If you are into cleanliness, don't stay here.Visited: August 2008
Posted by seattle
The room and bath were dirty. There were such strong dog urine and feces odors that I had to leave the balcony door open the entire time we were here so as to prevent getting a migraine.
The bed was uncomfortable, and the sheets did not cover the bare mattress. Also, the furniture was old and worn. I'm fairly sure the walls had not been painted in 50 years (nor cleaned in as many).
My fiance, who loves to "get into the culture" loved it; I could hardly wait to leave.
0 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
This was a great place for the price.Visited: June 2008
Posted by gtown
My husband and I stayed in the hotel for three nights. We had a different room each night.
The rooms at the front were slightly more, but you get a bigger room, bed and a balcony. The interior was eclectic, with lots of old fun furniture.
Ponce was a great place to spend some time. Try the Classic Delights bakery for breakfast. It's on calle Marina and Comercio, just off the plaza. Coffee and pastry were the best.
The only complaint of the hotel, is there was no water pressure in the shower.
2 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
My husband and I had a good experience at the Belgica Hotel. We were here for one night from May 22-23.
We arrived almost 10 pm to check in, and the lady at the front desk was very nice. She was not able to direct us properly to the hotel when we called earlier to ask for directions. However, she turned out to be so apologetic and sincere, that we did not even think of the inconvenience we had driving to the hotel.
The facilities were excellent, as well. We had a balcony, and had a good view of the street and the quaint buildings. The bed, the sheets, the sink, the toilet, the TV - the whole room was beautiful. I loved the preserved windows and trimmings of the room. They even had breakfast in the morning.
The personnel was polite, and the hotel was very clean. It was very nice!
2 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
Copamarina is maximum relaxation.Visited: October 2006
Posted by eddiemon
This resort it in the middle of "Nowhere", Puerto Rico. It is in southwest area of the island known as La Isla de Encanto (The Island of Enchantment).
If you are a beach bum, but hate sharing the beach - this the place to be. Many secluded beaches are in the area. Plus, you can take the ferry to Gilligans Island and have the small cay all to yourself.
I suggest you come and enjoy what this place has to offer.
4 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
The hotel was being renovated while we were here. It was a very comfortable stay, with not much noise!
The room was small, but it was a very old building with super high ceilings! It made the room not feel so small. The room and bathroom were very clean, and the breakfast area was clean as well.
There was a nice assortment of pastry, fruit, juice, and coffee for breakfast. The pool was cute! It was nice and clean, and was great to relax in!
The hotel was in a great location, with secure parking. Also, the staff was very friendly.
This hotel reminded me of a very old European style boutique hotel.
We would stay here again, as we had a wonderful experience.
3 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
Hotel Belgica was cean, quaint, and lovelyVisited: January 2007
Posted by syrisblue
We stayed here for two nights this past January during our trip to Puerto Rico. The hotel was clean and comfortable, and the location was excellent. Also, the staff was wonderful!
This would be a great place to stay if you wanted a different exerience from the Holiday Inn/ Hilton chains. It has a more authentic feel to it.
Parking was ample at night - and safe. Mid-day parking was hectic, but there was a public lot one block away if you needed to leave your car for a few hours there. We found we were up early and back late, so we never had any problem with parking.
20 users found this review helpful. 1 found this review unhelpful.
What a beautiful beachfront resort.Visited: December 2006
Posted by mommy2l_l
We enjoyed staying here. The staff was friendly and helpful. The grounds were gorgeous, and it was a clean and well maintained secluded resort.
The beachfront was nice, and the water was calm, but it was not the best sand on Puerto Rico - but nice all the same. There were plenty of watersports activities to rent.
The rooms were large, but noisy. We could hear neighbors as if they were in the same room as us, which was annoying when we were trying to get kids to sleep, and they returned after midnight and turned the TV on loud.
