Doubletree by Hilton San Juan

Very, very nice Hotel…
At check in they greet you with warm cookies.
Great pool & whirlpool
Also have a nice gym room.
On the main floor they also sell Godiva Chocolates.
Very convenient & close to the beach.
Walking distance or the hotel has valets to drive you in these nice little golf carts… at the beach they supply you with towels, beach chairs & umbrella for shade…
across from the Hotel is a Supermarket which has all the necessities you might need, they even sell hot meals at a reasonable prices…
A few blocks away is Bebo’s restaurant, which people rave about!
Also if it rains you can check out the Museum of Art two blocks away…
So when in Puerto Rico,
Make sure you book a room…

This was my 2^nd stay at the Doubletree Condado. I stayed here in October 2015 and chose to come back and stay here this past weekend because of the great service and accommodations and I was not disappointed.
Check In Process
My check in process with the Doubletree has been fast and courteous each time and it always helps when they give you that warm 1000 calories chocolate chip cookie. If you get their early and your room is not available they will take your bags, check you in and give you a call promptly as soon as your room is available. It’s a great time to get something to eat or even hop on the local San Juan Bus that takes you to Old San Juan for .75 cents!!! The time I was there in October we arrived at like 10am so we actually dropped our bags off, caught the bus to Old San Juan, hopped on the .75 ferry to the area that the Bacardi Factory was and enjoyed the Bacardi tour. Came back tipsy to the hotel! It was sooo convenient and adventurous.
Location
The hotel is conveniently located with in walking distance of Condado Beach where you can find a slew of restaurants to eat and drink at. While the hotel is not directly on the beach, the hotel has a golf cart shuttle and attendant (9am-​5pm) that will take you their section of the beach where you can enjoy your Beachy vacation. It’s literally a 5 minute ride. They also provide the beach chairs, beach umbrella, and towels when you get to the beach. If you need something to eat, you can tell the attendant on location at the beach and the hotel will deliver it to you.

Additionally, there is a super market directly across the street from the hotel that will save you a lot of money on snacks and toiletries and anything that you will need for your stay especially if you staying for a while. They also sell spirits, beer, & wine!!!
The hotel also have bikes you can rent I believe for $ 5!!!
Side note: DO NOT deprive yourself from eating at Oceano restaurant Condado before you live. You will regret. The food and location is AMAZING!
Rooms
The rooms are clean, modern, and spacious. The bed is ADDICTIVE. You won’t want to leave the room if you get too comfortable in that bed! The standup shower is nice and spacious and the water is hot like I like it! And free wifi!!!
Outside of Condado
Outside of the Condado area, the hotel always has taxi cabs waiting if you want to go to other parts of San Juan (Old San Juan, Isla Verde, etc). On average the taxi rides are $ 15-​$ 20 each way depending on where you are going. That definitely can add up so you should plan your days accordingly.
One big PLUS is this hotel has a sister property (Courtyard Marriott Isla Verde) where you have access to their beach resort property which includes chairs, towels, and gym access. If you want a more resort style beach area to chill for the day, then you will love this. The Doubletree front desk will give you a letter to take with you. Hop in a cab (you pay), and when you get to the Courtyard give the letter to the front desk and you are taken care of and treated just like you are a guest at their property. The beach is really nice and they have a pool with a swim up bar and you can order food and drinks on the beach via your waiter as well. Additionally, if you want to save on all the taxi rides, bring your change of clothes and you can shower at their gym shower on property and then take your taxi to your next destination instead of going back to the Doubletree.
Extra Hotel Stuff
The restaurant/​bar at the hotel has GREAT food and drinks and happy hour is 5pm-​8pm. The pool and hot tub at the hotel is very nice and the gym is above average compared to most hotels gyms in my opinion.
There’s really nothing I can say bad about this hotel for me and my friends it’s our first choice whenever coming to San Juan!

This place is absolutely GORGEOUS and the vibes you get are positive and joyful. The facilities are neat and clean and the hotel itself has a homey, yet modern feel. The lobby and grounds are very well kept. They have a restaurant inside, and they even have the cutest little chocolate shop. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to purchase any chocolate and my little girl is still mad at me for it!!!
Most of the staff members are great. When i say most i mean the vast majority. Even when i was just lounging in the lobby i could see the guys that work the valet parking outside and they are corteous, caring, and extremely professional. The front desk staff are stellar. These people will make you feel right at home instantly. A special mention to Guillermo, who helped me a couple of times with my reservations over the phone in the sweetest and kindest way possible. Also Sugheil, the agent that checked us in, was a pleasure to deal with.
I highly recommend the San Juan Doubletree. It is far too beautiful and enjoyable, with way too many praise worthy employees to misa out on it.

