Hyatt Vacation Club at Hacienda del Mar — Hotel in Vega Alta

We recently returned from a wonderful 6-night stay at the Hyatt Vacation Club at Hacienda del Mar with our family of four. We stayed in a one-bedroom apartment and had a pack n play for our two-year-old, and our almost-five-year-old slept on the large pull-out couch. Husband and I slept in the bedroom. The apartment is spacious and had everything we needed to make breakfast and lunches. We got takeout or ate at restaurants for dinner each night. They also provided a high chair for our 2-year-old. The bathroom is very nice and spacious with two sinks and a very large shower. They do not have bathtubs in the one bedroom units, so you have to prepare for that if you have little ones. My daughter did great with the shower. The 2 year old didn't like the shower, so I gave him a quick bath in the kitchen sink one night. The pack n play didn't have a fitted sheet so you might want to bring one from home if you care about that. He is old enough that I didn't worry, and I also put a towel between the sheet and the mattress because, as you know if you have little kids, pack n play mattresses are very hard. We were on the second floor but still had a nice view of the pool and could see a glimpse of the ocean. If you want a more spectacular view, you would want to be on a higher floor, but I liked being on the second floor with the two little ones so it was easier to bring things up and down from the beach/pool. ||The restaurant Mahi Mahi had a large menu and very fast service. One night they had a happy hour with $5 cocktails. We ate at the restaurant once (it's all outdoor seating) and got takeout once. There are plenty of other restaurants within a 10 minute drive but you will definitely need a car. You can't walk to anything.||Everyone we met was extremely nice and helpful. We did have an issue where our dishwasher wasn't working, but they came up and fixed it within like 15-20 minutes. There is a washer and dryer that you share with the next unit over, which was very convenient for drying the towels and washing clothes so we didn't have to bring as much stuff. If we had an issue, we could text the front desk and ask for help! The one other issue we encountered, which was not the hotel's fault at all, was that power went out in the whole area. The restaurant was still working and the lobby so people were hanging out in the lobby charging their phones. They gave us glow sticks and battery-operated lanterns and we were preparing for an adventure, but then the electricity came back on right before the kids' bedtime.||One day we went on a trip to Arecibo to see the lighthouse and the splash park there, and my daughter and I got a ton of mosquito bites despite wearing spray. However, we did not see mosquitoes at the Hyatt Vacation Club, even when we had dinner at Mahi Mahi one night, which is prime mosquito time.||There are so some cute little activities for kids to do. My kids absolutely loved the virgin pina coladas that they give away on the pool deck every day at 11 AM! We also did a scavenger hunt one day and played BINGO a couple of times... My daughter absolutely loved the pool. There's a super shallow pool but neither kid was interested in that one. They just wanted to go in the big pool. People buy floaties or pool noodles and leave them there, so you can just pick up some floaties. We did bring the kids' puddle jumpers. My daughter loved making new friends at the pool. My son loved walking around and exploring. People buy sand toys and leave them there, so he had a great time playing in the sand and with random plastic trucks. The beach itself was very rough when we were there and had riptide warnings. My daughter refused to go in. My son liked it when I was holding him, and he loved walking on the beach. There are plenty of chairs and umbrellas and it was very clean. The water is gorgeous, and it's not crowded.||The room was clean, and the cleaners come every other day to clean and change the sheets and give you new towels. There is a store in the lobby that sells souvenirs, snacks, ice cream, sunscreen, etc., but it's a lot cheaper to get supplies at one of two SuperMax supermarkets that are each about 10 minutes away by car. There is 24-hour security at the entrance and plenty of free parking.||There is a small arcade with basketball and air hockey and ping pong etc but my kids were a little too young for that. There's also a gym, which looked nice, but we didn't use it.||Thanks, Hyatt...

Overall, I would give the property a solid 4 stars. It's located on a secluded cove which isn't really shared with any other properties. Certainly no other hotel (at least until the JW Marriott is built next door). It made the property feel secluded and quiet. Many times, we were the only people on the beach which is about a quarter mile long. The seas were warm (1st week of May). A bit choppy, but fine for someone who's been in the ocean before. Probably a bit rough for any kids younger than about 10. The pool was also very warm, but pleasant. The grounds were clean and well kept. There are two tennis courts (with pickle ball lines) and a basketball court as well and equipment on loan for free for hotel guests. PLENTY of lounge chairs and umbrellas both at the beach and the pool. Easy to spread out anywhere you wanted to be. There is also a security check at the main road which made us feel even more secure.

My wife and I were in a studio room. It comes with a king bed, pull-out couch, two small coffee tables, a work table with two chairs, a small kitchenette (mini-fridge w/ freezer, sink, coffee-maker, microwave), small closet w/ safe and iron board, and bathroom. It shared a foyer with another room. In the foyer was an apartment-sized washer and dryer. Balcony had two chairs and a small table.

I would say two people would be the max for a studio room. You definitely wouldn't want 3 or 4 people in that room. It would get very very tight very quickly.

