Villa Herencia

[Pina Colada Princess]

Debating between booking on hotels.com or direct with the hotel. Any thoughts?

 

Hotels.com shows a king room for the same rate as the hotel is showing a queen room. Is that correct?

 

Cancellation policy the same?

 

Thanks in advance!

[Cruisin KLS]

Debating between booking on hotels.com or direct with the hotel. Any thoughts?

 

Hotels.com shows a king room for the same rate as the hotel is showing a queen room. Is that correct?

 

Cancellation policy the same?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

We took a chance and booked with booking.com and the price for our king room was the same as a queen. We did not get to choose our room but were pleasantly surprised when we checked in and got room H8 upstairs. There are only 2 rooms upstairs and the other is the suite. I would say you can't go wrong with hotels.com. Not sure if the cancellation policy is the same. Booking.com has a 30 day cancellation policy.

[LookingForward2]

Debating between booking on hotels.com or direct with the hotel. Any thoughts?

 

We booked through hotels.com because we often book through them and they have a rewards program. we also use ebates for online purchasing and they participate in that. win-win for us!

our friends booked directly through the hotel, so we will see when we arrive (on april 23) if it made any difference.

[girlscruise2011]

Debating between booking on hotels.com or direct with the hotel. Any thoughts?

 

Hotels.com shows a king room for the same rate as the hotel is showing a queen room. Is that correct?

 

Cancellation policy the same?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Last year when I was looking for a precruise hotel in South Beach I found a great rate on Hotwire. I contacted the hotel directly and they price matched the rate and gave me the larger bed (King vs double).

 

Have you tried contacting the hotel directly and see if they will match the site? Just a thought. It may work to your advantage. Good Luck.

[Pina Colada Princess]

Thanks all!

 

I ended up booking through hotels.com because they had a 10% off coupon code, so it worked out to just under $150 for the king, including taxes.

 

Their cancellation policy was also a little more generous than with the hotel, as the website allows for cancellations of this booking up to 2 weeks before (rather than 30 days with the hotel directly).

 

Looking forward to our stay in November!

[LookingForward2]

cruisin' kls - I keep forgetting to say thank you for the pictures! I am almost as excited about our stay in OSJ and I am our cruise!

 

I think I might call them to see what room I've been assigned - since I booked with hotels.com.

[Cruisin KLS]

cruisin' kls - I keep forgetting to say thank you for the pictures! I am almost as excited about our stay in OSJ and I am our cruise!

 

I think I might call them to see what room I've been assigned - since I booked with hotels.com.

 

You are very welcome! Seems that the word is out and Villa Herencia is mostly booked for our precruise next January. Yesterday we ended up booking with their sister property Hotel Casablanca. It is located on Fortaleza Street and was taken over recently by the same people that own Villa Herencia. I hope that our stay there is just as wonderful.

 

-Kristi

[Virtopia]

I'm so glad I found this thread! I just booked this hotel for two nights before my Jewel cruise and I'm extremely excited to stay here. I'm assuming I'll be on the ground floor and I'm glad to hear about the extra security as I will be traveling by myself.

 

For anyone who has stayed there, do you know how far it is to walk to the forts from here? I plan to do that on my full day in San Juan.

[Cruisin KLS]

I'm so glad I found this thread! I just booked this hotel for two nights before my Jewel cruise and I'm extremely excited to stay here. I'm assuming I'll be on the ground floor and I'm glad to hear about the extra security as I will be traveling by myself.

 

For anyone who has stayed there, do you know how far it is to walk to the forts from here? I plan to do that on my full day in San Juan.

 

El Morro is about a 5 minute walk. The other fort, the name is escaping me, is about 15-20 minutes. Enjoy your stay at Villa Herencia!

[Virtopia]

El Morro is about a 5 minute walk. The other fort' date=' the name is escaping me, is about 15-20 minutes. Enjoy your stay at Villa Herencia![/quote']

 

Thank you so much!!! :D I have awhile to wait, but I'm definitely looking forward to this unique hotel experience.

[lbsunsets1]

I am new to cruise critic and just want to thank everyone for all the great info I have received. I also just booked Villa Herencia H6 for our one night pre-cruise in December. I am so excited!:)

[rdt10]

I booked the upstairs suit today for our pre-cruise stay next January. I called and asked about the differences in rooms. They said the upstairs suite (H9) and H5 on the main floor are the only rooms with a sitting area. I stay up later than my wife so the separate bedroom works better for us. They did require a 50% deposit but it's fully refundable if cancel more than 30 days ahead. The penalty for less than 30 days is $100. Never stayed here before so I hope all of the positive comments come true for us.

[sippican]

I reserved H5 purely by chance, so we'll see about that room pretty soon. It will be great if it has a bit of a sitting area.

[Drome]

Ok so I have the upstairs King room booked for July. Can't wait but I'm hoping those that have stayed there before might be able to answer a few questions. Is there any kind of bar or such. From the looks of the upstairs terrace it would be great to sit up there with a drink and soak in the sun, not to mention sitting up there at night listening to the coqui and sipping on a nice drink. I'll stop now before I make myself look like too much of an alcoholic.

[Cruisin KLS]

Ok so I have the upstairs King room booked for July. Can't wait but I'm hoping those that have stayed there before might be able to answer a few questions. Is there any kind of bar or such. From the looks of the upstairs terrace it would be great to sit up there with a drink and soak in the sun, not to mention sitting up there at night listening to the coqui and sipping on a nice drink. I'll stop now before I make myself look like too much of an alcoholic.

