wyndham el san juan or Condado
 

Some of my friends and I are in the process of selecting a hotel to stay at. We have come down to the wyndham el san juan and the Condado hotel and casino. And I was just wondering if any of you have stayed there, and which one would be the best to stay at. <BR>And also, which hotel has the best beach (white sand, not overly crowded, etc.) right outside. <BR><BR>Thanks in advance,<BR>Sonia & Ray<BR><BR>

I assume you are talking bout the Condado Plaza Hotel. If so the beach at the El San Juan is much better and it is not usually crowded. If I had to make a choice it would be the El SAn Juan. Stayed there in November for five days

Assuming the Wyndham that you mention is at the edge of Old San Juan (wouldn't think there would be two that close), there is no beach. It's a lovely property and the rooms and suites are quite nice. There's an attractive pool area on the roof with shade and palms.

El San Juan Hotel is worth it for hotel alone, lobby/bar area is fantastic. Beach is nice and not terribly crowded. However, here you should plan on staying in, local area is unimpressive, lots of fastfood joints. Condado Plaza is also lovely, but adjacent to public beach which is always crowded. Local area is more cosmopolitan and upscale, lots of good restaurants in area. Also, Dos Hermanos bridge with breath taking views is right next to hotel if you're in the mood for walking.

The El San Juan is not worth the money for the room you get. You can enjoy the spectacular lobby and the casino and their restaurants without staying there. Actually, they should take some of the $$$ they spend on the lobby etc. and put it into refurbishing their rooms.

Although I like the Condado Plaza, I would absolutely choose the El San Juan. The beach is better (actually there is virtually no beach at the Condado Plaza), the lobby and pool area are excellent. I disagree with one of the previous posts that complained about the rooms - while they are a little on the small side, they are very nicely appointed.<BR><BR>(To N - the Wyndham you are referring to is Wyndham Old San Juan - which is different than the Wyndham El San Juan.)

Tom, I'm happy you got a well appointed rom. We all didn't. I thought we got the maids closet...

The main hotel at the El San Juan is basically a rectangular box in shape. All rooms have the same dimensions when you include the balcony in the square footage. So the actual room is smaller but you do have a balcony.

Gee, we didn't have a balcony. I'm telling you, we had the maids closet. Our tiny window looked out onto a roof.

tiny window?? Carib Fan - what floor were you on? The first floor of rooms (I think it is either the 2nd or 3rd floor of the hotel) are the only rooms with tiny windows - these windows are at the top of the wall and it is very hard it not impossible to see out of them. The first time I went to the El San Juan - that was the type of room I was initially given - needless to say it was unacceptable, I complained and was promptly moved to a higher floor.

I don't remember what floor, but the room looked out over a roof. In fact they were redoing the roof while we were there. All I know is we paid an arm and a leg and our firstborn kid to stay there and got crap for a room. We were afraid to ask for another, figured we couldn't afford an upgrade!

Next time you find yourself in that situation (and it can happen in any hotel) I would suggest that you firmly but politely voice your dissatisfaction and request another room. Hotels do not want unhappy customers and are usually willing to accomodate such requests.

You know, we paid over $1200 for 4 nights. I kind of expected more. Live and learn....I had visited their lobby and casino the first time we were in PR and it was my fantasy to stay there. LOL I think my TA screwed me....