Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Overlooking palm-fringed Isla Verde Beach and the sparkling Atlantic, the recently renovated Royal Sonesta San Juan is ideal for business and leisure travelers. At our San Juan hotel, situated on a white-sand beach, we invite you to indulge in seven restaurants and bars offering a variety of cuisines, a lagoon-style swimming pool with a swim-up bar, and over 24,000 square feet of flexible indoor and outdoor meeting and event space. Make yourself at home in your bright, elegant guest room, with views of the ocean or San Juan. And when you set out to explore, historic Old San Juan, the nearby El Yunque National Forest are sure to fill your days in paradise with enchantment. (Please pay attention that our Ocean Breeze restaurant will be closed through end of February due to renovations).
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
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The Royal Sonesta San Juan generally receives positive remarks for its beachfront location and well-maintained cleanliness, with guests particularly enjoying the pool and beach access. The hotel's rooms, while clean and updated, are occasionally criticized for noise and musty odors. Reviews indicate that the amenities, including daily serviced rooms, are appreciated, although some guests report maintenance and equipment issues.
While some visitors find the hotel's atmosphere and music enjoyable, others deem it loud or outdated. Opinions on value and service are divided, with praise for friendly staff contrasted by experiences of slow service and questions about cost justification.
Location
Beachfront
Atmosphere
Mixed
Rooms
Modern
Value
Expensive
Cleanliness
Mixed
Service
Inconsistent
Amenities
Satisfactory
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I’ve been going to PR for over 20 years. This was my first time with the Sonesta – I usually stay Next-door at the Fairmont. This was a last-minute trip so we booked to the Sonesta. Overall, it’s a decent hotel, good location, good beach, –but there are some serious gaps in service and quality control.
Good: 1. Staff is friendly 2. Bartenders or Fast and attentive even when Busy 3. Valet service is excellent and well organized Rooms are respectable- had nice views of the water. Bad: 1. One of our rooms was not cleaned for four days. 2.One of us had to go to the front desk almost every day to ask for coffee, Water, or basic things like toilet paper or conditioner. This was after our rooms were cleaned. 3. This hotel has the worst food in the world (other than breakfast). The quality of the food is SO low. Yuca fries are just fried dough, fish tacos, taste like cardboard no flavor hard to swallow from dryness. Hamburger about on par with a McDonald’s burger, but not as tasty. The only decent thing was the wings, which is what we overdosed on if we had to eat at the hotel. 4 there is NO good coffee in this entire hotel. A tragedy considering we are in Puerto Rico 4. After having to sit around and wait for up to 30 minutes to get breakfast in the morning, we stopped eating breakfast at the hotel. OVERALL Decent hotel- but needs to improve some important aspects of its offerings. Perhaps a field trip next door for management/cooks and housekeeping to get some pointers would be good.
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Date of stay: January 2025Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Rolanivette Ortiz, Guest Services / Front Office at The Royal Sonesta San Juan
Responded Jan 4, 2025
Greetings OmAndalus Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We’re glad to hear that you appreciated our friendly staff, great beach, and valet service. We also apologize for the areas where we fell short, particularly with room cleaning, service items, and food quality. Your feedback is incredibly valuable, and we will work diligently to address these concerns to enhance our guests' experience. We hope to have the opportunity to welcome you again in the future.
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Everything about this resort was perfect from the room to the ocean/pool view and private balcony to the bed and fluffy pillows . The workers were accommodating and very polite and friendly! I gave 4 stars only because I was promised a free upgrade from the site I booked from but Royal Sonesta said they didn’t see that on their end and I wasn’t able to find email at time ! I was there to celebrate my daughter’s Sweet 16 bday so time didn’t allow till last day and by then it didn’t matter ! I can’t see how they could possibly upgrade what was already perfect and pure paradise already but still ! I paid a fortune expecting that extra but it’s not in them but the booking site ! They did however surprise her with a complimentary beautiful piece of chocolate cake with strawberries and blueberries and also delicious chocolate chip cookies in lieu of the upgrade so that was something and for that I’m grateful ! So for any future travelers all I can say is look no further than this resort because it is all that and more ! We absolutely Loved it here ! We are definitely coming back! ❤️
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Date of stay: August 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Jennifer Williams, Owner at The Royal Sonesta San Juan
Responded Aug 20, 2023
Thank you for your amazing review Michelle. We are glad you spend your daughter's birthday with us!
