HAMILTON, ONTARIO CANADA
FEBRUARY, 2008

We stayed at his hotel as a pre-cruise destination. Arrived at the hotel at 4:00 p.m. It is a very short drive from the Airport. Check in was a breeze. Rooms are clean and include iron, coffee maker, fridge, and microwave. Bathroom is tiny but clean and renovated. Airconditioning worked well noise level was quiet all night.
There is a restaurant in the main lobby selling mostly Italian Food. Food is not bad and reaonably priced. We took the bus to Old San Juan. 75 cents per person and about a 15 minute drive. The bus ride was an eye opener as we drove through what looked like a lot of government housing. Wouldn't recommend doing this at night. Took a taxi back from Old San Juan at the end of the night cost was 19.00 dollars.

This was a more than acceptable hotel for a very reasonably priced will definately stay here again.

The Carolina HoJo is an extremely adequate place to stay, if you know what I mean. The price is right, the room is standard, and the location is convenient. Five minutes from the airport and convenient to San Juan without the intown hassles.

The street, Isla Verde, is busy and you should avoid rooms with a view of the water. With the view you also get passing traffic that includes boombox-loud cars at all hours. The view is not worth it even 6 stories up. Plus, there is a highrise condo directly across the street, so the view is obstructed anyway.

Dining here is quite good, although there are a lot of decent places to eat in the area, so you don't have to dine in. Desk service was excellent, but note that all phone calls carry an extra charge.

While we were there only one elevator was working. No way to tell whether that is common, but at best there are only two elevators for a 9 story hotel. Barely enough, and not enough when it's busy.

Sound deadening between rooms was fine, and we noted no hall noise in the room. Don't drink out of the glass tumblers unless you personally see them brought in by the maid. They are probably wiped and reused. There is a mini-fridge that works and a better than decent TV. The desk staff doesn't know it, and the printed chanel list doesn't show it, but check CH 99 for the cable listings.

We booked the HOJO after doing a lot of research and decided that we did not want to spend $400+ a night on a nearby beach front resort. We ended up paying $130/night (AAA rate) and stayed here two nights before our cruise left out of San Juan. I have to admit I was very skeptical at first because of the mixed reviews on this site but our stay was overall pleasant. The hotel is about a 10 min cab ride from the airport and also about a 10 min cab ride to the port of San Juan. The outside of the hotel, the lobby, pool area and restaurants were very nice and were very up to date. The beach is so close, all you have to do is cross the street (not a real busy one) and you have access to the beach through a small pathway. I have to say I was very pleased with how close the beach was, you are basically staying on a beach front hotel without the price of one. The area seemed safe, although for me, with any unfamiliar area I would not children wander about by themselves. There are a ton of shops and restaurants within walking distance of the hotel and there is also a Walgreens a couple of buildings down which was nice. A Burger King is next door that is open 24 hours if you want a quick cheap meal, but there is also a nice Pizza place/Italian food place in the lobby at the hotel, and the prices are very reasonable. The nicer Italian restaurant on the top floor is incredible, but very pricey. The front desk staff was extremely helpful and polite, especially Maribol, a woman who worked at the front desk. I can honestly say that was some of the best treatment I have received at a hotel front desk. The only thing you should not expect to be outstanding in this hotel are the rooms. They are very basic and honestly need some renovation. The bedding and rooms were clean, but the room could have used some fresh paint and just a little extra attention to some repairs that were needed. Also the walls are a little thin so we could sometimes hear other people in next rooms or hallways (although other people we were with said this was not the case in their rooms.) The balconies are nice, but once again basic. If you are on the correct side of the hotel, you can see the beach from your balcony, which is very nice. Not all rooms have balconies. This hotel was absolutely perfect for a stay prior to our cruise. Don't expect a five star hotel, but don't expect a one star hotel either (and believe me, I have stayed in all kinds of places, some very expensive and some not so.) Really what it boils down to is the price was very reasonable for a very decent hotel so close to the beach during the peak season (we stayed in January.)

Okay, for basic accommodations. The pool was nice and it was close to everything. Parking is a problem.