Hi Everyone;
Just completed a stay at this property last week - here is my review. Hopefully this helps everyone who are on the fence.
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Checkin Experience:
I had trouble getting a hold of this property before my stay; calling their front desk didn't get to any employees. I ended up calling the globalist line and they added notes onto my stay about requesting an early checkin and two joined separate reservations. On the day of arrival I got a notification on the WOH app stating my room was available for checkin around 9am which was nice as I requested a 10am early checkin; so this request ended up being fulfilled.
When I arrived at the property had to submit my QR code and vaccination card to an email before being allowed to enter the lobby. I checked in with a nice hotel associate which blocked out a room for me for the full duration of my stay across two reservations so I didn't need to switch rooms. I didn't ask for an upgrade; she just willingly upgraded me as a surprise which was a nice touch. I was originally booked in a 2 Double Garden View room but was upgraded to a 2 Double Ocean Front Club Access; on the first floor. This was one of the best rooms at the property below the Regency Suites (aka the Villas). If you get upgraded to one of these rooms request the first floor as you get a walkout patio with a daybed and chairs and loungers; was convenient and lovely.
Resort "Hard" Product - Buildings and Grounds
The resort grounds themselves were beautiful and being on a peninsula was great. I saw a few fireworks on the 4th of July in the looking out on the direction of San Juan. I did a few loops in the evening and it was nice to see the stars and sea all around; the filming on the tip of the peninsula was suspended for the holiday so it was quiet and serene; although the film crew did leave a lot of their stuff behind. If you had a room near here you would have seen some of it.
Walking around and seeing much of the resort buildings/infrastructure I started to see where some of the complaints were from other guests. The staff didn't seem to care about little touches and there were so many random maintenance doors just left open for anyone and all to see and walk into. I started playing a game and taking pictures of each time I saw a door open as there literally were at least 10 instances of things just being left open. Could see a child wondering into these areas and potentially getting hurt. Also there was an alcove outside near my door on the bottom floor of the bungalow where some guests had stashed trash and dirty dishes/glasses and they weren't removed for at least 5 days.
The large pool was nice; but there seems to be random areas where they filled with concrete after hurricane damage. The pool used to be much deeper in parts but they filled it in and there are some areas that seem to be like "hot tubs" but only a few of the jets were working.
The small pool was open and serene; I ended up frequenting this one as it was not as busy. The only thing that was odd was a sign was left out saying it was closed but it obviously wasn't; oversight on a part of the resort staff.
The gym was listed as open but my key never worked to get in.
In my room I had a few issues.
When I got in it was relatively clean but a previous guest left toiliterties they never removed from the room and there were random stickers on the glass of the shower they never peeled off. The room smelled clean but makes you wonder how much they actually care about cleanliness. The phone was missing the plate on it that described what each button did and which numbers were which. I talked to 3 other guests and they had their phones missing the plate too - I think the resort is updating their phone system at the moment. Also 2 of them said they didn't have an espresso machine in their room; just a kettle. I had both but the espresso machine didn't work. Not a big deal but frustrating as the grounds are so big and it would have been nice to make a coffee in the room without having to go out. Finally this hotel doesn't know or have what a washcloth/hand towel is. We only got large bath towels for drying off and smaller towels; no smaller squares. A tiny inconvenience but I have never stayed at a hotel that were missing these - annoying.
Resort "Soft" Product - Service & Staff
The best way of describing the staff as a whole are inconsistent. The front desk associate who checked me in was great! However I needed to call the front desk for an issue one time during my stay and they redirected me to a number that lead to a voicemail for a time sensitive issue about being stuck in the parking lot. I waited at the food truck line near the pool to order some food; the cooks stuck their head out the window and yelled saying "We don't take orders here. Go get a server and tell them to take your order." Kinda rude as a few of us had been waiting in line for 10 minutes; so much for going above and beyond to help; and didn't even tell us where to find these "servers." So I just decided against getting food there.