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PROS: The highlight of this hotel is definitely the location, right on the beach. It reminded us of Waikiki beach. The beach and pool area were an oasis in a busy city. We had a beautiful view of the beach from our room on the 15th floor. The other side of the building has a city view.
The pool area was nice -- there were lots of people but the pool was big enough to accomodate us. They were a bit short on lounge chairs. We were only able to find a couple of chairs because when we arrived, it started to rain and people left the pool area. There was a ping pong table, cornhole and large Connect 4 in the pool area.
We ate at the breakfast buffet twice. Overall, pretty nice buffet. There was a continental option ($23) and a full buffet option ($33) which included an omelette bar and breakfast meats. Service was very friendly and helpful. My husband is a gold member so he got a $23 credit for breakfast, although we still need to call to get the credit for one morning because it wasn't taken off.
Really close to airport
CONS: Our room smelled really musty. Opening the sliding glass door didn't help given the humidity outside.
There were not enough places to hang wet bathing suits, etc. There was just one hook. Most hotels we stay in have a retractable clothesline in the shower. It would have been really nice to have one of those because it took a really long time for things to dry in the humdity and there were no chairs on the small balcony to hang things (as we usually do in Hawaii).
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Date of stay: December 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Rolanivette Ortiz, Guest Services / Front Office at The Royal Sonesta San Juan
Responded Jan 2, 2025
Dear K8487BSbriand, Thank you for sharing your feedback. We sincerely apologize for the musty smell in your room and any inconvenience it may have caused. We truly value your comments and hope to have the opportunity to exceed your expectations during your next stay with us.
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Visited San Juan for a long weekend (Wed to Sunday) to celebrate a birthday and our anniversary. The good: the staff (with the exception of 1) are very friendly, helpful, really wonderful. They are the best thing about the hotel. Location can't be beat - beautiful beachfront property, well kept, plenty of beach loungers; drinks available a the beach, etc. The grounds by the pool are lovely and well kept. Some areas might need attention (one of the outdoor restaurants is under construction) but it does not detract from the beauty. Nice pool bar/restaurant with great staff. Lobby area and bar are very nice; on site breakfast restaurant and coffee bar are great, too. There is also a Ruth Chris Steakhouse on site that is superb (we went there for our birthday dinner). The not so good/bad: We had an oceanfront room on a high floor with a lovely view. There was a noticeable musty odor in the room which we chalked up to the room not having been used in a while. It dissipated after a while, but was always there if the room was closed up for a time. Bedding was good, very clean, but the room seemed a bit worn in spots. Carpet was questionable and I have no idea if the drapes have ever been cleaned. The room was fine and more than adequate, but not what one would consider 4 or 5 star. It was more along the lines of a mid-priced good quality chain. Housekeeping does their best; they are very nice as well. We had a concern one day when we returned fairly late in the day and the room had not been refreshed. A visit to the front desk was met with indifference, despite my advising the person that my husband was a diabetic on insulin who needed to lay down and get his medication. I was simply told that the housekeepers have all day until 6 pm to get to the rooms, and they get to them when they get to them. That attitude is unacceptable in a hotel who claims to be a higher quality. I had no trouble understanding that perhaps the housekeeper was late in getting to our room; my issue was his attitude as he simply shrugged his shoulders and told me to give them a specific time for the next day (which I did). Moreover, I provided this feedback on the requested survey at checkout and was advised that it was shared with hotel management, but did not receive a response from the hotel as yet. Not asking for anything - but they should be aware if a staff person is rude or not empathetic to their guests.