A few reasons for not awarding a full five stars:

1. The demolition next door is definitely an eyesore. You kind of get used to it after a while to where it's visual "white noise." But, there were a couple days when they were really going at it and the noise was very loud. If you're close enough to the ocean, you probably won't notice it. But, if you're on the balcony or in the room, you will definitely hear it. One morning it started at about 8am. If you or your kids are into big machines and demolition, you'll be in heaven!

2. The wall in our unit (8th floor, Phase II) was VERY thin. If you look at the ocean side of the building, you can see the walls get progressively thinner the higher the floor. We heard our neighbors a lot...particularly during "marital relations." Look for maybe a mid-level floor for a good view and thicker walls.

3. We didn't appreciate the pounding techno dance music blasting from the oceanside grill on more than one occasion. We would have much preferred something with more of a relaxing island vibe. We complained to the front desk and they had the music turned down, but it seemed the staff was more interested in playing music to keep themselves entertained than for the enjoyment of guests. The grill is run by a completely separate company from the hotel so keep that in mind.

4. The road and grounds coming in from the main road are rough, mostly due to construction traffic and leftover damage from the hurricane. There are also portions of the grounds that were clearly damaged and never repaired or replaced, especially out by the sports courts. Just keep that in mind.

5. No other review seemed to mention this, but there are stray dogs that wander in and out of the property. Maybe 3-4. They were never a bother to us and didn't seem to bother most other guests, but they were present. Just keep that in mind if you or someone you know has a fear of dogs.

6. The resort is remote. It will take you bare minimum 40 minutes to reach Old San Juan during non-rush hour times. Avoid rush hour at all costs. Traffic is insane and like nothing I've ever encountered, and I've driven the Jersey Turnpike and South Florida!

Overall, would I stay here again? Yes, I would. The staff were friendly and kept the property in neat order. It's remoteness was a key factor in our decision to stay there. We wanted a nice relaxing beach without a bunch of other people, vendors hawking junk, or gross water. If that is what you are looking for, then I'd recommend...

We traded our ownership week at the Hyatt Residence Club Maui, so we had high yet managed expectations. Once one moves past the somewhat run-down appearance of the frontal exterior, the grounds are well maintained. As others have pointed out, there is no on-site place to purchase convenience items like drinks or snacks, but this can be easily mitigated with a CVS/Walgreens about 10 minutes to the east, and a small grocery store about 5 minutes to the west (Supermercado Selectos). Just be mentally prepared the local drivers appear to be lunatics, as evidence by the wavy guardrails along the road that have obviously been battered by cars (it's rare to see cars without scratches). The property provides well-maintained shopping carts for guests to move grocery items from their vehicles to the rooms.

We had a two-bedroom and two-bath room, which was very comfortable. I wouldn't recommend it for young kids though, as the rooms are closed off from each other, which is great for older children or separate couples sharing the adjoining rooms. While there was construction going on at the property next door, we didn't hear it much once the trade winds picked up. As of June 2023, the demolition part was mostly complete and there was just clean-up at the ground level, which was mostly blocked by a barrier along the property. Some guests have complained about no valet parking, but it's all free parking and the parking for Hyatt owners is directly in front of the resort just steps from the elevators. For us, this was much more convenient than coordinating with valet every time we wanted to go somewhere.

We enjoyed all of our meals at the on-site Mahi Mahi Bar and Grill which had great food and fair prices compared to other nearby restaurants and resorts in the area (and significantly cheaper than other Hyatt properties we've stayed at). The staff was very friendly and worked hard to greet guests timely. We also tried to support the local restaurants, such as the great food-trailer (787 Dream Coffee) parked just hundreds of feet to the west of the resort entrance, which served great coffee and breakfast items. For lunch, Pico Rico's BBQ (5 minutes west) is a great walk-up establishment for excellent chicken and side items, and to the east there are other restaurants in northern Dorado such as Don Tako, which served excellent Mexican food. We must remember Puerto Rico is a poor community, and seek to embrace their modest hospitality and laid-back vibes (there's nothing really fancy in the area).

The gym and game areas were well maintained, and the staff offered daily activities to keep kids engaged. One reason for the four-star review is the staff allowed other guests to play their pool-side stereos, which is against the rules and violates normal pool etiquette at a fine resort. We did appreciate the towel process, which provided each room a set number of towels. (Compared to the Hyatt Regency in Puerto Rico for example, when people have unlimited towels they tend to leave the chairs covered all day and it's hard to tell what pool chairs are actually available). When guests have a set number of towels they're responsible for, people tend to remove them from the chairs when finished, which allowed for a pleasant movement of open chairs. If one needs other towels, one can get them, although the rooms have washer-drier combos, so we had no problems maintaining our own towels. While we didn't necessarily care about "sanitation," there are signs around the pool that indicate flat chairs represent sanitized chairs, which is misleading as we watched daily as staff just lowered the unused chairs without any attempt to clean them or remove sand.

Compared to the Hyatt Regency in Puerto Rico, for example, the sandy beach was wonderful with soft sand and plenty of area to walk along the beach. The staff were very helpful setting up beach chairs and...