Ola Boutique Hotel — Hotel in San Juan

My fiance and I went to San Juan Puerto Rico from September 12 to September 17 2024. This was the first time I had ever traveled to Puerto Rico and she hasn't visited in 20 years.

I purchased a vacation package from Expedia. The package included a highly recommended stay at the Ola Botique Hotel. Free breakfast, off street private parking and a two minute walk to the beach with a bar.

Not knowing my way around can at the very least be frustrating and even dangerous. As with any unfamiliar territory. After leaving the airport with our rental car I immediately entered the address into the GPS and headed towards Ola Botique. I called the Hotel and Francisco answered. I told him about our reservation and we were on our way but had trouble locating the Hotel. Francisco directed me to the hotel and waited outside in the 90 degree heat until he spoted our vehicle. Francisco directed us into the private parking area.

Francisco, introduced himself and brought us into the hotel to check-in. An extremely nice guy. During the check in Francisco asked if we had ever visited PR before and we said no. Knowing this Fransico advised my fiance and I to take the car for a drive around the island. Francisco pulled out a map and showed us exactly where to go and even gave us a direct number to call incase we got lost :))))) He advised us to drive to Old San Juan, Ponce, Manati, Vega Alta, Vega Baha, and many other surrounding areas. He said this will help us become more familiar with the island and the way of driving. We got great pictures and vidoes. The next day we drove about 2/3 the island 5-6 hours) got some great photos, videos, and Pincho's (aka meat on a stick usually chicken or pork).

Back on day one. As we headed up to our room in 301, the room was really cold (we had been in the 90 degree heat for a few hours) so the AC works. No worries about sweltering in the heat because this AC/heater with full remote control at your finger tips will freeze you into an ice cube if need be or melt you lol. The AC works beautifully. In addition, the room has two queen sized beds loadedwith pillows, a large screen HD TV with a ton of options such as Netflix, Amazon, ect, a large bathroom with a fancy shower that has plenty of hot and cold water. Moreover, in the bathroom there is a good sized bottle of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash accompanied with white face-bath towels.

The room has a nice kitchen area with a sink, a small mini refrigerator/freezer and a microwave. The fridge is small but useful for drinks and leftovers. The room also has a nice view. Our room was serviced daily. The cleaning staff provided fresh face and bath towels, made and changed both beds regardless, and emptied all trash containers regardless.

Now, on day two I met Marcos. Marcos made my fiance and I breakfast daily. The dining area down stairs is extremely clean, elegant, relaxing and comfortable. There is a large screen TV that shows news, activities and ect. I must say the service from Marco, Francisco and staff were TOP NOTCH and makes you welcomed..

Each day we ordered a hot coffee (like a cappuccino), a juice, fresh fruit and a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. Awesome awesome awesome awesome is all I can say. It's homemade right there, not the frozen garbage you buy at a store. I really felt energized and good after eating. Not full and sick.

During our second day during breakfast Marcos introduced himself and offered us a list of places to visit. Marcos advised us to check out Toro Verde a world renowned adventure park that specializes in Ziplining (we did all 10 zips thanks to Marcos :) We went on a two hour ATV 4-wheeler tour through a 2300 acre private ranch with numerous animals (thanks to Marcos), and we went on a two hour horse back riding tour through the ONLY rain forest in America (thanks to Marcos). The best 3 days in PR were because Marcos and Francisco.

Thanks again for everything Marcos and Francisco. I can't wait to visit PR and see...

