| Hotel Rating: |   | | Satisfaction: |   | | Reviews: 6 | Photos: 10 |
 | San Juan Caribe Hilton San Juan Reviews | Tips 1 - 6 of 6 |  |
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We had a nice stay at the Caribe Hilton. The beach was nice. The pools were also a lot of fun - especially the swim up bar. The location was good - walking distance to Old San Juan, but beware - this walk in the middle of the day in July is quite warm. Only ate at two of the restaurants there, one outside a nice place for a light lunch, and an Italian restaurant that was also a good experience. And the Starbucks on the premises makes for a convenient and not too expensive breakfast. I'd stay here again if I returned to San Juan.
The pool and beach were nice. The hotel also offerred daily activities for both adults and children. The one that I participated in was yoga on the beach, which was a very relaxing experience. You can also arrange day trips such as to El Yunque, the rainforest, through the hotel, which is very convenient. Theme: Hotel |
first impression: nice but i expected more for the $$$. Not my kind of place, materialistic, American-mall, over-priced stores in the lobby, Starbucks for the tourist who can't let go, several good restaurants BUT waaaay too $$$. The breakfast buffet has a huge selection($18), fresh fruits, bacon, egg, pancakes... take advantage +then eat out for lunch +dinner. Lemongrass restaurant (in the hotel) was delicious food but very $$$
+a long wait.
On the weekend Caribe was 10X as crowded w/non-puerto-riquenos, sardinedinto slatted-lounge chairs with frat-pack to the left of us discoursing on the previous nights' drunken-slurpies+to the right: an older New Yorker couples'drawn-out argument, warts + all.
Supposedly the Hilton has activities for kids but they didnt actually exist. BUT they did stay "free".
I felt "so-so" about my stay + considering the price, I should have been ecstatic imo, but I do not know how this one compares, we have only stayed at the Marriot Condado. The Marriot had a casino, the Caribe does not, the Caribe was Much larger, the Marriot had a water-slide.....I think I would like to stay in a smaller place, because there is so much to do in San Juan, you do not have to choose a hotel with many activities or a beach, you can find these things elsewhere.
Its what you would expect... two pools and a swim-up bar, a garden area with lizards and some mean swans, a bird named poncho in the lobby, music on the weekends and a BIG TV showing games. We had to ask for washcloths, mini-bar was empty, the view from our room (over the roof of the lower floors) was Ft San Geronimo (cool) but I wondered about this gross Hotel sitting ontop of historical ruin.
View from the tiny beach is palm-treed park (Balnearo Fuerte Escambron). At the end of the pier at the beach area there are many tropical fish, you get bread from the towel stand and feed the fish, THIS is cool. |
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When we arrived it was about 1030p so our first stop was to check in and get something to eat - the Thursday night buffet was really delicious, and left us hopeful that we would have some good eating in the following days - WRONG! The Hilton has four upscale restaurants and thier food is ok, but a little over priced. The Thursday buffet was great, even if it was $40, but the breakfast buffet (@20) and the other evening buffets (priced from $25-$45) were uninspiring.
Other than that the hotel was great. The beds were ridiculously comfortable and the manager had no problem giving me an upgrade to a room with an incredible ocean/city view.
There were multiple pools and a private beach. I had read lots of complaints about the beach being only 5 feet of sand and filthy, but during my stay that was not the case. Maybe when those (poor) reviews were writted it was during high tide, because it does cause the beach area to get a bit shallow. Other than that it was picturesque, I could have made my own Corona commercials (substituting Hurricanes for Coronas).
But be careful about your bar/room tab... you can drink yourself into nightly $200 bills if you are not careful...:-) |
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on September 1, 2004
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