The Royal Sonesta San Juan — Hotel in Carolina

Update* Did not get a return call but did get an email response. Of course, she dug her heels in and said she signed us up for a couples membership not a family membership . Revisionist history, I’d say. We moved from the St. Regis property (bad idea) to the city so our adult kids could enjoy being in town. As members for year and half the petty nickel and dime just started. We have had our corporate (10 rooms I believe) event at the Sonesta, had 14 family members par take in the New Year’s dinner and party at the Sonesta. Corporate dinner as well. The total sum of $70 for two wrist bands were so important that suddenly changed. Upsetting a customer by the sudden switch means more to them then retaining a valuable customer. As business owners, we were not looking for a discount. We just never were told this before. Our unit has beach access, there’s plenty of places in San Juan, we just like the restaurant staff anyway. They are unaffiliated with the Sonesta. The manager Miquel is very charming and customer service oriented. Always accommodating to our family. We don’t have to be members. Paying $4000 every 6 months when we are hardly there is not owe will continue to do. Instead of charging our kids a stupid $35 each, they could have taken into consideration the months we pay for an unused membership. It’s not a huge concern but we did think they appreciated us. They don’t. Go for the food and the friendly food service staff. Otherwise, find a high end hotel who appreciates you. We were never treated this poorly at the St. Regis at Bahia Beach. I promise you. These people would rather make a penny then give outstanding service. Sad but true. This lady is very dishonest. The tips we have given are much more than the ridiculous $35 charge. ———————————————————————— THIS IS THE ABSOLUTE WORST HOTEL. Our family purchased a family membership to use the pool etc.. We pay $4000 every 6 months for the membership. We live in the states and come to the island 3-4 times every 6 months. We spoke with Caroline Padin who signed us up. Other perks include a free hotel stay and 20% off food and beverages. Anyway, our 24 and 23 year old sons went to the island for 4 days. My husband gave them our pass and I sent Caroline an email making her aware of their arrival on island. She never responded. Friday Sept 26, 2025, the guys went to the Sonesta to check it out. They were held up at the reception desk by Luis Ramirez, he took my husbands card and called Caroline at home to ask her what he should do. He came back to the phone and said Caroline told him to charge them $35 as guest. WE DID NOT PURCHASE A MEMBERSHIP FOR ME AND my HUSBAND! We told her what we were seeking and it was all set. Members for 1 1/2 years they pull a stunt like this. I asked for a return call and she hasn’t responded to our emails or request for a return call. Luis says she works M-F. How desperate is this hotel that they have to renege on the contract!!!!! Luis said to me on the phone that he is aware of who we are and that we are members but Caroline told him what to do!!!! We asked to speak to someone higher and was told there was no one. It’s a shame that they are so shortsighted. We do spend a lot of money with this hotel. Our family comes together to the island and they have all met our family but they have decided to change the agreement for $70! I am still upset over the embarrassment our kids felt by being held up. To ask someone to pay $35 at 6:45p when they are already members is terrible. They weee not going to swim on Friday night. Anyone can come into the hotel, anyone can eat there! So why try to get $35 each from them? I am still waiting for a return call. I will post the results after I hear back. I plan on sharing this experience with all my colleagues, friends alike. We are paying for nothing really but the pool access. The beach is free to everyone, and anyone can eat there. They cheapened this hotel and I for one think the switch is...

