hotel in Puerto Rico

The first time I stayed overnight in San Juan for work I chose to stay in Old San Juan as I had heard there were a lot of fun restaurants and bars. I did have a nice dinner and enjoyed the architecture...



but, felt the area was a little touristy. The only hotel in my price range in Old San Juan was a Howard Johnson that looked very nice from the pictures online...It was an interesting experience to say the least. After checking in, the desk clerk pointed me to the far side of the room and said to open the door to get into the elevator. I wasn't quite sure what she meant by this until I got over to the door - It was a heavy metal door that opened up and then there was a sliding partition that went to one side revealing an elevator about 3 feet by 3 feet.



My suitcase and myself hardly fit inside as I traveled upwards. Two sides of the elevator were clear glass and I could see the cement supports at each floor creep by...



The other walls were what looked like the original wood paneling from maybe the 20's? It was beautiful, but served also as a reminder of how old the elevator actually was...


I exited the elevator quickly once I arrived at my floor and found my room. It was a little plain as I walked around checking out the space I would be sleeping in for the evening. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with the room until it hit me...there were no windows! It was an approx. 12 X 12 box with no windows! Very claustrophobic and disorienting to say the least. I asked the desk clerk and there are rooms with windows at this hotel and even some with balconies I believe she said, but not mine...





I found some hairs inside the sheets leading me to believe that the sheets had not been changed from the person staying in the room before me. So, I called down to the front desk to request that they be changed. The desk clerk brought a stack of sheets and handed them to me. Apparantly she was the only staff on so I was required to change my own sheets. I'm not a very picky traveler, but I was not too impressed with this experience.

There is a bright side to my frequent trips to San Juan for work...I found a great hotel in Condado Beach. It is a Doubletree a few blocks from the beach and is newly renovated to very modern decor. The rate this time of year is below $100. Wow! I had to take pics of the room as it is one of the nicest I have stayed in even when paying a much higher rate. I would highly recommend a stay here!

hallway...



bedroom...




bathroom...