I spent four days at the San Juan Beach Hotel in late January. Before making the trip I read any number of reviews of the property. Some of the criticisms I read were valid, but several were not.

LOCATION: The hotel is a twenty-minute cab ride from the international airport during rush hour. It is in the middle of a tourism zone that is heavily policed. Unless you are a total couch potato you can walk along the Atlantic shore to Old San Juan in forty-five minutes. While there is no beach of which one can speak at the hotel property, there are two within a quarter mile, one on the Atlantic and the other at the entrance to Condado Lagoon.

COMMON AREAS: The carpet in the hallways leaves much to be desired. The restaurant is closed, and there does not seem to be any renovation taking place. The lobby, the bar area, and the breakfast area are all clean and comfortable, but they are by no means posh. The pool area is clean and well policed. The pool is not large, but it is well maintained. Only one of the two elevators was in service, but it was more than adequate to serve the number of guest the hotel can accomodate.

AMENITIES: There aren't many on sight. There is a health club east of the facility that sells daily memberships. There are restaurants in the immediate vicinity, but none on the property. Breakfast is continental.

ROOMS: I stayed in a double room. The room was large by any standard. The room was clean. The bedspreads were worn. The mattress was a bit soft for my taste, but definitely up to mid-range standard. I saw and smelled less rust and mold than I have come to expect from mid-range beach hotels in Florida. The bathroom sink drained slowly so I fixed it (Room 810 if it matters to you). New linens arrived during my stay.

STAFF: The staff was as friendly and cooperative as one could ask. Even housekeeping was pleasant and attentive. The general manager and the desk clerk made sure we had access to all of the attractions the island has to offer, even arranging special transportation when needed.

CONCLUSION: The hotel has been under new management for roughly nine months, and the results are beginning to show. There are better hotels in the area, but this has to be one of the best bargains. Unless you intend to spend your entire stay in your room, or unless your idea of a basic hotel is the Omni, this place is worth a look.

Because I think it is helpful to know a reviewer's 'standards' when reading a review, I will start this review by saying, I am not a 'leave the light on' hotel-chain type of traveler. The 'lowest' level of hotels I normally stay in are Fairfield Inns. I had hoped the San Juan Beach hotel would be at that level - as I was staying for one night and only need a clean room and decent bed.

I was disappointed.

The staff is very friendly. That was the only highlight.

For starters, I booked the hotel in part because it was 'close to the airport'. It is actually a 10 minute ($20) cab ride away. There are many hotels much closesr to the airport.

Second, the lobby is the cleanest/best kept of the hotel. Beware of pics of only the lobby. It is very deceiving.

The entire facility needs serious basic upgrades: 1) paint is in poor shape everywhere, 2) carpets are horrid. Really horrid, 3) the bathrooms are moldy, 3) the rooms beat up badly, 4) beds are horrid.

Our flight was delayed and we arrived at 3 am. On the way to the hotel, I had decided I would pay for a late checkout so I could sleep in. But frankly, after I arrived I realized I wanted out of there as quick as possible. I slept in cloths and kept socks on the whole time. We left by 9 am.

This hotel does not rate two stars. It needs serious clean up. It feels and looks dirty and grungy. I could not recommend this to anyone.

Spend $30-$60 more a night and find something else.

