My husband and I went to San Juan Puerto Rico for our 10 year anniversary and stayed in the La Concha Hotel. The hotel is fairly new, I think it opened the previous December. It was very modern. My husband and I joked that it was like walking into an IKEA showroom. We were placed near the new construction, and we could hear the banging in the morning, but it was not so loud that we could not hear ourselves. We left the window open the first couple of nights to listen to the waves as we fell asleep, but then would awaken in the middle of the night to use the restroom and find the tile floors slick with condensation. So we kept the windows closed at night - there is not sound with the windows closed.:-( The overall stay at the hotel was nice. I was a little disappointed in the quality of craftsmanship, there were paint splatters in the bathroom and places where the tile was not aligned well. I don't mean to be over-critical, but when you go to a five star hotel in the States, your expectation is perfection.

Beware of the drivers when you rent your car. The posted speed limit might say 55, but no one is going over 50. There are no lane lines on most of the highways, but we did find near the end of our stay a toll highway where there were lines and it was clean and people mostly drove the speed limit.

There are many American restaurants near the hotel, as well as some very good local eateries. If you are looking for a really nice place to celebrate a special occasion, the restaurant inside of the shell is ultra fancy (with ultra fancy prices, too!). My husband and I enjoyed a very nice meal and the wait staff were very attentive.

Very nice exercise room, which was deserted all but one of the days that I was in there. Nice pools and spas.

There was a lot of construction in the area when we were there. My husband and I counted at least a dozen cranes across the skyline in just the Condado neighborhood alone.

We went on an all day sailing excursion with Erin Go Bragh. There were only 6 passengers, plus the captain and his wife and activities that they had planned were very enjoyable. I had the displeasure of becoming sea sick on this trip, and Ingrid (captain's wife) was very attentive and had every natural remedy available for my use if I wanted it.

We also went on a jet ski tour of the Old San Juan area. We were the only party to show up on the stormy Monday, so we had a very private tour. It was a lot of fun, but the water was choppy outside of the bay, which made it a little scary (my husband would call it "more fun"). The tour guide was a little over the top with having us pose for pictures (which he then attempted to sell to us at the end of the tour) and having us act like pirates from centuries ago storming the fort, but it just added to the fun.

The fort and castille are not to be missed, and walking around Old San Juan was fun. We even went to eat in one of the restuarants Rachel Ray has done for her $40 a day show. It was called Bombonera, retro Woolworth's cafeteria place that looks a little scary and has gross bathrooms, but there are only locals eating insides, which always says something about the good food.

We did go to Bacardi, the tour was informationaly, but the store was very lacking. We did each get two drinks (swallows) for free.

A very enjoyable trip, it was nice for grownups, but I would probably wait until my children are in their teens before considering taking them to San Juan Puerto Rico.

My husband and I chose this hotel, based on other reviews, pictures, and the desire to be in a quieter atmosphere. It was a toss up between this hotel and El San Juan Hotel. Due to the much reviewed "party" atmosphere....we went with La Concha instead. So all that considered, here is what I think. The outside of the hotel is evidence that this is an old hotel that has been "remodeled". The lobby is nice, if you like a more modern style. Everything is white (lots of leather), with some bright colored accents.
The room is where they fell off. It was a lot smaller than we expected (for the price). The decor was nice and the view of the ocean was beautiful. BUT.....the sheets always felt wet!! We had the housekeeping change the sheets, but it must have been from the humidity, because it didn't help much. It was kind of disgusting and by the third night....we longed for a dry bed. By the fourth night, we realized that everything was being affected by the humidity. All of our books and papers were damp by that time.
The a/c never shut off (it was more like an endless fan).
The shower was open on one side (meaning no door), so when we showered, we got water all over the teeny bathroom floor. Housekeeping came at all different times of the day, which means it was usually the wrong time. And if you missed them....good luck getting them back again on their own. We had to call them to bring us sheets and to clean the room. Luckily, they were very responsive.

The beach was great. The pool and hot tub were also enjoyable. There is a nice fitness area, if you like that kind of thing. The restaurants are way too pricey, but everything is pricey in this area.

We did wind up partying in the El San Juan during our stay. It was definitely a more lively and noisy atmosphere, but the place was so much larger and nicer than La Concha. I would try that hotel instead of this one.

The staff was very eager to help, but don't ask them for a "good" place to eat, because apparently they don't know what good food is.

