Hyatt Hacienda Del Mar

While the resort was nice and relaxing, beware! They no longer have the slides OR the lazy river. They do have 2 hot tubs, a kiddie pool, regular pool (open all night) and a nice beach view. They have an outdoor restaurant/​bar, with pretty good food and drinks. The bartenders are SUPER friendly, and will take pictures for you, hang out, etc. They also have a game room, and a fitness center. Rooms were very clean.
Affordable. Overall, I give it a thumbs up.

We just came back home from staying a week at Hyatt Hacienda del Mar. We had a most wonderful time. The place is beautiful and walking distance to the private beach… we loved it! The staff is friendly and accommodating. My husband enjoyed their complimentary coffee… every morning! He made friends with all the morning crew. We will definitely come back… our stay was most comfortable”.

From the low-​key easygoing pace, to the unforgettable staff, to the gorgeous rooms and grounds, this Hyatt is near perfect

First time came for our honeymoon for two weeks, the private beach is very nice, pool is great, service was just great. I plan to come back and bring the rest of the family. Loved it!!!

Location location location. The Hyatt Hacienda del Mar most definitely is not on the same level as the Ritz Carlton, but it was absolutely wonderful for our Christmas family vacation away from cold winter blahs. Pros– beachfront, clean, comfortable beds and units, great pool and hot tubs, quiet; soft sand beach and blue-​green warm clear water. Really what else do you need for vacation?
If you are looking for luxury, this is not the place. It does feel below the level you might expect if you have stayed at any of the other Hyatt timeshares — renovated units are coming and sorely needed. The kitchen, for example, does not have a utensil drawer… so there is a large canister with a set of 4 forks knives spoons etc. in it (forget the stainless steel, granite…). Furnishings are outdated rattan, faded prints and a cloth full sized sleeper couch. Still, we’re in paradise in December, and I would come here again.
We stayed in a 2 br unit on the 6^th floor with a great view of the pool, palm trees, beach and ocean beyond.

I’m giving this resort five stars, and maybe that is just a little generous. We had a wonderful time here. There were no negatives. The furnishings may be a little dated but everything was clean and in good working condition. All the staff were very friendly and helpful. The beach and pool areas are great. It is a very relaxed and laid-​back atmosphere, a nice quiet place. I never ate in the restaurant, which is really just an area next to the bar that is screened in to keep the birds out. They have a simple menu with basic breakfast, lunch and dinner choices. If the birds see you have food, you will immediately be surrounded by a flock of blackbirds and a dove or two. But they are cute and not aggressive. As for food choices, there are many options nearby if you want to eat out. There are ample stores for shopping too. They have a CVS and a Walgreens right next to each other, go figure. Go for an upper floor for the best view. Each door from the outside leads to two units and there is a washer-​dryer between them. We had a one bedroom that was spacious enough and had a balcony. The closed property next door is not a problem at all. We used the spa and enjoyed that very much.

Great family spot if your looking just to relax. Clean, friendly just right.

In 2007 for our Honeymoon we went to my cousin Mike’s timeshare at the Hyatt Hacienda del Mar on the Dorado Beach and it was absolutely beautiful! The staff was especially helpful and assisted from arrival to departure. As soon as we arrived they upgraded us from a Studio to a One bedroom suite with full bathroom that had whirlpool, full size kitchen, laundry, diningroom and living room with 2 balconies!
The amenties were outstanding! Golf, 3 Tennis courts and/​or table tennis, basketball. poolside food and beverages, game room, Spa, Fitness Center, Beach, Olympic pool, kiddie pools with slides, whirlpools, grotto, restaurantS, barS, all on premises… amazing and breath taking views!
Nearby you have water sports, windsurfing, snorkeling, catamarans, fishing and horseback riding! A lot to do and I did most of them in a 2 week span and if I could have lived here I would have!
Ok all pictures that I attach were taken by me and Im saying that because they look like post cards or like a professional took them but it was just moi!
If you go dont forget go to all the nearby activities like the Casino and sight seeing in San Juan… lots to do, lots to see, eat & drink!
I would have given it 5 stars if I hadnt learned the resort next door closed for accomodations, but that was happening in 2007 and 2^nd I find it odd that a «resort» doesnt have room service for meals, but we over came because of kitchen. If we hadnt had the kitchen would have meant a lot of walking. IF you get a room without a kitchen then your walking and thats only if restaurant is open.
Enjoy!!!