After 5 days in San Juan and driving around the entire countryside in a rental car I decided to call Hotels.com from La Pargera and try to save some cash as all the hotels in San Juan are overpriced and most of the desk employees rude and obnoxious with a take it or leave it attitude. The room was at least 30 dollars cheaper than the lowest priceI I had so far encountered so was surely worth roughing it a bit. It is an older hotel in some disrepair but as the new, energetic American manager told me they are now preparing for a major renovation. The room was enormous and spotlessly clean. The only thing threadworn was the carpet and some plaster around the EXCELLENT air conditioner but I can live with that. There was a new iron and ironing board and a new hair dryer in the bathroom. They have many channels on the nice television. My sheets and the two large beds for ONE person were clean. They also gave me no hassle whatsoever about having several friends up to visit in my room. Most hotels in San Juan will allow no one to go up to you room and look at you like you are trying to do something immoral. The pool is open 24 hours! I have never seen that offered in my life not even at the Acapulco Princess or the swankiest resorts. That business of not being allowed to swim after 7 or 8 PM is stuoid and for the birds. Near the medium sized CLEAN pool is an access to the beach. The Atlantic ocean around Condado is great for tanning but not a good beach for swimming. It is rough water and quite rocky. There is a high speed computer in the hallway with free intenet for the guests and it was upgraded the day I arrived with a new optical keyboard and mouse. Internet is almost IMPOSSIBLE to find in Puerto Rico. I could not imagine that! Their sarcastic reply all over the island is that everyone has internet and there is no need for internet cafes. Well most of the populace looks like they don't even have shoes let alone a computer with internet access! The only other I found was a very friendly,nice internet cafe that charges 7 dollars and hour in front of the Marriot about 8 blocks up the avenue and open till 11 PM and a somewhat shabby place in front of the cruise ship terminal that has limited hours opening at 2 PM till 6 PM. I found NO internet on the rest of the island and I searched everywhere. There is free ice and a snack vending room plus a restaurant and full bar. The food looked delicious even though I did not actually have a meal there. Most important to me was the friendliness of the young ladies and gents at the desk and the manager who would do anything to please. All the other places I visited on practically the entire island they were primarily obnoxious and could care less if you stayed with them or not and the rooms are outrageous in price everywhere. If you don't mind a place that has seen better days but appears to soon be on the upswing I do suggest this place. Just to have friendly people welcome you and help you with cabs and sightseeing is worth the price alone. Abouth three blocks from this hotel is Charlies Auto Rental which is EXCELLENT. Ask for Johnny, He gives excellent advice and directions. The autos are very reasonably priced with full insurance. Too many snobs in the hotels in Puerto Rico!!!

I stayed at the San Juan Beach Hotel from August 30th through September 4th and it was definitely an experience. One of the first things we (me, my aunt and two of our friends) noticed is that there were certain things required of us that weren't stated on Expedia during the booking process. We rented a car and we weren't told until be got to the hotel that there is a $17 dollar a day charge for valet service. This really isn't bad compared to the cost of taking a taxi ride but if we were told this up front we would have at least expected it. Also, during check in we were told that they needed credit cards for both rooms in case we used room service or went to the bar. Again, this really isn't a problem and I understand hotels do this often (especially when you pay for your trip up front) but this information was not stated up front during the booking process. When we asked the front desk people to explain the need for the credit card numbers they weren't the friendliest. It took another worker to come to our assistance and explain in detail the need for the credit cards (which weren't charged).

I have never been to Puerto Rico and as a first time tourist I had a couple of places in mind that I wanted to visit. The hotel did provide a little information about these places but they had pre packed tours they recommended that cost between $50 and $150 dollars. Luckily, we heard another hotel guest complaining about her tour (which she didn't finish) and decided to look into other ativities of our own. The Bacardi tour, which they priced at around $50 each, only cost us about $25 dollars total. This includes the parking garage fee, the fee for the ferry and the cab ride too and from the plant (which was a great experience).

The hotel also had certain restaurants they recommended. The first night we went to one of the right down the road from the hotel, the food was okay but if you want to impress your guest, you have to do better. The second night we went to another recommended hotel, which ended up being a horrible experience! Finally, on the third day we decided to go on the internet (it is free for all hotel guest) and find attractions and restaurants on our own.

The hotel was not the cleanist but I expected this due to reviews I read before my trip. We didn't spend much time in our room anyway so that wasn't one of my concerns. The main advise I want to share is do your own research, rent a car and get directions from the internet (not the locals)! Enjoy your trip!