Posada de San Juan, San Juan Bautista

Stayed there at least three times over the past 10 years. Beautiful foyer and atria. Stay on the second floor, north side. But the rusting roof next door needs to be painted adobe color! Jacuzzi tubs and gas fireplaces are a nice touch. Fabulous location. Very romantic.

Like going to hotel run by your mother in law. The owner lives in ahotel room down the hall and keeps an eye on things. -made us feel uncomfortable.

A clean, attractive hotel, the Posada De San Juan was loaded with extras. A fireplace in the room, a large hot tub for two, added to the comfort of our stay. The lobby has an attractive curvaceous balcony, and many touches of Mexican art and architecture, including an interior courtyard with live plants, an outdoor sitting area with a fountain. The breakfas was mor than adequate, though not billed as a B and B. Family owned and operated. Great location. I will go back.

We weren't sure about booking a room, after reading these reviews. But, when I saw that they had fireplaces in every room and a jacuzzi bath, I just had to find out for myself. It was the most romantic night I have spent in a very long time. The room was decorated beautifully with a cast rod iron bed, old fashioned furniture and an awesome jacuzzi bath. The fireplace just added the extra touch, plus the warmth that it gave off. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we plan on staying once a month. The rooms are large, and quiet. The staff was very helpful and kind. We recommend this to anyone that wants to just get away and be alone and enjoy what each other has to offer.....

My husband and I travelled with my mother and her friend to San Juan Bautista in mid-December 2008. We booked two connecting rooms at the Posada San Juan Batista. This hotel is not well-managed and the appearance I get is that they do not care. Both rooms had very serious problems – there was only a trickle of water in the morning from the sink and tub faucets, and absolutely nothing from the shower heads, so none of us were able to take showers or baths and, of course, there were problems flushing the toilets. This, alone, was completely unacceptable to us. What's funny is that the tubs are huge, jacuzzi style jet tubs, with dual shower heads. All of that was just a waste. The hotel is on an energy saving system and they put the room lights on motion sensors so you can’t read in bed without having to get up several times to turn the lights back on from the wall switch. Very annoying and very cheap on the hotel's part. We had to choose between freezing and dealing with extremely loud heaters. My husband and I decided not to freeze, but had a sleepless night. My mom and her friend couldn’t deal with their extremely loud heater and they chose to freeze. Both rooms that we rented had the same problems so I assume it’s the whole hotel. While the reception desk staff were nice, we got no sense of urgency from them; they were unable to help us and, at times, were not honest. When I called them to tell them we only had a trickle of water coming out of the tub and sink faucets, they responded that they had received a call earlier from one of the other guests and they did not know what the problem was. That's it. The first time we called them regarding the lights turning off, they initially told us they didn’t know why but could not do anything until the morning. They acknowledged the motion sensors when we called again. At check-out, we were told that our complaints needed to go to Ms. Lopez, the manager/owner who, of course, was not there and would not be in until the evening; we are still waiting for her call. I'm very surprised that the manager of a hotel would not immediately go to the site when her hotel guests are out of water. The lady at the desk did deduct the taxes and 10% off our $100/night per room, but, we still are not satisfied and had to write this review to warn potential guests. It is just unacceptable to have no water in your hotel room (and, in reading the reviews from previous hotel customers, this was not the first time; and unless more people complain about their experience in this hotel, it will not be the last.). The owner can’t get away with this. True, this is not a $500/night hotel, and there are certain services you have to give up, but never a shower or bath.

They always say those that are unhappy about something are many times more likely to be vocal than those who are satisfied, hence I suspect some of the reviews here and the reason it may seem unbalanced. We have stayed here several times. To put this in perspective, we typically stay in higher end hotels (Omni being our current favorite). However, there is no high end hotel to be found anywhere in this area. After adjusting our expectations with the rates here, and considering that the area is more akin to Mayberry than a larger metro, I'd say the Posada de San Juan is not a bad place to stay. But I will conditionalize this. If you expect spiffy modern and everything perfect, this is not for you. In fact, this entire region is not for you. Head for the city and leave history and charm to folks who appreciate rough around the edges and nostalgia. As for the staff here, I never found any to be slightly unpleasant or unaccomodating. It's entirely possible I suppose that someone might have a different experience. But in reading some of the negative reviews, I can't help but detect in a few cases a bit of attitude, which is likely to be reflected back by those serving us depending on how we treat them. Needless to say, we will return again to the Posada de San Juan, because we love the charming area and the hotel has always served us sufficiently. As they say, your mileage may vary, but if you are easygoing and have basic expectations, then this is very likely to meet your needs as well.

Of course we all have different expectations in everything we do or pay for. This is obviously an older hotel, and in light of the current economy I'm sure they are struggling like the rest of us to upgrade things that are in working condition. This could be a four star with some TLC so hopefully it's in their future. Don't go there if you're expecting brand new everything... only if you're ready to enjoy the old town of San Juan Batista, and all it's historical elements.

THIS IS THE WORST PLACE TO STAY IN CALIFORNIA. The employees seem brow beaten by the grouchy owner and afraid to give any informtion or service. The owner should never have started a business where she is in contact with any living thing. She is rude, sarcastic, and ready to fight you if you have one concern. I seriously don't know how she keeps a staff let alone guests. DON'T DRINK THE WATER, IT WILL MAKE YOU SICK. IF YOU MUST STAY HERE BRING YOUR OWN, BECAUSE THEY WILL NOT GIVE YOU ANY. THE MUSIC FROM THE BARS LAST UNTIL 2 A.M. AND IS EXTREMELY LOUD! And when you complain, you are told there is nothing they can do because the bar is right next door, and then there's another one 3 doors down. THE ROOMS WERE FILTHY, BRIGHT, SHOWER DID NOT WORK, MOLD EVERYWHERE, NOISY WITH TONS OF DRUNKS, AND BAR BANDS. Oh and if you stay there here's the creepy thing, the owner makes all of her employees call her Mrs. Lopez. I think that you need to earn that title of respect. DON'T STAY HERE, STAY IN MONTEREY AND DRIVE IN TO SJB.

This truly was the worst hotel experience I have ever had. Our room had no working shower, no working a/c, no hair dryer, and there was trash outside our door including a used contraceptive device. The hotel had no drinking water for guests. They advertise wifi...they do not have it. The owner was horrible and wasted over an hour of our time arguing that the plumbing wasn't her problem. We didn't have enough towels for the room and were charged $169 a night. The owner was the worst part of our stay. She was rude and not accommodating. Not once did she apologize for the conditions or offer to help in any way.

Aside from location (we attended a wedding at the San Juan Mission two blocks away), it was a miserable experience. The hotel staff gave conflicting and inaccurate information. We were told wifi worked, and it did not. Extra charges for a crib, which one clerk said was free but then the owner charged us. The owner appeared stingy, cold, rigid and, inhospitable, defensive and combative when we had the following problems: non-functioning shower; non-functioning a/c; dirty floors; we saw a used condom on the rug outside our door when we moved in; rubber sheets; no access to drinking water. Although they charge an extra $20. for a third person, we had to call down for them to deliver extra towels. The most outrageous was when the a//c and broken shower were pointed out the owner argued with us rather than fixing the problem. All in all a lousy experience. We strongly advise against staying there.