Hostería Del Mar Guest House, San Juan

I read all the reviews before booking and thought that the negative reviews were all by non-conformists that just expect TOO. I can honestly say I am not one of those people and now wish I would have listened before I booked my romantic peaceful getaway which turned out to be HELL. I arrived at the hotel which is located in a very nice gated community, parking on the weekend is nearly impossible so we valeted the car, at an additional charge. We checked into our lower level “OCEAN VIEW” room, which is basically a screened door that leads out to their outdoor restaurant patio. We immediately closed the curtains to our “OCEAN VIEW” there was a table next to the door and they were staring right into out room. Upon entering the room we also immediately noticed the strong bleach smell. Not clean, just straight up bleach. I had to air out the room to let some of the smell out and thus, let all the mosquitoes in the room which we later had to fumigate. After our 3 day stay my room STILL stunk of bleach. I would recommend they use some other cleaning method than just bleach. I’m sure this is a health hazard. I also immediately noticed my feet were VERY dirty and I had only taken a couple of steps in the room, not sure if the maid just didn’t bother with the floors but they were very sandy and dirty, to the point that I had to clean them out in the shower. As I was cleaning them out, I noticed there was NO water pressure in the shower. I ran the hot shower for about 20 minutes and no water was coming out and the water pressure was not nearly enough to even wash my feet. I tried to call the front desk and then noticed, THERE IS NO PHONE IN THE ROOM! Yes, I had to get all my clothes back on and head down to the reception area to get some assistance. 30 minutes later, they sent up a guy that works in the kitchen who told me that the water looked fine and to just take a shower with the room temperature water because the plumber lived an hour away and he wasn’t coming back to help. I finally got my boyfriend to help with the matter and he ended up realizing they had installed a shower head that limits your water, he ripped off the shower head and VOILA! We had lots of water pressure and finally some warm water started to come out as well, we were left with a messy wet bathroom as the shower doesn’t have anything to keep the water in the shower.. we headed to our “private beach” only to realize that all the locals go to that beach and there is nowhere for you to lay peacefully, just a bunch of rowdy dudes playing on the sand and drinking beer etc.. We had lunch at the hotel restaurant which was really overpriced, about $25-$35 for a lunch entrée I figured this better be good! The service was slow and the food was mediocre. Later that night when we got back home, we realized there was a high school reunion being held which went on until about 12:30 AM right next to our room window.. I was too lazy to walk all the way to the reception to complain so I sucked it up and just fell asleep with some ear plugs! Next day, same situation but this time it was a wedding! Beach was crazy packed as usual and on top of that they had an 100+ guest wedding in the middle of that! Celebration went on til past 1AM, guests were drunk slamming doors, trying to open my doors and of course the group of people that always gather by my window to drunk chat! I had just about had it as this was already way too much for me to handle and the receptionist simply told me to speak to the manager the next day because they had authorized the wedding. At checkout, they also surprised me with a $75 a night dog fee which they never informed me of, YES, they say they are dog friendly and by that they mean they will charge you $75 a night for your 3lb yorkie! This hotel has NO regard for the comfort of their guests and feels more like a HOSTAL than a HOTEL. I would NOT recommend this hotel if you are looking for a nice clean place to get a good night’s rest.

On my way from New York City to the D.R. I stopped in San Juan for a couple of nights. An old friend recommended Hostería del Mar in Ocean Park, and I placed a reservation to stay at this property. This small hotel is fabulous, elegant and romantic. Our room had a nice terrace facing the Atlantic. For cocktails and dinner we went to their restaurant, UVVA, located on the beach, where a fusion of Mediterranean and Caribbean cousine was waiting for us every night. The staff was superb. My only complain is that the bar restaurant only opens until 10:00 pm. The staff was funny and helpful, especially Manny and Anibal, they went out of their way to help me, very different that the ladies working during the mornings. Two thumbs up for Hostería del Mar!!!