Not staying too long, want a hotel room...

So, I have been asked a lot lately for recommendations of hotels if you are not staying for too long. Here's are my suggestions:

If you want to stay in a hotel close to Loiza, where Ryan's family and some friends have rented vacation homes, your best option for hotels will be the area of Isla Verde. This is going to be really close to the airport and about 8 miles away from the vacation homes. It will also put you about 25 minutes away from all the wedding activities. I found two business type hotels in the area: Howard Johnson Hotel - Islan Verde ($89.25) and Holiday Inn San Juan ($167). These hotels have the basic hotel ammenities and no beach access.

Here's the contact information for all the hotels described above:

Howard Johnson Hotel - Isla Verde

4820 Isla Verde Ave

San Juan, 00979, PR

787-728-1300

Holiday Inn San Juan

8020 Tartak Street

Carolina, 00979, PR
787 253-9000
787 253-9007

Let me know if you need more information about any tavel accomodations. I will be more than happy to help answer your questions. :)

Booking your Trip

Friends and family are starting to book their trip to Puerto Rico! To get great deals when booking your trip, look for airfare + hotel + rental car deals.

I didn't get a block of rooms at a hotel because they were offering prices that were way over the fares you find online. To get the best hotels fares, either book it together with your airfare and car rental, or go directly to the hotel website. Regular hotel prices are between $135-$200 per person per night.

Some of our friends are staying at the Embassy Suites, Dorado. It is about 20 minutes from San Juan, so not in a very touristy place. Yet it is still close enough to all the tourist attractions and it has a great beach right there!


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If you need some other hotel recommendations send us an email at pearsonacevedo@gmail.com.

Vacation Homes

Ryan's family will be staying at Malibu Condo Rentals in Loiza. They have 3 bedroom/2 bathrooms units. Here is a link to their website: http://www.prvacationcondos.com/.

Aquatika Beach Resort is a similar community, about 2 miles east from Malibu: http://www.prvacationcondos.com/4436/31403.html.

Rates at both communities range between $150-$200/night and the apartments fit about 7-10 people. If you are looking for a smaller apartment, any other community in the Loiza area will probably give you a great deal. For links to more vacation rental sites you can refer to my previous blogs by clicking here.

If anyone is interested in hotels let me know. I've looked at about 15 hotels in the area and rates start at $140 + tax + gratuity per person per night.

And if you have any questions or need help with reservations, email us at pearsonacevedo@gmail.com

Airfare Updates

So, I'm going to try to help you find the cheapest airfare and will post updates on ticket prices every Friday.

I will search for tickets from Dec. 25-Jan 1, +/- 1 day. Below is what I found today:

ATL-SJU: from $405 with Delta (UP $75)
AUS-SJU: from $430 with Delta (DOWN $50)
CHI-SJU: from $375 with Delta (SAME)
DEN-SJU: from $548 with Continental (DOWN $50)
GDL-SJU: from $701 with Continental (DOWN $25)
MSY-SJU: from $578 with Continental (SAME)
NYC-SJU: from $350 with Delta (SAME)
SFO-SJU: from $530 with Delta (SAME)
STL-SJU: from $405 with Delta (UP $25)
TPA-SJU: from $530 with Delta (SAME)

Overall, the AA prices are coming down and I do think prices will level off for most airlines around $400-$600 in the coming weeks.

I am working on group rates at hotels. More on that next week (hopefully).

Info for Out of Town Guests

So, we hope to send out 'save the dates' in the next few weeks. Some of you have been asking about where to stay, what to do, etc. Here are the answers to some of your questions:

Where to stay?
I would really recommend you stay in a vacation home in Dorado. It's the cheapest option for bigger groups with a minimum stay of one week. Here's some ideas:
3 bedrooms, sleeps 7: $1,300/week
3 bedrooms, sleeps 8: $1,850/week
3 bedrooms, sleeps 6: $1,000/week
3 bedrooms, sleeps 9: $900/week
4 bedrooms, sleep 10: $1,700/week

If you are coming for just a couple of days, maybe a hotel stay is best for you. I will research this in the next couple of weeks and try to get group rates.

Transportation
I would really recommend you rent a car if you want to explore the island. You might be able to get a good deal when booking airfare + car together. But I have never done this before. For those of you who stay in the area of Dorado, we will try to provide transporation on the day of the wedding.

Airfare
From my experience, think the best time to book will be between 10-8 months before the wedding. The best way to save money is to monitor prices every day. Our wedding is during the high tourist season. I think a fair price will be $400-$600. I did a quick search for tickets from Dec. 25-Jan 1, +/- 1 day. Right now, the cheapest options available are:
ATL-SJU: from $330 with Delta
AUS-SJU: from $480 with Delta
CHI-SJU: from $375 with Delta
DEN-SJU: from $598 with Continental
GDL-SJU: from $726 with Continental
MSY-SJU: from $578 with Continental
NYC-SJU: from $350 with Delta
SFO-SJU: from $530 with Delta
STL-SJU: from $380 with Delta
TPA-SJU: from $530 with Delta

I hope that helps. I will keep updating you with information as it becomes available to me.