So here's the real scoop on the area, the food, and what to expect. Please note that I am PRican by nationality and my husband is Dominican. Both of us are from NY, so we know about food. The best local spots are Latin Star, which is advertised as Puerto Rican cuisine, but it's really a Dominican restaurant (which you will find quite a bit of/oddly enough). The food is good. Great for breakfast or some inexpensive rice/beans and meat (ya know...the usual). They don't serve as much food as we're used too, but...it's less expensive than most and well worth it. Ropa Vieja is very very good. We ate a mofongo with steak that was to die for. We didn't eat much there, but that mofongo was definitely memorable and worth the recommendation. If you like freshly made juices (smoothies), than stop in to the little spot next to the Tattoo place right across from the hotel. They will make a smoothie using whatever fruit you want. We went for an "everything" smoothie that was only about $3. The best spot in Old San Juan is Jibaritos. It's typical Puerto Rican food, but the flan and guava cheesecake were fantastic. If you are looking for some good frituras (alcapurias/bacalaitos, etc.) Take Rt. 26E toward Pinones and you will find the local huts along the road. Very very good.

The worst spots in the area: Buenos Aryes. UGH!! It was recommended by one of the receptionists at the hotel for a good place to get steak. The prices were so high, we almost expected to get five star quality, but the interior proved otherwise. For starters, we had bread and a cilantro/garlic dipping sauce. The bread was good, but definitely the equivelant to Pepperidge Farms frozen baggettes. My husband ordered a filet mignon with mashed potatoes. He got a slab of beef covered in brown gravy and tons of peppercorn. The mashed potatoes had to have been frozen prior to making it to our table. I ordered the red snapper with mashed potatoes as well. What I got was a fish filet that was covered in a Long John Silver style breading and deep fried. Can anyone say NASTY?! The fish was dry and tastelss. I was smart enough not to eat much, but my husband suffered for not doing the same. After complaining to the unsympathetic waitress, we paid $100 for the most disgusting food we've ever had. We weren't sure whether to vomit from the food or the price of the bill.

What I recommend is that you find what you like and stick to it. Trying to many things will only leave you sick, hungry, and/or broke.

All in all....Puerto Rico is a great place to vacation. We truly enjoyed the people and the atmosphere. The streets were so much cleaner than I expected. So clean...it's worth noting. I definitely felt comfortable and at ease in my surroundings and would recommend this trip to anyone. Just get the most out of Old San Juan....it truly is beautiful.

Very much enjoyed this hotel. Sleek lobby with nice lobby bar, multiple video screens, etc. Rooms were decent, very "south beach" like. Wireless access everywhere. Nice beach. Good service. Courteous staff. Convenient location near restaurants, high end shopping.

Concierge was excellent. Very prompt.

The only criticism (and not the fault of the hotel) is a huge amount of construction in the area. They are putting lots of money into the area and it shows, but trucks, half completed buildings, drilling noise, etc. detracted a little. No big deal.

Our fantastic experience at La Concha started at check-in when all three of us received a complimentary glass of champagne.

My two girl friends and I stayed at La Concha for just two nights of our total 4-night stay in Puerto Rico. I think we got a pretty good deal on our beach front room because of the fact that we traveled during Puerto Rico's "low" season, stayed there during the middle of the week, and because La Concha is currently in the process of building a second tower.

The hotel entryway and lobby is amazing. Awesome modern decor with little flairs everywhere you look. There is flowing water everywhere and its lit up at night to give an extra effect. To the left of the lobby is the first outdoor seating area and the main pool. There is tons of outdoor seating - while it was totally empty while we were there, I could imagine it being full of people during a more busy time. The main pool has two layers with a waterfall between the two. At night the main pool is also lit up and looks gorgeous. My one and only complaint about this hotel is that they close the pools at 7:00pm. What a shame, it would've been great to go swimming when it was all lit up!

Continue on to your right and toward the beach and you'll come to another outdoor seating area and La Concha's infiniti pool. This outdoor seating area is just awesome as it features beds and couches that you can lay on and just enjoy the ocean views. The infiniti pool also faces the ocean (see my pics!). La Concha even leaves out a pitcher of water and some cups in case you get parched while you are basking in the sun.

The beach is also fabulous. Lounge chairs and umbrellas are complimentary... you just have to ask and then tip the attendant (but the nice part is that they'll haul all this to the beach for you and set it up perfectly). I have never seen such crystal clear water in my life and the waves are just big enough that they are fun, but manageable.

All this and I haven't even described our room yet! The modern decor continues into the room. Our room was ocean front. It had a huge sliding glass door, but there wasn't any real balcony. Just about a 6" ledge and a railing. Only the very top floor rooms have balconies from what we could see. The room was clean and comfortable. There is an in-room safe which is a nice feature for a beach resort. The bathroom was on the smaller side, but the walk-in shower was really cool.

We ate dinner one night at 'La Perla's' restaurant on-site. The food was excellent, but I must say that it was rather pricey (about $70 pp). Most of it was fair for the quality, but I thought that their wine list was a little out of hand (nothing less than $60 a bottle). Unfortunately the Asian Grille was not open when we were there.

FYI, the touristy area of Old San Juan is a little ways from La Concha. We took a taxi to San Felipe del Morro fortress and I wan to say that it cost about $15.

Overall, we loved staying at La Concha and would return there in a heartbeat if we could get such a good deal again.