Copamarina is a nice resort in Guanica, Puerto Rico. Very friendly staff make for an enjoyable stay. The rooms were very nice for the carribean. They are a decent size. We had a nice balcony overlooking the beach and pool area.
The food at the restaurants was ok, but the service was great. Especially if you do the all-inclusive, which I highly recommend if you don't rent a car to go elsewhere.
I went to Gilligans Island, which was nice. I would advise wearing beach shoes. There is a lot of sea shells.
The beach at the resort has a lot of sea grass. If you walk down the beach to the right past the fence, it gets better.
Rent a car if you are looking for entertainment because Copamarina is a resort for relaxing. The guitar player was nice at night after dinner.
I think the only thing that I didn't like was the picture Id necklaces for the all-inclusive guests. Arm bands would have worked for me. Even though we wore the Id's, the staff still asked for the room number everytime we went to the restaurant or to the bar.
We had an overall nice stay at Copamarina.

First let me see that the food, service and accomodations were WAY above par. Everything was perfect, except for the beach at that specific location. If you like bats, beautiful cactus, limestone caves and lots of interesting birds, the dessert to the north is beyond words - I could go back just for that aspect.

Prior to staying here, I did some research on Tripadvisor. Most people were concerned with the beach, which has its problems, but when you compare the best locations in PR, it's at the top of the list. Take El Conquistador for example - this is a great resort with all of the amenities but you have to take a ferry to go to the beach, and there is no snorkeling location nearby. Or, if you were to compare it to Culebra accomidations, you can find a location on Flamenco beach but you have to buy your own groceries. I could go on and on, but the only drawback to this place is the beach, and it is a short ferry ride away to Gilligan's Island, a mangrove outcropping just southeast of the location.

So lets talk about the most castigated aspect of this location - the beach. Copa is at the edge of a bay, approximately three quarters of a mile north of the edge of the reef line. As a result, there is little wave action, and LOTS of sea grass. It's just a normal part of that location. It does not feel good on the feet, and I do not recommend going into it - but that's not Copa's fault. Why do I say that? Well, it's very difficult (and for good reason) to get permits to build resorts on or next to reefs because of the damage they tend to inflict in terms of runoff and traffic. So if you want your reef at your doorstep, you may want to go somewhere else where you don't have everything else Copa offers.

That said, getting to reef - well, the FISH, in particular, is not difficult. There are four ways to go - a $6.42 ferry to Gilligan's Island, a $45 two hour snorkeling trip, by kayak or by swimming (only skilled triathalets should attempt this).

GILLIGANS ISLAND

A lot of folks here have critisized Gilligan's Island. Not worth the time, they say - too trashy - no fish, and no reef. Well here is the low down. I went through the island, around the island and on one of the trails. I went everywhere that one could go by foot or by swimming. There are five sections for exploration. The first is by foot. The foot trail on the northern tier is difficult, often slippery, and you WILL find trash nearby. That is because the college kids from Ponce and Mayaguez use Gilligans as a recreational location and are too drunk to clean up after themselves. You will find some of this trash - mostly pop cans - on the northern side of the island, along with sea grass. Although teeming with minows, its a waste of time for snorkelers.

Your best bet is outside on the southern, ocean-facing side and the two rivers that stream down from east to west. On the southern, outer edge of the island you will find some of the most beautiful and numerous fish colonies in the Carribean for snorkling (I should know as I've done most). They are under the mangroves and number in the hundreds. If you swim south towards the breaking water (which is about a half mile out) you will find about 20% reef and occasional fish. Be forewarned, however - the current is VERY strong. You should only attempt to swim out to the reef if you have the stamina and endurance to withstand the flow of water. I recommend going along the outside of the northern edge of the island, using the hanging mangroves to steady you against the current, until you get to the far east end of the island.

Once you hit the eastern edge you can stand and walk to the river mouth, and then drift snorkle down back to the west end where you first arrived on the boat. There are two rivers that merge into one - the north and south river. I did both several times and the southern one is the best for fish viewing. The trick here is NOT to look down as you won't see anything - the fish are all under the rocks and mangroves, under the shadows. You should wait until noon as there will be less shadow. Here you will find approximately 20 different species of fish, mostly babies, but some very large adults (who are feeding) hiding under the rock. Brace yourself under a mangrove and watch them peer out to see you. Once you get back to near the dock, where most of the people and children are, you might think there are no fish - but alas! There are hundreds. Minows, baby Sergant majors and in the little alcoves, crabs and shrimp. I also saw two VERY LARGE baricuda cruising through for a quick meal.

