Borinquen Beach Inn — Hotel in Carolina

When we came we were greeted by the front desk and she was really sweet and friendly. She checked us in and then walked us to our room and turned on the A/C. She also opened the back door and we brought in our stuff.

We opened the bathroom and in the sink there was a big bug, couldn't make out what it was. I did put some water and it went down the drain and did not see it for the rest of our stay. Under one of the beds there was a gecko, luckily it did not come out and I think it stayed under the bed for the night.

The water was cold the entire time we were there and we just showered in cold water (was not fun).

Thr hotel has wifi but the ssid was never broadcasting so we couldn't use it. The hotel does have a fridge and microwave but not in the rooms, they are in a common room. We did not use the fridge or microwave.

We had the room facing the street and it gets loud at night as people are walking by all night but if you close the windows you won't hear anything. That being said our windows did not close because the knob did not turn, we went outside and pushed the windows closed.

We chose this hotel because it was close to our destinations and had free parking.

There is a staff member 24 hours which is nice as I did not experience 24 hours service in other hotels we stayed at around the island (2-3 stars). Given the area that this hotel is in the front door does not open unless you are buzzed in or enter buzzer code which they do provide.

Overall, I did not feel clean in the hotel and they need to do something about the "pests" and cold water. The staff were really friendly and pleasant so please keep that up.

I should mention that when I first came to the hotel there was a guy spraying something all around the front desk. I am assuming it is...

MINUS: Older building (50s/60's?). Poor water pressure. Bathroom sign asks that you not throw ANY paper into toilet (including toilet paper?). Locks to rooms are very old, basic, push button locks. Road noise could be an issue if you are sensitive to that type of thing. Located right on the touristy "Strip"...traffic very heavy. Free Wi-Fi is patchy, virtually unusable. Front desk must change AC temp for you. (Solution that worked for me: Have them run AC at full blast for a few hours, and then have them set fan to "low"...stayed at perfect temp the remainder of my stay). No ice machine/refrigerator. TV was wonky, but who comes to Puerto Rico to watch TV?

PLUS: Minutes from airport, free parking. Short walk to beach, with public access trail on east property boundary. 24/7 check-in a definite plus. Very comfortable beds/pillows. Very CLEAN overall. BIG room. (room 111, biggest on property). Desk w/office chair, and small cafe table with two chairs in room. Good security. Each guest buzzed in and out. Cameras throughout, including parking. Associate paid careful attention to monitors. Big permanent generator on site. Central location: Walking distance to Wendy's, Taco Bell, CVS/Walgreens, gas station, etc. Great customer service. The housekeeper was friendly. The front desk staff I dealt with, specifically Maria, was very tolerant of my questions; questions she must have been asked a thousand times. She was pleasant, and offered great and helpful advice (Lisa, also).

For the price, I don't think you will find any better options. It doesn't try to be more than it is: it excels as an affordable, basic, clean hotel, staffed by professional, friendly, eager-to-help associates. You really can't ask for more...

The Borinquen Inn is a hidden jewel. If you don't have the strongest the man that you stay in a hotel that has a club up on the rooftop like the hotel that I was at before that kicked me out for no reason next door to the Borinquen Beach Inn, you may want to come here. Way better price, and waaaay cleaner believe it or not. I have nothing good to say about the ridiculous hotel next to this lovely Inn. They kicked me out when I complained to the. About a crazy lady that was following me around. I asked the clerk to get her away from me and he said that he couldn't make her not follow me. Dumbfounded I left to watch a boxing match at the bar down the street... When I returned they had my bags waiting and told me I was banned and they were going to refund my room. They didnt pack my wallet and I told them and they said everything was there and if I didn't leave they were calling the police. Everything was booked but the lovely Borinquen Beach Inn let me reserve a room that was to be available tomorrow. I had to spend the night sleeping on the streets in Puerto Rico without knowing anybody really knowing where anything is once my phone died. Ended up meeting a homeless man that spoke about as much English as I spoke Spanish... Crazy ol bearded-coot he was. We ended up getting a lot of beer (modella) and I woke up on the beach to the police telling me to get up and to never fall asleep on the beach again because people die doing that when they rake the beaches. I quickly found the borrequin and checked in and the rest of my stay was wonderful. And that's even with the power going out in the whole island. I freaking...