My family and I had a great time here. We had the small cheapest room but it was great. Clean stylish and small enough that we could keep our eyes on our toddler as we made a mess :) nice size crib. Pool is pretty and has a baby pool. Service is nice (they even gave us cookies at a time other than check in). Beach is reasonable though a public beach. We also went to the sister property for the day Marriott isla verde which is beach front and has more of a resort feel. Go there for the day if you have a late flight!

BEWARE: I was charged additional $ 60 ($ 20 per day) for valet parking even though I had no car while staying at this hotel. Had the credit card company help me get refund.
BEWARE: Expedia/​hotel bookings show rate of this hotel without resort fees, additional $ 30 a day added once you arrive at hotel. I did not use any of their beach offerings.
Hotel was what i expect from Hilton standards and being a Hilton Honors guest, i received a clean, comfortable room. This dishonest undisclosed expense is fraudulent practice to trap guests.
WOULD NOT STAY HERE IF RETURN TO SAN JUAN it is nowhere near a beach none of the resort ammenities shown are available. Golf cart has to be ridden to the beach but when you go to ask for it — they will instead show you directions to follow by saying it is not far. Beach is surrounded by apartments and buildings and in crowded place, so i did not even use the beach offerred.
Tiny water bottles though an expense of about 50cent is not daily replaced for guests. On second day I requested water bottles and the tall old man at reception hesitently gave me two. Easier to walk across to supermarket to buy a gallon of water. I generally found the reception staff to be unfriendly and uninterested in their guests not even exchanging a hello as they passed them to get into elevator.
FOR HOTEL PRICE + RESORT FEE
— THERE ARE BETTER OPTIONS IN SAME PRICE RANGE.

I guess these high ratings are just for the cleaning/​made service? The bed is as hard as a rock and very small (your feet will stick out of the bottom if you are over five foot eight. I did not sleep the entire time here and will never return. The service at the restaurant is very good but too pricey. Also, as a Hilton honors member I have never not been offered a cookie. They were obviously there, baking and given to others. I thought that was a bit rude. Even if I could pay half-​no wait even come here for free I would not come back to this hard as a rock miniature bed in this very cramped situation for two people. It makes a better dog house-​maybe converted to a hilton kennel?
I prefer the La Concha and have no reason to return here-​we just booked our vacation too late.

Be warned, this hotel charges an outrageous resort fee of 20% based on your room rate. This fee can be over $ 60. The hotel is blocks from the beach and with only a small pool so not what I would consider a resort. For business travel it’s perfectly located.

Positive:
Great location close to beach, nice pool, rooms are newly renovated. Close to restaurants, stores and a 24 hour supermarket. Valet parking on the premises makes having a rented vehicle easier compare to other hotels in the area.
Negative:
The night staff should train the day staff on how to treat there guest. During check out I ask to speak to a manager about late check out, but the manager wouldn’t take the time to speak with me. During check out they wouldn’t honor our AAA rate even do I reserve with AAA. The night staff told us that we would be able to use the pool and our luggage would be store for us but that wasn’t the case with the day staff who I felt rush my family out telling us the hotel was fully booked. I think about it twice taking my family back to this hotel.
Update:
The general manager Mr. Caban contacted me immediately after reading my review and took the time to speak with me about our experience. He also offered us to return and to give him a chance to make it up to us for all the inconvenience, which we are planning to take advantage of in March. His quick response does speak volume and I definitely felt how he truly was sorry about everything. I will definitely advice you to stay at this DoubleTree!

This hotel is well situated to provide a great experience while visiting San Juan. It has a Starbucks right next door and a cool pizza joint called Fahrenheit adjacent to the property, too.
It’s within walking distance of so many good places to chow down that I can’t mention them all.
The hotel staff is very friendly and helped me work on my Rosetta Stone Spanish without showing the slightest bit of annoyance. They just let me get those phrases out and helped me learn new ones.
I’d certainly stay here again and recommend it to anyone.

