Gran Melia Puerto Rico

Description:

• Checking into this pocket of posh on the Miquillo de Rio Grande peninsula is the best reason for heading east of San Juan. An all-suite luxury resort, it has set new standards for comfort, convenience, and amenities along the Atlantic northeastern shoreline. Set amidst gardens of 40 acres (16 hectares), it opens onto the white sands of the mile-long (1.6km) shoreline of Coco Beach. From watersports to two 18-hole golf courses, the resort has everything on-site, including whirlpool baths and massage tables. Spa treatments revitalize and rejuvenate.

  You can also wander the globe in the widely varied restaurants, ranging from Italian to Southeast Asian. Naturally, the chefs also prepare locally caught seafood imbued with Creole flavor. One restaurant serves only Caribbean and Puerto Rican cuisine, whereas another offers its take on contemporary California. Yet another serves teppanyaki dinners with an adjoining sushi bar.

  Melía ditched the original all-inclusive concept and reopened emphasizing the resort's luxury, golf, spa, and other top-flight amenities. Royal Service entitles guests to continental breakfast, evening drinks and hors d'oeuvres, use of a private lounge, and other benefits. Bedrooms and suites are spacious and furnished luxuriously. The signature suites are divided among 20 elegant two-story bungalows. Rich mahogany pieces and elegant fabrics are used throughout. If you can afford it, opt for a Royal Service Suite; some even have a private Jacuzzi facing the Atlantic. The marble bathrooms are sumptuous.

  There's a lot to do here. The world-class golf courses are adjacent to the property at the Trump International Golf Club Puerto Rico, there's a full-service spa, a slew of watersports possibilities, and a Kids Club that will keep your young ones happy and busy. The staff is great at organizing water polo and beach volleyball games, and you can take salsa and merengue dancing lessons by the pool. It's a big reason why this resort is a cut above some competitors, and why you will have so much fun here. We're still talking about our stunning come-from-behind beach volleyball victory nearly a year later.

  Facilities: 6 restaurants; 3 bars; 2 outdoor pools; 2 golf courses; 3 lit tennis courts; fitness center; gym; spa; sauna; kids' clubs; business center; 24-hr. room service; babysitting; laundry service/dry cleaning; nonsmoking rooms; casino; medical services; rooms for those w/limited mobility.

• © Frommer's 2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Very Highly Recommended 2010