I have mixed feelings about my stay at this hotel. The staff were excellent and very helpful. When I had problems with their WiFi (it didn't work) or when I accidentally broke one of the shade cords in my room, they were very prompt (in 5 minutes) in fixing the problem. They were also great for the diving I did with Caribe Aquatic Adventures.

On the down side, I thought their continental breakfast was sorrowful. They're also 2 miles from Old San Juan. It cost me $10 each way to go to and from there via a taxi.

If you intend to see Old San Juan, I'd try to find a hotel that is closer. If you want one that is close to a beach, this might be the one for you. If you want one close to the cruise ship piers, you might want to find one closer to the piers. It'll cost you $13.50 via taxi to get to the Pan American pier from this hotel and $10 to get to pier 4 which I believe is used for transiting cruise ships.

The C aribe HIlton was over booked, so some of us were booked into the Normandie. (We were there on a convention). I read some of the reviews (all seemed bad) and was afraid of what we were going to find there. To our surprise, it was NOT like the reviews said...The staff couldn't have been nicer or more efficient. Our room faced the ocean and was clean. The bathroom was immaculate! Of course, this is not a brand new hotel..you have to realize that it is an old hotel, but one thing ..it was not horrible! We ate breakfast in the atrium and it was yummy. Most of all, we LOVED Tom ..the owner of the boutique in the hotel..He was so friendly and helpful and fun to talk to !!!

And yes, the lobby was cold...but it was 85 degrees outside so it felt good!!! I would go back and stay there again....

First of all I'd just like to state that the hotel's employees are rude and not for helping customers and assist them with their stay! After coming back from a tour within in San Juan with the 4 persons whom i checked in with in the morning, while having to wait for my room till 3:00 pm from coming in from 10 am, we ask customer service for 3 extra towels after finding that there were NO WASHCLOTHS AT ALL!

Okay, figure I wouldn't make a big deal about there being no washcloths and also having to wait to get my room till 3 pm, come to find out that they decide to tell us that the hotel's fire code doesn't allow more than 3 people to sleep in the room after WE ALL CHECKED IN TOGETHER AT THE SAME TIME FOR THE SAME ROOM! They gave us the option to pay extra to obtain another room or we will be kicked out! NO ONE EVVVERRR TOLD US upon making reservations OR calling three times prior to check on our reservation to secure it that there CANNOT BE more than 3 people in the room THEN try to act as if we were in the wrong when your Hotel reservation agents FAILED TO INFORM US OF THAT BULLcrap code! Not only were they trying to act as if it were our fault and should pay for the extra room, but if your employees made a mistake for such an important code to be followed then the hotel should compensate and make sure that we follow the restrictions. NOT INCONVENIENCE US WHILE WE WERE ALL SETTLED AND THEN TRY TO threaten us by saying that if more than 3 stay in the room then we have to pay 30 dollars per person extra each nite! BUT WAIT DIDN"T YOU SAW that according to the department of protection says that more than 3 people cannot stay this is ILLEGAL! Your trying to get over by making us pay and be slick about it! Please......

I advise STRONGLY THAT YOU DO NOT EVEN THINK OR DOUBT THESE REVIEWS FOR THERE POOR INDECENT AND DISRESPECTFUL SERVICE!

Thank you...

This was our second visit to the Normandie (first visit in February, 2006) and it will be our last. It is a grand old hotel in need of some loving care. On our first visit, two years ago, we really enjoyed the art deco styling and the beach and diving adjacent to the property all for a price that was very reasonable (we paid about $160 this time). This time however, was very different. There was a lot of noisy construction underway inside the hotel and there had been some water damage in our room so it smelled very musty. Everything seemed run down and just not of the quality we remembered. On our last day we walked next door to the Caribe Hilton and it was everything you want in a hotel, all for only about $30 more per night. Trust me, that would be money well spent.