We really liked it here for a few reasons.
1) Great location in Condado. You are walking distance from so many great restaurants and bars. It is a great place to call home while vacationing in SJ.
2) Very nice services and accommodations. The hotel is very clean and and the staff is very courteous and helpful. The gym and pool are also very well kept up. The rooms are very comfortable and modern.
— The only problems were the elevators– skipped floors and would close on you! Be careful! Also, the restaurant in the hotel is not very good so room service is disappointing. That being said, you are walking distance from some fabulous restaurants so it wasn’t a big deal for us.
3) The price. While it is not cheap, for what you get (comfort, safety, convenient location) the double tree is a great choice!

El mejor ejemplo de servicio al cliente! Pregunta por Sugeil Fermín en reception. Ella si sabe tratarte como un hotel de cinco estrellas! Las facilidades son súper modernas y cómodas. Lo único q la cama queen de nosotros era una full. Tremenda localización. Ah y las facilidades son tremendas. Tienen hasta mesa de ping pong y hamacas!

The Doubletree in San Juan has a safe and convenient location. The rooms are decent but pricy of course because of a resort fee for most hotels in San Juan.
The hotel staff is nice. Brittany is very helpful in making accommodations and in giving advice of what places to visit in the area. The hotel has valet parking for $ 20. Self parking is $ 15 a day. Taxis are readily available and recommended since parking is scare to find in most places of San Juan. Take the shuttle that goes back and forth to Condado Beach from 9 – 5. Grab an umbrella, chairs, and towels from the Doubletree stand at Condado beach.
A Starbucks is located next door to the hotel. Nice little restaurants are in the area. Fahrenheit next door is a good choice if you like pizza and beer/​wine.
I would stay at this Doubletree again…

This is my second time staying at this specific Doubletree. I do frequent Doubletree hotels when I’m away because it’s usually a modern/​comfy room for a reasonable price. This hotel definitely has those two qualities… PROS: 1) comfortable rooms
2) affordable price
3) Nice lil tropical pool area
4)8.5 out of 10 for cleanliness
5) 8 out of 10 for staff
6) a little supermarket across the street for (very convenient)
7) pool area illuminated w/​blue and soft music (romantic)
Now the CONS: 1) located in a business/​residential area (not very tropical looking & kind of run down)
2) they offer free shuttle and beach chairs to a local beach but that beach is NOT worth your time unless you don’t mind a little raggedy poor excuse for a beach on your vacation
3) taxis to get around can become pretty expensive from this location
Tip: All of the rooms are pretty nice from what I’ve seen but this time we got a room with a balcony by the pool area and it was nice to sit out at night and listen to the pool waterfalls and take in the beautiful sight … It was also convenient for my son who likes to frequent the pool. Pool area is also open 24 hours so that is pretty awesome too :)
* overall if you want an adorable modern little hotel with comfortable rooms, helpful staff and a secluded little tropical pool area that includes a hot tub and a kiddie pool then this is your place!!!
BUT if you want a big resort then pay more and stay somewhere else ;)

Meh. This hotel was ok. I could not afford to stay at the Hilton, which looked amazing, so I stayed here.
You know you are poor when your hotel isn’t next to the beach. The beach was a 5 min walk, which wasn’t bad at all. There is also a golf cart that will take you from the hotel to the beach and back. There is someone at the beach who will set up your beach chair, umbrella and provide you with towels. I suggest getting towels from the pool yourself because sometimes they run out of towels at the beach. There is also no bar at the beach so bring your own alcohol.
You know you are poor when your room isn’t that big, and you have a nice king bed and a Murphy bed, that isn’t very comfortable. My friend and I took turns sleeping on the Murphy bed.
You know you are poor when the swimming pool isn’t huge, but at least there is a hot tub too.
You know you are poor when you beg for more hot cookies (they are delicious btw) and drink the free coffee in the lobby every morning.
You know you are poor when you can’t afford to eat pizza at the pizza restaurant downstairs and end up going to the ²⁴⁄₇ supermarket across the street, which is, btw, amazing. I got some sangria, salsa and chips, and frozen Chinese noodles. There is also a froyo bar but this isn’t open ²⁴⁄₇.
One issue that I had with the hotel was the billing. They kept putting large holds on my credit cards and I would go downstairs to ask them what was going on, and they would have no idea. As a result of putting so much money on hold on my credit card, I had to write several IOUs to my friend. Once I got back to NY, I called them several times. The accounting department hung up on me a few times, or were always at lunch, and barely spoke English. It was such a nightmare to deal with them. The invoice that they left at my door was different from what they charged me on my credit card. I tried to explain this to them numerous times but they were too stupid to understand plain math. After calling them many times and wasting hours, I gave up.

