Help with Puerto Rico hotel recommendations
 

Just back from Aruba and like all good travellers I'm planning our next trip. Since we bought at the Aruba Ocean Club, we have a free week through interval international. Our kids want to go to Puerto Rico and the interval list of hotels is as follows: Aquarius Vacation Club at Embassy Suites, Club Cala de Palmas, ESJ Towers, Hyatt Hacienda del Mar and Plaza Resort at Palmas del Mar. I found nothing on the Rants and Raves section of this website and need feedback about how clean the rooms and furnishings are (I'm a clean freak), beach, casino proxminity, safety, etc. Thanks for any input.

TTT

Embassy Suites has it's own casino, ESJ is next door to the El San Juan. Both are pretty nice. ESJ is on the beach, don't know much of the others.
Ronnie

We stayed at ESJ a few years ago and seems to be perfect for families with kitchen and bedroom units. It is right on the beach, the rooms were clean, there was a car rental place right next door and a Denny's very close which we used for breakfast.

The Hyatt on the Dorado side of the island is lovely, I don't personally have kids but Hyatts do have kid programs. You will want to get a car to see other parts of the island. just another option.

Embassy Suites has a casino but is not on the beach.

San Juan Towers is on the beach but does not have a casino. It is right next door to the El San Juan, which does have a casino and good resaurants and nightlife. It is also a short walk to the Ritz Carlton, which has the best casino in San Juan.

Both the Embassy Suites and the San Juan Towers are in the Isla Verde area which is both close to the airport and very developed and crowded. I mention this because if you expect a quiet, tropical paradise, Isla Verde is probably not for you. You may be better off at the Hyatt or Palmas del Mar, which are outside the San Juan area.

check out the wyndham el san juan (not old san juan). you'll never leave the resort!!!

citygirl, the ESJ is not an option for them. They are using their time-share week - no time-shares at the ESJ.

mjmre: We bought a time share in Hawaii and therefore have an weeks too. We exchanged our week for one at Hacienda Del Mar in PR via Interval. Now we have a bonus week (we get two for one because ours is in Hawaii). But am having trouble using it?! Are you trading on line or through the local office? I'll update you after our week in PR the week of October 20.
Good luck! How is the Ocean Club in Aruba? We're already planning another trip!