ESJ Towers

ESJ Towers is a fantastic vacation spot. It is close to everything, food, shopping, a variety of casino hotels, restuarants, you name it is there. The hotel is on the beach and the pool overlooks the ocean. The staff are friendly and responsive. The ESJ hotel which is adjacent to ESJ Tower has a large casino, live music almost everynight and there is a club for those wanting to get a mixure of night life. I have stayed at ESJ Towers for many years by renting via this vehicle and it is one of my favorite inexpensive vacation spots. It includes a kitchen for those wanting to save on cost. The rooms are clean and it has everything you need. You will not go wrong staying at ESJ Towers. Its a $25 cab fair to and from the aiport. It is a great family, couples, and singles vacation spot. The daily cost for ESJ Towers is $220 a night so using the vacation timeshare rentals is a bargain.

I have been to Puerto Rico many times and stayed at ESJ Towers twice. I truly love it there and would continue to stay there! I do not own a timeshare, but rented it from an owner. The staff is extremely friendly and very accomodating to the needs of their guests. The view is spectacular and the beach is truly the most beautiful in all of Puerto Rico.

Rooms were ok. The pool bar only served hot dogs, frozen yogurt and cocktails. No other food was available at the pool. No dinner served at the resort. Pool was nothing special. Old design. But they have BINGO every day at 1:00! This "hotel" had few amenities.

ESJ Towers Review

Our experience in San Juan, Peurto Rico was invigorating. We stayed in an area called Isle Verdes. ESJ Towers is one of the many resorts located on Isle Verdes. There are a plenty of sightseeing and fun activities to do on this island. It is a US Territory so it has all of the common fast food restaurants like the US such as Subway, Pizza Hut, Dominos, McDonalds, Burger King, etc. There are a number of people who understand and speak English every where that you go. Peurto has a lot to offer a vacationer, but ESJ is no hoopla.

There is nothing fancy about this resort hotel. It gives you your minimum accommodations both in the rooms and on the grounds. When you enter the room it has the appliances on one side of the entrance (usually to your left) and enough space to enter with your luggage. The kitchen appliances are aligned next to one another starting with the refrigerator, stove, sink, and counter with microwave and cabinets in your basic white color. Once you walk pass the microwave, you’re in the bedroom similar to an efficiency apt. The furniture is made of wicker (See pictures attached). The room is exactly like the pictures on the webpage online at www.esjtowers.com. There are small rooms off the lobby that houses one of the listed items per room: internet or writing tables, ping pong table and board games, a pool table, a small arcade room, a general store, a bar room, a restaurant for breakfast and lunch. The outdoor pool is located on the second floor. It is nice and clean with a refreshment stand. You can’t use cash at this stand. You have to bill it to your room.

You have to walk through a dimly lit parking garage to get to the small gym and beach. You exchange your towels in the gym as well. It has a treadmill, bike, little tv, and free weights. You have to have a pass code to enter the beach. This was the worst feature of the hotel. They should just make steps coming off the pool area so that you can easily get to the beach. It is inconvenient to leave your room on the 8th floor, go to the basement, out the door through the dimly lit parking garage, up some other steps, and punch in your code that you have already forgotten by the time you get to the beach.

If your room is in the south building facing the pool and beach, change rooms because it is noisy. The hotel behind you makes deliveries all day and night and uses a crane system to hoist the freights and it is loud. We had to change rooms to the other side of the building to sleep peacefully. They were remodeling some of the rooms beneath us which were noisy, but they worked on the rooms during the day.