I wanted to start off by saying my expectations were not high on this hotel simply because of the price. Usually the price reflects the service to an extend but i must say my wife and I were in for a surprise. We got absolutely great great service at this hotel. We spent 5 nights here and it was a perfect location. Very close to old san juan and a lot of nearby other places to eat, drink, or have fun. Our experience alone was made much better by JOAN who was at the front desk most of the time we were at hotel (he works a lot i guess). He had great suggestions on places to eat, drink, and have fun at. It is also convenient that theres a big market accross the street. I cant not wait to go back and visit Puerto Rico again and when i do i plan to stay at this same hotel again. I will be referring it to all my friends for when they visit as well.
Only reason i cant give them full 5 stars is because the beach space they offer (4 – 5 blocks from hotel) wasnt the best and as most hotel they charge a daily parking fee. Which just in general i think its not a good business practice. Nevertheless it was a great experience here.

This hotel was by biggest disappointment in San Juan. It is DEFINITELY NOT a four star hotel. It was more of a 3. The room was small and the sheets had such a low thread count I’ve stayed on Motel 6’s (in my college years) with much better. The cookies were also cold when we checked in. The worst Double Tree i’ve ever been to. The only thing that saved this place from receiving 1 star was the layout of the bathroom, which was pretty cool.
Update: The manager contacted me after writing my initial review and was extremely apologetic about my experience. I think where I may have gone wrong was booking my hotel through expedia instead of directly through the DoubleTree site – apparently they have a variety of hotel rooms (but the quality was impossible to see on expedia). They also sent me an entire tin of cookies as a mea culpa – great customer service goes a long way with me. The next time I’m in town I’ll probably give them another go and see if I can get a better room.

Why you should stay here…
We returned here for our Celebrity Cruise «wedding-​moon» that took place on 12÷06÷14. I was happy to return and it was exactly as I remembered. Although it’s not directly on the beach, the accommodations, amenities, and super friendly staff make up for it. Plus, they have a golf cart that will scoop you up and escort you down the 4 blocks to the ocean if you prefer not to walk.
Bottom line: The hotel has walkable access to the market and other local restaurants (Bebos next door– I’m looking at you and your Queso Frito and Monfongo– YUM). I would defiantly come back again my next trip to San Juan.
Central Condado Location:
This was my 2^nd stay here (last stay was Jan 2012– also stayed at the Hilton Caribe in Dec. 2011 in Old San Juan). I simply prefer this location over Hilton Caribe since it’s in the center of everything and only 15 mins from the airport (pending traffic) and another 15 mins to Old San Juan (flat rate taxi 17 bucks plus a buck per bag if you’re headed to the cruise port). This was my 3^rd trip to San Juan and we rented a car and buzzed around picking up family to prepare for the craziness that awaited us. This is not you’re traditional mega resort on the beach– so don’t come here expecting that. If you’re looking for a clean, modern, accommodating hotel for a few short days. this hotel is for you!
We love the central location and if you’re coming for a cruise… it’s really nice that you’re directly across the street from the supermax (supermarket) where you can easily pick up extra sunscreen, liquor (if booze is your thing) or tres leches (traditional Latin dessert cake) treat to enjoy in their open patio of the double tree.
Amenities:
The pool and hot tub area is very nice and the overall hotel is contemporary and updated. We didn’t use the pool but saw families enjoying it throughout our 3 day stay. Our room and other hotel area was squeaky clean. They have a very nice 24 hour Gym by the pool which had nice treadmills and free weights that we used. They also are adjacent to a plaza that has a Starbucks, Secure Parking Garage (self park $ 15+ tax per day), Yelo Spa (ahhhh-​mazing) and Salon, and are currently building a pizzeria called Fahrenheit (not open yet). The rooms are on the smaller side but it didn’t bother us one bit (let’s face it– we were there to explore and not stay locked up in our rooms). I’ll take the nicer amenities and comfort this hotel offers (even with the smaller rooms).
Staff:
A big thank you to Peter who was beyond accommodating with the multiple rooms that we booked for family. We had a total of 11 guests in staying at this hotel and arriving at all hours and Peter and the rest of the staff were very welcoming and did their best to ensure our stay was great. They were great in 2012 and are still great this past week. Kudos to their entire front desk staff and restaurant staff — they were wonderful.

