Priceline Hotel: Resort San Juan El San Juan

[CRUISNDIVA]

I've been trying for the past 3 days to book a 1 night pre cruise stay in San Juan via Priceline with no luck.

I've bid as high as $190.00 for a "resort" property with no bites.

I've bid as high as $160.00 on 4 star properties with no bites.

I'm contemplating lowering to 3.5 stars but I'm worried about the quality of the hotel I may end up with.

Should I keep bidding on resort and 4 star properties or take the gamble and try my luck at a 3.5 star.

Any advice/tips would be appreciated.

[CRUISNDIVA]

4-star hotel in San Juan

This hotel features the following amenities:

Near Beach, Oceanfront, Casino, Fitness Center, Pool, Restaurant, Business Center, Laundry Facilities, Golf Nearby, Tennis Nearby, Spa Services.

Current Rate for February 28th=$206.00

Any idea which property this could be????

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding!

Please keep all posts for the same stay in the same thread.

The HOTWIRE property above is a match for the Condado Plaza Hotel and Casino so that would be our best guess for that one.

Whether you take the HOTWIRE hotel or try bidding for a lower star rated hotel with PRICELINE depends upon your needs for this stay. What time do you arrive into San Juan and what time do you like to get to the port (do you view embarkation time as what time you need to be on the ship or do you view what time you can begin boarding as the time you like to be on the ship) Is this just a bed to sleep in or are you looking for a hotel with a resort-like atmosphere where you can use the facilities for the day before and of your cruise departure?

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

Let us know your thoughts and we'll advise accordingly.

[CRUISNDIVA]

Thanks for your response!

We plan on boarding the ship as early as we can on March 1st and although our hotel stay on Feb 28th is basically only for a place to sleep (our flight doesn't get in to San Juan until 9:30 pm) I would still like it to be nice/comfortable. Last time we stayed at the Marriott Stellaris Resort and Casino which we liked so I would like to stick with something better or at the same level as the Marriott.

Thanks for your help/suggestions!

[thereuare]

I'm not too familiar with this property but the best value seems to be the Doubletree San Juan... Expedia has this for just $110/nite. The hotel is recently converted from a Best Western so things should be 'fresh' as the Doubletree has put their name/brand on the property. Given your brief overnite i would take this and save the money that a higher rated property will likely cost you given that all you really need is a clean hotel with a comfortable bed.

Your thoughts?

Please use our Expedia link should you go this route.

[CRUISNDIVA]

Thank you for the suggestion but this hotel is ranked a 2 star and I'm leary of staying anywhere that's below a 4 star :)

I guess I'll just keep trying my luck on PRICELINE and HOTWIRE.

[thereuare]

This not a 4* hotel, but i don't believe it's a 2* hotel either (nor do i know of any Doubletree that would be rated 2 stars)... you can see here PRICELINE rates this as a 3* property: Doubletree San Juan

Perhaps any 2* rating you saw was a reminant of the Best Western rating... where did you see this rated 2 stars? It will also likely be hard to find many accurate/current reviews of this prpoerty since it only changed hands recently, and while i wouldn't be a fan of staying at a Best Western, i'd have no problems staying at a Doubletree... especially when my 'next best bet' was ~$100+, just not worth it for a one nite stay. However, it's your trip and you know your needs better than i do, so if you'd prefer to stay at a higher rated property we'll try to help you in that goal.

The $129/nite rate HERE is refundable up until a few days before your stay and you may at least want to consider booking this as a back-up should you continue with PRICELINE and HOTWIRE in case they don't come thru for you.

I will add one more comment that i've stated before on the board... it will be hard to find hotels in San Juan with great reviews. It's an expensive hotel market and when users pay a lot they usually expect a lot, and most San Juan properties fall short in this regard. It's not so much that the service levels are 'bad', but just like when you're crusing, the locals on are "on island" time and don't seem as much of a rush as the rest of us... and while Puerto Rico is still 'part' of the US (a commonwealth??) they are still very much an island and operate on "island time", which is often interpretted as poor service to hotel guests who are expecting more for the high hotel rates.

Please use these PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links to begin your travel purchases.

[CRUISNDIVA]

I'm pretty sure Expedia rated Doubletree as a 2 star, but don't quote me on that one.

Okay, Hotwire has another 4 star listed for $206.00 the info is as follows:

Near Beach, Oceanfront , Casino, Fitness Center, Pool(s), Restaurant(s), Business Center and Laundry Facilities.

Any idea which one this is?

[CRUISNDIVA]

I got impatient today and ended up bidding on Priceline :)

Here are my results.....

February 28th 1 night stay El San Juan Resort & Casino $210.00

March 16th 1 night stay Marriott Stellaris Resort & Casino $140.00

I don't think I did all that bad!

Thanks for you help anyways!!!

BTW I used your link to PRICELINE :)

[thereuare]

Congratulations on your success!

Glad to see you're happy with the results and now all set of your pre and post cruise stays.

Can you please confirm that the El San Juan is still rated a Resort class hotel by PRICELINE.

Also, please start a NEW TOPIC for your purchase of the Marriott so that each win will appear in the Priceline and Hotwire Calendar of Wins.

Thanks for sharing your wins with the board and for using our PRICELINE link to begin your bidding.

Enjoy your stay and have a great cruise.

[CRUISNDIVA]

Yes, El San Juan is still rated a resort class hotel by Priceline.

Thanks again for your help!