Not sure if this is the Ponce "Master Thread", but it was the most recent and relevant mention I could find. Which, after my recent stay, I think is a shame!

Returned on Tuesday from a 4 nt. award stay at the Hilton Ponce Golf & Casino Resort (Friday - Tuesday.) Flew into SJU on Friday afternoon...~93 miles and took almost 3 hrs by car due to traffic (the return was right at 1.5 hrs.) The property is large, self contained, and gated. Arrived around 7p, had a short wait to check-in due to people paying their bill IN CASH Received an "upgrade" to a room on the first floor of the far end of the executive tower.

Room: While at first I wasn't too impressed, I later realized it was actually a very nice location: larger patio with lounge chairs vs. just regular chairs on upper floors, privacy (no one walking past patio), same floor as executive lounge, parking right outside of room.) The room itself was adequate...king bed (as requested), desk, refrigerator, tile floor, wireless HSIA ($9.95, free in lounge), view of ocean (albeit across a lawn and through a few palm trees), nice glass-walled shower but no tub.

Cleaning each day did a good job of cleaning the beach/sand from the floors and changing sheets/towels, however we had a hard time with the toiletries. They have the standard Hilton "La Source" products, yet they were reluctant to provide more than one soap at a time, and never replaced the Qtip pack despite request (w/tip!).
Evening turndown was nice though with bed freshen/turndown, mint chocolates, a refresh of towels, 2 bottles of water each night, and a full ice-bucket. ^

Executive Lounge: Nicely appointed and located on the ground floor of the executive tower, with both indoor and outdoor (patio) seating. The lounge was never crowded during our stay, at most sharing with 1 other family. My first real vacation in a years, I had a hard time making it up in time for breakfast each morning, but the lounge agents were always very helpful in making sure I had a snack to get me through a rough day of lounging by the pool. On the final day I was able to see the full breakfast offering:
- multiple pastries (fruit jam and/or nut mostly)
- breads for toasting (sliced white and wheat, bagels, english muffins)
- fresh sliced and whole fruit (watermelon, pineapple, melon, apple, orange, etc)
- lite yogurt
- variety of cereal packs and milk

Available all day are whole fruits, water (Fiji), fresh brewed coffee (cool machine that grinds the beans and brews coffee selection as you wait), and some sodas.

Evening selection included a cheese, cracker, & crudite plate each nice. In addition there were random cold and warm appetizer mixes each evening (chicken salad, crab salad, shrimp ceviche-looking stuff, anchovy pizza slices.) 5-7:30p there is an honor bar in effect: $5.00 cocktail or wine selections (including a decent Brut sparkling wine, good deal compared to the other bar options.)

The concierges were helpful and friendly (particularly the morning guy!) and there are 2 complimentary computer terminals/printer for use. We enjoyed the outdoor small patio area each day, with good weather and beach sunset views (along with easy outdoor access to the pool, versus walking through the restaurants and bars via the other walkways.)

Dining: The website and in room documentation list quite a few dining options but we found only a couple of viable options.
El Bario is the pool-area bar. It serves resort-priced (but tasty) beverages and "bar food." Average daily consumption 11a-5p for two adults with lush-like tendencies was about $50...not horrible. The mojitos are highly recommended. ^^
Had late-night room service one night...it was quick, tasty, and reasonably priced.
Highly recommended is La Cava. It is the hotel's elegant dining option and is well worth it. It is small, quiet, and secluded, with only ~8 tables in the main dining room. The quality and service are EXCELLENT...the dining experience was honestly better than any I've had here in NYC. We "did it up" the first night there (Friday), and decided to return on the last as well. Upon being seated we were handed the dinner menu and "and the wine menu...I hear you really enjoy wine." Now, this was an attendant we absolutely did NOT see on Friday (where we ordered 3 bottles...)! Such service and recognition is much more expected in a 4 Seasons or RC or something than Hilton.

I did not visit the other dining options and have no comments other than that they were pretty much empty during my time at the hotel.

Activities:
The beach pretty much sucks. It's something you should try if you're there, but is worth no more than 30 minutes of the vacation. Hilton does a good job of securing the beach from outsiders (fences, wrought iron gates...) the fact is it is NOT ideal for swimming or lounging. The black sand is different and nice to see, however it quickly turns to uncomfortable rock once in the water. The water was quite turbulent and not clear during my visit. Trying to sunbathe on the beach was a challenge as well, with the wind practically sandblasting us the entire time. Others we talked to over the weekend had the same experience: time much better spent at the pool.

The pool was a large J shape. There were quite a few local families there on the weekend, but even so it was not difficult to find lounge chairs midday. By Monday we had the pool to ourselves...amazing. There are a few other entertainment options: mini-golf, table tennis, pool volleyball (all equipment available free in the fitness center.)

The casino and night club seem to be where the Ponce locals go for a big night out. They were never really crowded, but were busier on the weekend than weekday. Of note is that there is no smoking in any facilities ^ and they do not serve alcohol in the casino .

Location: We spent 2 nights off-resort in Ponce. Saturday evening in Centre Ponce led us to an unexpected arts festival in the center square. It was nice, very much a locals event, and we felt quite safe. Dinner options were unfortunately limited, but we happened upon Cafe Thomas where we tried a couple of great Mofungo dishes. It's worthwhile to note that we were told by multiple people that it would be easy to catch a return cab to the Hilton from downtown, however in the couple of hours we spent there we did not see one taxi driving around. Ended up having a local hotel call one ($10 each way.)

Sunday night was spent at the Ponce Boardwalk (La Guancha.) Not to be missed! A very short drive from the Hilton, it was certainly a highlight of our trip. Again, a very "local" event...live music, families, dancing, food, beer...we ended up befriending one of the local vendors and spending the evening talking to/drinking with him and his wife. Medalla beers for $1.50, Gasolina for $2.50...much much cheaper than the Hilton with a great local flair.

It's about 2hrs from the Arecibo Observatory and a little further to the caves (which, by the way, are closed to tours since a deadly accident in Jan 08.)

Overall a wonderfully relaxing stay. If anyone has specific questions about the property I'll be happy to try to help out.