I had a great time here, but the place is on the decline. The good: large rooms with jacuzzi, full kitchen, washer /​dryer, gorgeous private beach, very good cleaning staff. The bad: staff is not helpful — they have no idea what tours are good and are not very accommodating. They made us check out at 10:00 am on the dot. There are way too many kids and teenagers allowed to run around screaming. For the price though, I give it 4 stars.

I received some travel credit from my company that could be used at several Hyatt locations. My wife and I had never been to Puerto Rico, so we decided to use the credit here. Keep in mind that we are both adventurous and don’t allow little negatives to detract from the overall experience of our trips.
We had a studio unit on the 7^th floor. The view was probably one of the better views that the resort has available. I would definitely recommend requesting a room above the 6^th floor, as anything below that will probably have an obstructed view of the ocean by the palm trees. Out room was clean, and perfect for us. We bought food for breakfast and lunch. It was nice to have the refrigerator, microwave, and toaster. Also the resort now features free wifi in the rooms, pools, & beach.
During our stay, the hotel was basically empty. I think there might have been 6 other families/​couples. Most mornings we had the beach completely to ourselves until around 10am. We normally went the pool in the afternoon, which again was almost always entirely ours. We also took our own beer/​drinks to the pool and beach which helped save some money on the trip.
Now for the negatives… As many other reviewers stated, there is a large closed hotel next door to the resort. I imagine that it would be an eyesore for those of you that like to complain about little things! My wife and I really didn’t even notice that it was there during out trip. Our biggest problem came when we attempted to play mini golf one evening. The course was infested with ants that seemed to leap onto our legs and feet. Once attached they began stinging/​biting us until we were able to get all of them removed. That was the last time we attempted to go to that area.
Overall we had a great time, and really enjoyed having the hotel basically to ourselves.

In need of some serious R&R– 3 of us decided on the Hyatt Hacienda Del Mar. We were a bit hesitate after reading the reviews but after a 1 min discussion (yes literally I minute) we realized its Puerto Rico, with tropical weather, next to the ocean what can be bad about that? Most importantly we are in a safe environment and will not have to worry about being isolated at a resort because of precautions.
And maybe I am not a 5-​star hotel snob like some people *ahem* (I hate to point fingers but I am pointing fingers some of these reviewers). The hotel was fine… the rooms were nice– yea there was no flat screen but who needs a tv when you have the beach, and a private beach at that!!! The resort was very accommodating– the pool was nice, the restaurant was not bad either, and I have been to up-​to-​date hotels where the wireless was much worse. So I say bring a book to the beach… again who needs technology when you have a serene atmosphere. The staff was great, answered all questions and was very accommodating. If you stay at this resort make sure you rent a car. The «car service» better known as «Gypsy cabs» are a bit pricey. The money we spent on transportation could have equaled a car plus gas.
The restaurants in Dorado are good and I was able to go to the store to stock up on snacks and beverages. The 3 of us are in our twenties and made the BEST time out of our stay. Needless to say I thoroughly enjoyed myself, the Hyatt is a good destination hotel and I would recommend this property.

I came here with my extended family for a weekend. We all have kids under 3 and the one and two bedrooms were perfect size. The property is dated and doesn’t have the nice hotel look but it’s clean and the employees are courteous, very helpful and friendly.
The beach area is about medium sized but private and super clean! There were barely any guests at the beach since most preferred the pool. That was fine by us. The ocean currents were a bit strong for the little ones to get in in the afternoon.
The rooms were clean and completely equipped with kitchen tools. We didn’t had any issues with weird smells. In fact, the rooms just smelled like cleaning products.
All in all, it was perfect for families with kids. The price was reasonable too.

The smell is quite rank but if you can survive it, the beach is pretty nice and even might be considered beautiful by some. It’s definitely not the tropical paradise they promote it to be, but it can be relaxing once you’re out of your room. Be warned: In the summer months most of the guests are local families and the place is full of children. If you’re looking for a romantic, adult getaway, this is not the place for you. Blu Bohio, the bar and restaurant on the beach has decent food (try the ceviche and mozzarella sticks), cheap beers, and nice staff. The owner wasn’t the nicest but luckily she’s not there most days. Also, if you’re staying at Hacienda del Mar, eat breakfast at Sweet Anns/​Mana just around the corner. Don’t miss Grappa in town for dinner — possibly the best meal of our vacation.

This place is so-​so. By far, the room is the worst part. You have plenty of space, but the whole room smells like moldy muff. The doo doo smell was too much for my wife, who spent the first night gagging instead of sleeping. After that, we had the front desk move us to a different room. It smelled a little better at first, but by the end of our trip the doo doo smell had crept in and cornered us once again.
The beach is pretty nice, and even feels resort-​like at times. Some areas have rocks though, so be careful — compared to isla verde and luquillo beaches this beach is a bit less ideal. The water’s pretty clear, but the waves can be harsh and there’s some sea poopy floating around that will most definitely make its way into your pockets and body cavities.
Overall — two stars, given the dank doo fumes and generally run-​down condition of the facilities.