As noted earlier - the staff here is exceptional (except one) - that is their strength, in my opinion. It is not a value-priced hotel, so expect prices in line with better quality hotels and resorts. It did not meet our expectations and for the price, we will likely look at other resorts when we return in April.
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Date of stay: November 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:I meant to add this earlier - there was an espresso maker in the room, not a coffee maker. No way...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Rolanivette Ortiz, Guest Services / Front Office at The Royal Sonesta San Juan
Responded Nov 26, 2024
Greetings Twilightny123, Thankyou very much for your valuable feedback. We will address this concerns for improvement. We hope to see you back!
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Our first exposure to the Royal Sonesta was being checked into what seemed like a lovely oceanfront room, but we quickly asked to be moved because the headboard was obviously just recently vomited on and the whole room reeked of vomit. This was compounded by the little curly hairs under the vanity in the bathroom -- obviously they cleaned this room in a hurry.
... the hotel answered in what seemed like a nice way: they upgraded us and moved us, but to one of the poolfront rooms that feels more like a basement than anything else.
This all to say: this hotel is a pretty hotel, it is on the beach, but it is severely understaffed and provides a mediocre product, especially when you consider the price and the gigantic resort fee they attach on (which is ~100 dollars/night):
- The pool, most days we were here, had one woman waiting the pool and the beach. - The coffee bar is the worst coffee I've had in my life, they can't even make milk drinks like lattes drinkable. - The breakfast buffet is 33 dollars a person but it is like a motel continental breakfast with a couple additional things. - The hotel restaurant has pasta dishes that cost more than what I would pay in places I scoff at in NYC (where I live). - The beach is not cleaned and not raked, you can look around and see tons of cigarette butts and trash if you just look down. - The room cleaning service didn't hit our room a couple days until after 5pm. - The hotel's interior is built as-if it's just meant for corporate events: it is empty and soul sucking and depressing. - The food quality is very low quality. The Ruth's Chris next door is mediocre even for a Ruth's Chris: we ate there the first night because we got in late and wanted to crash, and my steak had no color, it was a grey soupy piece of mediocre meat. - A large portion of the hotel's spaces were filled up with corporate events while we were here, including the indoors path to get to our rooms near the pool. - A bunch of the spaces are still rundown: the pool is very nice but one of its bars is being constructed on now with a lot of noise during the day, and the gym looks like it was constructed and furnished with equipment in the early 90s.
I should've known something was up, as the hotel emailed me asking me to "bid" on room upgrades in the days approaching our stay. This whole place is trying desperately to separate you from as much of your cash as it can as quickly as they can. The staff here is obviously overworked and trying their best while a management that is obviously cheap and incapable pushes them along instead of hiring more people.
There are so many great places to travel to and stay at. I'd put the Sonesta at almost the bottom of the list in terms of value. It is not a Ritz, it is not even a Westin on the beach, it is something else. The worst part is, this spot could be wonderful with a bit of work, but unfortunately it blends well with decaying and expensive resorts in Isla Verde and it seems unlikely they'll improve anything.
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Date of stay: January 2025
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Rolanivette Ortiz, Guest Services / Front Office at The Royal Sonesta San Juan
Responded 2 days ago
Greetings 701colep, Thank you for sharing your feedback. We sincerely apologize for the issues you encountered during your stay. Your experience does not reflect the high standards we strive to maintain, and we regret that we fell short in several areas. Please be assured that your comments have been shared with the appropriate teams to address the concerns you raised. We truly appreciate your feedback and hope you will consider giving us another opportunity in the future.
