Long Weekend in Puerto Rico

Best Things Nearby:
Palomino Island: private island with a nice sandy beach; El Yunque rain forest.

Best Things About the Resort:
Privacy, restaurants, spaciousness.

Resort Experience:
With its gorgeous vistas, beautiful surroundings, and secluded location, the Wyndham resort operates as a small village would. It is large enough to get lost in and there is everything for every individual. They have a PGA golf course with spectacular views of the rich green mountainside, a world-renowned spa, a casino, and access to every water sport imaginable.

The resort lodging is broken down into four different classifications: La Casitas is upscale villa housing that offers privacy from the main portion of the resort; Las Olas Village is built into the side of the cliff; La Marina Village is built on the water level; and the Grand Hotel is where the standard rooms are, but these rooms are nothing to complain about either. Mo The resort has multiple restaurants featuring Asian (Chinese and Japanese cuisines), Mexican, Italian, French, seafood, Caribbean, American diner, and the basic poolside foods. You can even grab a cookie from David's cookies or a bagel from the pastry shop.

I could have arrived to the Wyndham without luggage for the boutique shops have everything. Great swimwear, wine and rum, cigars, spa lotions, jewelry. . . What more could you ask for?

Every 20-30 minutes, the resort provides a free shuttle boat to Palomino Island, which is the resort's privately owned island equipped with a beach/water sport activity desk, a bar, small boutiques, a restaurant, and a snack hut. Lounge chairs dot the beach and drink service is provided throughout the day.

The only downfall with this resort is that it is located 45 minutes from the airport, which also makes exploring Old San Juan and the rest of Puerto Rico quite difficult, but if what you are looking for is rest and relaxation for a weekend to a week, you will certainly find it here.

• Unit Type: 1 Bedroom
• Activities: Very Good
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Fair

If you travel to an island, seafood is normally on your mind when it comes to dinner. Blossoms serves both Japanese and Chinese food and you get your money's worth! They even offer take out/delivery to your hotel room!

The sushi was excellent! The Chinese dishes were not greasy and filling.

Expect what you would from a NYC five-star restaurant. The service was impeccable. The food was well prepared, classic French cuisine. Their wine list was sparse, but the wines offered were of high caliber. It was an enjoyable meal, but I have had better. There was an event in the larger room, so we were seated in a small room with six other couples.

A dramatic outdoor staircase lined with candles leads you to the restaurant located in a more intimate spot on the hill near the Las Casitas section of the resort.

The buffet brunch offered exactly what you would expect: an omelet station, a carving station, cold cuts, breads and pastries, fresh fruit, waffles, sausage links, bacon, etc. It was all pretty standard fare, though I was impressed by the freshly squeezed orange juice. Cafe Caribe was a better alternative for breakfast, although the open ocean views at Las Brisas are stunning.

It's a diner-style cafe and they offer the cheapest in-restaurant dining on the resort. The breakfast portions are nothing to write home about, but considering the prices at the other places at the resort, this is a comforting alternative. The Caesar salad was excellent.

They even have an ice cream shop adjacent to this restaurant, which doles out cones with six flavors to choose from.

Located at the marina level of the resort, Stingray offers seafood with Caribbean spices. The fish was fresh, but the meal itself was fairly basic; for example, I had grilled tuna with a sweet Caribbean sauce drizzled on the side.