My husband and I spent last week at the Rio Mar and had a wonderful time. The staff are professional and helpful. Shuttles run like clockwork, as do the golf course and spa. The resort is beautiful - landscaping and beach are gorgeous. The beach sand is the color of light brown sugar and the water is cool and clear aqua. The room is a nice size for two people - we had a rain forest/mountain view. The beds are very comfortable and the decor is neutral and crisp.

We knew prices would be in resort range from the reviews here, but made it work with breakfasts in the cafe by the casino, usual size lunches and not pigging out at dinner. Honestly, we were not here to eat, with the exception of trying some Puerto Rican cuisine. Time on the beach in a swim suit was much more important. We did splurge on drinks. They are $10 but you are on vacation!

We fed the iguanas twice, my husband golfed on the River Course, we toured the rain forest and took the Sail & Snorkel trip. The rain forest is a nice day - great scenery, a hike, and lunch at a local roadside restaurant. I am now addicted to mofungo. the sail/snorkel trip is a wonderful day on the water.

The night life after dinner is limited to the casino and the pools. Walks on the beach are romantic - lots of moonlight and starlight.

This is a great location for a true break - everything you need is on site. The Rio Mar is a good first timers location. Our next trip we will rent a car to explore Puerto Rico on our own, but this was a lovely introduction.

I read most of the reviews before we went, and all I have to say is, all the negative reviews, forget most of them. We had the most wonderful and relaxing time we ever had. Sometimes, when I get stressed at work I think about our time at the Rio Mar. My wife had the spa treatment while I went scuba diving for the first time.
My wife came back so relaxed that I wished I had the massage instead of going scuba diving. The entire place was beautiful, and relaxing. The staff was wonderful, and polite. At the end of the trip my wife did not want to leave. The only two points from most of the reviews that were true I felt was: 1) The food was over priced with not much seasoning, So you don't get the true authentic flavor of Puerto Rico. 2) Being on the resort you don't feel like you get all the authenticity of being in Puerto Rico. You can't get off the resort unless you rent a car or take a tour. We took the tour and had such a wonderful time that we didn’t have time to try the local cuisine like we wanted. Don't hesitate, go and have fun

I booked a 5 night vacation at the Rio Mar through CheapCaribbean.com. Here are the "pros" and "cons" of the hotel:

Pros:
(1) Very good location! Luquillo Beach is one of the nicest beaches on the island.
(2) It's directly across from the rainforest.
(3) The views of the rainforest are beautiful
(4) The golf course is the nicest in Puerto Rico.
(5) There's a separate pool just for adults
(6) My 10 year old daughter loved the pool and the waterslide.
(7) It's located 3 minutes from the horseback riding site
(8) The property is very lush

Cons:
(1) The food and drinks are overpriced. $3.50 for a cup of coffee?
(2) This is a convention hotel. It caters to conventioners.
(3) The exterior of the hotel needs a fresh coat of paint
(4) The beach has brown sand. If you're idea of a great beach is sugar-white sand, don't come here. Go to Culebra. Playa Flamenco is clearly one of the best beaches in the world. Envision a Corona commercial.
(5) The nightlife is totally DEAD. We didn't care because we had our daughter on this trip though.
(6) The rooms are simply OK. No complaints, but nothing special either.

We booked our stay as Wyndham TimeShare owners. We were looking for a resort to get away and do nothing. We wanted pool, beach, and great weather. It was a getaway from our kids for my wife and I. We read almost all the reviews over the last year and read many good and many not so good. We felt that people were missing the boat on this resort since it became a Wyndham about 1-1/2 yrs ago. We found out they remodeled every room. Our room was basic overlooking the rainforest, but very clean, flat screen, granite, and great bed! We rented the fridge for $25 so we could cut down on the food costs that we had read about.

If you go to this resort expecting a budget resort, you are in the wrong place. This is a high end resort with very good restaurants and service. We did not rent a car. If you want to do activities, rent a car. If not, you can get away without it. We walked to the convenient store (no sidewalks, so for daring people only. Otherwise, take a cab) at the bottom of the hill and picked up groceries and had some great Chinese food (amazing Orange Chicken) at the casual restaurant. The Isamar bakery was great as everyone has said. They have lunch sandwiches that locals enjoy. We bought our own liquor at the store because, yes, the drinks are very high. Also, the bell station might have a cooler that you can use if you ask them nicely. Don't forget to tip for the great service that you will probably get.

