Ritz Carlton San Juan

[v]

Anyone been lately? Thoughts? We'd like to go to Puerto Rico in January and would much prefer to stay at a Marriott property. Two friends went a few years ago and reported that it was nice but nothing to bowl you over (though to be honest, that's my typical Ritz Carlton experience -- but I think they thought it was not up to normal RC par). Want to make sure that it hasn't gone downhill from there. Thanks!

I guess I should also ask -- it will be beach weather in January, right?

[iammalcolmx]

I haven't been but my friends tend to stay at the La Concha Renaissance

[girlscout]

I can attest that it definitely is beach weather in PR in January. My parents go every Jan/Feb and it is in the 80's every day.

[v]

Nov 17, 2015 22:29:45 GMT -5 @chloe77 said:

I thought it wasn't up to Ritz par, but it's been 8 or so years since I've been there. The St. Regis in PR is on my list. I want to go there. Or the other Ritz, the vacation club one. I heard that one is amazing.

Unfortunately, the St. Regis is $760 a night and the RC Dorado Beach is $1499 a night -- way more than we're willing to spend!

I looked into La Concha and it sounds like it is much more of a party scene than what we're looking for.  We want quiet and boring.  But it is on the list.

[v]

Nov 18, 2015 8:48:52 GMT -5 @chloe77 said:

Nov 18, 2015 7:12:23 GMT -5 v said:

Unfortunately, the St. Regis is $760 a night and the RC Dorado Beach is $1499 a night -- way more than we're willing to spend!

I looked into La Concha and it sounds like it is much more of a party scene than what we're looking for.  We want quiet and boring.  But it is on the list.

Is PR definite, or are you just looking for a warm getaway?  I had this dilemma a few months ago, and we ended up going to the Ritz Aruba instead. The flight was about 3.5 hours direct, the hotel price was good (we booked with Amex Platinum and got the 4th night free and free breakfast, so it was not terribly expensive), the food was decent, and the beaches were gorgeous.

Somewhere warm and easy to get to, although Puerto Rico is a plus because the flights we'd take would be ridiculously cheap (paid for with credit card points, but very cheap points-wise).  I looked into Aruba briefly but the RC there is $999 a night.

With my credit card we'll get a fourth night free at any hotel we choose -- but even with that factored in I don't want to go over $500 a night for our 3 paid nights. 

[Deleted]

Nov 18, 2015 9:17:29 GMT -5 v said:

Nov 18, 2015 8:48:52 GMT -5 @chloe77 said:

Is PR definite, or are you just looking for a warm getaway?  I had this dilemma a few months ago, and we ended up going to the Ritz Aruba instead. The flight was about 3.5 hours direct, the hotel price was good (we booked with Amex Platinum and got the 4th night free and free breakfast, so it was not terribly expensive), the food was decent, and the beaches were gorgeous.

Somewhere warm and easy to get to, although Puerto Rico is a plus because the flights we'd take would be ridiculously cheap (paid for with credit card points, but very cheap points-wise).  I looked into Aruba briefly but the RC there is $999 a night.

With my credit card we'll get a fourth night free at any hotel we choose -- but even with that factored in I don't want to go over $500 a night for our 3 paid nights. 

Have you looked at La Concha? It's Marriott. I stayed there a few months ago and I don't remember exactly how much it cost, but it definitely wasn't over $250/night. I think your standards are higher than mine (I don't think I've ever stayed at a Ritz, so I'm not sure how it compares), but I thought it was very nice and the service was great.

[anna7602]

No experience with the Ritz, but yes, it should be beach weather then. Just take a look at the dates because there's a huge festival in mid-January, which you may or may not want to be there for. (I've been and it's a lot of fun, but also very crowded.)

www.puertoricodaytrips.com/san-sebastian-street-festival/

[v]

Nov 18, 2015 14:41:12 GMT -5 @wandering said:

Nov 18, 2015 9:17:29 GMT -5 v said:

Somewhere warm and easy to get to, although Puerto Rico is a plus because the flights we'd take would be ridiculously cheap (paid for with credit card points, but very cheap points-wise).  I looked into Aruba briefly but the RC there is $999 a night.

With my credit card we'll get a fourth night free at any hotel we choose -- but even with that factored in I don't want to go over $500 a night for our 3 paid nights. 

Have you looked at La Concha? It's Marriott. I stayed there a few months ago and I don't remember exactly how much it cost, but it definitely wasn't over $250/night. I think your standards are higher than mine (I don't think I've ever stayed at a Ritz, so I'm not sure how it compares), but I thought it was very nice and the service was great.

I'm looking into that too and it is definitely in the running, but I've read that it can kind of be loud and a party scene -- did you find that?  This is purely an R&R trip so we want something quiet and boring and filled with old and boring people.  (Thank you, btw, anna7602 for the heads up about the festival because I definitely want to avoid that!)

It is over $250 a night on the days we're looking at.  With taxes and fees, it would be something like $30 less a night than the Ritz Carlton.  So not a huge savings, but we are looking at it because it looks like the area is better than where the Ritz Carlton is.  

I'm also looking at the Condado Vanderbilt, which is also in the same price range (and includes some perks that the others don't) but I can't figure out the deal with the beach there.

[scout8]

Is the Marriott in Condado no longer open? It was very nice when I was there a few years ago. We got married at El Convento, but had our guests stay at the Marriott. We picked it after looking at a bunch of places. Since it hasn't been mentioned here though, I'm thinking maybe it closed or changed ownership.

[vanillacourage]

Not exactly what you asked but we recently stayed in San Juan and wanted to throw out our experiences. We stayed in Old Town, originally booked at La Terraza de San Juan, but due to a plumbing problem got rebooked (before arrival) at the Gallery Inn. Both were awesome, right in the heart of great restaurants, shops, and close to the fort. Our room at the Galley Inn was 400 years old and had a balcony overlooking the ocean. 

[v]

Nov 24, 2015 17:21:56 GMT -5 @32flavors said:

What about south Florida? Same temps and tons of marriot properties to choose from. Plus cheap flights to Miami or FLL.

We'd certainly consider that -- I had ruled it out because the places I looked up had average temps in the mid-70s in January, and I'm looking for beach weather (80s). But it was hardly an exhaustive search. What beach resort in south Florida is a direct flight from NY, close to the airport we would fly into, and guaranteed beach weather in January? Not Miami (we were there last December (and it was not warm enough for the beach then -- only mid-70s)). Thanks!

[anna7602]

Nov 24, 2015 18:04:03 GMT -5 v said:

Nov 24, 2015 17:21:56 GMT -5 @32flavors said:

What about south Florida? Same temps and tons of marriot properties to choose from. Plus cheap flights to Miami or FLL.

We'd certainly consider that -- I had ruled it out because the places I looked up had average temps in the mid-70s in January, and I'm looking for beach weather (80s). But it was hardly an exhaustive search. What beach resort in south Florida is a direct flight from NY, close to the airport we would fly into, and guaranteed beach weather in January? Not Miami (we were there last December (and it was not warm enough for the beach then -- only mid-70s)). Thanks!

The weather in Puerto Rico that time of year is going to be more reliable than in South Florida. It could or could not be warm in Miami. It will almost definitely be warm in San Juan, barring some freak cold front.