European couple spent 4 nights at Rio Mar from April 12th-16th. Booked trip through Expedia. First time to Puerto Rico.

Rio Mar is very expensive for the somewhat mediocre standard.
The whole resort is of usual 4 star carribean standard, but service/management is of higher quality than in 'spanish' carribean places.

We got a free upgrade from resort view to ocean view, in main building. Write them in advance.
Room was alright - almost nice, but not great. Bathroom was roomy, however, the handyman must have had 10 thumbs and no ruler when doing the installations/tiling.
Floor cold as ice, conditioner noisy and could not do heating. On positive side there were no mosquitos/bugs on this time of the year. :)
Great bed!

The problem with Rio Mar is that you have to pay for what-ever move you make.
25 USD for breakfast buffet, plus some times the waiters add 15% gratuity on the bill.
15 USD per day for wifi in the room.
20 USD per day for parking for rented car. You do want to rent a car to get around. Valet staff have the slowest 'walk' I have ever seen.
Food and beverages are quite expensive, e.g. 5 USD for local beer and 10 usd for cocktails which arent all that. A good lunch or dinner for two will set you back 100 usd plus wine/alcohol.
A dinner in the japanese restaurant scared us off from eating anything else than breakfast in the resort. I cant recall having tasted more bland sushi/rolls/salads anywhere else.

Pool-area was nice, but sunbeds were only good in the adult section. Not enough sunscreens. 150 USD for renting a poolside cabina/tent-roof per day - crazy!
The iguanas were funny - suddenly running down the palms - even moved around near the pool. Do go for iguana feeding at 11.00 - especially if you are childish or have kids.
The beach was nice too, but somewhat windy. Surf probably too big for kids younger than teenagers. The beach could look a lot nicer with better sunbeds, sunscreens and decor, but as it is now, its not attractive to lie there.

You need a car to get out of the resort. We had diner at Richie's app. 1 mile up hill to the right. Fantastic view, friendly service and very nice food. Generous portions.
The best food we had was at La Parilla app. 10 minutes drive on eastern beach. Perfect seating for having dinner and watching the sun go down. Really nice food, with a good local touch, but huge portions. Friendly service and reasonable priced. Many regulars. Probably a busy area in week-ends. Dont get scared off by the local touch of the many kiosks there.

Do drive up El Younqe rain forrest. Fantastic to drive uphill through the jungle, great views, water falls, fantastic nature. Unfortunately, it was raining cats and dogs when we were there, so we didnt go walking on the tracks.

My husband and I had a great holiday at this luxurious resort. The location was amazing, as well as the food and the service. We will definitively go back for a longer stay.

We stayed at the Rio Mar for a business conference Mar 15-22, 2008. Overall a very nice resort. Staff is friendly and accomodating and they always greet you with a smile. Service at the beach bar a little slow during peak times. Food very good but overpriced. For a good meal, take the cab ($20.00 round trip) to Don Pepe. Some days it was hard to find a lounger by the pool as many people have reserved with towels early. Nice long, not crowded beach. Walk the beach to the right of the ocean and there is a private, uninhabited area with a lagoon of water with rainforest in background. Just beautiful. Beach was closed for three days while we were there (high tidal waves) but on the days it was open, it was great for finding shells - especially sand dollars (found at least a dozen of those). We stayed in East wing, kind of a far walk to the ball rooms but good exercise. Housekeeping is good. Front desk is responsive to needs. Only disappointment was that we requested a king size bed and had two doubles. Not too romantic! The hotel was booked and they don't have many king rooms, so they weren't able to switch us. Iguan feeding at 11am daily is cool. Food is good, nice variety but very expensive. We recommend you take a cab to an authentic PR restaurant. Great pina coladas and other frozen drinks at Rio Mar, but priced at $10-12 each.

After staying at the Copamarina and the El San Juan, this hotel had quite a different feel--all three did in fact. The hotel is very grand and sprawling, but it feels a bit impersonal and cold. The room was spotless and not a complaint could I make. The grounds are lush and gorgeous. The beach is very nice and well-kept--ie the sweep the seaweed away from where people sit. The pools are gorgeous and very, very well-kept. They are hosed off every morning and regularly cleaned and maintained from any debris that gets blown into them during the day.

There are limited dining options here. In fact, 2 of the restaurants were not even open when we were there. We ate at "The Palm" -- the steakhouse at the golf club one night--it was expensive for the portion that you get, but still a nice meal. And we went 'off-'campus' to a local restaurant another night. The breakfast/lunch restaurant is nice, lower key but expensive. What they don't tell you at breakfast is that a cup of coffee with no refill is $4, but if you buy the pot of coffee, that's $7. The buffet looked beautiful, but it was just too pricey to tempt our palate. You really don't have much of a choice however unless you're willing to hop in the car and drive to Luquillo or somewhere else--but who really wants to do that if you just want to sit poolside and relax? Our fave find was the gelato in the Italian pizzeria.

My husband was originally scheduled to play golf there at the resort, hence the reason for us staying there, but it was just too windy while we were there and spending $175 for a round of golf that was not going to have optimal playing conditions is hard to justify. I turned down a massage at the spa for price reason alone.

What is great is the proximity to El Yunque. We spend a lovely day hiking there. Note that some of the trails are not well-marked, so it's a good idea to ask someone.