ESJ has average resort accommodations. There is nothing luxurious or elegant. It is basic and simple in each room. The lobby and pool are its greatest features. I rate the overall hotel a “C” average on a grading scale of A-F. I rate the pleasantness of the staff an “A-.” I rate the location on Isle Verdes a “B.” The next time that I visit San Juan, I will stay at another resort for the elegance. If you’re in college then it is great, but if you have visited other resorts, it does not come close to a silver or gold star resort. I had mainly three complaints. The noise outside my room from the adjacent hotel delivery system, the hot and cold water knobs had mold and rust around them, and the entrance to the beach being accessed via the parking lot. They accommodated us by moving us to another room. I enjoyed that the resort was located in short walking distance to all restaurants, ATM, block buster, post office, San Juan Hotel with the casino inside, and a 24 hour grocery store, etc. Isles Verdes can use street cleaning, but is tolerable. I believe most people like ESJ because it is close to shopping, restaurants, souvenir shops, Walgreens, a 24-hour grocery store, the beach, public transportation, and tours. Old San Juan is a better looking part of the Island. It reminds you of San Francisco with the hilly streets and it was clean with a lot of historical sites.

Here are some of the activities that are a must when you visit Peurto Rico: Bacardi/Old San Juan tour, Rainforest tour, Kayak- Bioluminescence Bay tour, Catamaran Trip, and a ferry or plane ride to Culebra Island. You should do one tour each day so that you can relax by the end of the day and get the busy items out of the way in the beginning of your week. The Bacardi/Old San Juan tour costs $40 per person and includes a tour of the Bacardi Rum Distillery, San Cristobal Fort, and historical sites. The Distillery gives you two free drinks and a movie tour. They stopped the actual walk through of the distillery. (Big disappointment). The Rainforest Tour costs $65 per person which consists of Yokahu Tower, hike to La Mina Rainforest (the more beautiful waterfall). Kayak Bioluminescence Bay tour costs $75 per person. It is a kayak tour that all can enjoy even beginners and non swimmers. You tour a lagoon which has waste deep water that glows a fluorescent green color. Unfortunately, humans have destroyed most of the water so it barely glows, but it is done at night and is a lot of fun (nothing scary). The Catamaran trip costs $65 per person. It consists of sailing, snorkeling, and lunch. Culebra Island Trip is the beach with the white sand, tropical fish, and best beaches. The 16 minute plane ride is only $27 per person and the ferry was $2.50 for a 2 hour ride. You must arrive to the ferry by 6:30 am to get in line to get a ticket if you want the earliest ferry or you may find yourself standing outside in the sun waiting for hours for the next ferry. The plane ride is the better way to travel because it’s less crowded and guaranteed to have space available when you want to leave. The ferry not so much.

I hope this was helpful. I encourage others to take the time to print your experience. I gave lengthy details because I did not have many recent reviews before I toured. You can stay at ESJ but don’t expect luxurious rooms. Expect rooms that look like they cost $100 a night not $250 or above. Isle Verdes is one strip with basic shopping…no fine dining and a little trashy in spots. Not the entire area. The beach is okay with a lot of seaweed on the shores. Culebra has the best beach.

The resort is located in a good area. Food and entertainment are close. Staff friendly. The lobby is dated and so are some of the rooms but they are clean. The unit we stayed in had two double beds and a strip kitchen as you walk into the hotel style unit.Bathroom was clean and unit also had ample closet space. Had balcony that over looked some other condos and a somewhat view of the water. parking is included which was nice. Ping pong room for kids. Little market in lobby. Bar was resonable and made good drinks!! Just wish the pool had water slide for kids!!!!

ESJ is a great resort for familes of all ages! Beautiful pool and beach area. Building is secure and the entire area is safe . Easy walki to casual family style restaurants as well as elegant dining and nightlife. We have a wonder time with our two children and my Mother (a senior) and aunts, The Golden Girls also have a great time.

We have owned aat ESJ for 28 years, and have never traded it because we love it so much. All maintenane is great, and because you have the same period every year you make a lot of friends. Just getting too old to get there anymore from the West or we wouldn't be trying to sell it.

I HAVE OWNED TIME SHAREING IN THIS BUILDING FOR OVER 20YRS AND HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY SATIFIED WITH THE SERVICE,AND THE LOCATION. IS CENTRAL TO EVERY THING POSSOBLE. TRANSPORTATION (BUS SERVICE IS GREAT) HAVE NEVER TRADED IT, THE WEATHER IS SO GREAT!