The staff at the resort LOVE their golf carts. The resort must have a fleet of around 10-15 of them; literally they were buzzing around at all times of the day and evening. It kinda got annoying walking to rooms having to step out of the way or be startled by horns. I saw a few guests being shuttled around; I think there is a number you can call (but I didn't have it on my phone..) to request pickup; or you can wave them down like a taxi. Its a nice service when it works but a majority of the time it inconvenienced me and I felt like the resort staff were more eager to drive around and avoid guests rather than help them.
I only dined at the waters edge for breakfast on a few occasions and the staff were mostly nice and prompt in seating my party; we never ordered food from the menu; just did the buffet as we didn't want to wait an hour as the food was coming out extremely slow based on complaints from other tables nearby. The only restaurant we did for dinner was Pasion and it was amazing; the local cuisine was great. The service sucked however. They weren't accepting reservations only walkups but were honoring previous reservations made within the last several weeks. When we got seated after 30 minutes our server took our order and disappeared. Food was out fast but getting refills on drinks was a pain; had to flag down another server to help. The more egregious thing was we only saw the server come back with the bill and he had the audacity to automatically give himself a 18% tip on the bill (this wasn't a gratuity or mandatory charge; literally he added the tip himself). We were too tired to fight so we just left but left a poor taste in my mouth; food was good though.
Housekeeping was seemingly offered every day but it was inconsistent. I denied it a few days; and then another day a manager came around auditing rooms and asked If I had gotten housekeeping; so they seem to be trying to keep up with this as much as possible which is nice to see.
Globalist Items
The Regency Club is still closed but I did see workers inside with ladders working on things in the ceiling. Additionally they had a reflecting pool adjacent to the club that was being drained and cleaned. I think they're getting ready to open it up fairly soon but I didn't ask for a date or timeline. Id say the breakfast being offered at waters edge is better than whatever will be served in the Club.
The upgrade I received was nice. During my stay 2 of the Villas were open and guests were staying in them (the 2 closest to the small pool) I didn't get to ask how they got the upgrade or if they paid to stay in the room but I assume the property gave them to the wedding party that was happening during my stay. The presidential suite (the last villa on the end of the peninsula) to my knowledge was not being used for guests to stay in; but they were hosting events and receptions inside. The middle 2 villas were closed and were being used by the filming crew. One of the villas they constructed a shack on top of the pool and made the villa look abandoned with a bunch of paint and fake bushes. Was interesting to see; they need to take everything down and repaint before the middle 2 villas will be useable by guests. I think the filming will be done by August because that is when the show they are filming will be airing.
Parking & Miscellaneous
When I booked I think the parking prices were relatively expensive; around $30 a day for self park only. They have since reduced the prices to $22.70 a day for valet and $16.73 for self parking. They waived the parking for me for my entire stay; I stayed partially on points and partially on cash; technically I should have paid but they still waived it which was nice.
An annoying thing is once you get your room keys you need to separately walk to another desk to get them validated for parking; they don't work automatically you need to physically get them validated again. I walked out to my car and nobody told me this; got stuck at the gate. Had to re park and walk back to the lobby to get it fixed. Annoying; especially when nobody can pick up the phone.
When I checked out I had to remind them to remove the resort fee and breakfast and they did. PLEASE fix billing issues before you leave as in my experience it is extremely difficult if not impossible to get ahold of the front desk off property.
People on reviews were complaining about being stuck or trapped at the resort. There is an Avis on site but they are usually sold out. The resort now offers airport transfers through a vendor you need to book 24 hours in advance:
https://fareharbor.com/gsipuertorico , they offer other activities but there were a bunch of angry guests at the tour guest stating their tour had been cancelled as there weren't enough people attending and nobody was told beforehand - so maybe avoid booking any tours through this company apart from airport transportation.
Resort Information
The resort provided us with a qr code that gave us dining hours, room service menu, and other details. It seems to be updated weekly so I would check this link for information close to your stay:
http://qrco.de/bc6yd1
