Mar del Norte — Hotel in Carolina

I reserved this room late at night for my husband who needed a place to stay overnight. My husband headed there as soon as we got the confirmation via email. It's an awkward place. They don't have onsite staff, sliding door didn't lock, and shear curtains offered no privacy. My husband had only been there about 20 minutes when he decided to leave. I texted the property for a cancellation and refund right after my husband walked out. Didn't get a response of my text message regarding cancellation sent to the property phone number which they use for text and voice. I contacted Booking.com after I realized the property was not responsive and they promised to send a message to the property requesting their authorization to cancel and refund. They also recommended that I contacted the property again to request that they respond to Booking.com request. I called the property and when the lady picked up the phone, I asked why she did not respond my message and that Booking.com needed her to respond their messages about my desire to cancel the reservation and get a refund. The lady told me that it was going to be addressed during the day. When I called at daytime for follow up, the property told me that they could not cancel the reservation because Booking.com never contacted them until daytime and held the reservation active, which prevented them from booking the room with another customer. She also said that she would have gladly cancelled the reservation and refund the money but couldn't do it because the reservation was locked with Booking.com. Booking.com assures that is inaccurate and that they contacted the property to request their ok to cancel, but doesn't take any responsibility for performance by the properties advertised in their platform. Long story short, don't rely in booking platforms and book rooms only with reputable entities directly. Any reputable hotel would have refunded the stay under those circumstances, even if the reservation had a no cancellation policy. But this one will hold on to your money like it is the end...

We stayed here the night before a flight back home. The lodging is in a residential area that's right off a busy highway and near restaurants and other businesses. It appeared that there were a couple of similar compounds on the block. This min-unit compound did not have a #1 on it which was confusing. Liked that it was walkable to a nearby beach, eateries, and convenience stores for last-minute essentials. It's also not far from the airport.||Disliked that the property manager was insistent on getting a pic of IDs for individuals who would be staying there. This request should be in their ads rather than a last-minute request before getting the code to check-in. As a traveler, it's unsettling to get this information without explanation.||The room was large enough for two, but appeared to be unfinished. The wall was buckling and appeared just re-painted. The room smelled and looked clean, but items contained indescribable spills and spots on the lamp and bed. See attached pics. |The guests next door kept slamming their door which was disturbing given we had an early flight. We tried to ask them to be quiet and they showed us that the door wasn't latching which didn't provide security for them.||Consider your preferences in the event no other lodging is available. It's basic, but a problematic place to stay that I would suggest you set your expectations...

A hidden gem! This is such a beautiful place! I had the apartment to myself and it took my breath away. I truly enjoyed my stay and would stay again. There were a couple of hiccups when I got there with the information for getting in because my phone blocks numbers that I don’t know. Also I didn’t have internet or tv during the stay because of the service provider which wasn’t their fault. However, they were quickly worked out. The door was a little tricky to get the hang of for unlocking/locking the door and getting in and out but i got the hang of it after while. The apartment I booked had a dining room and kitchen and a beautiful suite with a bathroom that I only had access too. Plus the patio, small jacuzzi pool and hanging egg chairs and patio chairs. It was a truly cool experience. I barely wanted to leave the room. It’s a short walking distance to one of the best beaches in PR and it’s busy a lot of different food places and a quick ride to other parts of San Juan including the airport. You...