Mitsugirlys FASCINATION with San Juan-review & pictorial

We made it out to the water finally.

It was still cloudy, but the sun was peeking out.

THIS...immediately happened of course.

Over in the distance, you could see the rain pouring down. I always think it's so cool to see the rain clouds, with the trail of rain reaching down to the ground, from a distance. I spot these a lot on cruises and I just find them so fascinating.

We picked our "spot" and dropped our things. Hubby was still debating if he wanted to get in the water.

I went up to take a picture to send to Kendra making her think that the weather was perfect. Which, it actually was at that point. With a little bit of clouds and the rain in the distance, it felt pretty good since it was pretty hot out. The only problem is that when it's cloudy like this, the pictures sometimes don't turn out the best.

My picture to Kendra

There was still a downpour to the left of us. Hey, as long as it was staying over there, I was good with it.

This ice cream guy went up and down the beach all day. He didn't bother anyone and just rang his bell. Like I said, it was HOT out. I can't believe that having the ice cream in a cooler thing like that actually keeps it from melting in this weather. I mean it should be ok for a little while, but I wouldn't think it would last long.

I always love taking my little tilt-shift pictures, but did notice this time around that when it's kinda gloomy out, they don't turn out as good and are a little dark. I wish I would have turned the camera the other way and caught the "clear" part of the ice cream mans wheel track down the beach with everything else blurry.

I think I spot a mermaid out there...

"Mommy, come quick"...

Almost caught a double picture over/under. I don't even remember trying to do this here (since there were waves and you need the water to be somewhat still) and it was the only one like this. Maybe it was just a fluke. You can tell that I must have had it on the underwater setting since it had a really weird cast to the picture above.

It was beautiful out and sunny which = very HOT. The hubby didn't last long on the beach.

Beached mermaid?

Nope, just taking a rest.

I went up to text Kendra (we talk back and forth all day long, both at home or on vacation lol). Then I come back down to the water to THIS...."Um, what are you doing???" "Are you going tinkle?"

He had been sitting there like that for awhile. I sat down beside him and ask if I was going to feel extremely warm water. He said "No, look at my skin". He said if you stay real still, with the water going back and forth, before long, the sand would pile up on your skin. He was loaded with it. I warned him about the crabs and he decided it was not fun anymore.

Still gloomy over yonder...

But where we were at, it was extremely nice and sunny.

Sakari having a little bit of fun

She met a little friend that she would hang out with the rest of the time that we were there (this one spoke English and I believe they were from Massachusetts the dad said).

They would proceed to take Mr Crabby Patty up and down the beach to "show" people and it became a game of "how many people will scream at the sight". There were a group of girls that had arrived minutes before this occurrence of Mr Crabby. One refused to go in the water because she was afraid of fish (reminded me of Kendra's finance) and the other two adventured in. I could tell by the way they were all acting that this might have been their first experience at a beach. I over heard one yell to the girl on the beach "How are you going to come to Puerto Rico on vacation and not even get in the water at the beach?" I just knew they were prime candidates for a Mr Crabby experience. hee hee. I told Sakari "those girls would love to see Mr Crabby. Go show them." And I waited....then it came, a loud shriek and the motion of a tidal wave of water leading up to the beach due to movement of some very fast legs! HAHAHA it was funny. Then they laughed and the girl that refused to get in the water had some fun with it. I'm glad we were able to give her the opportunity to pay her friends back from making fun of her for not going in the water. It was entertaining to say the least.

The rain was moving on out toward the water and still staying to the side of us.

The hubby was taking pictures of the beach and posting it for all to see back home.

I tried my best to get a picture of the birds flying around. I guess I forgot to change my settings.

Now remember we were sitting on the beach (no chairs) and I plopped down at one point and crossed my legs. Immediately I felt a pain in my foot. Mr Crabby had pinched my toe.

It was so hot out and you really couldn't stay on the beach for long before getting back in the water. I think the hubby swam more this time that he has on previous vacations.

