Doubletree by Hilton San Juan

Lower Your Expectations And You'll Be Fine

The vast majority of the staff at the front desk are either incompetent or...something. It's not "the language barrier," there really wasn't one. Make the effort to use Spanish and you'll do fine. They just didn't do their job, nor care. One example, a fax came to the hotel for me. I confirmed three times that it was sent. For two and a half days, the front desk staff swore it had not been received. Logn story short, I finally got on my cell while at the desk, had the sender call the hotel; in the office behind the front desk they checked the out-put tray of their fax: there it was. It had been sent days earlier. No one at the front bothered to check; it was easier to say, "no, we didn't get any fax." Polite folks, friendly, helpful with giving directions even if they had no idea...just...not that bright. Asked what room number another member of our party was in; they didn't know how to look it up.

The continental breakfast is as you will see in other postings here: get there early or the selection is limited. And it isn't that great to start off with. You have your choice of breads: bagel, toast, muffin. Sometimes cereal, on some days we saw bananas, some days we didn't. Do yourself a favor, leave the hotel, go right to the light, hang another right, go less than a block and a half to bebo's cafe. Great breakfast.

Free internet...worked for less than 24 hours, out for days. The front desk couldn't say anything about when it might be back up.

That's the bad. The good: it was a room. Nothing fancy. The maids (which you will see in other postings) are loud at 7am, but they are not obnioxious. They're friendly and will try to help with whatever. Consider the noise part of the charm. Cabs are easy to get. It's centrally located if you are not going to be in Old San Juan ALL the time. Would I stay there again? Yeah, I probably will. It's cheaper than most. That's a big point in its favor. But I won't ask the front desk for the time of day.

Unique Quality: Nice (small) pool surrounded by palm trees.
Nice view of the major construction project next door.
During spring break it is full of multiple groups of 8th graders. (Since when do 8th graders take spring break trips?)
Across the street from a supermarket. Don't wait for traffic to stop as you cross the street, just walk - like the locals do. It'll stop.