Romeo Hotel - Adults Only

Manny at the front desk made us feel at home, even though my friend and I had come all the way from California. He helped us a ton and really knows how to treat guests. Thanks so much, Manny!

Walking to Old San Juan was easy and faster than taking an Uber, given the traffic and how Ubers work in the area. The surroundings felt fairly safe, though San Juan has a lot of abandoned buildings. I was with my husband, but as a woman on my own I wouldn't have felt safe there. We picked this place for its good reviews, reasonable holiday rates, and relative closeness to Old San Juan. As a travel agent who's stayed everywhere from VRBOs to luxury resorts on every continent, I would not stay here again. The room was bare and less appealing than the photos suggest. One bed is in a loft reached by a ladder that felt unsafe and definitely wasn't ADA compliant, so I wouldn't plan on using both beds. The bed was uncomfortable, the sheets felt cheap and scratchy, the toilet seat was broken, and the shower had poor pressure and stopped working at one point. The AC worked very well. Parking was free. The pool was underwhelming, there was no coffee, and service was only through WhatsApp messages. When the water pressure failed, they wouldn't answer the phone. Check-in took 30 minutes even though I was the only person at the desk. When I needed help with the shower, nobody was around, and I didn't feel anyone was trying to go out of their way to help. This felt more like a VRBO than a hotel.

There was no hot water at all, so we had to expect cold showers. The TV was just decoration: trying to sign into any app brought up errors. The Wi-Fi password we were given was for a network that didn't work, and they warned us not to flush toilet paper. The old-town look, with concrete walls and floors, exposed pipes, unfinished surfaces, cinderblock decor, and pipe ladders, was kind of cool. But the place was missing a lot of things you'd expect at a hotel, motel, or suite these days. We got lost trying to check in because there was no clear hotel sign. ROMEO was just a door with a buzzer, and inside was a basic hotel-style registration area. Then we were told that one front desk served several different hotels nearby, which was strange. It took a while to find the right gate for our suite. It feels far behind the times and needs to catch up. I'm glad we were only there for one night. Maybe that's why they gave us that room.

For the price, this was a pretty great deal, even though I've stayed in much nicer places. The room was big, clean, and comfortable. The pool was nice but a little small for swimming. The area between Old San Juan and Condado felt a bit odd, but it made taking an affordable Uber to either easy.