Just returned from San Juan for a 3 night stay. The property was extremely crowded, trying to find a seat at the pool was quite a challenge. I found service to be extremely slow and almost non-existent by the pool. The hotel was very clean but just not quite what you would expect from a Ritz. Our room was very basic, not many balcony rooms to be had. Ok, I know it's the Ritz but things are soooo overpriced it's ridiculous! 3 drinks by the pool $50. 50 minute massage with tip $171. The beach is okay, it happened to be extremely windy while we were there so you were getting whipped in the face with sand most of the time. It was definitely not a very tropical location. If you want that "island" feel this is not the place to go. Don't get me wrong, overall, we did have a nice time. The casino was fun, BLT was a great restaurant, I didn't get to experience Il Mullino but heard it was fabulous. For close by nightlife to to El San Juan the lobby bar is great, live entertainment and a fun atmosphere.

We stayed here for one night at the tail-end of our honeymoon before catching our plane home. The property is beautiful, but in case it's not clear from the property description... it is located right next to the San Juan airport. The airport is probably a two minute drive from the hotel. Our room was on the San Juan facing side and looked out onto the airport runway. This didn't seem to create noise issues however as I guess the hotel must be far enough away or the flight pathways don't go directly over the hotel and so the noise isn't really noticeable. In fact, some might consider it a great convenience if you're looking for a "quick-strike" vacation because you don't have to waste time in ground transport when you arrive in San Juan.

The hotel is extremely crowded... at least it was when we were there. It seemed there was always a queue at the reservation desk and the restaurants were packed (I think there are only two - one by the beach and the italian restaurant next to the casino). Crowds can be ok if they are managed well. Unfortunately, the hotel staff seemed incapable of handling the crowds very well. The wait times were very long at the reservation desk both to check in and to check out.

My take-away from our stay here was it's a great hotel if you're looking for a get away to a pretty hotel with a nice beach and you don't mind navigating crowds. It's a terrible hotel if you're looking for a "forget the world" experience- quiet, peaceful, service like you're the only customer that matters, etc.

My husband and I stayed at the Ritz for the first two days of our honeymoon before taking a cruise from P.R. From the moment we walked in the door we were impressed. While checking in we
were served with a glass of champagne. We had to wait a bit for our room since we checked in early. We were given a complimentary lunch pass. When we got to our room and were getting ready to go to the pool we had a knock on the door. To our surprise we were sent a full bottle of champagne and chocolate covered strawberries. The next evening they had a chef at the restaurant cooking authentic PRican food and had dancers in typical dress dancing la plena. It was awesome and I have never had such great food besides my own grandmother's cooking.
The staff went out of their way to make us feel very special and for this reason I would go back again and again. I don't get people on here that complain about the prices...IT'S THE RITZ!! What do you expect? There are so many restauarants on the island that if you want to have a meal that is more reasonable you can. If you want a great place to celebrate a special occasion this is definitely the place to go. I am from NY and have stayed at several of the other higher end hotels on Isla Verde and this was the best.

This is an extremely well run property. Every employee was gracious--from the front desk to the beach and pool attendants, to the maid service. The employees made it a point to learn names and use them when communicating. They also asked frequently about how the stay was going. Our ocean front room was spacious and well decorated. The small balcony with two chairs and a table was perfect. The grounds are lovely. The downsides: good news that the airport is close. Bad news is the airport is close. The jets sounded like thunder. The only other thing was the food: not bad, but pretty ordinary and/or uneven. The seafood chowder at Mares was delicious, the grouper, overcooked but nicely presented. The lobby bar's drinks were far superior to the beach bar. We would return again. Isla Verde much more pleasant than the hordes of cruisers in Old San Juan.