Rio Mar Vacation Rental apartment

Because it was still available shortly before we arrived, we were upgraded to this one of a kind, spacious villa for a modest fee. It is in the set of white buildings farther down the road from the older, lower Ocean Villas. Our arrival didn't start off well as we arrived there in the morning but couldn't check in until after 3 pm (had to be cleaned). We had to hang around the pool area for a few hours. When we got into the villa, it looked like it had been cleaned rather quickly and not thoroughly -- the floors could have used some mopping, the tubs could have been scrubbed (still a grimy bath ring), the glass tables and windows could have been wiped down better, and the sheets were stained (not sure if these could not even be washed off, but I washed them anyway with bleach before sleeping in them). I expected better cleanliness and quality (a bit run down, cracks in the plaster, burned out light bulbs, layer of filth on the a/c and bathroom vents) upon check in, but it's a vacation rental and for the reduced price, it was tolerable.

The best part of the villa is its location, the adjacent pool area (one shallow and one deeper pool) is fabulous and a great place to hang out with plenty of chairs, chaises, and umbrellas. Beyond the pool area is the beach (brown fine sand) that provides good walking and beachcombing activities.

From the villa we took daytrips to Old San Juan, El Yunque, and original canopy tour. Rush hour traffic however is horrendous -- lots of traffic lights between Rio Mar and the toll highway to the Airport/San Juan. There's an Amigo supermarket a few miles on the left before the Wyndham turnoff from the main highway and another one on the right (behind the Walgreens) past the turnoff in the town of Luquillo. The best excursion by far is the luminescent biobay tour to Vieques from Fajardo (East Island excursions) -- what an experience!

For dining, we recommend King's Seafood in Luquillo (good prices and food) and Richie's farther up the hill from the Wyndham (good lively atmosphere, good food but more pricey). We tried the Luquillo kiosks (La Parilla and the Italian one) but didn't find them necessarily worth the price.

All in all a good trip and the villa provided a good base for exploring PR if you don't want or need to be closer to San Juan. The outside amenities the villa offered (pool and beach) are excellent, but the villa itself in terms of cleanliness and quality is not worth the full rates they charge.