When I got out once to go get something to drink, someone had wrote this on the beach (censored for the forum with my name stamp of course).

A few selfies to prove we were there and not randomly stealing pics off the internet from our office back home in front of the computer.

I guess the water was a little deep here??? What are you doing Sakari?

It was fun time for her...

So it was getting later in the day and I knew we had to drive to Isla Verde to get checked in. We decided to pack up and head out of here. It ended up being a good day and the rain stayed away from us.

The beach was pretty, but I'm not sure if I would consider this the "prettiest" beach ever. If it's the prettiest beach in PR, then hmmm. I guess I should look no more for one to top it. Honestly, it kinda reminded me of our last stop here in PR and we went to Pamela's (Numero Uno) for the day (from the cruise ship). It was nice, don't get me wrong, but I guess I just had something else pictured in my mind. Would I return? No, probably not. Been there, done that and time to move on next time around.

It was a VERY big beach and plenty of room to spread out. The water was very clear and the waves were pretty gentle. You could rent jet skis there and we even seen someone riding one just like the hubby's but it just wasn't as loud. (He has a 300hp supercharged one with an exhaust and he has had it up to 80mph at our local beach..which scares the crap out of me). We have never seen another like his. But these guys were having a good old time with it.

Walking out, we did see they had a place to purchase food and drinks. I did see ice cream (of course) and pizza as well. They did charge $1.00 to use the baño's. I calculated I saved about $10 that day. LOL

We headed out to the car at 2:20pm.

They seem to keep this place really clean and in tip-top shape. However, I did see this when we were walking out.

It was a long hot walk back and I was now wishing that I was back in the water.

I looks like there's someone here that also do the bio bay tours.

We made it back to the car and would spend about 1/2 hour there, trying to get our clothes as dry as possible before getting in the car and leaving. You have to remember, we are no longer at the hotel, we have no towels!

Then out we went...

I am glad you were able to find the time to write your usual fabulous review!

I am glad you were able to find the time to write your usual fabulous review!

Thanks. It's been challenging with school starting back up. :)

Now I'm really super sad to say that we did not make it to El Yunque rain forest. I was really hoping to go there before we left the area. I had done my research, printed off some maps, knew exactly what to put in my GPS to get us to the entrance (instead of the back wrong entrance) and which paths I wanted to take. But, after finding out about the private beach at El Conquistador, I just KNEW I had to do that instead. Also, since we are beach people, I also KNEW I had to visit the "prettiest beach" in Puerto Rico while I was there. But I was super bummed about not getting to the rain forest. NEXT TIME!!!

We headed out, set the GPS, and was on our way to Isla Verde. We made a few pit stops along the way for the hubby to potty (I swear his bladder is worse than mine and I've had 4 kids). As I was sitting out in the car (at Burger King) a guy came out, got in his jeep and proceeded to leave the lot. I guess he also decided he wasn't waiting in traffic and just went up and over the hilly grassy area and onto the highway. I guess that's how they do it in PR. (It wasn't a small hill either and remember it had been raining toward this way for quite some time).

Now I truly believe the people here are on island time. The speed limit was 65 in a lot of the areas we were in and people were only going 40. It ended up being a longer trip than I anticipated (or at least it seemed like it), but still only took around 30 minutes or so and we were in the area of Isla Verde.

Another thing I noticed were the really weird traffic signals. I could be in the far left lane pulling out to turn left and the lane beside me would have traffic going straight and some would turn left. It was weird. There were a couple of times I'm pretty sure people were just doing their own thing and turning whatever way they wanted whether they were in the right lane or not. I had been in lanes that go straight and had someone to the right of me turn left in front of me. I also wasn't really sure if they had the "turn right on red" rules there either, so I didn't take any chances.

We made to the hotel at 3:30 and when we pulled up, there were people at the entrance ready to "valet" your car...for a nice chunk of change of course.

The people told us in order to park there, we would have to do valet. It would cost $27 and we could come and go as we pleased. If we planned to do the self-park, it was $22 and we would have to drive down the street, park in the building across the street (on one of the top floors and this building must have been about 25 stories tall) and then walk back to the hotel. Well, for $5 more, we decided on the valet and the car was parked right next to the hotel.

