The 362 room InterContinental San Juan was built in 1962, and completed a 2-year long $23 million dollar renovation in October 2013.  The hotel is convenient to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) and attracts a cross-section of cruise traffic, vacationers, business travelers and airline crews.

Front of the Hotel

Back of the Hotel

The hotel is quite impressive from the driveway.  The grounds are lush and immaculately maintained.  There is a clever waterfall feature that sets the scene outside the front door in addition to drowning out the street noise.

Water feature in the front driveway

The lobby area is large, but without a lot of furniture other than the lobby bar.  It’s decorated in ‘Old San Juan’ style of warm cream colors, marble and dark hardwood trim.  Check-in was friendly and efficient with the agent highlighting the Casino, the Akua Spa, the Trattoria Italiana Restaurant, the Momoyama Sushi Bar, Ciao Mediterranean Cafe and the Ruth’s Chris Steak House, all located on the property.

The Lobby Bar overlooks the check-in desk.

Since it was the middle of the evening, I checked out played in the Casino for about an hour.  It was fairly small, with 10 or 12 table games and the usual assortment of slot machines.

The Casino was on the left side of the lobby and was an addition during the 2013 renovation.

I had a standard room with a king bed for my one-night stay. It had a desk, sofa, coffee table and a small balcony without any furnishing.

Professional photo from the InterContinental San Juan … but my room looked exactly like it!

I was on the 5th floor with only a partial ocean view, but the view was definitely more spectacular as the sun came up and revealed the tropical grounds and vibrant mature foliage surrounding the pool areas.

A room … with a partial ocean view. The higher the floor, the better the view.

There was ample seating around the pool areas in addition to walk-up and swim-up bars.  There is also fitness center next to the spa.

Cabanas, waterfalls, bridges and plenty of seating lined the pool area.

Behind the pool was a bit of beach.

The beach is conveniently located right behind the pool area and towels and lounge chairs are available to registered guests.

Bottom Line:

Although this resort property is over 50 years old, it has been well maintained considering its location in the northeastern Carribean, and to Puerto Rico’s heat, humidity and sun.  It was great for a stop over for a night or two, but I’m not sure that I would make this my first choice of a hotel for a longer stay in Puerto Rico … but I will come back to this island when I can stay longer.