Also, the dive instructor didn't tell us boats had been out of order for days and strung us along for 24 hours on a possible trip. By the time he informed us boats were no good, it was too late to book elsewhere - all booked up and we were leaving PR.
There were two restaurants. The food was fair and overpriced. On the whole, we still recommend this hotel, especially if traveling with kids.
7 users found this review helpful. 1 found this review unhelpful.
This is the best place to stay at an affordable price, in the Ponce areaVisited: June 2005
Posted by guardian
This is a very economical alternative on the southern area. It is clean, and it has the best possible location close to the city square. Also, there are many places to visit within walking distance from this location.
The rooms are small with air conditioning and a private bath. All the building's areas are clean, and the service is good. I will recommend it to any couple on a limited budget.
9 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
Best place to stay at an affordable price, in the Ponce areaVisited: June 2005
Posted by guardian
This is a very economical alternative on the southern area. It is clean, it have the best possible location close to the city square. There are many places to visit at walking distance from this location. Rooms are small with air conditioning and private bath. All building's areas are clean and service is good. I will recommend it to any couple on a limited budget.
16 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
This was a peaceful tropical getaway.Visited: March 2006
Posted by lousal3
My wife and I wanted to go away to get out of the New York cold and also to relax and get away from work.
We didn't want one of those big, loud, crowded hotels in San Juan, so we decided to give the Copamarina a try. We only read the reviews that were posted online by others, so we were taking a leap of faith. What a great surprise!
The hotel was beautiful. It was very quiet, clean, low-key, peaceful and relaxing. The staff was attentive without being overbearing. The grounds were clean, the pools were sparkling, and at times we felt like we were in our own private hotel.
We got upgraded to a larger room without even asking. The room was very clean and pleasent. There were two pools to choose from, and plenty of lounge chairs and space to yourselves. All the other guests were friendly as well. This was a perfect place for what we were looking for.
Things to think about: There was little to no nightlife on the premises. The restaurant choices were limited on premises (but good). Also, the drive from the airport was 1 1/2 hours (which didn't seem bad to us).
If you are looking for a relaxing getaway at a great price, with not a lot of crowds or noise, Copamarina is for you. We will definitely be back!
8 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
I read all of the previous reviews after I booked my reservation, and I was worried. But I am a college student and price determined where I stayed.
Contrary to all of the negative things written, the place was wonderful! Everyone was friendly and nice, the rooms were always clean, there was AC, and it was very close to the beach. There were no problems at all.
I highly recommend it to anyone traveling on a budget.
2 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
The resort was clean and very beautiful to look at. We had the all-inclusive package as it was required with the RCI timeshare folks. We used the Copamarina as our home base.
We always had breakfast here. We had their nice buffet most days, and some days we had a made to order breakfast. If we were venturing out, we had the resort make us a lunch as we were paying for it anyway.
And dinner was always in the Alexandra Room at the resort. The dinner menu got a bit thin with seven nights to choose from just one menu, but the food was excellent. I have to say, I am actually tired of lobster and filet mignon.
Absolutley go out into the countryside! Don't just stay at the resort or you will miss the absloute beauty of Puerto Rico! The rainforests were breathtaking! The silence (except for the coqui frog and an occasional chicken) was amazing. I took sunset pictures from the north side, west side and south side of the island. What an amazing place.
Don't be afraid to venture out, but know that the maps are all horrible and directions are sketchy at best. I-10 stopped completely in the middle and turned into a tiny little road. All roads were steep and skinny - but breathtaking!
Eat in Maricau at Hacienda Juanita. It is worth the flight to Puerto Rico. I didn't spend any time in San Juan. The Torre Negro rainforest was spectacular, but I didn't make it to the other bigger one.
The resort was clean and beautiful, and the staff was amazingly helpful. One staff person even had her aunt make us some Puerto Rican food to bring back to the states!
The Bio Bay was a bit of a rip off. You really can't swim in it. One boat let us, and he didn't have a ladder. My husband cut his leg getting into the boat via the motor.
