Howard Johnson Inn Plaza De Armas Old San Juan

After staying a week in the mountains, I drove to San Juan the day before my return flight and got a tiny room here at a tiny rate, around 5 p.m. on the day I needed it. It's very clean, cheerful, and dorm-like in a really good way, but not loaded w/ amenities, so if you know you'll spend lots of time in your room, this is not a good choice for you. The location is almost TOO central - I parked in a garage about 5 blocks away. The front desk and maintenance folks are very nice, and the continental breakfast is small, but will get you out the door.

This hotel is excellent for brief stops in Old San Juan, a walker's heaven but a driver's "L." Valet parking would have made it perfect.

We got there with low expectations and were pleasantly surprised. The elevator wasn't working but our room was only up one flight of stairs. The room and bathroom were clean. We got a room without windows. The ones with windows face out onto the street which can get noisy. The location is unbeatable and the square in front of the hotel provides a lot of entertainment since the locals seem to hang out here.

The continental breakfast was a joke though! Burnt coffee and a a tray of pastries.

I would stay at this hotel again.

A great place to stay! I wonderful location right in the middle of Old San Juan. It's pretty difficult to find though-- don't try it driving there night! The rooms were great and clean. I'd spend the extra couple of bucks for a suite so you can have a balcony-- it was nice to have a view outside. The staff was amazing. Helped us plan our whole trip. It is quite loud at night though-- be prepared since you are right in the middle of town. It is also difficult to find street parking if you are renting a car. Also, don't count on breakfast- it's not that great. But there are plenty of cafes around the area. I'd definitely stay there again.

We decided to stay here after reading the reviews on this site. I have to disagree with most of them. The service was extremely slow and unhelpful and the noise level at night was extremely loud. I was glad that our air conditioner/fan worked - we used it to muffle the sound in the halls at night. My advice: pay a little more and stay somewhere else.

As the saying goes : Do not judge a book by its cover". I stayed for 4 days and 3 nights. This hotel offers perfect location with hospitality that is surpassed by none. Friendly and amiable service makes this hotel a quaint a perfect place to reside. I will be there again in April, June and any other time I am planning to go to Puerto Rico.

Having read about the reservations at Plaza De Armas, I followed up at the IHP's web page to see if Travelocity's reservation made it...

didn't. So I cancelled my Travelocity's reservation and made one direct with IHP for one night prior to our cruise on Sat. Mar 13. My wife is a Spanish teacher and always wants to stay in Old San Juan on our visits and Plaza De Armas is one of the few hotels in Old San Juan where you can get a 1 night booking for a reasonable price.

They did manage to screw up the rerservation.. they had one for me, but not the suite with balcony I'd requested. After burning me keys for two different front rooms (with suites) and finding both occupied, I finally got the room on the third try. Each time, though, the room got a little better. We ended up with a large room and a large bath.

Ammenities were minimal but the room did have a mini-fridge. The elevator is tiny so only you and two suitcases are a fit and it is a sloooow one at that.

It is a great Old San Juan location, just two blocks from the famous El Convento hotel and two blocks from our favorite restaurant (La Mallorquina). Like most old city centre hotels the front rooms are street noise heavy so ear plugs are a blessing.

If you need a one night reservation at peak season at a reasonable rate in a great location, don't mind the street noise, and can work through the likely reservation snafuus.. not a bad place to be.

Plaza de Armas is a decent place to stay. The rooms are fairly sized and mostly clean. The floors have tile and the decor is very modest. The bedding and towels are clean. The best thing about this hotel is the location. It sits in the heart of Old San Juan on the corner of City Hall's square. Quite close to the ship port and not far from San Juan airport. Some of the staff is more helpful than others. My TV broke one day and a replacement was sent 2 days later. Management was indifferent and apathetic but still resolved the problem. This place would be good for people on a budget, students, cruise ship overnighters, etc. No pool, no restuarant, bare amenities.

My wife and I just completed a two night stay at this hotel. We loved it. The hotel has a great location within easy walking distance of El Morro, cruise ship piers, restaurants, night life and shopping. Parking is available three blocks away for $2.50 a night (at the waterfront and with gated security). Hotel personnel were friendly and biligual. The hotel is in a renovated colonial spainish building, five stories high constructed around an open interior courtyeard where a modest continental breakfast is served in the morning. Our room was good size, clean, well decorated and in good working order. The only misfire for the hotel was that the small elevator was not working and we had to haul our luggage upstairs.

We stayed here for one night before a cruise. A nice location with clean rooms and I would recommend this hotel if it were not for the rooms having no windows and the air conditioner being too loud to sleep. I'd recommend asking about windows before making reservations.

The hotel was amazingly clean! Very high ceilings, tile floor, wood furniture. Very cute courtyard with open ceiling. The only odd thing was that our room only had one window that was actually frosted glass over the door. It wasn't a problem though. They showed us the front balcony rooms which were utterly fabulous (but were about an extra $30 a night).We paid $95 for a night and compared to the Wyndam's $225+ a night we got a major bargain. We stayed here before our cruise.