We stayed for two nights during the Presidents' Week holiday, so we expected it to be very crowded, which it pleasantly was not. The lobby was lovely and gave the feeling of a larger, more luxurious hotel. Glad to have a small game room in the lobby with a great air hockey table for my teenager. The pool is lovely and large, and usually no problem finding a chair. The beach was okay with only a few chairs. The beachfront area in front of this u-shaped hotel was small, but you had a lot of beach to walk on on either side. There were other small hotels to the left and a water sports rental place not far that had jetskis, banana boat rides, kayaks, etc. (but no sailboats). The beach was ordinary, with some waves and water more dark green, like the Atlantic. Rooms were ordinary, clean, of the Holiday Inn type of decor and size with a small balcony. The hotel has a sweet courtyard with a kids swings area and a garden with lots of hammocks and a couple of picnic tables for shady napping or reading - a nice touch. Good service at the front desk and by housekeeping. The gift shop was never open; nor was the wine bar in the lobby. Room service got most of our orders wrong. The room comes with free buffet breakfast, which was fine for free - the usual stuff, eggs, breakfast meats, greasy potatoes, some fruit, yogurt...but very good coffee. Not sure if I'd stay in the same place when I come back to Rincon. I'd probably want to stay in a funkier, smaller place near the surfing beaches or one of the paradors to get more local culture.

The good.
The hotel is well maintained, clean, with pleasant grounds, a nice large (albeit shallow)pool, nice poolside bar, and an excellent location on one of the best beaches in Rincon. It really is very nice. Oh, and the sunsets are to die for.

The Bad.
Get your reservation confirmation in writing as they are not above changing the deal prior to arrival. It took quite a bit of effort (even after booking in June for New Years) to get a written confirmation.

The "Beach Cabana" rooms are not cabanas at all but simply ground floor rooms of the hotel. When we discovered this, we asked to be moved and were promptly found a room on the third floor.

The views from the balconies are pretty much non-existent except for maybe 10 or 15 rooms at the very ocean end due to palm trees which have grown so tall and lush as to blot out any view. If you like palm fronds, you'll love it.

The air conditioning units blow hot air right on to the balcony so there is no sitting on the balcony while the AC is running. By morning, the balcony is very warm, too warm to enjoy.

Noisy. It seemed there was a wedding every night, and loud music was constantly blaring. At one point, there were two receptions going on at the same time and the resultant cacaphony at 10:30 pm was enough to rouse me to complain, twice. A real drag.

The Ugly.

The food service was abysmal. The breakfast buffet was fine, lunch extremely iffy, once you got it which was often 40 or more minutes. The dinners provided with the meal plan were really bad. Whatever you do, don't get a meal plan. There are a lot of really great places to eat in Rincon, enjoy them.

The Bottom Line.

If you are looking for a resort style hotel with a big pool and swim up bar, this is the only game in town. And the kids will love it! All the kids I saw were having a blast.

Would I go back? Maybe, but only because I am armed with the knowledge I have now and wouldn't be so disappointed.

I stayed at the Rincon of the Seas for my honeymoon and it was the trip of a lifetime.

We were ecstatic to find our hotel after the 2 and a half hour drive from San Juan. When we first walked in we were struck by the grandeur of the open air lobby and the antique furnishings. Also, the front desk staff was very helpful.

Our room was acceptable. The bed was comfortable and the balcony was a nice touch. The satellite TV was on the fritz so we didn't get many channels but we weren't in the room much anyway.

The main restaurant was not open but the open air restaurant was very nice. I think we ate there 4 times during our stay and didn't get tired of the food. Rachel was our waitress and she happily answered all of our questions no matter how stupid they may have been. Also, we got the complimentary breakfast. The breakfast could have been warmer but I think if we had gotten there a little earlier it probably would have been.

The pool bar was fantastic. Jose, the bartender, was very friendly and prompt with our drinks. (he makes a great martini by the way)

The beach was lovely. There was a little erosion due to the recent tropical storm but that didn't stop us from enjoying it. We did some swimming and some sunning. But mostly we spent the evenings out there, watching the sunsets (which are AMAZING!!!), listening to waves and the coquis and drinking daiquiris.

Also, the landscaping was great. Beautiful trees and beatiful flowers. We did spend one morning lounging in the hammocks.

The hotel was great but I recommend that you don't spend all your time there. Get to know Rincon. Take the time to explore the crazy hills and winding roads. The beauty of this place will not disappoint.

Also, everyone in this town is laid back and friendly. I recommend that you make the trek to the Americanized area of town and check out the surf and the surfers. The waves were HUGE when we were there. (Oh, and the lighthouse everyone talks about, "El Faro", it's not much to look at. The natural scenery and beauty outdoes it BY FAR!)

As for the local establishments:

We visited a restaurant called Angelo's for dinner one night. We got all dressed up and headed out, only to be quite disappointed when we pulled up. The restaurant didn't look like much from the outside. However, when we went in, our outlook changed. Flowers on every table, beautiful furnishings and Angelo himself was our waiter. Check out the Angelo's specialty. This place could not have been more welcoming and the food, well it just doesn't get any better than this.

We visited Calypso for lunch. Great steak burritos. Again, a fabulous atmosphere and a wonderful view. The staff was welcoming and friendly.

Also, be sure to visit the Tamboo Beside the Pointe. This is one of the most amazing bars I've ever been to. Again, it was the laid back atmosphere and the friendliness of the staff that made me want to come back again and again. The food's good too and the drinks are CHEAP compared to the hotel! It's a little hard to find but as they'll tell you in Rincon, every road goes to the same place. Keep driving and you'll find it!!

We were there in the off-season so we didn't have many other tourists to contend with. I can't speak for the high season but as far as my experience goes, if you like seclusion, relaxtion and friendly people I would definitely recommend Rincon and the Rincon of the Seas. I know we plan to go to back someday.

We recently stayed at the Rincon of the Seas for four nights. The hotel is very clean and the staff is amazingly accomodating and friendly, but the hotel is certainly not a 4 or 5 star hotel. We are frequent travelers and my husband I agreed that the staff was probably the friendliest and most helpful staff of any hotel. The rooms are quite tired and dated, but since the hotel was so reasonably priced, and breakfast was included, we were not unhappy with our stay. The beach is lovely, as is the pool area, but the strap chairs are quite worn and need to be replaced. It was pretty quiet when we were there, which we were very happy about, but were told that it is the off season and it is much busier from November on. If you are looking for a low key, rather inexpensive resort, then you would probably be happy with this hotel. If you are looking for luxury, this is not for you. It is a great place to relax!