El San Juan Resort & Casino

We wanted to get away for less than a week. This was the perfect trip from the east coast. Didn't take long to get there, the weather was warm, the hotel was beautiful and there were so many activities to choose from. We snorkled and took a rainforest tour while we were there and had a blast just relaxing by the pool and eating food with the locals. I even rented a car so we could check out another beach. We'd recommend it.

My wife and I came to El San Juan Hotel and Casino for our honeymoon in May 2010. We got a great deal on Cheap Caribbean, arranging our flight and a week in San Juan for $2000 for the both of us. The hotel is a beautiful old hotel with a majestic lobby with both traditional and contemporary features. There are three lobby bars, and the drinks and bar food are excellent but pricey. There is also a galleria with high-end clothing and jewelry stores within the hotel, and a small casino with a lot of slot machines and a small number of craps, blackjack, and roulette tables. The restaurants within the hotel are very good but expensive. The room we booked was the garden veranda, but these are not renovated; however, they didn't have any of these rooms so we were upgraded to the renovated hotel rooms, which are contemporary with modern white furniture and a feel reminiscent of the W Hotel in San Diego. The view, however, was of the roof of the lobby - not a pretty sight. The room was comfortable, though the shower leaks water onto the bathroom floor. Room service and use of the in-room fridge is expensive. Service is very good, though we did run into a problem when we checked out in that someone used our room phone for local calls, and it wasn't us! They gladly took the charges off our bill. Outside the hotel is a luxurious pool area with three huge pools, including one with a swim-up bar and waterfall. There is a hot tub above the waterfall as well. Just outside the pool area is the beach, with soft sand and complimentary chaises for hotel guests. The Isla Verde area has very little shopping or local cuisine - just some souvenir shops, a large supermarket, and the notable local restaurants Metropol and Mi Casita. Mostly there are a lot of chain restaurants and fast-food places, but if you want local food around the hotel, go to those places. All together, a very nice place to spend a honeymoon, and on this site, reasonably priced as well!

This was a great trip and I took hundreds of photographs because the area was lovely. A bus trip to Old San Juan from the hotel costs 75 cents! The staff at the hotel treated us like family and the dining options were good, but be prepared to pay more than in the states. Local restaurants within walking distance were inexpensive and quite good. The hotel desk has all the info to book tours to the rain forest. We booked a cheaper sightseeing tour from an ad that we saw on the street and we would suggest that you only take the tours that the hotel suggests or you may have a bad experience like we did. The bar sells great appetizers for a nominal price during happy hour and you can get them to go and eat outside by one of the beautiful pools. There is a little casino in the hotel and entertainment in the lobby which also has a bar and is quite beautiful.. The room was very simple and by Puerto Rico standards is probably very nice. I would not want to have stayed at another hotel, this hotel was lovely for what we wanted which was to sit and swim in a nice pool and have a view of the ocean. This is part of the Waldorf "collection" and not the Waldorf Astoria not that you would have known the difference at the pool or lobby area. I am glad that we went and would stay at this hotel again.

The property itself was beautiful. The food was good but expensive. The shower water drained very slowly which caused you to stand in the water for your entire shower. This is a non-smoking property which they will not tell you when you make your reservations. If you are a smoker I recommend you do NOT stay here.