The ride to the Gran Melia Puerto Rico was about 30 minutes. The property is located in the Coco Beach area, east of the airport. The entire Coco Beach area is beautiful and still under development. Next door is the Trump Resort and golf course and soon to be built is a Marriott. The complex that is the Gran Melia covers many acres. The main buildings are to the west and consist of large ballrooms, reception areas, 3 restaurants, plenty of area to sit and relax, a bar area which is active in the evenings with live music. There are buildings off by themselves where we watched at least 2 destination weddings. The hotel has a small shopping area and of course a casino.

Behind the main buildings is the large pool area. There really isn’t one pool, but instead a series of pools surrounded with foliage and occasional beach chairs. Next to the pool is a hut where all kinds of water sports can be arranged. This is where you get your towels, floating devices, etc. Closest to the beach is a pool bar and beach restaurant. The restaurant is small and crowded at lunch time, but the food is good Lunch for 2 could cost you $40+.

There is no real beach at the Gran Melia Puerto Rico; there is just a strip of sand walled off by rocks, then the water. However, I was told a proper beach would be in place within a couple of years. Since the existence of a beach was not a concern of mine, I didn’t mind, but if you go to lie on the beach and frolic in the beautiful blue, then this isn’t for you.

The sleeping quarters are east of the main buildings and a good walk away. There are many golf carts scooting back and forth to bring you between your room and the main buildings. Each cottage holds 10 or 20 rooms. Some rooms have ocean views while some of the rooms have garden views. The garden view rooms are beautiful views of the garden areas. There are many ponds and lush foliage to look at so you feel like you are in the jungle. There is plenty of local wildlife in the gardens for you to watch as well.

We arrived at night so we were unable to get the full effect of the property, but the way it is lighted at night creates a great atmosphere. The many floor lanterns create a Spanish villa feeling throughout the property.

The cost of everything there was Caribbean rates; however the drinks were reasonably priced. I have to commend the staff for outstanding service plus they were very friendly.

Some spa services and golf were included in our stay, so again I can’t give you exact prices but was told golf was about $125 per person and spa services cost what you would expect to pay at a resort. I was told the spa was one of the best ever experienced. We played golf on the Trump Championship Course. It is a beautiful layout offering great views of the sea and the mountains. The white tees play about 6500 yards. Beyond the white tees, you will be challenged by blue, gold and black tees. The Puerto Rico Open, which attracts PGA pros, plays the black tees. The greens were very tricky and there were many sand traps making the course a challenge.

We had lunch at the course too and the food is very good. You would need to be driven from the hotel to the course which is about a 10 minute drive.

Check out at the hotel was handled expertly. We had our bags outside our door an hour before it was time to leave and went to have breakfast. After breakfast, we went to the main entrance and our bags were there as was the bus to take us to the airport. We identified our bags and they were put on the bus for us.

To book your perfect Puerto Rico vacation contact the travel agent below!

Ed Plog
Empress Travel & Cruises
Schenectady, NY
518.374.3176

Tags: caribbean, casino, Destination Wedding, family friendly, golf, Gran Melia Puerto Rico, honeymoon, Puerto Rico, Romance, spa

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009 at 10:30 am and is filed under Hotel Review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.