Pimp My Hotel
by tomhoward about The Water Club
Had a 5 night stay at the Water Club, San Juan in March 2006. If a hotel were to undergo a refurb by MTV's "Pimp My Ride", this is what it would look like. Basically they have taken a very average 3 star hotel (sort of thing you find in any main Spanish / Greek resort), and pimped it to maximum effect. The result is a hotel that on first impression looks both luxurious and incredibly chic. The design and imagination that has gone into the hotel and its aquatic theming is striking, with a waterfall on every corridor, illuminated by blue neon lit Mediterranean-style drapes and scented vanilla candles. The blue glow continues into the very large bedrooms, with good views of the beach through white venetian blinds.
The bathrooms are a little less inspiring however. With a name like The Water Club, you would think the bathroom and shower would be the talking point of your stay, but unfortunately they are decidedly ropey, with dodgy tiling and decoration, and a shower that looks and operates like it was reclaimed from a 1970's Russian guest house. Rooms certainly AREN'T dirty as some reviewers on TripAdvisor have commented. Another sore point for me was the guest parking which is valet only and an uncomfortable $20 a day. Few rooms have balconies, and no fridge in the room, meaning chilled drinks have to be purchased from the bar for an extortionate $18 for a beer and one G&T ! I suggest buying some from the supermarket and keeping them chilled in an ice filled sink...
If you weren't staying here, like many of the evening bar guests, your journey upstairs would take in the best bits of the hotel - the lobby, Tangerine restaurant, the elevator and the roof top bar. For that reason many people who haven’t actually stayed here might have a misleading or better impression of the hotel than it actually deserves. The roof-top pool, although small and dated looking, is saved by the adjoining bar and double bed loungers. This place really comes alive at night and turns into one of the hottest venues in San Juan with a young, moneyed crowd listening to resident DJ's play house. Most nights this bar hosts parties (Moet champagne promotion party when we were there), and the 2nd floor occasionally has local bazaars. Like most trendy businesses in San Juan, The Water Club have nailed the soundtrack, and EVERYWHERE you go in this hotel, hidden speakers pipe either whooshing wave sounds, Cafe del Mar chill out beats, or in the evenings, soft beach house. (You can buy their own CDs from reception).
Free towels and loungers are available on the beach adjacent to the hotel, and all the staff are professional, helpful and generally affable.
Close to airport (10mins & $12 in a cab), but the trip into Old San Juan, home to the best restaurants and clubs that will make you feel you are REALLY in Puerto Rico is a little longer. Either take the A5 bus on the main road ($0.75 coins only), or take a cab for about $25 plus tip. Buses take about 30mins depending on traffic, but finish at about 8.30pm, so a round trip in two cabs can add $$$ to your night out.
The Water Club have realised they can't compete with the large chain hotels that dominate the San Juan area. Because of this, they are offering a completely unique style of accommodation and experience. It works well, but not at the price you will pay. For us, a crazy almost 200 UK pounds or $350 a night - simply too much for the quality of room we received.
Just OK
by A TripAdvisor Member
I stayed here in October 2003 and was not terribly impressed. It felt like a bad knock-off of one of the W hotels. I thought the bathrooms were truly awful--when I stay at a nice hotel, I expect nice bathroom.
I got an electric shock trying to turn off the reading light above my bed. It didn't seem spotlessly clean to me. Also, the elevator took so long that we wound up walking up and down the stairs many times. It seems that there is no service elevator, and they were setting up for parties on the roof and allowing the party staff to fill the elevators with equipment, so when the elevator doors finally opened there was no way to fit in! My experience with the staff was very positive, however--we requested a different room after the first night because we didn't get the ocean view that we were promised, and they were quite helpful in getting us resettled. I also thought the bar on the roof was very nice. In the end, although I usually prefer boutique hotels to the big resorts, I think I would have been happier at the Ritz.
Small, needs remodeling, staff unprofessional
by A TripAdvisor Member
Rooms are tiny...barely fit the king sized bed that is angled in the room. Bathroom is tiny and tiled in the 1970's. Caulk is a mess, shower is dirty. No Closet to hang long clothing and only two drawers. Hotel does provide a clothes rack if requested, but then you have zero room to move around inside the room. TV speaker was blown. Minibar is stupid expensive...$7 for a bottle of water. Balcony over beach is 1 ft deep, but sliding door doesn't open, so it doesn't matter. Bar on roof is nice, but becomes a night club for the locals on Friday/Sat night....guys in all black outfits with metal detector wands guard the hotel front on weekend nights. Staff is nice, but completely unprofessional...basically a bunch of kids. Took us over a half hour to check in. Food at Tangerine restaurant was excellent, but the service was slow, slow, slow. No breakfast buffet, and eating breakfast upstairs on the deck was an effort...like they've never done it before.
Pool and the gym are comical. Pool is 10 x 20 and the gym is 2 treadmills, a lifecycle and an eliptical machine. Equipment is new and nice, but gym is in the basement, no windows and lit with blue lights...not conducive to working out. Nice TVs to watch, but you have to buy headphones at the front desk to listen to sound. The elevators are rickety and need to be remodeled. They have these water fall boxes in them and no roof. Kind of cool, but the elevator shaft you can see up in is ugly, and needs to be painted. Floor is gross and sheetmetal is buckling. Aside from that, the beach is great and the pools and casinos at the neighboring hotels are very nice. Do yourself a favor....stay at the Ritz.
nightmare
by A TripAdvisor Member
it took us a long time to check in - when we arrived they had given our room away. after finally settling into our room, at 2 am a strange couple opened our hotel room door & came in! the hotel had given them into our room by accident! not only was this scary, but the mgmt was completely unapologetic.
i got a terrible case of food poisoning at Tangerine's, and again, management didn't even apologize. the room service menu was limited, at best.
the view from the room was great, but the bathroom was old & outdated.
overall, this hotel was very overpriced and a general letdown. at best, i would describe it as a 5th tier delano.
