Me and six girlfriends stayed at the Ritz for a four day weekend May 29-June 1. The property is beautiful. The pool area is very well maintained. We did not have a problem getting chairs everyday and the staff around the pool is wonderful. The beach is also gorgeous. The water is so clear and warm and the sand is compact and white. Just gorgeous. We stayed on the concierge level and the extra price was definitely worth it. Instead of paying the large prices for breakfast and lunch at the restaurants we ate in the club and also had drinks before dinner. Most of the celebrities that come to PR stay at the Ritz. While we were there we ran into John Legend and the NFL Retired Players Convention. The casino was very nice. I am not sure why people have been complaining about that. There were lots of people, guests and locals, and it was very fun. However, there is not a real nightlife scene at the Ritz. For that you have to go two blocks down to the El San Juan. They have a great bar, club, live music, casino, etc. Very fun and definitely the hotspot in this part of town. I have to agree with others that there were a lot of children, but on our trip it was not too much and did not bother us. The rooms were not that great. I agree that it is definitely time for an update. I did not even have a comfortable bed and the walpaper was scuffed, carpet old and furniture dinged. We stayed for a very reduced rate but I would reconsider staying here for too much more than we paid. We ate at three restaurants for dinner: Dragonfly, Koco, and BLT Steak. I would recommened them all. But beware, they are pricey.

Overall, I would probably not return to Puerto Rico. I found the whole city of San Juan to be very dirty and I did not feel safe. The people were very nice but there were not many hotels that I would consider staying at, and truly I am not a hotel snob.

I stayed at the ritz with my boyfriend memorial day weekend. The hotel itself is nice and clean and the pool area is really nice from an aesthetic point of view, actually sitting there to relax is a different story -- read on... the problems are as follows:

(1) The hotel is totally disorganized - no one communicated within the hotel, if you ask housekeeping for something they send someone to ask you what you want even though you told the person on the phone - a lot of hassle for nothing.

(2) Very loud - 5 star hotels should be relaxing -- this one is not - the staff is running around, cutting the grass, repairing stuff, moving stuff.. you hear the working of the hotel all day - in a 5 star hotel you should not see this kind of stuff - nothing like sitting at the pool trying to relax while the staff moves plates and boxes from one end of the pool to the other on wheeled carts that make tons of noise, changes the garbage in front of you...etc -- its just constant noise..

(3) The beach area is ok - the beach is really nothing special (not the fault of the ritz..but if you are going for a nice beach vacation - go somewhere else ) -- but the ritz staff makes an already average beach suck even more as the staff drives around on these 4 wheelers that blow smoke and fumes all over you - they do so to collect towels etc.. which is a total joke as the beach area is not that big and any other place would just have them walking around to do so - but the staff is lazy.. so basically you are sitting on the beach with fumes and loud noise -- also the airport is really close (a 5 minute drive from the hotel) so you hear planes taking off and landing all day -- all in all not relaxing.

(4) KIDS ALL OVER -- this hotel is full of little kids, and loud obnoxious ones - I don't mean to sound horrible and like a kid hater - because i am not - but this is a family resort 100% and don't be fooled otherwise - it is not a romantic place to go - also I have found usually at 5 star hotels that even if there are kids they don't hell on the top of their lungs or play marco polo from one end of the hotel to the other - I note from other reviews this is something that always occurs.. the hotel makes no effort in trying to quiet the children to respect others desire for relaxation (and I asked numerous times)

(5) The beds suck - our backs were sore everyday so much so that we had to cancel our plans to go to the rain forest as we were exhausted from no sleep and in pain

In sum, If you have young kids who want to run around and yell and you don't want to teach them manners - ie: how to respect other people's desire for some relaxation as well -- this is the place for you --- otherwise STAY AWAY. I went there for a romantic/relaxing long weekend and could not wait to get home. This is not a ritz experience -- we checked out the other hotels -- the intercontinental looks the best -- its further away from the airport - the beach is a bit nicer and its way cheaper so you won't be furious that you are so much money for a disaster of an experience.

If you vacationing with friends DO NOT GO, if you are a couple DO NOT GO. I cannot stress this enough.. it was a terrible terrible disappointment.

Possibly the best hotel experience we have ever had anywhere we have traveled in the world. The service was impeccable, the rooms extremely comfortable. The staff went above and beyond the call of duty every day.Our only regret is that we didn't book a longer stay. We wll most certainly be back...soon.

So I was very excited about staying at the Ritz-Carlton San Juan. While it certainly was not a bad place, It was really no different than a Hilton or Marriott that I might say at in the states. (Made me wonder what the Hilton and Marriott are like here in San Juan) For $400 per night I had a room with a view of a condo parking lot and security fence...but couldn't really even see that since the dual-pane glass was stained with salt or some substance. The service was subpar for a hotel in this category, my first night I requested a wake-up call and after setting this up the woman asked, "is there anything else that I can help you with?" At which point I mentioned, "why yes, in fact I have a sports jacket that needs cleaning...what should I do?" and the woman said, "oh, I don't know anything about that...call in the morning and they can help you." I know I probably sound like a snob but this is the RITZ CARLTON, I expect top-notch service, not the same that I'd get at the Hilton or Marriott. The room was also very much like staying at a Hilton...to be honest, I couldn't tell the difference. Now, let me say some good things...the pool was wonderful as were the grounds. Also, the beach was very nice...I never thought of Puerto Rico as having such a nice beach. Overall, not a bad experience but nothing that would make me want to spend this kind of money again. What I don't know is if things in Puerto Rico are not just very nice and if this really is the best place to stay? I haven't tried any of the other places.