There is a convenient store & gift shop at the resort. Good place to pick up T-shirts and do some Sale shopping. They sell liquor there, but of course, you will pay more. Less than at the bar though.

The Pool--Adult pool was great. Kids were having a great time in their own pool. We liked that. NO MUSIC at the adult pool. We knew that and brought our Ipod and docking station. There are some umbrellas but probably wouldn't get them in high season. Beach was great with umbrellas the staff will put up for a small tip. Constant breeze can be expected which cools things down nicely. There are a few Iguanas around, but they are pretty cool and they make sure there aren't too many around.

Spa--we did a couples massage for 25 minutes at the Mandara Spa. The Spa services are high price, but it is a very nice place to be pampered. The workout facility is also in the spa and has very nice updated equipment with personal TV's, Nautilus circuit and free weights.

The Food--everyone says the food is so expensive. Really, it is not. It is higher than a budget resort, but fairly priced to slighly high. These are some nice restaurants. It is like going out to a nice restaurant in the city somewhere. Palio is great high quality Italian. We split dishes since we didn't want leftovers & it kept costs down. The Rigatoni Bolognese was as good as anywhere, including Italy ($18). The chicken wings at Marbella are totally underrated. They are perfectly crisp and outstanding. Many people we saw found this out as well. Great when tossed with the Sweet Chile sauce from the Shrimp Satay! Get this if you go there. Grille Room was a typical steakhouse. Prices were appropriate. Steaks were perfectly done. Take the shuttle for dinner at the Grille Room. It is a nice change of scenery. To keep our money for dinners, we generally ate PB&J & Tuna Salad in the room for lunch. Woke up too late for breakfast most of the time :) Don't waste the money on any of the buffets unless you can eat a lot! Muffins, bagel & coffee is available at the coffee shop next to the casino. Yes, it is a $4 muffin, but who cares, you are on vacation and it is a big muffin. People we met went to Richie's a few times. They said the food was basically the same price and very good, but the drinks were much cheaper.

Golf--great but not spectacular. Ocean course is really not on the ocean. 1 hole is. Go twilight and enjoy golf for $70 or $85 depending on season. Best deal by far. Local told me that El Conquistador has a great course. If you have a car and want to golf, try there.

Nightlife--None (except Casino). I shared my concern about this with the GM and he says they are working on that currently. New "margaritaville" type restaurant will be opening that will stay open late. Tiki bar near the ocean would be great, but it was Turtle season so Island law sets curfew. I believe this will be changing in the future as they have realized it is the one major thing missing. Casino was very small as expected and not worth the time unless you like to gamble.

Excursions--You can set up excursions that will keep you busy at the Concierge desk.

Ride from the airport--unless you are travelling with a large group and can work out something special, the best deal is the shuttle from the resort. $30/person each way. I called cab & car companies and that was the best for 2.

Kids--we would bring our kids to this resort. There were activities during the day and the pool was nice with one slide. I would want a car if I had kids so I could keep food costs down. Amigo grocery is a 10 minute car ride or $30 round trip cab ride. Also at the same place you will find KFC, Subway, & Burger King.

Shopping--we found a place called the Carribean Trading Company that is right around the corner from the convenient store across the main highway. They put together all the local specialties for gift baskets for the resorts. Unique stuff and decent prices. Locally made jewelery, coffee, and hot sauces in addition to many other things. Not some cheap souvenier store so no T-shirts.

Wrap-up...if you go here expecting a high end resort with resort pricing and plan accordingly, you will have an amazing time at this beautiful place. If you book on Expedia, get a great deal, and don't plan properly, you are in for a rude awakening which is what I see in a lot of the reviews. This is a great resort with a great staff that went out of their way for us. We will go back here with our without the kids. Sorry, no pictures since we lost our camera on our way home.