This place has seen better days. It’s not run-​down, just a little dated. It’s proximity to the beach and numerous palm trees is 5 stars all the way. All the employees were very friendly, too. I LOVED the beach. And the views of it from our room were lovely.
It’s «restaurant» is not good at all, but to get another option, you have to get in your car. Even then, there seemed to be more in the way of Applebees and Burger King.
We were psyched about the tennis courts and free racquets and balls.
The hot tub was never about 95 degrees, which was disappointing.

The Hacienda Del Mar would be a great place for a family or couple looking for a quiet vacation with plenty of time spent lounging on the beach. Many of the guests here were part of the Hyatt’s time-​share program, but it was a reasonable deal for non-​members as well. It felt like we had the place to ourselves when we were here over the Veteran’s Day holiday.
The resort offers tennis courts, basketball court, miniature golf, spa, and fitness center. It borders one of several golf courses in the immediate area. There were usually a few people lounging on the beach or at poolside, and maybe one of the two ping pong tables was being used, but there was always an empty hot tub and usually the kiddie pool was open as well.
The rooms are older but nicely maintained. The kitchen was fully stocked and worked well for cooking meals at home. There was even a blender that made great smoothies (or any other icy drinks you might want to take down to the beach). We saved quite a bit of money by buying groceries at the Grande grocery store 5 minutes down the road in Dorado and cooking a few meals at home.
There is NO full-​service restaurant at the Hacienda Del Mar, so plan on either grocery shopping or driving 5 – 10 minutes to town for food (the Dorado Domino’s also delivers pizza, and probably Pizza Hut too). There is a bar down on the beach open til 7pm that serves up some cold drinks and several small dishes, but I didn’t get to try any of their food. The mojito was decent, though. There is also a game room facility by the pool for the kids, but we didn’t go in and check it out.
The beach was tranquil and beautiful — not huge, but big enough to spread out and great for swimming. The offshore rocks make it not a great spot for snorkeling. We had hoped to rent surfboards and check out some of the local surf spots, but were disappointed to find that November was apparently not longboard season, and the one surf shop in Dorado was not renting boards — no one could point us to any other surf rental venues. Bummer! There are plenty of local options for snorkel and sailing day trips along with options for horseback riding. The rainforest is an hour+ drive, but fun to check out and plan on swimming in some waterfalls.
My favorite excursion from the Hacienda Del Mar was driving about 30 minutes to the Catano ferry landing and for $.50, taking a 7-​minute ferry ride across the bay to Old San Juan. We walked up to one of the two castles and then got some yummy dinner before catching a ferry back. Really a fun afternoon trip, but be prepared to get a workout if you are pushing a baby stroller up and down those narrow streets!
The Internet situation was a bit disappointing, but I suppose that being on vacation I didn’t need to spend my time surfing the Internet anyway. Good thing, because they have ONE Internet terminal for guests in the lobby that costs like $ 6 for 15 minutes — yikes! They also couldn’t get a printer hooked up to print out my boarding pass, so I had to do that at the airport (they did allow me to check in using the computer for free, though). There is supposedly wireless Internet service available in the guestrooms for a fee, but I’m not sure how fast it would be… my experience with the one computer wasn’t very encouraging.
One other side note — the white elephant in the room is the giant, deserted resort that rises literally feet away from the Hacienda Del Mar. A green chain-​link fence separates the pool area and beach from the other hotel complex, which used to be a regular Hyatt hotel but closed when tourism plummeted after ⁹⁄₁₁. Attempts to restore and sell individual units a few years ago were unsuccessful, and Hyatt has since sold the complex to another developer whose plans for the site are unknown. I peeked through the fence and saw that the pool area must have been really cool — a «lazy river» and a big water slide — too bad they couldn’t have merged the two pools together! The empty building is sort of an eyesore, and unfortunately one that you will see no matter where your room is located (all rooms have views towards the beach. The old hotel next door is close enough that it won’t block your view but will definitely be visible).
If you are looking for a relaxing vacation with lots of beach time and quiet nights in, and also planning on renting a car (I definitely recommend getting a rental car if you want to see any of the surrounding area), then the Hacienda Del Mar is worth checking out, especially if you’re a Vacation Club member. But if you want a more «happening» spot with restaurants and shops within walking distance, this is not your place.