However, most of the garage wasn't being used and being remodeled, but they parked the cars up on the top level and we could see the car from our hotel room.

 

 

Another type of sand game, but with a ball.

 

 

 

 

Gaga ball. When we went camping last month in Gatlinburg, the campsite had a gaga ball pit. It was always crowded. My seven year old granddaughter spent hours in the pit. Or just outside the pit, since she was usually one of the first eliminated. It's sorta like dodge ball. Only with a lot more rules. I couldn't understand all of them.

Now I have to say that I was really nervous about booking this hotel. I had originally booked The Courtyard at Marriott. But the opportunity came up and we got a SUPER good deal on this place from a "friend" on these boards. So we cancelled our reservation with Marriott and booked this place.

Now I DO know that this place was getting renovated. According to their website, it stated that there were some renovations going on in certain parts of the hotel and that the big winding river looking pool was going to be closed for remodeling. However, it did say that they had another pool and it would be open. So, I figured why not. I'm just going to roll with it. We were only going to be there for 1 day and I had planned on spending it at the beach anyhow.

THEN....2 days prior to us arriving, someone on these boards posts that the hotel would be closing down permanently during the last half of the renovation and that closure date was THE DAY WE WERE CHECKING OUT!! YIKES! Ok, that probably means that the renovations are a lot further along that I had anticipated and that service would probably be a little spotty. Ok Kim, suck it up. You got this and it's not going to spoil your last day in Puerto Rico. Then I broke the news to the family to prepare them for what they might see or experience. Hey, as long as there was a pool and beach, Sakari didn't care. The hubby, eh, he's just along for the ride and rolls with the punches too.

However, I do have to mention this...When we were at El Con. we were talking to a guy out by the pool that had came there for a wedding. He ask how long we would be staying there and we told him our plans and about leaving to stay at Isla Verde for a day. He said he had just came from there yesterday and the place was a dump. Construction going on and almost everything closed. He said the service was almost non-existent and the staff was rude because they all acted like they didn't care since it was closing and they were going to be out of jobs for awhile. He said half of the staff was already let go and it was running at a minimum. Then he said there was so much construction going on that he was stepping over construction stuff (boards, drywall, and a mess) and that at one point one of the floors became flooded and they weren't doing anything about it. He said it was a terrible experience. Sigh!

We got our things out of the car and handed over the keys to the valet attendant. Of course they wanted to take our luggage and "help you check in", but I know this game. You just got an extra $5 out of me to park my car, I can handle my one luggage that has wheels and rolls. It's not that hard.

They had a temporary "entrance" with a ramp leading up to the doors.

Now this is normally not the entrance nor will it be the entrance once it's finished. This section is the "shopping mall" located in side the hotel.

It also had a bunch of restaurants in there too. It was just like the hotel we had just came from at El Conquistador. Plenty of shopping and food within the hotel. Just not as big or as much of course.

Everything was open from the stores to the food. I only noticed maybe 2 stores that had brown paper over the windows and were closed being remodeled.

Notice the sign? Tour and Travel? Well there was a lady that worked in there...and she was there until the last day!! Tour and Travel! Last day! Seriously!

So here we are at this make-shift temporary desk down the hall and we are checking in. I felt bad because remember we had just came from the beach. We were a hot mess. Clothes a little damp, bathing suits with a cover up, hair a hot mess, no make up and just wanting to get our room key and go shower. They were checking us in and they said they were checking to make sure the room was ready. I had to potty and they pointed me in the direction of the restrooms. Down the hall, past the rest of the stores, come to the end, turn left, down that hall, out the doors to outside and they are on the right. Whew! They ended up being bathrooms that were located on the outside half-enclosed patio where you could watch t.v., drink, eat, and swim. It had a roof over it and was huge, but yet it was also all open on the side.

