My wife and I just got back from our honeymoon (7 day cruise Caribbean cruise, staying over 1 night in San Juan at the Doubletree).

I spent many many days researching reviews on this board and on Trip Adviser. We were looking for a hotel in San Juan (preferably Hilton chain) but saw many negative reviews about the Caribe, Conrad, and Waldorf. I saw quite a few other people also looking for help... so when our experience turned out wonderful... I wanted to make sure to pass on advice to other board members.

I had narrowed my choices to:

Caribe: (resort with a beach)
Doubletree: Only 35,000 points but not by the action
El Covento: not a Hilton but in Old San Juan

We decided against the Caribe because after going to 5 other islands on the cruise, we concluded we would had enough beach and didn't need the Caribe.

Now it was between in town (El Covento) and out of town, (Doubletree)
With the resort fees, the El Covento would have been $200 out the door.
The Doubletree was about $115 but only 35,000 points.

Old San Juan: In my opinion, Old San Juan is the place to be. It has old Spanish architecture with brick roads but with lots of newer restaurants and bars. I was shocked at how nice it was and how much there was to do. The Fort is right in town and only cost $3 and is a must do.

Even though we went with the Doubletree, when we got to Old San Juan we ended up walking to El Convento just to see what it was about. The location truly was great and the grounds looked much nicer than in the pictures.

The Doubletree Review:
With that being said about Old San Juan.... we ended up going with the Doubletree because with my choice being the $200 El Covento vs. free (35,000 points) Doubletree... it was a no brainer.

We got off the Royal Caribbean boat and were lucky to find another couple going to the Doubletree. It was a $22 ride but we split it so it only cost us $11.

When we arrived the staff was amazing. We were really exhausted from the cruise and the heat and it was really nice to have them bring our suitcases to the desk and then to our room. The warm cookies were also a nice touch.

The lobby and room have a really modern and trendy feel. They had a lounge with a huge flat screen TV, restaurant, and bar. The room itself was shockingly clean and also modern. The high speed internet was free and extremely fast. The bathroom had nice glass tile on the shower wall and a trendy vessel sink. Overall we were shocked at how nice it was and the minute we got the room we felt we made a great decision.

The location definitely is not ideal, but it was about a 5 minute walk to a Starbucks, fudruckers, and pizzeria uno.

We took a taxi to Old San Juan and I think it ran us $15 each way. I think the taxi to the airport the next day was also about $15.

Final Verdict:

If cost is no object and you want the best Old San Juan experience, I would stay at El Covento. To go from the cruise to the hotel, and then to old san juan and back, and finally to the airport the next day, the taxi total would be: $22 + $15 + $15 + $15 = $67.

But if you're just looking for a good cheap place to stay and you don't mind the taxis, I cannot say enough good things about the Doubletree. It's probably one of my favorite hotels I've stayed at and that says a lot after struggling to decide on what one to book in San Juan.

I hope this review helps!