Bahia Urbana Hotel

The hot water never got beyond about room temperature. I complained, and the front desk said to let it run for a long time. It still didn’t heat up. They offered to send maintenance, who tried once but made no difference. Given how many reviews mention this, I’m pretty sure it’s a problem with the solar hot water setup. For what the room costs, that’s unacceptable. The hotel is also next to a nightclub, so loud music and people yelling carry on into the early morning on weekends. Wifi was slow and unreliable. The location felt pretty poor. There’s not much to do nearby, and the few restaurants have very limited hours. The area also seemed unsafe. Some locals we talked to warned us to be careful because of where we were staying, so that wasn’t just my sheltered American perspective. The locked gate and building door did help us feel safe inside the hotel. We stayed four nights, and the bed and room were clean and comfortable. The TV worked great with Netflix and other apps, the AC was excellent, the front desk agents were nice and easy to reach, and free parking was appreciated. Those are the only positives I can think of. We paid over $700 for four nights, and you could probably do a lot better on Airbnb or Vrbo.

The location was very good, with the beach within walking distance, about a 10 minute Uber ride to Old San Juan, and 7-8 minutes from la placita if you like nightlife. But the rooms were disgusting. There was visible dirt on the floor, and I didn’t even want to walk around barefoot. The photos were misleading for most rooms, and our floor was only partly finished, with bare concrete in places. I brought my own sheets, or I wouldn’t have stayed. We were there for two days, and I wouldn’t have stayed any longer. It was just too dirty and didn’t look like the photos.

We thought we booked El Colonial, then somehow ended up at Urbana. It felt like a bait and switch from the start. Our room was dirty, with only part of the bathroom floor tiled and the rest left as concrete. We had a balcony, but light came through the door all night, and there was no window covering. If you’re there on Friday or Saturday, expect no sleep. The nightclub across the street plays until 10am, with people partying in the street all night, and you can hear everything from your room. Roosters also started crowing at 3am and didn’t stop. We knew there was no elevator, but there was no hair dryer either, and no hot water. We had cold showers both nights, even after telling staff and following their advice to let the solar water run. They need a backup system. On our last day, our friends found dried blood on their mattress. Run, don’t book here.

We had a great stay at Urbana Hotel. The staff were super friendly and helpful, the rooms were spacious and beautifully decorated, and breakfast was delicious. The location was just right, close to the main attractions with plenty of restaurants nearby. Can’t fault a thing! 😊