99 Best Hotels in Puerto Rico

On one of the best swimming beaches in town, Villa Confresí is Rincón's oldest hotel, making it extremely popular with Puerto Rican families. This hotel is particularly famous for "El Pirata," a rum-filled coconut served at the beachfront bar. Guest rooms are more spacious than most, especially those with kitchenettes, and deluxe rooms have balconies with ocean views and are much quieter than those surrounding the pool. The restaurant, La Ana De Cofresí, serves excellent red snapper and Angus beef. The hotel can arrange a host of water sports.

Check out their couples packages for romantic getaways. 

You'll be transported back to the 19th century in this exquisitely restored former mansion with timeworn bare walls, original floral-tile floors, and beamed ceilings. Individually styled guest rooms are split between two levels: those below are in the original house and open onto a narrow Spanish-style courtyard with a fountain and a sour-orange tree; those above are in a modern rooftop extension. All are graced with a mix of original antiques, such as armoires, and retro-theme contemporary furniture straight from the pages of Vogue. Many have canopied beds. Plasma TVs are a nod to modernity.

This cluster of villas, on a deserted stretch of beach between Isabela and Aguadilla, feels like its own little town, one where you can leave the car in your garage, and then head upstairs to an airy studio or one-, two-, or three-bedroom suite with hand-carved mahogany furniture and canopy beds. Studios have kitchenettes, while larger suites have full-size kitchens and laundry rooms. The Eclipse, the open-air bar and restaurant, serves contemporary Caribbean cuisine prepared with herbs from the hotel garden. Playa Shacks, a very popular beach for snorkeling, diving, kiteboarding, and surfing, is nearby.

The rooms in this gingerbread-trimmed hotel are clustered around small courtyards filled with bright tropical flowers. Many have balconies overlooking the bay, so make sure to look at a few rooms before you decide which to take. A spacious dining room overlooking the pool serves excellent Puerto Rican and international dishes. On Saturday night there's live music and a floor show in the dance club.

Not all beach houses are created equal, as Villas Tres Palmas makes clear. The hand-hewn columns and railings on this gorgeous three-story house might make you think you're in the South Seas. The exotic decor continues inside, where wooden headboards and other furnishings are carved with intricate patterns. The enormous house has five bathrooms and six bedrooms that look out toward the tropical gardens surrounding the kidney-shaped pool. You can rent out the entire property or individuals rooms, based on availability. Beyond the pool, at the foot of the property, is the palm-lined beach. This is Tres Palmas, which has a break that makes it popular with surfers.

One-, two-, and three-bedroom cottages—painted in cheery pastels—are the heart of this simple beachfront hotel. Built in 1960 as a getaway for the Hau family, the accommodations aren't luxurious, but if you're looking for an unpretentious atmosphere, you'll be hard-pressed to do better. Home cooks should consider one of the villas or cottages, all of which have full kitchens. At one end of the private beachfront boardwalk are three eco-lodges that utilize rainwater and solar energy. The open-air restaurant is known for its excellent fish and shellfish. The hotel also has outdoor grills, as well as basketball and volleyball courts reserved for guests. Prices start at $170 and go up to $250 per night, and pets can tag along for an additional fee.

This sprawling resort offers a host of outdoor activities, including championship golf and tennis as well as hiking in the nearby rainforest. During turtle-nesting season, staff can arrange for guests to witness the gentle giants laying eggs on the beach. The property teems with large groups, from business travelers attending a meeting at the oceanfront convention center to package-tour groups. The seven-story hotel wraps around a bevy of gardens; the long beach offers escape from the hectic lobby; and multiple pools, including an adults-only haven, swirl around the property. Indoor fun for adults includes the hotel's casino. Views of both ocean and rainforest are lovely.

Amid acres and acres of condo developments and golf courses, the Wyndham Candelero is surprisingly modest in scale, given its opulent surroundings, but it does have a beautiful pool area. Recent renovations have created a "boho-chic" environment, creating a space that blends beautifully with the surrounding El Yunque National Rainforest. None of the rooms has an ocean view, but some have balconies overlooking the infinity pool or the lush grounds. You have access to all of the facilities, you can stroll around the marina, play a few games of tennis, or hit the links at the two championship golf courses.

This cute little hotel is just west of the popular Luquillo Beach, but the hotel's own strand is nearly as nice and almost always deserted. The pastel exterior and balconies dotted with flowers add charm, although the sign off the kitschy boat-shape bar reading "Welcome to paradise" might be a bit on the nose. Spanish colonial–style barrel-tile roofs and white stucco walls surround modest guest rooms spread between two floors; upstairs ocean-view rooms, some with balconies, cost more but are worth the nominal upcharge. At high tide, the water meets the building off the backyard beachfront, and the adjacent patio offers killer views.