THE SNORKELING TRIP

One thing you should know is that warm weather and hurricanes have done damage to the Carribean reef system, with some reports showing that almost 90% of reefs are dead or dying. This is true, so don't be surprised if you dont see something from the cover of national geographic. That said, there are reef colonies and fish nearby. The snorkeling trip, which is a bit steep, is good to see coral, but not so much for fish. You are basically ferried straight out ot near the breakwater where the reef begins. I saw more fish in one spot at Gilligans than in the entire reef trip. I did see beautiful brain coral, finger coral and other coral colonies on the trip. If you MUST take it, however, you may be able to convince a local in the town nearby to take you there for less. If fish are you thing, stick to the island. It takes some daring, strength and patience, but you will see amazing biodiversity.

My wife and I stayed at the Copamarina from Thursday through Monday in late January and had an excellent time there.

We flew into San Juan, and took the hotel's shuttle to and from the airport. Both trips took three hours (traffic slowed us on the way there and a pit stop to pick up an additional passenger that never showed up slowed us on the way back). At $120 each way for two, it was a bit pricey, but we concerned about driving from other reviews we read. The drive is scenic, and not really that treacherous in my opinion. We'll definitely rent a car next time.

And I think there will certainly be a next time!

The staffmembers were very pleasant (with a few exceptions) and helpful, and the service was quite good (a little slower than we're use to in the states, but we were on vacation, so no worries)

We loved the food and the beach. If you get up rather early, you can likely get one of the three four-post beach "beds" that are very comfortable and I would recommend that you try to spend a few hours of your stay in one.

We did the All-Inclusive package, and were not dissappointed (although my pregnant wife would have liked to be able to take full advantage of the free drinks, she like the yummy frozen drinks sans alcohol). The breakfast buffet made for a tasty start to each day. The made-to-order omelets were just "OK" but everything else was right up our alley. For lunches, we loved the fact that the waiters that worked the beach would bring food in additon to beverages. The Chicken Quesadillas were delicious as was the grilled Tuna. We generally had a snack at the beach in the late morning followed by a late lunch at the outdoor restaurant. We both gained a few pounds from this trip!

Dinner was also quite tasty, although we stuck with more traditional dishes like Filet Mignon and Sea Bass versus some of the "Puerto Rican Nouvelle Cuisine" offerings. We sat in the resturant the first two nights, and reserved outside tables for nights three and four. Our servers were courteous and efficient, and the desserts were tasty, too.

As for drinks, the frozen drinks were very good, especially the mudslide. The bartenders worked hard to please, and we tipped them accordingly. I drink mostly beer, and the selection was pretty good for an all-inclusive place (selections included Heineken, Presidente, Medalia Light, and others) and it was always ICE cold.

As for the room, we stayed in an Oceanview room, and it was nothing special, but it had everything we needed. We did appreciate having access to the pool and the beach right outside our door!

I played volleyball everyday (beware, the ground is particularly hard on the court), and it was a fun game. My wife and I took out the big water tricycle, and it was a workout. The catamarans looked fun, but we did not take advantage. We went ona snorkeling trip that was fun, but we've been spoiled by trips to Maui such that we were a little disappointed in the number and variety of the fish that we saw.

The beach was clean, and well maintained, and there just wasn't much to distract us from our reading and sunbathing. It was, in a word, paradise.

All in all, I'd highly recommend the Copamarina to anyone who wants a relaxing trip. We did not bring our 20 month old son with us, but know that we will next time, as the Copamarina seemed like a great place for kids. We wanted to check out the villas to see if they would be good for a vacation with my wife's sister, her husband and their kids the next time around, but they were all booked up.

We'll report back when we visit again.

We didn't actually stay here, but we will next time. We found this when we were trying to get a day of diving on the south wall, and all the boats out of Paraguera were full.

The location can't be beat, the property is pristine, the dive op outstanding (and the wall is amazing), and there is plenty to do, or lots of deck chairs to do nothing if you so desire. The staff were friendly and helpful, and the facility is top notch.

If you contact the hotel directly you can get much better deals than we found on-line.

If we had been quoted the price we got when we went there for a day of diving, we would DEFINITELY have stayed there.