San Juan, Puerto Rico
Old San Juan, Puerto Rico April 2015
We had been wanting to go back to Puerto Rico since we were last there in 2011. We were also getting itchy to travel again and get away to warmer weather. It was already a cold wet winter when we made the decision to go down for a week, and stay in Old Town San Juan in a condo if we could find one at a reasonable price. We knew we had a trip coming up in May to attend the Ghadani wedding in Pennsylvania. Well, why couldn’t we do both? After an internet search and reading reviews on www.tripadvisor.com, we settled on Condominio La Puntilla which over looked the cruise ship and ferry boat harbor in Old Town. We wanted to go in late March or early April, but that was still at Spring Break prices and crowds. So we settled on a mid-week April, Tuesday to Tuesday after the 15th. For under $600 for seven nights, we simply could not pass it up. Below is my review posted on Trip Advisor.
We really enjoyed ourselves and learned a lot of history and walked just about every street in Old Town. We can highly recommend this condo IF Louis has the hot water issue fixed and has replaced the bed with a quality conventional queen sized. We do recommend the Bacardi Distillery tour, the National Capitol, the Rain Forest, and Arecibo Observatory. Note my review comments about car rental and driving in PR. Photographically, I have only one that is of really good quality, but a lot of nice snap shots for you to review. Seeing and photographing the rare green PR Parrot was a nice bonus. There are so very many beautiful places there and we will try and go back and stay on the Southern Coast of the Island for a week some day. Maybe the traffic will be better there.
Two weeks to the day after returning home, we left for Pennsylvania on May 9th with many stops before the wedding parties began on the 21st. And, oh, did I mention, we flew Southwest Air out of Chicago, so we could get “free” tickets with our air-miles without a plan change. We drove up to Chicago, and we had a fantastic visit with our friend Pam Nelson who was a wonderful host and a real joy to be with. We toured the Chicago Botanic Gardens before we went to PR and the Chicago Art Institute after returning. In all, we were with Pam a week and in PR a week. I’ll have our 43 day New England Trip posted in a few weeks. I have over a thousand wedding pictures to sort through and post for the anxiously awaiting bride and groom, their parents and the 400 guests.
TRIP ADVISOR REVIEW on Condo La Puntilla
We want so very much to give this Condo rental an over-all “excellent” rating as it has so many really good quality features going for it. The location, the price, the view, the price, the high quality of most of the furnishings, the price, the high quality kitchen ware and stock, the cleanliness, and did I mention the price? Only $580 for a 7 night stay (during the “off” season). We were there in April a week after the “spring Break” crowd went home.
This was our third trip to San Juan. The other two were to get on the big cruise ships. We always go a day or two early when we cruise, so we had seen a good bit of “old Town” and had been to the Rain Forest preserve and the luminescent bay, but we have always wanted to spend a week to really see the area. We searched for Condo rentals on Trip Advisor and found this one. The price seemed unbelievable. We were also concerned that this condo was not part of Trip Advisors payment guaranty program and we had to pay in full with a refundable $100 cleaning deposit well in advance. What if it was not as advertised? What if we got there and no one knew who we were? My concerns were a good bit relieved when we learned that the money went to New York City. Since I worked with three major law firms in NYC the years before I retired and had made several good friends with the partners, I knew I could get more than a pound of flesh if things went badly.
I must say, working with Olivia Melendez on the payments was great and we received our full $100 deposit back. Her father, Luis Alfonso Melendez, was waiting for us when we arrived at the apartment. He was like an old friend: very helpful, gave us tips on places to visit, and made recommendations for car rental companies. We really wanted to hire him as our guide and he almost agreed to take us around.
The Condo is on the fourth floor of the orange building next to the big – really big – public parking lot on the road that dead-ends into the U.S. Coast Guard Station. VERY easy to find. It over-looks the cruise ship and ferry boat harbor, and is one block away from the Promenade Street that ends at the Paseo de la Princesa Fountain. This is the most conveniently located fully furnished reasonably priced condo rental in all of Old San Juan. A five minute walk takes you to the street that is “restaurant row” with many very good places to eat. (On Calle Recinto Sur) A five minute walk to board your ship or ferry boat. A five minute walk to street vendors, trolley stop (free) and so many other neat places. A ten minute walk up hill (faster if you are younger) to the Super Max grocery store. (Corner of Cale Cruz and Calle San Francisco across from Plaza de Armas) (be sure and buy some coffee there – hint: it’s behind locked glass)
The place is very secure. Across the street is the U.S. Custom House which is well lit and with security cameras. Down the street is the U.S. Coast Guard Station. The property is totally fenced in with a locked security gate, and there is another iron security gate to gain entrance to the stair well. Day or night, we never felt insecure in any way.
But, alas, there are several BIG issues and for many, deal breakers.