So I needed a reasonably priced overnight hotel in San Juan that wasn’t the airport because I wanted to go out and explore the town. After looking at all the Hilton Family hotel options available, I settled on the Doubletree because they ranked pretty high on TripAdvisor and they had a sweet AAA rate available.
Below is the quick and dirty of everything Doubletree San Juan:
Room: A bit on the smaller side but very well appointed and it felt that all the FFE’s were fairly new. The bathroom once again small but very modern and nice. Water pressure was great and the hot water hot. The bed was very comfortable and I didn’t really want to get out of it to catch my flight the next morning.
Location: Just a couple of blocks off the main drag and across the street from a local grocery store. Their is a Starbucks adjacent to the hotel if you need it. I believe there is only valet parking to. Not sure about self.
Grounds/​Staff: Staff were all very friendly and the grounds were all very well kept and the hotel overall looked fairly new. Also, do remember that you get one of the famous doubletree cookies upon checkin which always puts a smile on my face after a long day of travel.
So yes, if I ever just need to pass through San Juan again, I will definitely look this place up. Heck, even a couple of nights I wouldn’t mind staying here because I don’t have to deal with all the traffic and stuff you see in Condado.

Loved our stay at the Doubletree in San Juan. The staff, especially Miguel the manager and Peter at the front desk, were amazingly friendly and nice to my son. He must’ve asked for at least 20 cookies during our entire stay and he was always met with a smile.
The beach is a 5 – 8 minute walk from the hotel and there is a 24hr supermarket right across the street that has a hot buffet that serves local food. Additionally, their beer/​liquor selection CANNOT BE BEAT. I have never seen a supermarket with almost 2 full aisles full of beer/​hard liquor/​wine!
Yes, the rooms are a little bit small and the bathroom is small, but no one is here to hang out in their room. There is a microwave, coffeemaker and small fridge in each room.
Note that there is a resort fee of approximately $ 20/​night, which covers the pool, the business center, the bottles of water in your room, beach amenities, and also the ability to visit their sisters properties and use their pool/​beach facilities.

Here’s what makes the Doubletree a real treat…
1) Location — It’s directly across from a massive 24-​hr supermarket (with a great cafeteria!) and one delicious food truck (Los Monkeys). If you’re renting a car, you can gas up at the station right next to the food truck. The hotel is within comfortable walking distance from the trendy area of Condado (Ashford Avenue), where you’ll find the beach, and many popular stores, bars and restaurants.
2) Staff — The front desk folks were always warm and friendly, and even upgraded us to a king room with a pool view… for FREE. The valet parking staff took good care of our car, and were helpful in advising us on what to visit in the area.
3) Ammenities — 24-​hour pool and jacuzzi, and a well-​equipped gym. Can’t beat that.
4) Room and lobby décor — Sleek, trendy and elegant. Borderline 5-​star looks.
5) THOSE DESSERTS… Yes, they’re THAT GOOD. Have a slice of bread pudding at the Café Pierre bar, and MAKE SURE you ask the front desk for a cookie. They bake them fresh every night. Goodness gracious, it was THE BEST chocolate chip cookie I have EVER had (apparently, they’re world-​renowned)!!
A few complaints…
1) While we appreciated the room location and free upgrade, the bed was not king size, and was not what I expected. A little too hard for my taste. A pillow top (or different mattress altogether) would have been an acceptable improvement.
2) They made some errors when running our credit card, which resulted in multiple holds and charges amounting to four times the actual cost of the room. This made it difficult to use the card during our trip, plus we had to wait an entire week for the extra charges to drop.
Because the hotel is not «on» the beach, you don’t have to pay «beachfront prices.» But BEWARE… KEEP AN EYE OUT for the «resort fee». It’s an extra 20% on top of your base room rate. If you go through an online agency like
, you can lock in your reservation at a great rate and not have to pay anything until you arrive at the hotel. Also, be prepared to pay $ 15-​$ 20 a day for parking. All of this can be budgeted if you know in advance what you’re getting into. Otherwise, it can feel like a bunch of «hidden costs.»
I would most definitely stay here again, especially if we can get the same low rate. Plus, I honestly don’t think I could ever get enough of those COOKIES!!!

The location of hotel is great but be prepared to pay fees — resort fees, parking, etc. The self park option is $ 15/​night. The valet is $ 20/​night. The resort fee does include towels and umbrella at a beach right down the road — 5 minute walk. The breakfast was nice — oatmeal, fruit, juice, coffee, omelets, french toast, pancakes, scrambled eggs, toast. The breakfast was not included. The service was okay. Some people were super nice, others were not nice at all. They also didn’t clean our room one night, not sure how it got missed, we didn’t have our do not disturb sign out. Overall, I would recommend this hotel, mostly because of the location.