First and foremost I'd like to give a strong warning. The pictures posted on all the websites are nothing like what you will experience if you book this hotel. My boyfriend booked us a romantic getaway and made sure he checked the reviews and pictures before booking. Based on the 4.5 stars he booked our "suite". We get to the hotel and both of our mouths hit the floor once we saw the outside. It looked like the Bates Motel. I knew instantly that we'd been had. There is NO WAY that anyone who has stayed here has given it more than 1 star (it was obvious that staff wrote the reviews). Because it was late we decided to go inside and check the room, because maybe the inside looked better. We were so wrong! The lobby was decent, but the mentioned "restaurant" was no more than a coffee stand in front of the building. The staff was very nice and welcoming. After paying the $20-25 nightly parking fee we were shown to our room. The 2nd warning that this would be a nightmare is the elevator. That thing was definitely made in the 50's and hasn't seen an upgrade since it was put there. All 3 of us got on and I prayed we'd be able to get off. We made it to the hallway of our room and were left once again standing there with our mouths open. It looked like a hostel room, and not a nice one. There was a long cabinet setup that I'm guessing was a kitchenette because there was a small microwave sitting on top. We also had a mini fridge and sink. There was a small desk and a bed. That's it, no amenities such as an iron or ironing board, hair dryer (you know... the standard things in a room). There was a HUGE AC unit in the middle of the ceiling and an entry door that looked very suspect to a connecting room. Don't even get me started on the bathroom (at least we had a door, my cousin had the room next door and the shower and toilet were next to their bed). It looked like a prison bathroom and was downright creepy. Breakfast was definitely overly hyped and was a sad mix of eggs and bread, once again nothing like the pictures shown. The cement walls gave it a cold and unwelcoming vibe. We didn't get any sleep that night and in the morning we checked out 3 nights early. We were told that we would not be refunded because this had to be done 24hrs before check-in. How would we know that the pictures and reviews would be complete lies. Not too mention that the elevator did breakdown and wasn't working. We got our workout for the day running up and down 4 flights off stairs. One thing about it though, all the staff (including the manager) agreed that the pictures were misleading. There was no pool as mentioned in the amenities and we were no where near any beaches. The only plus side was that it was across the street from a 24hr market. We ended up booking at a different hotel and enjoying the rest of our stay. Please look for other rooms, the price for staying does not match what is offered. It would have been nice to stay at the hotel where the pictures were actually taken. One huge giveaway that these were fake pictures is that there were absolutely no trees anywhere around the building. Actual photos have been included, wish I could upload the videos of us taking the stairs, or of the manager stating that the photos...

This should have been a 5 star review. A fair review by a single mom traveling with two teenage boys.

When we arrived in San Juan, our taxi driver took us to Ola Boutique Hotel. Although the driver had not been there before, we quickly found the place as it was easily identified by the big green sign. Upon entering the lobby, it was clean and modern, reminiscent of a European boutique hotel. Fernando greeted us and helped us to check in. He was very kind and helpful. He gave us recommendations for food and entertainment nearby. Our hotel room was very spacious, clean and modern: boutique decor with the space needed for 3 people on a 5 day vacation. Our room had a kitchenette with sink, plenty of counterspace, microwave and mini fridge. The bathroom was large with a walk in shower that was also very spacious with a combo three showerheads. Beds were firm, which is not my favorite but we were so tired every evening that I hardly noticed.

That same evening we tried Bebo's, Fernando's recommended cafe. It was delicious! We always stick to local cuisine and Puerto Rico has some of the best! An added bonus for this location was the grocery store across the street where we picked up several items from snacks to sunscreen.

Breakfast was bacon, eggs, pancakes, toast and a daily fruit option. Coffee and passion fruit juice were excellent. Clearly Puerto Rico has great coffee! Hotel staff was always willing to help with questions and the hotel was always clean. The hotel requires a security code to enter and exit, ensuring we felt safe at all times. We were very pleased with it all.

Our last night was when the disappointment happened. We had an early morning flight at 6am. We went to bed early, knowing we would have to wake in the early morning. Around midnight, we could hear what sounded like a fight breaking out downstairs. Lots of yelling. This hotel does have a bar so I rolled over, hoping hotel staff would have it under control soon. But it didn't end there. The loud guests were up hollering through the halls and on the stairs until 3:30 when our alarm went off. It made for a miserable flight back to the states as we had no rest. When we exited the hotel at 4am, the hotel bartender was still downstairs with patrons at the bar. If this was our first night, my entire perspective of this hotel would have been different and we would not have stayed. I would recommend that the hotel stick to its listed bar hours and train staff on crowd control OR advertise this as a party hotel rather than family friendly. I hated to leave on a bad note.

Overall, I hope this was a one off event and that we just happened to be there on the night the party went a little too long.

I really couldn't say enough about how much we loved this stay up until that point. I would still recommend this hotel to all travelers visiting...