We stayed April 10-20th, 2008 at the Embassy Suites Dorado Del Mar. It is a beautiful hotel, with a lush courtyard and nice pool area with several pools. A haven for children! The pool and beach area had plenty of chairs at all times for you. There are some shade trees also to sit under if you wish to avoid the sun.
Hotel Room: Clean as can be. This entire hotel was extremely clean. Considering all the people coming and going, the cleaning crew really kept everything spotless. The hotel rooms are spacious, the bed was the most comfortable bed stacked with at least 5 pillows. You can control the air conditioning which was nice and quiet, very comfortable. A mimi refrigerator and microwave was in the room along with 2 tv's.
Driving/traveling: You need a car. There basically is nothing to do in Dorado. We went to the El Yunque Rainforest, got lost getting there because we found no sign to turn to Rt 191. I guess someone said there is a small sign that you can barely see. We visited Old San Juan, El Morro Fort, went to Barceloneta to some outlet stores, Arecibo to see the lighthouse/historic park. Paid $38 for the 4 of us. Not worth it at all, plus $2 parking. Not worth it! Found a Marshall's and KMart in a shopping mall near Catano. That was fun.
Hotel Parking: They charge $7.50 a day to park your car. The parking lot is in disrepair. It is shared with the golfcourse. Several times we had to park way at the end of the parking lot. I don't mind walking that far, but having to pay for such an inconvenience is not worth it. Nothing you can do.
Restaurants: We at at Oregano across the street at the golfcourse. Food was excellent and prices were good. Ate at the pool's Blue Seahorse. They offered nice spinach salads, or Ceasar salads, wraps, nachos, chicken fingers, burgers, etc. Everything we had there was good. The complementary breakfast was fabulous. They offered made-to-order omelettes with whatever veggies/cheese you would like added in. Also offered were bagels, toast, hot oatmeal, pastries, french toast, pancakes, sausage, bacon, cold cereals, fruit: bananas, grapefruit, melon, canteloupe, yogurts, apples and oranges. You could help yourself to tea, coffee, milk and soda. It was outstanding. In town there was a Ponderosa with a nice salad bar, Church's chicken, Applebee's, Pizza Hut, Subway, Burger King. We visited a local seafood restaurant down near the public beach, food was good. Aslo went to a fancier restaurant in downtown. It was pricey, but my steak was awesome.
There is a grocery store (Grande) that you can walk to (about 1 mile away). They have everything. There also is a Wal-Greens for any item you may need.
Staff: The staff at Embassy Suites were so very nice. You could ask them for anything and they were always most accomodating. If you need directions, the front desk will gladly help you. I can't say enough about the kindness of all the staff, from the front desk to the cleaning crew to the kitchen help to the pool towel people. All were just wonderful. My 10 year daughter really enjoyed Luis who did the children's activities. He was alot of fun with the kids.
The beach area: I didn't care for the sand. It was brown and we found 2 nails and other debris including bottle caps and other sharp objects. I would recommend you bring water shoes or wear shoes when you are on the beach. The water area is ok. Don't expect that blue caribean water, it is not.
Enjoy your stay here. You will enjoy Embassy Suites. I'd visit here again. I just wish one didn't have to drive so far to get to places outside of Dorado.