When flying into Puerto Rico our first hotel was an easy choice. How about the hotel near the airport, with the nicest beach in San Juan and one completely free? No points, no cash. Free. It’s a no brainer. It was a beautiful hotel and completely worth the price we paid. 😉
This is a resort style hotel that’s in the city, or the Ritzy neighborhood. So it’s not one of the massive beach resorts like the InterContinental Fiji, but it did have plenty of beach. It had a large pool, an area (below the balcony) for lounging with pool and ping-pong. And of course it had a casino, which I didn’t actually see or care about.
The InterContinental is right next to some of the nicest hotels on the island, the El San Juan (Hilton owned) and the Ritz Carlton San Juan. They built there for space on the wide sandy beach. As far as I saw, the nicest beach in all of the San Juan area. Of course “nice beaches” are usually places for lounging and I’m one for adventure, but it was definitely a nice way to spend a day after some flights and airport craziness.
Some reviews stated that the hotel was “run down” and I couldn’t really see that. It was in great condition and I’m not sure when the last time they remodeled was, but it’s in no need of one anytime soon. The only way anyone could say that it is at all in need of repair is the outside of the building. From the beach looking back it looks like a little bit of “grand” and a little bit of “old”. But the hotel does have an old colonial style and grand marble feel, inside and out. Completely worth of the InterContinental brand name IMHO.
The average night seemed to be $229 or more although I’m aware that it does go on sale for less. In our case we managed to score a Best Rate Guarantee. The InterContinental Hotel Group has a best rate guarantee that if you find a cheaper night on a different website you get the first night free. Read all about it and how to score free nights with IHG’s Best Rate Guarantee. I wouldn’t count on a free night at the IC San Juan though, and I most definately wouldn’t not drop 50,000 points on it. That seems over priced to me. And equally, I would never spend $230 on a hotel, even though the 2 star hotels were going for $100… I’ve just never spent that much on a hotel. In fact, this trip was the most I’ve ever spent on a hotel and it was still half that much. But enough about me, my point is, the hotel isn’t amazing enough to drop $200+ or 50,000 points. It’s a fine, high end hotel with a sandy beach. Nothing to dream over, and I doubt any of the hotels in San Juan are.
One note about check in, which was a little slow as I wasn’t given a room until 4 (which is check in time) but we stored stuff in our friends’ room while we swam. It seemed a little odd because all of the things in the welcome letter promised to us as Platinum members, weren’t really given to us. For example, it says that Platinum members will be given a 1 category room upgrade. I assumed this was the reason they didn’t give us a room right away, but nope, a standard room. Which only seemed odd as they were definitely not on high occupancy based on the number of rooms they were still selling and they certainly had space for upgrades. Not that I needed the upgrade, I was just unsure what was going on.
The staff was very hospitable. I really felt it, quick to grab doors and very polite when walking around. Just gave a great impression. Yet, I felt a little bit of snark when I went down to the front desk at 4:15 to ask for a room. Apparently they had called me while I was in the elevator and the very much made it a point to tell me I was called. A second person with snark came out and had paperwork showing she called me. Okay. Thanks, I see your list… but can I have room now? Not a big deal though.
Drew, did you have to pay any of the taxes or fees? I’m traveling to San Juan in August so I was going to see if I could try book with the BRG.
Nada.