As I was walking around the corner looking for the restroom, there was a security cop that stopped me and ask if she could help. I told her I was looking for the restroom. She pointed out the doors and told me to turn right. On my way back in, she stopped me again, only this time asking if I was staying at the hotel. I told her yes and that she had just seen me come from the hotel. She laughed and said "Oh, you're right. Sorry about that."

When I got back to the desk, the hubby was waiting with the room key. We headed BACK down the long hall I had just came from to catch the elevators.

Now some of the halls in this area were getting some work done to them. No biggie, but there were NO MESSES ANYWHERE. Not even tools laying out.

The hall leading down to the casino

We made it to the room. But first I'm going to take the time to show you around this hotel and the grounds before I go on.

So here's the outside/inside area where the bathrooms I went to was.

There were a lot of people out there during our stay, watching the olympics.

This was still part of that outside patio area, but this was the dining area that you could eat outside (it also extended inside as well).

It was located in an area that overlooked both of the pools.

Outside of the area;

From this restaurant area, you could take a peek over at the nice pool area that was getting a make-over.

This is looking into that pool area from the beach. The security guard in this picture, I spoke with him a lot about the hotel. I had told him about the guy talking about walking over stuff and the flooding and so on. He said he was probably talking about this portion of the hotel (which was now completely closed), but yet it still had a walkway through it to get out to the beach. HOWEVER, he said it had been closed for 2 months. (There's several buildings on the property and it depends on where you book where you'll stay I guess).

He also said that they had just sold off the huge building beside this one (labeled OSJ Hotel) and it was no longer a part of this Hilton establishment. There was also a building located on the other side of the main pool, which they had just completely torn down.

He said they were actually putting in ANOTHER pool on the other side of the lazy river type pool, which is why that area is also getting redone.

He confirmed that they were closing down "tomorrow" and would reopen again in December. He would not have a job after that day, but he also "dabbles" in automotive work and that would tie him over until he had a job again. He said he had only been with the company for 4 months, but didn't want to lose his job.

His job consisted of standing at the entrance of the hotel by the beach. He was the "night shift" and worked all night long, making sure that no one entered the property unless they were staying there. I believe he said his shift ended at 7am in the morning.

OSJ building seen below:

This is what it use to look like:

I seriously love your reviews. So much information with your sense of humor built in. Thanks so much for doing this for everybody here.

 

And, please go to Alaska and do a review. I can't find anything close to a review of Alaska that has as much information as a Mitsugirly review. Pretty please?

That would never work for Kim & family because there aren't any beaches! I have been on the Alaska cruises twice and it definitely is not a good cruise for someone who likes to swim and go to the beach:D

So if I ever decided to do the MSN program...it's all writing as well? Eek!

Yes, I'm doing an online program here in my state (thank goodness because if I actually had to GO to school, I probably wouldn't do it). I "should" be done with the program by next summer, but that's only because I'm only doing 3/4 semesters (because I have to take a portion of it off for CRUISING...lol...but seriously, that is why I do it).

 

Sakari doesn't want to go where there's no beach and it's not hot. Mermaids would probably not survive the cold weather. :p She is unaware of all of the new animals that she would see there. Trust me, I'll be informing her to get her excited about it. I mean...what choice does she have if that's where we decide to go. LOLThanks

I also want to add that on the two cruises I did on the inside passage I saw absolutely NO animals in the wild. We did see a few whales, but everything is really touristy in the ports. You would have to take the one way cruise with the land option that goes to Denali Park to see any of the wildlife and that is rather pricey.

This is the area where the other pool is located at in front of the bar/restaurant area:

The pool house. Even someone was working in there up until the last day.

This is what they had around the property areas that were being worked on. It led out from the pool to the beach area.

This was the building that had been completely shut down and not being used for the last 2 months. But, you had to go under the underpass to the building to get out to the beach area. The security guard said a few weeks ago they did not have anything up around the pool area and they were working on it. He said people kept walking through the area and it was dangerous, so they put up all the fencing after that.

Critters!!!

These little guys were everywhere.