Hotel Review: Embassy Suites San Juan Hotel & Casino
I had a layover which required an overnight in Puerto Rico. Looking at the hotel options a few weeks before, a lot of the hotels in the area were booked. I ended up reserving the Embassy Suites San Juan, which was not a great redemption value at 40,000 HHonors points but the hotel was half a mile from SJU airport. I figured it would make for an easy early morning departure.
When I arrived at the airport I took a cab to the hotel for $12, but I noted the hotel provides a shuttle for 0.75 cents as well. The lobby was nice, and there was a large fish tank on one wall.
There was a long line for check-in, and I saw lot of fancy dresses and tuxes in the lobby.
As it turned out, it was high school senior prom weekend in the city which may have been why the other hotels in the area were full.
Finally, it was my turn at reception. The hotel has rooms situated in a a square with an atrium in the middle, so there are really no corner rooms. I was given room 714, which was in the middle of a block, but hopefully quiet.
Since all of the rooms are suites, the layout for my king room was pretty standard. Walking in the door, there was a sitting room.
There was a desk with chairs, refrigerator, and as a HHonors Gold member I got two free bottles of water.
A wet bar came with a coffee maker and a choice of a couple of teas and instant coffee.
Through the door was the bedroom. The bed was on the hard side but the room was clean.
I could see the freeway from the room, but there wasn’t any noise from outside. Because the bedroom was set back from the atrium there wasn’t any noise from down below either.
The bathroom was clean.
The amenities were Crabtree & Evelyn Avocado, Olive, & Basil.
The sink faucet was interesting, as the top part that usually covers the spout didn’t exist.
After settling in, I took a look at the room service menu. There was an Outback Steakhouse inside the hotel, and they offered room service. I called down and ordered some milkshakes, but due to the senior prom they were unable to deliver to the room. Even after I went down to pick them up, the wait was long so I walked around in the adjacent casino for a bit. Fancy dresses were interspersed with bathing suits on those who had just come from the pool. Finally, the shakes were ready. In small plastic cups with ice cubes they were not as I had expected, but I was glad to retreat back to the room since it was pretty busy downstairs.
Breakfast was included the next morning, but because I had an early departure to the airport I skipped the meal. Overall, even though this isn’t a hotel I would choose for a destination, it worked quite nicely as a stopover hotel.
Embassy Suites San Juan – Hotel & Casino
Hilton HHonors Category 6. 40,000 Hilton HHonors points for a free night.
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