Where would you stay?

[Hudson_Hawk]

Fi and I are going on a family vacation next month (the first ever for his family). We''re going on a 3 night cruise to St Maarten and St Kitts which leaves from San Juan, PR. Neither Fi or I have ever been to PR so we''re excited, and we''ve decided to fly in the day before so we don''t have to stress about making it to the boat on time. So now we need to find a hotel for the one night that we''re going to be there. The cruise docks are in Old Town San Juan which I''ve heard is also a cool area of the city to explore. We don''t want to spend a ton on the hotel as it''s only one night and we''re getting in around mid-afternoon (and then leaving after breakfast the next day). We have two hotels that we like. One is a little boutique hotel called the Hotel Milano in Old Town SJ, and the other is a Lux resort called the Condado Plaza which is about a mile or two from OTSJ. The price difference between the two is about $85.

My dilemma is this: Do we save money and stay in the smaller place in OTSJ and forget about the pool, beach, and other amenities of the Lux resort, or do we cough up the money and stay at the really nice place even though it''s a little farther away from the docks and we''ll be around pools and beaches for the rest of the trip?


What would you do?

 

[xapora]

My family is from Puerto Rico but I have only been there once, just recently. My favorite part about my trip was Old San Juan. There are so many things to do. The old fort was pretty neat, there are some great little restaurants and shops, and I saw some couples on carriage rides around the city which I thought was cute. I think the beaches will be a little more on the chilly side next month to really enjoy them and, like you said, you will see plenty of beaches on your cruise. I would definitely save the money and stay in Old Town.

 

[goodfun7580]

I''ve been to San Juan twice prior to going on cruises. Old Town San Juan is nice, but I just love the beach and being on the beach and relaxing. The first time I went I stayed at the Caribe Hilton which was awesome. It was cheap too because we got it on priceline (selected a 4 star hotel and paid $99). The second time we went we stayed at the InterContinental. That was great too, they had an awesome pool area with a swim up bar and at check in they upgraded us to a club suite. Of course its up to you but I find I always enjoy the pool and a resort style hotel for vacation. But if you don''t plan on hanging out at the pool it makes sense to skip all of that and just stay in Old Town San Juan.

 

[lyra]

My husband visits SJ a few times a year. I believe he stays at a Marriott near the beach though. I think I''d prefer to be near the beach, and wouldn''t mind the extra $. But that''s just based on my having seen pictures.

I never get to travel, but DH is kind enough to email me photos while he''s away sometimes.

 

[onedrop]

I have been to PR a couple of times, and if I remember correctly a lot of folks from cruises end up staying at the Condado Plaza. Seems like a nice place, though I have only seen it from the outside. However, if I were choosing I think I''d stay in Old San Juan. It''s really very pleasant in that area and there are lot of nice little restaurants and shops. You''ll have plenty of time for sun and fun on the cruise!