Booked 2 nights at Water Club enroute home from the Carribean. The staff were very friendly and helpful but this was the only positive. From the moment we entered the elevator we knew we had made a mistake. We left the hotel after the first night [they can keep the $$] and found a great B&B in Old SJ. Water Club had its day about 10-12 years ago based on the decor and the place is in disrepair. The walls are paper thin, you hear everything and light coming through the door edges. There is absolutley no way this is a 4 star hotel. I would give it a 2. We booked based on the hotel website and the reviews posted, at $300/night figured it should be a fairly good choice.....NOT!! I am surpirsed to read the positive reviews about the hotel decor and the location. Isle Verde is a dump, at least for the well travelled. Try Old SJ.

My boyfriend and I stayed at The San Juan Water and Beach Club Hotel from 03/30 to 04/03/08. Besides a little complaint about the doorless/curtainless shower (which can make the bathroom floor very wet if not careful during a shower), WE LOVED IT!!!! Beautiful beach front, wonderful/helpful staff (offers any help you need, recommends excellent restaurants, and suggests cool trips/tours you can take during your stay), intimate atmosphere, modern design, and convenient location (walking distance to a variety of local & fastfood restaurants, souvenir shops, and even Walgreen)!!! We will definitely go back to this hotel and we strongly recommend it to whomever desires to have a vacation in Puerto Rico!!!! We had a wonderful trip!! This hotel is AWESOME!!!!

We stayed at SJ Water & Beach club for 3 nites at the end of march, 2008 as a way to finish off our Caribbean holiday. We have stayed in SJ 2 other times but this was our first experience at this trendy hotel. First location, location, location! We love the fact that you are in Isla Verde next to the other big hotels but you are on your own section of beach and have the more unique hotel service and amenities. It was a nice change from big resort feel to have the roof top lounge with comfortable day beds - loved ordering our breakfast to be delivered to the roof top and lounge on the big beds reading a book and sipping a coffee. The rooms are not large or well-appointed since it has the minimalistic, hip design flair. But they are attractive if you like a more modern approach.
bottom line is that we felt the service of doormen, front desk staff, and lounge staff to be above average and we loved the location and modern approach in the middle of SJ.
One tip for an afternoon/evening in old SJ - after spending an hour or so at the Fort you have to wander the cobblestone streets and then discover some of the best cocktails and tapas bars we have had in a long time. Our favorite pick other than the usual old stand by of Il Convento was "Toro Salvao" in old San Juan - fantastic tapas and we got a table outside in the square which made our last nite magical!

While size(small) and location (directly at beach near old San Juan) suited us well, the overall experience was terrible. While many very cool design features were distinctive the negatives far outweighed these, i.e. very small room, very loud street noises and blaring music from rooftop bar until wee hours of a.m., beat up old furniture and inferior sushi and tiny pool and pretentious eating area at pool that requires you buy a bottle of liquor in order to use large sofa like banquette seating.
In all fairness, beds did provide lovely ocean view and staff were sincere and very helpful.
Not enough reason to ever go back.