Negatives:

-Stayed at San Juan Isla Verde arrived around 1p, not accommodated w/ early check in until 4p by that time kids were cranky and tired.
-House keeping horrible, dirty comforter was set aside to be changed instead they used the same comforter, flipped it around. Did not come daily, had to call to get room made.
-Bathroom is small.
-Cafe by pool and Italian place included tip charges even for take out.
-Business center charges a fee for internet services.

Positives:

-Hotel decorated nicely...most of staff very friendly
-kids love the pool and beach, beach entrance closes early.
-taxi convenient located outside the hotel
--mini mall w/ food restaurants across the street (starbucks next hotel over), brand name pharmacy walking distance
-provides towels and beach chairs for beach
-mini Refrigerator, iHome radio, made in Paris hair shampoo/cond, comfortable bed
-small casino open 12n-4am....can use casino comp towards food and room
-Restaurants in hotel: Cafe by pool - good freshly made pizza, Jap restaurant - great habachi, Ruth Chris...do not recommend Italian restaurant
-rent a car available

Taxi cost (not including tips)...beats paying for gas and looking for parking:

-To and from hotel: $10.5-11.00 each way
-To and from Plaza las Americas mall: $18 each way (supposedly biggest in carribean - typical american malls)
-To and from Old San Juan: $19 each way (lots of souvenir shops, stores are small and do not accommodate strollers, food costly esp authentic puerto rican food).

A friend and I went to San Juan for a girls' weekend and to celebrate her birthday...there were great surprises from the beginning! The concierge upgraded us to a garden/pool view from a city view and had a cake waiting for my friend upon our arrival along with a personal message for her. Even the person checking us in wished her a happy birthday.

The hotel is older but very clean and well-maintained and the pool is absolutely sublime! The waterfall gives an excellent massage...and the hot tub is the perfect temperature. The only complaint either of us had was the length of time we had to wait on the best pina coladas ever by the pool. The music was fun and the towels plentiful by the pool...and the attendants by the beach were glad to set up a beach chair immediately.

The only place we dined onsite was the Japanese steakhouse...very good and the maitre'd was delightful but the restaurant was incredibly warm. We walked to restaurants in the area and there is a Starbucks in the lobby next door!

I will definitely return...beach was fabulous and clean, iPod alarm clock for your own paradise playlists, taxis are always easily accessible, every request is met with a smile, service was expedient and the beds heavenly!

I booked my trip through Costco Travel, which only has a limited number of hotels in Puerto Rico to choose from. I was reading mixed reviews here so I was a little nervous. Turns out the people bashing this hotel are either crazy or working for competing hotels.

It truly is a four-star hotel. The location, rooms, grounds, staff, restaurants, etc. are all great. Every room has a balcony, and although my booking said I was getting a "Garden/Pool" view, I also had a view of the ocean (and no, I didn't have to stand sideways and lean over to see it!). The room was a really good size: I had even a desk and "living room area" with a couch and chair. The bathroom was fine, not anything spectacular but certainly better than average.

I went to the Momoyama restaurant the first night, and ate at the Italian one for breakfast buffet every day since it was included in my package. Of course it's overpriced, but you're in a luxury tourist hotel and you either deal with it or you don't. There are plenty of fast food and "regular" places around to eat if you choose. I love Ruth's Chris (also in the hotel) but I figured I can eat that at home so I didn't check it out.

The concierge staff could not have been more helpful. You sometimes are in for a wait to talk to them, but that's because they go out of their way to take their time with each person. They provided valuable tips such as to take the public bus to Old San Juan. Although I was a woman travelling alone, they assured me that it would be fine. They were right: it goes through "the projects" at some point, but it got me there just the same and I paid $1.50 round trip instead of $40 by taxi!

I visited the spa also, which was very nicely appointed and very modern. I felt rushed during my massage (not their fault--long story) but the facial was amazing!

With the exception of the waiter at the pool (had to practically stalk him to get a cocktail), every staff member was really friendly and top notch.

Unless you're the Queen of England or something, I can't figure out who would find this hotel anything less than outstanding. The only complaint I'd really have is that the walls and doors are a bit too thin. Unfortunately toward the end of my stay, I had a particularly amorous couple next to me...I called the front desk and they explained that it's a common complaint and the next time it happened, they'd send security up to knock on the door and tell them to quiet down. I never had to (I later came out of my door at the same time as the guy, and gave him such a look that he was completely mortified!), but the hotel was ready to take care of it and that was much appreciated.

I would highly recommend this hotel. It's luxury that's not too "full of itself", and I loved it.

My wife and I stayed at the Intercontinental for our honeymoon. We were there for 4 nights. Upon arrival we were greeted by some very friendly doormen who helped us with our bags and also immediately fixed a mixup with our parking. The valet service costs more than just parking your car yourself, so I wanted them to bring back my car so I could park it myself in the parking lot across the street. They were very understanding and quick about it.

When we checked in, I asked what type of room we had since we booked it through priceline and they didn't give us any room information. They informed me that we were in a city-view room and that it could be upgraded for an additional cost. I told the lady at the counter it was our honeymoon and they upgraded us to an ocean view room at no additional cost. The woman at the front desk also informed us that the power was out and some things were running on generator power but that didn't include lights and AC in the rooms. During this time, the elevators were working intermittently which was a bit annoying. Luckily the power was back on in about an hour.

The staff at the hotel was very responsive and very friendly. If there was anything we needed, they either had it or found a way to get it. At one point the memory card in my wife's digital camera broke and got stuck in the camera. We called the desk and asked if they had tweezers or something we could use to remove the damaged card. Within minutes, they sent an engineer to our room with a pair of pliers and he carefully removed the card without damaging the camera.

The room we had wasn't very big and the bathroom was very small. Nothing very fancy about it. But the view of the ocean outside our little balcony was fantastic. At times we just left the sliding doors open so we could listen to the ocean. We also had a pretty good view of the pool area which is very nice. We spent quite a bit of time in the pool and at the wet bar. We met another couple our age from Philadelphia and actually went out to dinner with them that night at a place recommended to us by one of the doormen.

The bartenders at the hotel were great. The bartender we had at the pool was very friendly. She was happy to take our picture and her service was stellar. The bartender at the bar in the lobby was very nice as well.

The hotel had a good security staff as well. They stressed the importance of only letting hotel guests onto the premises which made me feel better about my things not being stolen. When I told one of the security staff that no one had checked to see if I was a guest the day before, he said that it was unacceptable and he would correct the problem.

This was our first trip to Puerto Rico and it was very memorable. Our honeymoon was everything we hoped it would be. I will definitely stay at the Intercontinental if/when I return to Puerto Rico.