Oceana Hostal Playero

A visit to Puerto Rico ought to feel enchanting, and this reasonably priced, underrated beachside hotel has a lot going for it. There's a pleasant courtyard with a clean pool, and the staff are polite and helpful. Rooms are cleaned while you're out enjoying Fabulous Isla Verde beach, just a block away. I've visited PR many times, so trust me, this place deserves more attention. I spent four nights with my family across two rooms. The single and double bedrooms are good, while the suites are spacious, come with full kitchens, and cost very little for the fun you can have. The furniture may not match, but the beds are comfortable, the bathrooms presentable, and the rooms have air conditioning, which matters a lot. You'll probably spend most of your time outside anyway.

We had a good time and met some great people. Tony was awesome with us, and the staff were friendly, though there aren't enough of them to keep the rooms thoroughly clean. The family-run place seems a little run down and could use an upgrade, but it has plenty of potential. I liked the palm trees and mix of colors around the area. It's only a block from a beautiful beach, with restaurants and shopping nearby. The sheets and pillows need replacing too, since stained ones aren't good for business. I think I'll stay somewhere else next time.

The building was charming and had a nice outdoor patio with a pool. Rates were good, and on the third day I met two welcoming employees, one at the front desk and one from housekeeping. Most of the other staff, two men, were rude. Room 25 was unacceptable. Its plaque said “employees only” instead of showing a room number. The bathroom was tiny and dirty, and a screw sticking up from the shower drain cut my foot. The shower knobs were reversed. One bed wasn't attached to anything and slid around; its headboard could fall if you moved in your sleep. Parking was terrible, with more than half the spaces taken up by broken cars out front and along the side. One car sat diagonally across two spaces. I don't know whether it was a shortage of availability or spite, but after three of our five days, I found out there were nicer rooms. While the rooms on our floor were being cleaned, all of them except ours were open, and every one was better than ours. Our fridge didn't work, there was no microwave, and the TV was the size of my laptop. Their towel storage area, which also held other junk left in rooms, was very messy. They also charged me an extra $25 a day for an additional person.

The staff were friendly, and we liked the neighborhood, the nearby restaurants, and being just one block from the beach. Still, after five days here, I'm not sure we'd return. The place felt dirty and dated, and nobody cleaned our room during the stay, so we had to ask for fresh towels. Breakfast was just toast with no jam, an apple, a tiny powdered sugar donut, and juice. The cook didn't show up Saturday or Sunday, so there was no breakfast those days. There are only 5-6 parking spots, the desk wasn't always staffed even in the daytime, and our room was dark with a toilet that ran constantly. Wi-Fi only worked on the first floor, and the walls are thin.