Hotels

Whatever your preferences in accommodations -- a beachfront resort or a place in historic Old San Juan, sumptuous luxury or an inexpensive base from which to see the sights -- you can find a perfect fit in San Juan.

In addition to checking the recommendations listed here, you might want to contact a travel agent; there are package deals galore that can save you money and match you with an establishment that meets your requirements.

Before talking to a travel agent, you should refer to our comments about how to select a room in Puerto Rico.

Not all hotels here have air-conditioned rooms. We've pointed them out in the recommendations listed. If air-conditioning is important to you, make sure "A/C" appears after "In room:" at the end of the listing.

If you prefer shopping and historic sights to the beach, then Old San Juan might be your preferred nest. The high-rise resort hotels lie primarily along the Condado beach strip and the equally good sands of Isla Verde. The hotels along Condado and Isla Verde attract the cruise-ship and casino crowds. The hotels away from the beach in San Juan, in such sections as Santurce, are primarily for business clients.

Taxes & Service Charges--All hotel rooms in Puerto Rico are subject to a tax that is not included in the rates given in this book. At casino hotels, the tax is 11%; at noncasino hotels, it's 9%. At country inns you pay a 7% tax. Most hotels also add a 10% service charge. If they don't, you're expected to tip for services rendered. When you're booking a room, it's a good idea to ask about these charges.

Making Reservations--You can make accommodations reservations via telephone, mail, fax, and, in some cases, the Internet. If you're booking into a chain hotel, such as a Hilton, you can easily make your reservations by calling the chain's toll-free numbers in many countries. We provide the North American toll-free numbers in this book.

You can usually cancel a room reservation 1 week ahead of time and get a full refund. A few places will return your money on cancellations up to 3 days before the reservation date; others won't return any of your deposit, even if you cancel far in advance. It's best to clarify this issue when you make your reservation. If booking by mail, include a stamped, self-addressed envelope with your payment so that the hotel can easily send you a receipt and confirmation.

If you arrive without a reservation, you need to begin your search for a room as early in the day as possible. If you arrive late at night and without a reservation, you might have to take what you can get, often in a price range much higher than you'd like.

San Juan has become a year-round destination, and summers are no longer as tranquil as they used to be. Nonetheless, hotels still have lower occupancy from mid-April to mid-December. Off-season discounts, which can be substantial, are often granted at the resort hotels during this slower period.

Old San Juan--Old San Juan is 1 1/2 miles (2.4km) from the beach. You should choose a hotel here if you're more interested in shopping and attractions than you are in watersports.

Puerta de Tierra--Stay in Puerta de Tierra only if you have a desire to be at either the Caribe Hilton or the Normandie Hotel. When you stay in Puerta de Tierra, you're sandwiched halfway between Old San Juan and the Condado, but you're not getting the advantages of staying right in the heart of either.

Condado--Once the Condado area was filled with the residences of the very wealthy, but all that changed with the construction of the Puerto Rico Convention Center. Private villas gave way to high-rise hotel blocks, restaurants, and nightclubs. The Condado shopping area, along Ashford and Magdalena avenues, has an extraordinary number of boutiques. There are good bus connections into Old San Juan, and taxis are plentiful.

Miramar--Miramar, a residential neighborhood, is very much a part of metropolitan San Juan, and a brisk 30-minute walk will take you where the action is. Regrettably, the beach is at least half a mile (1.6km) away.

Santurce & Ocean Park--Less fashionable (and a bit less expensive) than their nearest neighbors Condado (to the west) and Isla Verde (to the east), Santurce and Ocean Park are wedged into a modern, not particularly beautiful neighborhood that's bisected with lots of roaring traffic arteries and commercial enterprises. Lots of Sanjuaneros come here to work in the district's many offices and to eat in its many restaurants. The coastal subdivision of Ocean Park is a bit more fashionable than landlocked Santurce, but with the beach never more than a 20-minute walk away, few of Santurce's residents seem to mind.

Isla Verde--Beach-bordered Isla Verde is closer to the airport than the Condado and Old San Juan. The hotels here are farther from Old San Juan than those in Miramar, Condado, and Ocean Park. It's a good choice if you don't mind the isolation and want to be near fairly good beaches.