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At $1770 plus parking for 3 nights (Sun-Wed in January), I do not think it was worth it. The bathroom hardware was rusted and or peeling and the shampoo/conditioner dispensers were a bit moldy. There was no microwave in the room and we had to ask for a working fridge because the one there was not working. Still, the room was pretty decent otherwise, it was serviced daily, two bottles of water were refreshed daily, and the pool towels were always available. The staff was very nice. I did not use the pool but beach access was ok, the chairs were often left negligently, not straightened between guest usage and there was no night access to the sand. The restaurant was fantastic. It may be better for business and group events.
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Date of stay: January 2024
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Arnold Rivera, Guest Services / Front Office at The Royal Sonesta San Juan
Responded Feb 10, 2024
Greetings, Thank you for taking your time to share your feedback with us.
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Totally enjoyed my stayed at this Hotel a 10000% The facilities are clean, service is the best!!! From the cleaning people to front desk, everyone is just willing to help and served the guest as royalties. Rooms are spacious - we stayed at the club guest house and each has a balcony facing the pool area… the rooms came equipped with ur own iron, hair dryer, bath robes and nice little sleepers😍. The beach is walking distance, right across the pool area. Guest can get their towels by the pool and umbrellas / chairs were never an issue. The check-in was quick and efficient. We arrived at 1PM, no waits no lines and they gave us our room right away by the Club Guest house section. We reserved the hotel thru AMEX and the stay came with daily breakfast, complementary $100 cash towards drinks or any usage of the Hotel facilities and daily complimentary Happy Hours: 1drink per guest and 2 appetizers. Breakfast has everything you need and hot station for eggs… pool and bar food were delicious (pool bar has snacks) … hotel is currently remodeling their beach bar but they have small bar currently serving guest while at the beach. Overall, amazing hotel
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Date of stay: November 2024Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Rolanivette Ortiz, Guest Services / Front Office at The Royal Sonesta San Juan
Responded Nov 25, 2024
Good afternoon JenZ978, We are overjoyed to know you had a good time with us, making our hotel The Royal Sonesta San Juan part of your most precious memories. We hope to have you back soon! Thankyou!
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Planned a girls trip to the island to celebrate my daughters 21st birthday. The hotel has a great location! The lobby and pool areas are well manicured and finally listening to some salsa, merengue music in the pool and lobby area was refreshing! Our rooms were standard and clean, but I had a few issues. A tip charge was put on my bill for more than the food amount. Nestor from concierge had it removed immediately. The black out curtain in my room remained closed for most of my stay as I faced the front of the hotel and someone forgot to put the 2nd set of sheet curtains up. I also was left without towels 2 days in a row. Again, one of the front desk assistants was nice enough to go above and beyond find me some. All in all the hotel is a good place to stay! Oh one more thing! It would be nice to have some inhouse night entertainment.
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Date of stay: October 2024Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Check your bill daily for tips
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Salvador Colon, Guest Services / Front Office at The Royal Sonesta San Juan
Responded Oct 9, 2024
Thank you for your feedback!
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We had a great time and would certainly return. The hotel was just the right size for us and our room was quiet and extremely clean. There were chairs around the pool, although at certain periods of the day they were more difficult to access a seat. We did, however, discover that the chairs on the beach were better for us because of the ocean breeze and the two kind gentlemen who brought out chairs if none were available and put up umbrellas for any chairs. There was, periodically, someone to take orders. The food was very good and the drinks as well. We ate many of our meals at the hotel because of the quality. Our favorite part of the experience was the excellent workers. As we sat out each evening at Karaya for drinks and tapas, Joel was our terrific server, polite, always attentive, and delightful. At breakfast in the Aleli Restaurant, our server was often Adrianna (sp.?) who was amazing with her memory, her humor, her speed, and her ability to chase birds away. Hilton was the gentleman who kept our room spotless, treated us to a variety of towel animals, greeted us in the hall with kind words each day. There were many other excellent workers, but these three were ones we met with on a daily basis. A tiny suggestion for the hotel is to give guests a little information about the restaurant times, how to access towels (The towel machine is down the stairs, to the right of a little booth, and to open the towel machine, one must use the yellow wristband.).