Gives the beuatiful Puerto Rico a bad name
by A TripAdvisor Member
I'd first like to say that the hotel's proximity to the beach (10 footsteps) is fantastic. There are a bunch of other cool things like: - blue flourescent room lights - 2 bars: 1 on roof w/pool and jacuzzi, and 1 on the main floor - water fall in elevator with open ceiling - beautiful and mostly friendly staff - big bed with large tv and cool radio w/cd player.
Now for the not so cool things:
- Quoted and confirmed an initial price for hotel room that was later charged to my credit card as a higher rate by reservation manager.
After a face to face discussion with the reservation manager regarding mysterious rate increase, he basically played dumb and then (reluctantly) lowered my rate somewhat near my original promised rate.
- Charged me and my wife (along with dozens of other victims we later found out) $60 each for New Years tickets to the upstairs bar "Wet" we later found to be free to hotel guests (and apparently anyone else that decided to walk in off the street). And, it actually didn't matter because there was practically zero alcohol in all of the open bar liquors that the soured, inexperienced, and nasty waitstaff poured that evening. - Front desk repeatedly lied about attempting to make a reservations to a restaurants they assumed was booked. I called and easily obtained a reservations myself. - Prices for food and drinks apparently change by the hour. - Tiny box closet in room w/2 small drawers.
If the reservation manager hadn't tried to pull the reputation damaging practice of increasing the room rate when you get there (even though his assistant remarked that the price increase was erroneous over the phone), and then playing dumb claiming his higher rate was the normal price for that year... ...and, if the staff, although polite at times, hadn't been sooo clueless about what food is on their menus, what wine and champagne they serve, what time the pool, bars, restaurant (Tangerine) closed, maybe I'd recommend it. For the price of this potentially cool hotel you shouldn't have to experience these rookie mistakes. They have a pretty cool and trendy package of a boutique hotel with all the headaches and bad service of a motel 8.
Photos
Fort El Morro, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Inside Chapel of Christ the Savior, Old San Juan
Looking out from Castillo San Cristobal
Canon Balls/Three Flags, San Felipe del Morro
Forum Posts
Advice on moderately priced hotels in San Juan
by jazzman111
I'm going to try and get away on my own sometime in January for three or four nights in San Juan. I don't need anything fancy, a moderately priced place would do fine. A friend (also a single Baby Boomer) recommended the Marriott downtown because it's close to the action, e.g. the Ritz as well as El San Juan Resort & Casino. Would appreciate any recommendations on alternatives. Also, are there sites I should look at to find good package deals?
Re: Advice on moderately priced hotels in San Juan
by Donna_in_India
Hi - we just stayed at the Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel & Casino. Room/hotel were really nice. It was in a great location in Old San Juan. Easy walking distance to sights, restaurants, shops, etc. The highest recommendation I can give is that I would definitely stay there again.
I didn't book a package deal but used www.hotels.com instead. I got a good deal. You can check out www.kayak.com or even www.travelocity.com to compare package prices.
Have a great time. Old San Juan is really great.
Re: Advice on moderately priced hotels in San Juan
by ter1413
Agree with Donna....Also stayed at the Sheraton OSJ many times. Right in Old San Juan and directly across the street from where the cruise shios dock(you can see some nice ships.) Hotel has a casino....you can walk right around the block to some nice bars, etc. I would also recommend....Location is very cool.
Re: Advice on moderately priced hotels in San Juan
by Dabs
This might not help you but the last 2 years I've booked a hotel for a night before a cruise and bid on Priceline, unfortunately you don't have a lot of control over the area as San Juan encompasses all of old San Juan, Condado, Carolina and probably some other neighborhoods as well. I saved a lot of money over booking direct, last year I got the Caribe Hilton in Condado for $90+ tax, this year I got the Verdanza in Carolina for $90, works for me since I'm just sleeping there. The El San Juan is also in Carolina, the San Juan Marriott is in Condado
The Old San Juan hotels are likely to be expensive on those days they know they have the cruise crowd since everyone wants to stay near the docks plus a lot of hotels require several night guarantees. I think most people who come in for several days would rather stay on the beach than in OSJ anyway.
The Caribe Hilton was about 40 minutes by foot from OSJ, of course you can also take a taxi or public bus from that area to OSJ if you want to stay at one of the resorts in Condado.
Booking.com is a good site to compare prices, I have booked many hotels with them with no trouble, just read the fine print about their cancellation policies as each hotel is different.
http://www.booking.com/searchresults.html?label=gog235jc;sid=a5a32d2d2bd36641cf0868eabb4f64f9;city=20154335;class_interval=1;score_min=0;ss_all=0;country=pr;radius=10;offset=20;rows=20#map
Coming from the US, I look at Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, Funjet and Apple to see if there are any vacation packages.
Re: Advice on moderately priced hotels in San Juan
by Odinnthor
Hey dabs, thanks for that. I know PR pretty well, but lack updated information. You'd be surprised at how much such tidbits help me stay current......thanks.......D:o)
Sign in with Facebook
Comments