Rio Mar Beach Resort & Spa, a Wyndham Grand Resort

We just returned from 7 days at the Rio Mar resort. It was truly exceptional. The resort itself is stunning and the staff take great pride in it. The many common areas, lounges, bars, pool areas etc are well cared for, the gardens are stunning and the service is wonderful. We found the staff helpful, knowledgeable and incredibly friendly and welcoming--from the front desk crew and shuffle drivers,to the cleaning staff and the servers. Our room looked out over the mountains and in the evening it is exquisite to sit on the balcony and listen to the coqui (the local tree frogs) and birds singing as they settle for the night.

Food is expensive but there are other options if you look for them. There is a sandwich bar at the resort that makes for an easy lunch or light supper option. There is also a convenience store and bakery if you are willing to take a good walk out to the highway.

The beach is lovely and the water is warm. The surf conditions are well indicated --high surf is NOT recommended for non-swimmers or small kids) and a tractor comes by in the morning to clean up the seaweed and coconuts and other debris from the night waves. The weather, even in hurricane season, was superb. Small rain stroms come in but quickly blow over.

The resort can organize an excursion to El Yunque rain forest for you that is highly recommended. Our guide was Manuel and he was terrific--a Puerto Rican with a great sense of humour and strong knowledge of the rain forest and its wildlife.

Would we go back? Yes--in a heart beat.