My husband and I stayed at Gran Melia for a week. We upgraded our stay to Royal Service (RS) and boy was it worth it!!! RS included a decent breakfast, quality drinks and h'dourvers from 6pm-9pm and a separate pool and lounge...The resort is breathtakingly beautiful. The grounds are very well-maintained and both the general and RS pools were amazing. The staff was wonderful and very helpful. Overall, we were very satisfied with the resort and would go back to it in a heartbeat... The beach at the resort is not too great but does suffice. Personally, I loved hanging out in the RS pool sipping pina colada's or reading a book in the shade of the palapas overlooking the ocean. It’s a self-sufficient resort with a casino and good restaurants for people who want to just stay in. The sushi at the Asian bistro restaurant was pretty good but since we love exploring a new place we went out for the local food almost every day and there are plenty of places to choose from in close vicinity and at cheaper prices too. Try the local food – bbq chicken, mofongo, pork chops etc. El Yunque rain forest is situated very close to the resort and we went there 2 days. Once day we drove around the forest taking pictures of the gorgeous landscape and the next day we went hiking. It is a must-do for anyone who hasn't been to a rain forest before. Book a car online as it is much cheaper and go visit at least the rainforest, biobay (we went kayaking at night through the mangrove channel into the luminescent bio bay), and Old San Juan. Snorkeling near Flamenco beach was a lot of fun. We went on the 1 day snorkeling tour with East Island Excursions…totally worth it. Flamenco beach is gorgeous…one of the best in the world. Back to the resort, it is safe, family friendly, good food, spectacular décor and felt like paradise to me. Go enjoy the resort but don’t forget to see a bit of the island…it is simply beautiful.
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