again Fodorites!

Actually, we steer clear of "family friendly" restaurants . . . usually not our kind of food. My children(who love to dress up and go out) eat with us in Boston at places some would call "not family friendly" and are fine. (it's a rare meal that someone doesn't come up to us and say what well behaved children we have . . . yeah proud mom I am!)

We also make sure to go on the earlier side when dining (yep, us and the gray hairs!)

That said, it's probably the distance that would hinder us. So, if we stayed at the courtyard, would we get any "Puerto Rican" experience or would it be like any american hotel on a beach (thinking florida, which we avoid)

You aren't going to get the "Puerto Rican experience" at any of the big resort hotels in San Juan, whether it's the Courtyard Isla Verde or some other hotel. You have to get out in the country and stay in a smaller place to get that. Having said that, I would probably give a nod to the El San Juan as the most quintessentially Puerto Rican hotel in the city. It's also in Isla Verde, though.

The best---and most beautiful---hotel in Old San Juan is El Convento, and it's another quintessentially Puerto Rican hotel in its atmosphere. But again, I just don't think it's appropriate for a family, regardless of how well-behaved your children are.

Thanks Doug . . . looks like maybe we should extend our family vacation on either side in Tortola instead and save San Juan for another trip (sans kids!)

I think that's probably the best choice. I like San Juan, but it's not got the greatest beaches, the hotels are all overpriced, and the best thing about it is nightlife and history. I think your kids will thank you for having more time in Tortola.