Gilligan's Island was amazing. It was georgeous. Wear swim shoes as the coral was brutal. Have a wonderful trip!
5 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
We found it to be damp and dingy, with badly maintained rooms next to a noisy road.Visited: October 2005
Posted by colin1
This small family-run hotel was a disappointment to me and the other nine UK guests who stayed here for a week. Although the hotel was as described on their web site, there were significant problems.
We found the rooms to be damp, dingy and badly maintained. Two of our five rooms were flooded while we were here. Also, the rooms' 'windows' were glassless and shuttered, and could not be opended.
In addition, there was a busy main road running a few feet from the rooms, and the noise of lorries started every day from well before 6 a.m.
We found prices for some restaurant services unacceptably high in certain instances. And although the staff was always friendly, they lacked a kitchen appropriate to the needs of the hotel.
Swimming off the sand and rock beach is not advisable for children as there were strong and dangerous currents. During our stay, the Caribbean here was rough. This may be the normal situation at this location at this time of the year as there were surfers who knew the location well. We found the Caribbean to be its usual placid self during a cruise the following week.
10 users found this review helpful. 3 found this review unhelpful.
We thought the rooms were horrible.Visited: October 2005
Posted by domiricanmami
The location of the hotel was conveniently close to the beach and the airport.
The rooms were very low budget, though. If you are used to rooms like those in the Hilton, Ritz Carlton or the Sheraton, this place is not for you. I felt like I was staying in a "welfare" motel. My husband was afraid to sleep in the bed because he thought there could have been bed bugs.
In my opinion, Motel 6 gets five stars compared to Coral by the Sea. I suggest you pay the extra money and stay at the Hampton Inn across the street or the Ritz Carlton right next door.
2 users found this review helpful. 2 found this review unhelpful.
I have stayed in hotels in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, but never, never have I been so disappointed. Our room was dirty: the linens were stained; the sink was rusted; the furniture was old and worn looking; there was visable dust; the bathroom needed a serious cleaning, especially the discolored and dirt grout. Breakfast consisted of some pastries, a carton of juice that didn't look clean, coffee, and bananas. Please, save your money and stay elsewhere. Perhaps this hotel was nice years ago, but now its over-priced.
8 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
Beatiful scenery, nice resort, but could be so much better!Visited: February 2004
Posted by sally_clarke
The 2 hour drive from San Juan to Copamarina is lovely. The last bit of road down to the resort proves that you are well off the beaten track. If you don't like it you are stuck there unless you hire a car .
Rooms are basic but nice. Each room has air con machine which is very noisy, you can easily hear the next rooms' machine. Don't let them put you in room 304, as when you have a shower it floods the whole bedroom as the shower floor doesn't slope towards the drain! The fact that the cleaning staff new all about the problem was also annoying. Why put people in a room with a problem???
The best part about Copamaria is the diving. Check whether the big diving boat is available otherwise they cram you onto a small boat which doesn't ride the waves as well and makes the majority of people sick. The diving instructors are the most friendly staff at the resort so get diving as soon as you can. Pretty good value as well.
The rest of the staff will do no more than they have to which become irritating.
The beach is nice, and it's got lots of new sand on it. Believe me I sat there whilst the digger went up and down the beach putting it there!!!
The waters are very shallow of the beach and are full of fish. The natural beauty of the area is amazing and so is the wildlife.
The resort caters for 'weekenders' and things change Friday-Sunday. Disappointingly the second resturant is closed at night so you only have 1 place to eat, and there is no bar a night either. Take a jumper with you, the restaurant is freezing.
Nice place, good diving I just wish more care was taken with the resort and the staff are better trained.
4 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
Caribbean 
If you are into cleanliness, don't stay here. 
This was a great place for the price. 
This was a hidden gem. 
Copamarina is maximum relaxation. 
baad news 