Booking the Ritz Carlton in San Juan PR

stlcole

Level 2 Member
I am not that familiar with the best way to pay for two nights at the Ritz Carlton, San Juan on Mar 19 + Mar 20. I have about 40,000 Marriot Miles, I have 40,000 Diners Club rewards that I can transfer. I don't know what other currencies help. Maybe just some cheap gift cards is the best I can hope for. Any pointers to help? Thanks
 

Josh F

Level 2 Member
Charity Forum Mod
I am not that familiar with the best way to pay for two nights at the Ritz Carlton, San Juan on Mar 19 + Mar 20. I have about 40,000 Marriot Miles, I have 40,000 Diners Club rewards that I can transfer. I don't know what other currencies help. Maybe just some cheap gift cards is the best I can hope for. Any pointers to help? Thanks
I assume you mean Marriott Points. I took a quick look at marriott.com and see that the going rate is 60K Marriott Points per night (max occupancy 3) for a City View, Guest Room, 1 King, Sofa Bed (only option). I'm not familiar with the Diners Club at all. The latest resource I could find (I can't validate) says that 40K Diners Club points can transfer to 48K Marriott Points (no idea if that is accurate and/or how long the transfer takes). It also looks like the standard rack rate is $599+tax per night. It looks like IF you can transfer your diners club points to Marriott and IF the availability is still alive - you could have enough for 1 night on points. It looks like the 2nd night you'd have to pay cash. I'd also look for AAA / other discount rates to help reduce the booking price (cashback sites too).
 

stlcole

Level 2 Member
Thanks @Josh. I transferred 20,000 Marriott Points from Diners Club (costing me 16,666 DC Rewards Points), and bought 1,000 Marriott points for $12.50. I am now able to basically zero our my Marriott account which is good because I rarely stay there any more.
 

Josh F

Level 2 Member
Charity Forum Mod
Yeah, except for biz, I can't tell you the last time I've personally stayed at a Marriott... Glad you got 1 night taken care of.
 

Benjamin

Level 2 Member
I have some friends that have worked there in the past. They said the place is spectacular. Have fun!
 

heavenlyjane

Level 2 Member
We have 2 free Ritz Carlton nights that we have to use in the next 11 months and are having a tough time finding a location that wows us. All the most enticing ones are Category 5, which is outside the parameters of our certificates.

I noticed this hotel, Ritz Carlton San Juan but was turned off by several initial impressions: (1) how close it was to the airport, (2) how far it is from Old San Juan, (3) how they don't list any activities beyond golf and beach. The beach looks really nice but it is so superior to what I can find closer to home in Florida? We aren't golfers so that's actually a liability in our book.

Can someone explain it's appeal?

We've been to Puerto Rico once before and left feeling like we definitely wanted to return.
 

tobyrocks

Level 2 Member
I was in Puerto Rico last year and did VRBO instead of a hotel as I wanted more of living arrangement for the 5 days. We visited Old San Juan and also toured the forts that are in the area. Forts were very interesting and Old San Juan was nice but nothing spectacular for us.

Our condo was on the main strip and sandwiched between the Marriot and Condado hotels. It was definitely a tourist area but a lot of construction and remodeling was underway. Too busy of an area for us but possibly different strokes for different folks. We will stay further away from the main strip on Condado if we go back.

One of the best parts of the trip was a snorkeling excursion out of Fajardo out to Culebra island. We also hiked the rain forest El Yunque which was also a highlight. Those 2 items made the trip for us and we still talk about going back which is rare. I highly recommend both.
 
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