I'll start by saying that the overall positive experience we had was heavily dependent upon the type of room we chose. #1 tip: GET THE CLUB LEVEL ROOMS! Our room was #209 (second floor, offering more privacy than ground) in the low-rise Lanai section overlooking the pool and it was great - so quiet and kept spotless every day. We stayed at the same period of time as the last (very unhappy) reviewer, but were not at all affected by the prom parties in the main building so location was key. ||Info on the club level rooms are scarce but they include a nice lounge area where we ate take-out dinners a few nights, with fruit and sometimes cookies. Club level rooms also include daily buffet breakfast for 2 (including 2 mimosas as our server Wanda kindly informed me) AND free apps and drinks every day at the lobby bar during happy hour (5:30-7pm). Alexis at the lobby bar was so nice and remembered what we liked to drink every day. Seriously, excellent value with this level of room. ||I honestly thought the food was great. Faves: @lobby bar: ceviche and amazing arepas appetizer, goat cheese balls, lamb meatballs. Pool bar/Ocean breeze: kids burger, my kids liked the tenders and fries, chicken skewers. The margherita pizza was phenomenal. The turkey club was DELICIOUS and was NOT made of turkey deli meat. Their frozen cocktails ($14) were so yummy as well.||The pool and large hot tub were amazing. There's a big "shallow" 3/3.5 foot pool so my kids didn't need floaties. I love that you can get fresh towels by scanning your bracelet (and get into your room without a key). We went mid-week so there were plenty of chairs (more umbrellas would've been great). It did get busy by 10-11am but surprisingly no one was laying out towels at 7am like they do at other resorts, at least not when we were there. ||Beach is SO close to the pool. When we went (June 15-20), there was NO seaweed and water was prob 80 degrees. Sand was golden/white, clean with no shells or seaweed either. I couldn't have asked for better, considering our last few beach vacations. ||Ubers are plentiful, fast and so so cheap. Remember to tip very well since the rate is dirt cheap. Uber from Isla Verde to the fort in Old San Juan was under $10 (plus tip). People were flying kites at the fort. If you can get one, what a fun idea! We also booked a jungle waterslide tour through TripAdvisor with Casa Venturas (Stephanie and Luis were our guides) and LOVED it. I didn't know you have to go fully into the water with whatever shoes you have on your feet so be aware and ready to sacrifice a pair of sneakers like I did. Still worth it! We also rented a jet-ski on the beach ($100 for half hour) which the kids enjoyed. ||Location was less than 10 mins from the airport (I think the Uber was $4 on the way home - yes, $4!!) and we did hear planes now and then but honestly not that often and definitely not in the room with the balcony door closed.||Only negative and the reason for 1 star deduction from an otherwise awesome stay was the AC went out for about 36 hours. Looking at other reviews, it appears to have happened again end of March too so it's a recurring problem. We got a fan, but honestly sleeping that night was super uncomfortable (80+ degrees in the room) and the rug felt damp with the humidity. Some people we met ended their stay early and negotiated some comp. ||There is a daily resort fee of about $60/65 which we expected and a $500 hold for meals/etc. Checkout was easy and NO wrong or surprise charges but we chose to pay for all meals directly with our credit card to avoid any confusion at the end, which was a smart move on our part, I think. ||Overall we really enjoyed our stay, aside from the broken AC. If we went to PR again, we wouldn't hesitate to stay here again and would recommend it to others. Service was excellent - everyone we encountered was very polite, from front desk to bar and...

Let me first start by saying I came in with pretty high expectations because I got married at the Sonesta Suites in Scottsdale, Arizona and the accommodations were absolutely amazing. I was in a two bedroom suite, with a full kitchen and had plenty of room to feel like home away from home. When I noticed that there was a Royal Sonesta in Puerto Rico, I knew we had to spend our honeymoon/first anniversary on the same property we were married on. With that being said, I will start with saying the property itself is absolutely beautiful and right on the water just as we wanted. The staff were just as kind as they were in Scottsdale. We arrived fairly late after a 13hr flight day and the King room I had reserved for our five day stay didn't workout for us. It had the worst odor in it and we had to be moved immediately and the manager on duty, Lewis, made it happen right away. I was already somewhat disappointed when I walked in because it didn't compare to the room in Scottsdale at all. And yes, I understand I didn't reserve a suite but I paid less for the suite in Scottsdale than I did for the King room in Puerto Rico and yes I understand I'm staying on a resort but the small refrigerator that was in the room was just sitting on the floor. It wasn't even in any type of cabinet. It was just sitting on the floor. There was no microwave so we couldn't bring leftovers back. For almost $500 a night, I would assume I'd have a microwave in the room. What was also a little disappointing is I told them that it was our first anniversary and our honeymoon when I made the reservation and they didn't even include something small in the room to wish us a happy anniversary. It didn't have to be something expensive but just something to say thank you and happy anniversary. Maybe my expectations are too high but for the amount of money per day, I don't think it would be much to ask to acknowledge a guest's special day. The pool area is beautiful and the beach is just amazing. The food at the beach restaurant is very good and I highly recommend. I had the impossible burger and french fries and they were both excellent. The breakfast in the hotel on the other hand was another let down. Thankfully we didn't pay for it. The manager was kind enough to cover our breakfast because of the smelly room issue and having to move us after our long flight day so he comped our breakfast but for $32 it was bad and we didn't go back. The breakfast meat was dry, the french toast was hard as a rock, the pototoes were bland and undercooked, the waffles were hard, the omelette was overcooked, it just wasn't good and certainly not $32 good. That was another surprise and expectation of mine because the Sonesta in Scottsdale provided the food for my wedding and the food was beyond amazing. Family still talk about how good the dinner was at my wedding. And again, my expectation may have been too high for the breakfast service here but Scottsdale set a very high standard for me and I definitely brought some of those expectations here with me and they were not met as I hoped. The daily rate for the room did not meet the expectations for the amount. My husband and I did have a wonderful time in San Juan and plan to come back. I just don't know if it would be at the Royal Sonesta again even though it holds a special place in my heart. I just may have to celebrate at the one in Scottsdale and visit San Juan just as a vacation and not something special. The staff and the beauty of the overall resort warrants a 4 out of 5 despite my...