mocharaia

Caribe is a good place to take small kids in our experience. there is a jungle gym type thing for them to play on, and there is a recreation center at which you can borrow games and toys for them to play with overnight (I believe it is three at a time, no charge). they also give a free gift for the children, in our case i believe it was a backpack and some other items. They also have very nice pools, hammocks, a private beach, and a tiny pier.

We were very underwhelmed by the room we received however. The ocean view rooms have small balconys, but unfortunately the A/C from the restaurant is directly below and is very loud when it's running. We were on the executive floor, but the room was disappointingly small. Access to the private lounge was nice however.

mocharaia

oh and I have never stayed at the Embassy del mar... but I have stayed at the airport one (volunteered my seat on the plane and got put up there overnight.)

I never heard any noise from the airport as far as I can remember. My room was very nice, better than what I had had at the caribe... and there was an outback steakhouse. how can you complain with that.

Definitely wouldn't choose that as my vacation hotel though.

The best place I have stayed by far however is at the Westin Rio Mar. Wow. That place was just incredible. Spent three weeks there in a villa, and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't wish I was back there.

MisterNice

Quote:

Hmmm... Perhaps I should've known better, but I've crossed that little bridge from Hilton to Condado on foot and walked way past that Condado Plaza hotel at night on several occasions, and never felt unsafe.


Condado is the nicest w/in walking distance IMO. We never have taken a cab when making this walk at anytime of the day/night and have not felt a need to.

The most luxurious casino (looks like a casino from Monte Carlo (not the vegas hotel)) is the casino at the El San Juan, simply beautiful.


I have been going to PR for over 20 years and San Juan has changed a lot in the past few years. The Condado area now has groups of uniformed police about every 50 ft complete with bullet-proof vests noticeably (worn on top of their shirts, the Condado Beach Hotel is boarded up, the nearby Convention Center is closed, many once-busy stores, shops, restaurants etc are closed. Many younger people were once on the bridge almost every night with much music and laughter. Now few or none are there and the police were seen questioning the few hanging out there (it was quite easy to see with my binoculars from the hotel). I walked it many times in the past, but now I will walk it only in the daylight, not now after dark.

The El San Juan Hotel and Casino is my all-time favorite PR hotel. Fortunately the Caribe Hilton is 1/3 the price and very nice in many ways, ie mostly the smoke-free excellently operated executive lounge etc.

MisterNice

hedoman

Caribe prices out about $60 less than ES for 12/21. Thanks to the info on FT, I'll go for the nice lounge at the Caribe. Is taxi the only public transport?

Sweet Willie

There is a bus system, but I could not figure it out, seemed very uneven service.

Eugene

Buses are great to go from the Hilton to Old Town and back (25 cents for a regular bus and 50 cents for express). To go to/from airport, I'd stick with the taxi. Using buses you'd have to make at least one connection, and schedules are really just a suggestion, not the rule...

a2sportsguy

Actually, I found the bus system pretty darn reliable last December when I took one to the airport. It did wind its way through most of San Juan, which is much better than a taxi ride if you have the time. It's not if you don't. You do switch to a shuttle bus to the terminal right near the airport Hampton Inn.

teacher5

can anyone help...want to burn some hilton points in puerto rico...what are my choices...likely for next christmas..but not definitely

thanks

Eugene

For my money (or points for that matter), there is only one place worth staying at: the Caribe Hilton. Good location, excellent lounge, etc.

While there are other HH properties in San Juan, IMO they do not come close to the Caribe Hilton.

TrojanHorse

A search on the Caribe Hilton will tell you all you need to know

luv2go

I have already booked an award stay at the Caribe for week after Xmas 2003. (I orig wanted Cancun, but that was already sold out for that week!) I think a lot of people are booking the holiday weeks WAY ahead of time to get the bookings in before the rates go up. BTW, the award stay surprisingly, was for a confirmed high floor ocean view room.

teacher5

how far is the caribe hilton from casinos?

TrojanHorse

Its around $5 to the Marriott and $10 to $15 to the El San Juan (Wyndham property) (which is very nice I might add; don't forget to go to the two rooftop restaurants in the El San Juan) and I think to the Wyndham Old San Juan is about $10 via Cab. You can (but don't want to) take public busses to these places for less than 50 cents. Buses are not timely and you better know your routes before hand. Plus they go through some very shady neighborhoods. there are probably other casinos but those are the only ones I have visited. I don't believe any are in walking distance, well you could walk to the Marriott but if you did, I would only do it during daylight hours.

Enjoy

morgan1929

There is a casino just over the bridge, about a 10 minute walk.

Viajera

There's also the Ponce Hilton on the southern part of Puerto Rico.