Rio Mar resort/hotel was nice for the money we spent on the room, we had a king bed resort view room. The room actually faced the mountains and rainforest which in my opinion was better than a beach view. Rio Mar is in close proximity (~20 min) to the rain forest which is a must see. It is also a short drive (~10 min) from the Kioskos which is a collection of resturants and shops with some really good local food. Make sure to try Tapas 13 if you are into that sort of stuff, the grouper ceveche and diablo shrimp were awesome. Old San Juan is a 30-45 min drive depending on traffic, they have shuttles for this as well as arranged tours through a local service but I would suggest taking a car so you can take you time. I took one of the arranged tours and felt rushed throughout. The beach at the resort is pretty nice, however the surrounding beaches were suprisingly dirty. You will find everything from drift wood to broken bottles to old tires stuck in the sand so be careful if you walk off of the resort beach. The resort offers a variety of water activities such as jet ski rental, catamaran rental as well at 2 pretty good sized pools. The food at the hotel is decent, however, it is extremely over priced for the quality of the food. Count on spending ~$150 per person per day if you are going to eat your meals at the hotel. Also make sure to get a rental car at the airport if you are staying here. You can rent a car at the hotel but the rate reflects the convenience of this option. The shuttle from the airport is pretty expensive plus its good to be able to leave the resort grounds for meals and local attractions. Overall there are plenty of activities at/around the resort and the room rate was pretty reasonable. My one strong suggestion would be to make sure you have a rental car, you will have to pay for parking but its worth it to be able to visit the surrounding areas.

This resort exceeded expectations. This is probably the nicest place I have stayed and I have stayed in some pretty nice places (4-5 star in Paris, Hawaii, Chicago). The grounds are gorgeous. The staff is the friendliest I have seen. Always wanting to help. Angel at the tour desk made our reservations for activites and clearly explained any details we needed to know. It is easy to go get a bike for biking or playing a round of golf. The room was probably the most basic that was available and was still over the top. It had an incredible bathroom and shower, very large room overall, cd player, porch with furniture, mini fridge that you could actually use (not just minibar fridge, but items were available for purchase if you like). The location was good for us right near the rainforest, but about 30 minutes from San Juan. Definitely rent a car but it is an easy drive. Of course this kind of service and presentation doesn't come cheap, but at least you get what you pay for. We visited another 4 star property in San Juan for gambling, and while it was nice, it wasn't over the top like the Bahia. So, despite the cost, there is a level of value here. No way I would return to Puerto Rico and stay anywhere else.