I have an overnight layover in San Juan on the way to Bonaire. We don't arrive until 10pm and we don't fly out until the next evening flight. We won't be staying in the room much, except to sleep, as we plan on going to Old San Juan during the day before we leave. And we don't want to spend too much money on a room. Any suggestions for hotels? What have others done? Thanks!

American Airlines once put us up in the Airport Best Western when they stranded us in San Juan for a day. Not sure if I would recommend it, but I can give you the pros and cons. Pros: clean, free use of computers in the business center for internet access, convenient location right at the airport. Cons: no restaurant, beach, pool, or bar; the rooms are about as small as they could be and still fit a bed in them. We've also spent a few hours at the Courtyard by Marriott in Isla Verde which is about 10 minutes away from the airport by taxi and has a beautiful beach, pool, restaurants and casino. Hope this helps.

HD, check out the links to hotels on this thread.
San Juan Airport Tips

Most of the hotels in the areas where you want to stay (i.e. SAFE) are not cheap. They start at $150.00 per night. I would stay in Isla Verde or Old San Juan. Howard Johnson's in Isla Verde just got a face lift I believe, and might be on the cheaper end of the scale, but it's right at the freeway exit, so noise may be a factor.

We like the Hampton Inn in Isla Verde. Clean, pool, pool bar with GREAT burgers. They also have a complimentary breakfast (continental, fruit, ceral, yogurt, toasts, breads, etc.)

(Message edited by cyndelee on December 11, 2006)

Other comment on the Airport Best Western is that it is COLD! The maids set the rooms to about 18 degrees (64 Fahrenheit). Even when you turn the AC off, the room won't warm up enough to be comfortable because the rooms next to it are 18, too.

I wound up taking a hot shower and letting the hot water run for a while to get the room comfortable, and then sleeping under a pile of blankets.

Kevin, not fun (although for me, I'd be in heaven with a temp set at that...lol). Do you hear the planes in the room or is it sound proof and quiet?

Totally off topic, but do the rooms at GE have kitchens, microwaves, coffee makers?

Kevin, good to know, I've considered taking a room for a long nap befoer, but not if it's gonna be a fridge!

You must be real popular with hotel owners on Bonaire, Cyn. I know that all of us get pretty grumpy dealing with guests that treat their rooms as wine cellars because the energy costs eat so heavily into profit margins. My own personal quarters stay chilled to a frigid 28 degrees (82 F) year round.

I only offer hotel rooms, not apartments. They have a small fridge, but no cooking facilities.

Forgot. Yes, the rooms at the San Juan airport are well sound-proofed. Plane noise isn't a problem at all.

Kevin, I am good when on Bonaire. I only run the AC when I'm in the room I am "heat intolerant" and going through menopause...so right now I am miserable unless I can cool off once in a while Nice thing is that we have a low heating bill at home in the winter. My husband and stepson are always fighting with me over the control. I like it at 68F or below in the winter, they'd prefer it to be 75F or above...lol!

Thanks everyone! We booked at the Best Western for convenience, so it looks like that will work out ok, except we may end up an ice cube

The rooms at the BW are best suited for one as they are doll house small if you have lots of luggage ect. Cold is an understatement. Soundproof for sure. The wifi did not work so I had to borrow a LAN cable.

Their Wi-Fi is a bit erratic. They are built out of concrete and steel, which tends to interfere. What they tried to do was install a router per floor and wing. Instead of setting it up so that it looks like one homogenous network with multiple access points, they put a different network id on each one. Your computer will see about 6 different wireless networks and keep hopping back and forth because of signal fade.

My husband I recently had an overnight in San Juan. We got in about 9pm and did not fly to Bonaire until 6pm the following day. We stayed at the Best WEstern at the Airport. While it was not the most scenic hotel I have ever been to it served our purpose just fine. We took a taxi into Old San Juan and toured around all day until our flight. The hotel kept out bags for us and I was very pleased with the staff. Just remember you do not need a pool etc... if you plan on sight seeing during the day anyway. Another plus was that we had a long day of travel so when we got the airport we did not need to get a taxi and find our hotel... it was right there!