This was our first trip to Puerto Rico. On the advice of a friend who had visited last year, I booked outside of the San Juan area as he said that’s what they would do if they went back again (they are actually planning on getting married in PR in 2014). The Wyndham Rio Mar had fair reviews on Orbitz and Yelp and was within our budget for a five night, six day stay so I went for it. We truly needed a nice break to escape DC and job stress, and we absolutely got that. But I wasn’t thrilled with the staff at the hotel. The only people that were friendly and helpful (at the concierge desk, at the tour and travel desk, at the towel hut) were the Wyndham reps that were trying to sign us up for special “invite only” lunches or breakfasts to learn about timeshare options. The reward for sacrificing two-three hours of your vacation were tempting, spa credits, room credits etc. But that isn’t what we were in Puerto Rico to do. The rep at the concierge desk even told him we were going to be wasting our money on spa services by not going to his lunch. Note: I don’t think we wasted a dime on our 80 minute Swedish massages, those were great. We were asked each day by at least one person to sign up for a timeshare meeting. Thanks, but no thanks. We also found the waiters were very inattentive at both breakfast and lunch at Marbella and dinner at Shima. However, Lisa at Iguana’s Pub at the golf course on our second to last day was very sweet and attentive. We wish we had gone up to the golf course earlier in the week. The staff at the Dragonfly tour desk was so unhelpful and unenthusiastic that we went upstairs and booked tours on our own based on Yelp reviews (which we should have done all along). FYI East Island Excursions did a great catamaran snorkel tour. I also paid a little extra for an ocean-view room, which ended up being an end, corner room with distant ocean views, mountain views, and a view of the service entrance to the hotel. I wouldn’t pay extra for that again without clearly saying “ocean front” room. Otherwise, the room was always clean after maid service and it served our purpose for relaxing. We did greatly enjoy lounging by the adult pool and the proximity of the hotel to El Yunque. The hotel was also very close to the food kioskos where we enjoyed monfungo and other local treats (too much fried food!), and chatting with the owner’s son. If/when we go back to Puerto Rico, I would rather stay closer to San Juan to partake in more nightlife and dinner options. As a young couple without kids, I think that is more our scene. That being said, I think the Wyndham is a fine option for families that are not planning to leave the resort much. Or families in the market for a timeshare.