 

There is a self serve "bar" downstairs in the lobby. We did not use it as we were not really in the hotel that much. I am not sure what they had. It is on the honor system. Just let them know how many drinks you had when you check out. Kind of unheard of these days.

 

-Kristi

[LookingForward2]

Just returned from our precruise stay here. It was wonderful!! Exactly how it looks in all the pictures. I was so pleased to be staying there I almost didn't want to get on the cruise. Such nice people working there and such a quaint atmosphere. Everyone staying there was on our cruise so that was fun to chat.

[sippican]

Just returned today from our cruise. Stayed one night precruise. Will write a longer review on the Tripadvisor site. Hotel is charming and very rustic. Employees are friendly and pleasant. Location is terrific. Rooms are tiny no storage spaces. H5 is a king with sofa. We were disappointed in the condition, dirt in every corner and crevice around wall base, needs a good scrubbing, old is no excuse for lack of cleanliness. Our shower was missing tiles on the floor. Furniture on rooftop terrace is worn and broken. We were fairly early to breakfast and had to request tea, cups and plates.They ran out of yogurt and juice.

Although there are positives, we see no comparison at all with El Convento.

[Cruisin KLS]

Just returned today from our cruise. Stayed one night precruise. Will write a longer review on the Tripadvisor site. Hotel is charming and very rustic. Employees are friendly and pleasant. Location is terrific. Rooms are tiny no storage spaces. H5 is a king with sofa. We were disappointed in the condition, dirt in every corner and crevice around wall base, needs a good scrubbing, old is no excuse for lack of cleanliness. Our shower was missing tiles on the floor. Furniture on rooftop terrace is worn and broken. We were fairly early to breakfast and had to request tea, cups and plates.They ran out of yogurt and juice.

Although there are positives, we see no comparison at all with El Convento.

 

According to tripadvisor, El Convento is a four and a half star hotel. Villa Herencia is a three star B&B, based on review ratings. Like comparing apples and oranges.

[sippican]

According to tripadvisor' date=' El Convento is a four and a half star hotel. Villa Herencia is a three star B&B, based on review ratings. Like comparing apples and oranges.[/quote']

 

I agree completely.

I mentioned El Convento because posters have made reference that one might expect a similar experience for a better price at Villa Herencia.

[echogirl]

Nice place to stay on OSJ. Safe and close to shopping and great restaurants. Helped us make good chooses as where to eat. Stayed April 2012

[Cruisin KLS]

I agree completely.

I mentioned El Convento because posters have made reference that one might expect a similar experience for a better price at Villa Herencia.

 

I definitely think that our room was worth what we paid for it. Wish I could afford El Convento some day. It sounds heavenly!

[sippican]

According to tripadvisor' date=' El Convento is a four and a half star hotel. Villa Herencia is a three star B&B, based on review ratings. Like comparing apples and oranges.[/quote']

 

Based on Tripadvisor member reviews, Villa Herencia receives 4 and a half circles in the category of small hotel/BB, El Convento receives the same 4 and a half circles in the hotel category. Not sure where they calculate their "star" ratings from. I do not hold a property to different standards due to their size, especially when I consider the condition of rooms and cleanliness, but may take it into consideration for amenities provided.

 

I definitely think that our room was worth what we paid for it. Wish I could afford El Convento some day. It sounds heavenly!

 

We only paid a base rate of $165 per night at EC (for Sunday and Monday) compared to the base rate of $150 for the king at VH (weekend night). I'm sure the days impacted the rates.

[LookingForward2]

sippican - I'm sorry to hear you didn't have a great experience.

Our room was the first one on the left past the office.

It was pretty big, with one step up to the bathroom, which was also large (the shower was so big there were two shower heads) Our room was much larger than our friends who traveled with us.

I've stayed at El Convento before and agree it is nicer, but I loved the older charm of VH and the small quaint feel of it. In fact, all the rooms were occupied by people on our cruise and we became friends before we even boarded.

[Xcitdcruiser]

I just want to note that I'm REALLY looking forward to staying at VH. I've modified my booking & the lady made some notes that it will be our honeymoon - she said that if there is availability we will be upgraded for free.

Not only that, but i mentioned that i'm unable to eat gluten her resposne waas to call 1 week before & they will arragne freshly made gluten free bread for me. Score.

AND i asked whether we would be able to leave our lugagge at VH if we decide to head over to Culebra. Her response ? No problem!

 

5 stars so far.

[sippican]

sippican - I'm sorry to hear you didn't have a great experience.

Our room was the first one on the left past the office.

It was pretty big, with one step up to the bathroom, which was also large (the shower was so big there were two shower heads) Our room was much larger than our friends who traveled with us.

I've stayed at El Convento before and agree it is nicer, but I loved the older charm of VH and the small quaint feel of it. In fact, all the rooms were occupied by people on our cruise and we became friends before we even boarded.

 

H5 is the last room on the left, by the stairs and fountain. The bathroom was very small. We used one sink to wash, and the other to hold our toiletries.. Loved the gorgeous mirror and chandelier.

 

I just want to note that I'm REALLY looking forward to staying at VH. I've modified my booking & the lady made some notes that it will be our honeymoon - she said that if there is availability we will be upgraded for free.

Not only that, but i mentioned that i'm unable to eat gluten her resposne waas to call 1 week before & they will arragne freshly made gluten free bread for me. Score.

AND i asked whether we would be able to leave our lugagge at VH if we decide to head over to Culebra. Her response ? No problem!

 

5 stars so far.

 

I'm sure you will have a wonderful honeymoon. Old San Juan is lovely. Perhaps you'll get one of the upstairs roms. They seem to upgrade frequently to those if available. We saw many leaving their luggage in the office for holding when they were out touring.