Booked 3 nights here in February as part of our 10-day trip to Puerto Rico using GP points (12K/night). No resort fee charged for award stays; if paying, it's $20/nt. You can only get a studio using points, which was okay for MrSteph58 and me. There are pluses and minuses with this Hyatt. We enjoyed our stay very much, but be aware this is not a fancy resort. It's a very kick-back kind of place. I met a timeshare owner who comes every year for 2 weeks and they decided not to rent a car this year. There's a nice pool, beach, tennis courts, miniature golf--and that's about it. I can't imagine saying here for 2 weeks with no car--guessing they must read a lot.

All rooms face the ocean and have a balcony. We were on the right (as you face the lobby), 5th floor. All we could see were palm trees; I'm told 6th floor & up has a better ocean view. To our right was the vacant resort. Had read this was an eyesore, spooky, depressing vision. We found this not to be the case at all--doubtful you'd even notice it unless someone mentions it. Our studio was pretty much like the picture--besides the queen bed there was a sofa, coffee table, desk, old-style TV in a credenza, microwave, small frig, coffee maker, dishes. The bathroom was clean & functional but definitely dated. I like the bright blue walls & Caribbean decor--makes it Puerto Rican. But timeshare owner mentioned units are being updated this year with beige tones. The room itself was 2.5 or 3*. Our stay here was in the middle of our trip. Very nice to take be able to use the washer/dryer which is shared with the next door unit. Internet connection was good.

Parking was free (part of the resort fee if paying) and very close to the rooms/elevator. At the front entrance there's a gate & guard; then expansive grassy, palm tree areas which looked very nice after coming from San Juan. Hyatt is about 10 minutes past the town of Dorado. But because of the new Ritz Carlton, they were working on the road which caused considerable traffic delays (like 20 minutes). Made you think twice about going into Dorado for whatever.

A good number of restaurants (Grappa's was our favorite of all for PR) and shopping-for-staples places in Dorado. One night we ate at Pika's which is to the right out of the Hyatt driveway, about 1 minute away. It was very good, lots of menu choices, but small so can be crowded. Also McDonald's about a block further. I only mention McDonald's because the food option at the Hyatt is really bad. The "restaurant" is the pool bar and serves food 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. The pool bar is the only bar option as well (I believe it closes around 8 p.m.). Food should be purchased there only if you're desperate. Since our studio just had a microwave, that meant leaving the property if we wanted a meal. I did hear there are bbq grills, so that's an option if you go into town & buy meat to cook on the grills outside.

The beach at the Hyatt is in cove with a rock reef barrier at the entrance, so pretty good for swimming. Father & youngish sons said they saw lots of fish snorkeling by the rocks on the right. Nice beach lounges & towels provided. Nice sand, not rocky. The town of Dorado is more populated & more traffic than I had envisioned. Narrow streets, potholes, crazy parking--one needs to drive defensively. We drove to Camuy Caves one day, which is one+ hours west (highly recommend).

There's a tour desk that has a sign-up sheet for a trip each day at reasonable rates if you don't want to drive (i.e., night trip to San Juan $20, Camuy Caves $60, Bacardi Rum factory). Of course they require a minimum number, so will be cancelled if not enough people sign up. You can also drive30 minutes (assuming no construction traffic) to the Cateno ferry & then take the 15 minute ferry ride over to Old San Juan; avoids the extreme traffic & parking hassle to get to OSJ from Dorado.

So bottomline, would I return? Yes, for us the pluses outweighed the minuses. But we probably aren't as discerning as some FTers. I've been to a number of Hyatt resorts and it's not like them, so don't go expecting that. They did have a spa with rates that looked reasonable, didn't try it however. The biggest downside for us was the lack of eating options. I suspect Hyatt will be working on improving this property in anticipation of more business when the Ritz Carlton opens Dec. 2012.