Well, The place is beautiful. The beach is barely so so..no real swimming as it is shallow and murky. The help is excellent and is not paid well so tip them as much as you can. A wonderful waiter there said he was only paid $ 5.50 an hour. Frankly I am not a fan of loud music and it was hard to escape the noise coming from the pool area..it made me nuts. The shows they had were first class from stage presentations to belly dancing. The food is excellent but their system of reservations for the restaurants is completely out of whack. They would say they had no room when they were half empty and people were rightly miffed at the way they handled it. They should have no reservations at all and it would work a lot better. There is a Mexican style restaurant there...skip it..not worth it. The public space, bars etc. is very classy with marble floors, fountains and comfortable and spacious. It is not a barefoot and torn jeans or wet bathingsuit type of atmosphere at all...more like a swank hotel. The aesthetics of the whole place are excellent and the people very nice and that is why I am giving it a four star. Be prepared to gain five pounds!

Just returned from a geat vacation at Paradisus Puerto Rico. Beatiful grounds, great pool, good food, friednly service, great Spa, great tenis, we had a wonderful relaxing time.

This was the first time in Puerto Rico, for my husband and I. We had a really great visit. The grounds were clean, very friendly staff, housekeeping staff were very efficient. The food was great. The onsite restrauants were great. Weather could not have been better. The golf course is still under work. The hotel was beautiful, bellboys and staff were so friendly. By the end of the week they new you by name or bungalow number.
The beach was nice with all the water activities. The pool was great. Really nice sitting areas around pool and lots of lounge chairs. No problem finding any. Would like visit again.

My husband & I just returned from a 6 night stay at the Paradisus. I noticed lots of mixed reviews, so thought I would write my own to help out anyone that is planning a trip.

Royal Services-
I'd like to start by suggesting to everyone to book a "Royal Service" room. I was unsure if this room category would be worth the extra cost. IT WAS!!! It is especially worth it if you want a quiet, pampered stay. You will be provided with rooms that are in closest proximity to the beach and pools (although still very private and far from any loud activitiy). Butler service is a phone call away - the butlers were fantastic - they gave us a thorough tour of the resort with tips and ideas for things to do. They set up our ocean front deck (which had a nice jacuzzi) with a "champagne sunset" including a bottle of champagne and a set up bubble-filled jacuzzi to relax in. They also were able to "squeeze us in" to a restuarant of choice although it was booked on my birthday, and when we returned to our room there was a birthday cake for me! These are just a few the the perks of this Royal Service. There is also a private lounge area which has free internet acess, breakfast, snacks and drinks throughout the day. It was a nice place to grab coffee in the morning and read the paper. There is an "adults only" pool which had plush teak lounge chairs and palapas surrounding the pool. The music was quiet and relaxing, the bartenders there were fantastic. One tip - grab a chair early, although the bartenders will bring up regular beach lounge chairs when the plush ones run out - I just like to be spoiled. Royal Service also reserved an ocean front palapa (bed-type cushioned lounge under a thatched roof) each day, where we took our 5:30 naps).

Staff-
Okay - moving on to the rest of the resort. Everyone in the staff was terrific - and very helpful. There was a "mess up" when we first arrived, mostly because of the hour that we arrived (4:30 am). Although we were supposed to have a Royal Services room, the front desk had sent us to Suite which was not in this category. When the bellman brought this to our attention, we went back to the front desk, where they were not able to do anything until the morning. So, we had to stay for the night in one room, then move to another the next day. Because of this mix up, the hotel quickly upgraded us from a Garden View Royal Services Suite to and Ocean View Suite, which I thought was a great way to handle the mix up!

Restaurants -
Make your reservations upon arrival! Make sure to go to Romantico - it was the best there. If for some reason you can't get in, stop by the restaurant at 6:00 (opening time) and they can sometimes squeeze you in. Bamboo was good - a typical hibachi restaurant. Avocado was best for lunch, and dinner was okay, but service at dinner was slow. My husband & I are not big fans of buffets, but thought that Avocado's lunch buffet & Toscano's dinner buffet were both great. Please realize that all restaurants have lunch buffets! Mirador is on the beach/large pool, but has very casual food, and seemed to have poor service anytime we went there.

All-Inclusive-
We have only been to one other all-inclusive resort (Sandals St. Lucia) and that didn't compare. The brands of liquor at the bar are great for an all-inclusive (although with royal services you can get just about anything you want - just ask). The food is very good quality and the grounds are spectacular!

Property-
The Paradisus is beautiful! The open-air lobby area is georgous at night - lit by hundreds of candles and lanterns. The main pool area is huge. This area is expecially fantastic for families with children (try to grab a palapa to hang out in - many families used this as a shady escape). There is also a swim up bar in this area and lively music. It is true, the beach is not a clear-blue swimmable beach. However, for someone like me who loves the ambience of the ocean surrounding you while you enjoy the pool - it is perfect! It is lagoon-like (the waves break far out over a reef) so many people are out on paddle boats and hobie cats. It is still beautiful - don't let this stop you from coming to the Paradisus! There is a very large sand beach area with many, many lounge chairs, so there is always somewhere to lay around.

Our experience overall was excellent (and I am a tough critic when it comes to resorts). Go - enjoy! And - try out that royal service (Travelocity gave us a good deal on this - look there!)

Email me with any questions!