1. The most baffling deal breaker is the bed. It is a double bed. (We knew that) It is an old time double (two two inch thick) cotton tic and Lord only knows what other fiber mattress. No box springs. No inner springs. Just a lumpy hard old mattress on wooden slats. We would not have made it a second night but for finding a double bed six inch thick air mattress with electric pump in the hall closet. It fit nicely on top of the cotton tic mattress. There is no excuse what so ever to have such an unsleepable poor quality small double bed. The bedroom is large enough for a Queen – a King would fit but that would be tight.
2. For our stay, there was NO HOT WATER. Next to the bed, this was a very disappointing and fixable issue that Luis refused to fix. We told him the next morning and he sent his maintenance guy over who told Luis that there was hot water. End of story as far as Luis was concerned. VERY DISAPPOINTING. After years in a laboratory I can tell you within 3 degrees what the water temperature is between 34 and 115….. besides, I travel with a thermometer. The water was never above 95 degrees and most times it was 85 degrees during our stay no matter how long you let it run. No hot showers in this apartment. Even when I found a double circuit breaker with one leg tripped, and reset it did we get water above 95 degrees. This is totally unacceptable. It should be at least 140 degrees for proper dish washing/rinsing (no dishwasher) and proper bathing temperatures. (Most folks shower between 104 to 108 degrees) .
3. There is only one A/C unit and thankfully, it is in the bedroom. If you are looking for a place that is cool in all rooms, this is not the place. We prefer a cold bedroom, so keeping the bedroom door closed 24/7 and the unit set on 66 degrees did deliver for us good sleeping temperatures. On the plus side here, open (fully open – not just the shutters) the balcony door and dining area window, and you get a constant breeze. Mind you, that breeze is humid and 85 degrees in the day, and humid and 75 degrees some time after mid-night to about 9:00 AM.
4. As mentioned, this is on the fourth floor. There is NO LIFT/Elevator. Three landings and 44 steps. The night lights are on motion detectors and some times, they did not come on right away making night time stair climbing a bit dicey. The light outside our top floor doorway never came on. For the mobility impaired and a family with infants, this climb would be a real challenge.
Bottom line, would we stay here again? You bet, but only if the bed is replaced with one we could actually sleep on and if there is assurance of actually hot water.
Travel tips:
1. RENTAL CARS. If you rent a car and read the car rental company reviews, you probably will not want to rent a car! The wonderful laid back Puerto Ricans become demons on the road. They tail gate regardless of your speed, never signal lane changes, and, once you leave the airport, there are no English signs. You much know Spanish, or, bring your GPS with you loaded with the PR maps in your native language. You also MUST bring with you your car insurance Dec Page that shows what all your coverage limits are. Most States’ insurance cards you keep in your wallet or glove box do not show your limits. Unless you can prove you have $100,000/$300,000 bodily injury liability limits you will have to buy the car rental companies expensive liability insurance. Also, be aware, that the Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) which I strongly recommend, does NOT always mean that you are buying the car rental company’s collision insurance. It may only mean you still have to have your own insurance company pay for the collision damages, but the car rental company will waive your deductible. Finally, when they send you out to inspect the rental, take your camera and take detailed pictures of every inch of the vehicle, and then write on the rental agreement “photographs taken at time of delivery ( date and time of day) will determine all prior damage”. DO THIS. This is very important. Read those on-line reviews if you want to see just how important this tip is.
2. DO NOT PARK your car on the streets anywhere in Old Town, San Juan. As mentioned, this apartment is next to a very big public car lot. It is patrolled and well lit at night. For only $5/day or $25/week or $50/month, you will have a much safer place to park. You won’t spend much time walking around Old Town looking at the jammed packed streets to figure the wisdom of this one out. Especially, when you notice all the dented door, fenders, and quarter panels.
3. TAKE THE TROLLY. There are two Trollies that circulate through Old Town. One is green and looks like an old time trolley car – AVOID IT! It circulates only in the interior heart of old town and is used by the locals. Both are free. The Green Trolley is air-conditioned, but once you get 100 locals with a few tourist on board, you will not notice the A/C and you may not be able to get off at your preferred stop. Take the one that looks like a tram. It is open air and covers the perimeter of Old Town. It is much faster between points and will get you with in three blocks of anywhere it does not actually stop at. All of the trolley stops are well marked, and maps of Old Town showing all the attractions and Trolley lines are readily available.
4. There is a City Bus transit system, but there is only one stop at the eastern edge of Old Town. I’m sure it has a schedule and it will take you all over San Juan, In the 7 days we were there, we only saw it once and never saw any one waiting at the covered kiosk stop points.
5. Take the Ferry Boat ride to visit the Bacardi Distillery. The boat ride is only 50 cents each way, a quarter if you are a “senior”, and the taxi ride is $3 per person to the Distillery. Even if alcohol never passed your lips, this is a well worth taking tour. You will learn a lot about the history of Cuba and Puerto Rico.