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Date of stay: December 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Rolanivette Ortiz, Guest Services / Front Office at The Royal Sonesta San Juan
Responded Dec 16, 2024
Thank you so much for your thoughtful and detailed review! We're thrilled to hear that you had such a great time with us and that our hotel provided the perfect setting for your stay. It's wonderful to know that your room was quiet and spotless, and that you enjoyed both the pool area and the beach with the added comfort of our attentive staff. We hope to see you soon!
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The family and I (6) of us took a Royal Caribbean cruise which one of the stops was Puerto Rico on July 24th. We planned to spend the day at the Royal Sonesta San Juan before getting back on the ship. What a fantastic idea! We took a taxi from the cruise port to the hotel which was about 20 minutes. Upon our arrival from the moment you arrived walk in to the lobby you feel relaxed and calm. The lobby was bright, clean, and ample. The front desk staff is very friendly and welcoming. I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Chagrin Olivo, Director of Sales and Marketing who welcomed me and my family with such grace. She made us feel right and home. Chagrin and her team directed us to the pool area and grounds. We had cabana number 2 which was in a great location to the pool. The cabana was clean, lounge chairs with towels and water and ice. Diego was our server and he was fantastic. The pool and swim up bar were excellent. The family enjoyed the pool and then we headed out to the beach since it’s within walking steps. The beach was clean, beach chairs and umbrellas available. My kids enjoyed the big waves. Later in the day we took advantage and enjoyed lunch on the property at their restaurant called “Ocean Breeze” which has seating on an upper deck or lower deck facing the beach. The food and service was outstanding. You can see my pictures and menu so you get an idea. We returned back to our cabana and relaxed for a while as my wife and mother inlaw enjoyed a signature Pina Colada which was amazing. (Better than the ones on the cruise ship lol.) I want to thank Chagrin and her team for a wonderful day and experience at the Royal Sonesta San Juan. I highly recommend staying here.
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Date of stay: July 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Arnold Rivera, Guest Services / Front Office at The Royal Sonesta San Juan
Responded Aug 5, 2024
Greetings Chris, We're so happy to hear you had a wonderful and relaxing day at our facilities in your short stop in San Juan. We hope to see you back soon maybe for longer period of time.
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Hi!
It is a very walkable location with many restaurants within a 7 minute walk. It’s a very safe area. It’s also very close to old San Juan and you can take a cheap Uber there. For day trips we rented a car, one day we went to the rio Camuy cave park which is 1.5 hours drive away. It’s amazing. It is a large cavern over the third longest underground river in the world. There are guided tours every hour which last about 2 hours. Another day we drive to Fajardo for the bioluminescent bay. We didn’t do the kayak, instead we did the bio bay boat tour which was more relaxing. We did the kayak years ago and it was hard work. We also did the two forts in San Juan one day and walked around. Another day we did an el yunque tour but that day we didn’t drive, the tour picked us up at the hotel.
There are more places to choose from in the Isla Verde area.
PRICE RANGE
C$607 - C$931 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
intercontinental san juan hotel isla verde, intercontinental san juan resort and casino
FORMERLY KNOWN AS
InterContinental San Juan
LOCATION
CaribbeanPuerto RicoCarolinaIsla Verde
NUMBER OF ROOMS
398
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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The Royal Sonesta San Juan - UPDATED 2025 Prices, Reviews & Photos
Frequently Asked Questions about The Royal Sonesta San Juan
Which popular attractions are close to The Royal Sonesta San Juan?
Nearby attractions include Oasis Casino at Embassy Suites San Juan (0.4 km), Club Brava (0.2 km), and Balneario Isla Verde (Playa el Alambique) (0.3 km).
Are there any historical sites close to The Royal Sonesta San Juan?
Many travellers enjoy visiting La Placita de Santurce (5.4 km), Fortín de San Jerónimo del Boquerón (7.1 km), and La Plaza Del Mercado Santurce (5.4 km).