Inter-Continental San Juan Resort & Casino

We love the pool area and the cafe overlooking the beach, but this is a regimented resort where service often proves too rigid or flops. On the plus side, the comfortable, medium-size rooms, which underwent a needed renovation in 2007, have balconies and terraces and tastefully conservative furnishings. Executive Club-level rooms carry additional features such as complimentary meals and drinks. However, neither the casino nor the lobby entertainment can compete with those at the El San Juan next door.

There are some fine restaurants here. Ciao Mediterranean Café is the best beachfront restaurant perhaps in the city, with tables stretched out along a long boardwalk, in the shade of the palms, where you can enjoy a brick-oven pizza and watch the frolicking in the water. There's also Ruth's Chris Steak House, and an excellent sushi teppanyaki place, Momoyama, where the tableside chefs put on quite a show.

Warning: We've been frustrated by the staff's inability to resolve a variety of situations (ranging from an air conditioner problem to changes to a bill). If it's not in the book of rules, they are clueless. We were particularly annoyed by the aggressive enforcement of a guest-only policy at the pool by security personnel -- that is, don't enter the pool area without your room key and or your day-glo wristband, or you'll be asked to leave (and not too politely). And if you want visitors to sit with you by the pool, the hotel will charge you a steep per-person fee for the privilege. Since many travelers going to Puerto Rico are visiting friends or family, this can be an issue.

Facilities: 3 restaurants; lounge; the Caribbean's largest free-form pool; whirlpool; health club; sauna; scuba diving; limo service; business center; 24-hr. room service; massage; babysitting; laundry service; dry cleaning; Wi-Fi Internet, rooms for those w/limited mobility

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

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