We enjoyed this hotel for a relaxing getaway. The pool was very nice. We didn't eat in the restaurant, but there are some nice ones nearby. I would recommend to others.

My husband and I just returned from a 6 night stay at the Intercontinental. Stayed from April 25th until May 1st. We arrived at the hotel at 11:30 am. Check in time is at 4:00 pm, but the person checking us in (the concierge manager, who was incredibly kind, and very helpful), got us checked in early. Our room was oceanfront and worth every penny. The beds face the ocean so you can actually see the ocean immediately when you wake up. Rooms were kept incredibly clean every day. Housekeeping was very attentive. Complimentary shampoos, soaps, and lotions smelled very nice and were good quality. The balcony was standing room only. The pool area was nice. There were some cabanas that were first come, first serve. They were taken every day we were there except one day when we got to the pool by 9 am and snagged one finally! Security guards kept non guests from using the pool. I only wish they would have a designated smoking area; there were a LOT of smokers. Not pleasant for non smokers like me. Beach area was okay. Pretty scenery, but way too much seaweed. As you're standing in the water, all the seaweed gets intertwined within your legs and you feel like you're being swallowed by the stuff. There weren't a lot of people in the water, and I'm guessing the seaweed is the reason. But if you decide to go on the beach, the beach chairs are free, but the umbrellas cost $10 (which I thought was worth it instead of roasting in the sun.) Mediterranean Cafe has very good sandwiches. Frommer's recommended them and I can see why. I tried the lamb pita, my husband had the cuban sandwich. Sodas, a small paper cup at $3 each, do not come with free refills. Alfredo's (the inventor of Fettuccine Alfredo opened this chain) was also very good. I had, of course, Fettuccine Alfredo, and the chocolate molten cake. High class service, without the pretentiousness. Directly across the street there's a supermarket where you can get snacks and drinks. There's also a restaurant called MiCasitas that claims it has the best Mofongos on the island. They were very busy and had a line out the door. My husband and I both tried the beef Mofongos. If you're not so brave, there's also Subway, Domino's Pizza, Church's Chicken, Baskin Robbins, and Burger King in that same shopping complex. Be careful about taking taxi's around town. ALWAYS ask how much it costs to go somewhere BEFORE getting in the cab. They're supposed to work in zones, but we discovered that some drivers are dishonest to tourists because they don't think they know any better. I found this part to be very frustrating. There's an AVIS rental car service right in the hotel lobby. We rented a car for two days to go to El Yunque and Ponce the next day. Cost for two days, plus insurance cost $165. Self parking per day at the hotel costs $16. Parking lot is located across the street. Day of departure we used their hospitality room. It is available on a first come, first serve basis from 12 pm to 6 pm. We went at 4:45 and saw that no one had even used it all day; I don't think anyone knows about this service that they offer since they don't advertise it. It's free but it's only for 30 minutes. Overall stay was quite pleasant. We booked through priceline, so we got a great deal. I would never have payed full price for this resort. For the price I paid, I feel like I got a great resort. It was farther than I would've hoped for from Old San Juan; it was a 15 minute cab ride. The doors were paper thin, and had no buffer between the bottom of the door to the floor so you could hear every single door SLAM SHUT at night and all morning. You could hear the planes fly by, since the airport is only a 5 minute cab ride away, but if you ignored them, they really didn't bother you after a while. And lastly, even though the concierge manager guy (who was not even Puerto Rican which might explain it) was very nice, every single other person working at the concierge desk and the check in desk was incredibly curt and rude to my husband and me. I read a lot of reviews about how the staff was very rude, but until you live it, you don't realize how rude they actually really are.

My wife and I chose the Intercontinental primarily based on the reviews in trip advisor. We found this hotel to be exactly what we were looking for (beautiful-relaxing pool, nice beach, great service, modern rooms with a balcony, warm weather) and recommend this place without hesitation. Further details provided below:

Room: We debated between an ocean view room and a pool view in the club wing and chose the club wing for about $350/night AAA rate. The club wing is a 2 story building that is perpendicular to the ocean with all rooms facing the pool. The rooms are supposed to be slightly larger than the main building and each room has a balcony with chairs (see pictures). Each room in the main building had a balcony, but not big enough for chairs. None of the club rooms had a very good view of the ocean but the pool is stunning enough. With the club, you get free continental breakfast (bagels, fruit, hard boiled eggs, etc) until 10am and appetizers along with pour your own cocktails between 5pm and 7pm. The only thing that I did not like about the club was they did not let you take any food or drinks out of the common area, and I would have preferred to sit out on my balcony with a cocktail while watching the sunset. When we checked in, they upgraded us for free (without asking and without a priority club number) to a suite which was essentially two connecting regular rooms with a whirlpool and walk in closet (see pictures). From reading other comments, I think their policy is to upgrade if available, so off-peak times have a good chance of upgrades.

Hotel: This is a 4 star hotel with a beautiful pool well described by others. All of the employees were very nice and treated us like royalty. There was one lady who did not like to give out more than one towel at the pool but everyone else was magnificent. The fitness center overlooked the ocean with modern equipment (included in daily resort fee). They had a small spa that I would rate at 3/5 stars. Food and drinks at the pool were expensive, but nothing more than any other beach front resort that we have been to. However, a mini-mart, grocery store, and numerous chain restaurants (Subway, Church’s chicken, etc.) are across the street from the hotel. There are 3 dinner restaurants on site that were priced what you would expect for a resort ($20/plate at the Italian, $30/plate at the Japanese, $40/plate at Ruth’s Chris). We went to the Italian which was very good, great service, and it was nice to sit outside with the chirping frogs. We also went to the Japanese (hibachi - cook in front of you) which we loved. We did not go to Ruth’s Chris, but went to BLT Steak at the Ritz Carlton and it was very similar to a Ruth’s Chris in terms of quality and price. The Ritz was more of a 5 star property (i.e. Tiffany Co on site, etc.) but most of the rooms did not have a balcony and it was about twice the cost of the Intercontinental; after looking at both properties, we would stay at the Intercontinental again. The El San Juan Hotel next door was much more of a spring break atmosphere which was nice to visit, but we enjoyed retreating to our peaceful and relaxing hotel.

Restaurants: Within walking distance from the hotel, we went to BLT Steak (described above), Metropol (good quality local fare at very reasonable prices), and Mi Casita which we did not have a good experience at although you get a lot of food at a cheap cost. We also ate at Aquaviva in Old San Juan which had great seafood although expensive.

Activities: The rain forest was great. Some recommend renting a car but we did the guided tour ($57/person through the concierge) which was well worth it. We saw some people who rented a car and had no idea where to go or what to see and were essentially trying to follow our guide in their cars. Deep sea fishing out of old San Juan was a lot of fun (caught a 30lb Mahi Mahi through Grand Illusion Charter and they filleted for you if you want). We also enjoyed walking around Old San Juan.

This was our first visit to Purto Rico, and for our first stay we couldn't have chosen a more perfect place. The rooms were big, with a balcony and quite comfortable, and always kept clean. The staff were all very friendly but we found the concierge desk at all times to be very outgoing and helpful. One of the tours they recommended was the Catch a Dream Ranch, which was a 90 minute horse back riding experience like we will never forget thru the foothills of the rainforest and a run on the Rio Mar beach with a beautifull view of the El yungque rainforest in the background. We found the restaurant on the beach very nice along with several of the local area restaurants. Cabs are plentiful and the rates are set so regardless of the traffic situation your assured of the cost which we found quite reasonable and more relaxing than trying to rent a car and deal with the local traffic ourselves. Over all we had a great time.