The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, Puerto Rico

Don't let the naysayers deter you from this property. I just returned from a 5 night stay that was one of the best I've ever experienced. The staff, from arrival to departure, were absolutely welcoming and attentive. If you like nature, calm, and quiet...this is the place. The manner in which the property is connected via a boardwalk amongst the vegetation is something I miss already. The management team has done a marvelous job, I've never seen a staff this happy and welcoming. The breakfast options were copious, and the staff had great recommendations on things to do and see nearby. I highly recommend the French toast. Rent a car! The price for parking is more than reasonable and there are so many nearby tastes and sights that making your own trnsportation worth while. In addition, the valets were always so polite, helpful, and took great care of us. The butlers were all amazing! Quick shout out to Oscar for making our first night special and Juan for helping out with local food suggestions. The housekeeping kept the room immaculate and the cookies and turndown service were exquisite. Don't forget the on-site bio tour that includes a quick stop by the on-poroperty no kill shelter. If you enjoy golf, it was pretty sweet to visit the range for free and to hit a few balls. The course looked pristine but didn't play. Im sorry others had a different experience than me, but I'd go back tomorrow if i could. This place really is magical.

This resort is a tropical paradise. It is well appointed and the hospitality is amazing. Facilities are up to date, great pool/beach area and endless amenities- daily French press coffee delivered to your room, nightly smores for kids, champagne sabering, great kids club, beautiful spa. You really can’t go wrong here.

We enjoyed our recent 7 day stay here. The resort was probably half filled and was hosting a small company’s awards trip. In summary, we liked our room, the resort’s amenities, and the service, and we managed our way through the food options. Our room was one of the largest rooms we’ve stayed in without being in a suite. It was well appointed and reasonably well maintained (housekeeping was good. The turndown service was inconsistent on a few things, but nothing major was missed). In fact, a manager checked in on our housekeeping services on the third day. We enjoyed the pool, the beach (FYI, the beach had a red flag the entire week so you couldn’t really swim but you can go in up to your ankles) and the beach club (we highly recommend spending a day there to mix it up. It’s a 5-minute golf cart shuttle ride away. You can also walk there on the beach). At all three spots, we could easily get a drink or something to eat without leaving the chair. Jesus, Ineysha, and Eric made our time at the pool and on the beach very comfortable with their services and pro tips on food, rum, and other activities. We liked the serenity of the location. It was a quiet, bug free walk between buildings and from our room to the main building and spa. We visited both gyms. Both are large for a resort gym and reasonably well equipped (enough to do the basics) with both cardio and weights. They also had cold towels and water or tea when you were done. I was surprised that they didn’t have cleaning cloths to wipe down equipment between uses. We also used the bikes a few times and used the stand-up paddleboards at the Boat House. You can walk/run the resort paths for exercise, but the beach is your better option. The food is expensive. We elected to skip Paros completely. We also had breakfast at Rico Pan one morning and dinner at Don Pepe one night in Rio Grande for a change of pace and expense. That said, we really enjoyed our breakfast experience overlooking the resort grounds and ocean. Noel, Angela, and especially Karyn were top notch and incredibly helpful. We ate from the a la carte menu each day instead of the buffet and found it to be tasty and more than enough. Marcos and Jorge helped us navigate the small plate options in the St Regis bar (I’m still thinking about the pork belly). Finally, you can tell that the resort has worked hard with its training to drive a better customer experience. We really enjoyed the staff.

I honestly don’t know what more people expected with the low reviews. Just returned from a three day stay and it was an amazing quick get away. Like everyone else mentioned it is pretty much secluded , but enjoyed the peace and quiet. The resort offered several amenities to satisfy me and my spouse. Food was very limited , but it also sufficed for the quick trip. The beach was private and peaceful. The service was above and beyond. Enjoyed the daily French press coffee in bed. If you are looking for a quick get away St Regis is it!

Pros -Gorgeous tropical rainforest setting -Large rooms (even the least expensive ones) -Two pools plus ocean beach -One adult only pool deck -Pool and beach side drink service -Great water pressure and temperature in the shower -Comfortable bed linens -Huge and absorbent beach and shower towels -Very private - no hustle or bustle here -Bikes are a fun easy way to get around -24 hour room service - food is good and not terribly slow. -The spa has showers for late check out and a jacuzzi, sauna, and cold plunge pool. All are included as a part of the daily resort fee -Breakfast is solid. The continental breakfast is $35 (free for Marriott elite platinum or higher) with a $9 upgrade to the hot buffet and omelet menu. The upgrade also includes a mimosa. If you have the free continental breakfast you only pay the $9 difference. Cons -Everything is resort prices - food and drinks are expensive. But that should surprise no one at all venue like this -Common spaces are just not as well cleaned as they could or should be. Bathroom trashes overflowing. Sinks needing wipe downs. Pool walls were green and slimy in lots of places. Lots of sand and bugs in the pool. So many discarded drinks and towels by the main pool. (This last issue is a guest created problem, to be clear, but staff aren’t picking up enough to keep up with it.) -Service was inconsistent. We requested turndown service between 7-8:30pm during our stay. They came after that, nonetheless, and then called the room (after we were in bed!) asking if we wanted turndown. The privacy sign was up. -The butler system is not as great as it sounds. You don’t have an assigned person, and you communicate by phone or chat (app) and never know who you’ll get. If you don’t book reservations before arrival it can be tricky to get what you’d like. They also don’t always reply quickly. (My guess is they are swamped!) -We had an error in our bill - only $27 and change but after being assured it would be handled by the front desk it hasn’t been. I’m sure I’ll eventually get it sorted but for a resort like this, that feels crazy. Worth knowing The pools don’t seem to be heated. They were brisk, which we liked but some may not. There is a depressing amount of trash on the beach, mostly small plastic. We picked it bin up each day on our beach walks. But it was disheartening. (There were also a lot of shells!) The ocean water is rough, or at least it was in January. We didn’t dare swim because of the rip warnings. We did walk with ankles in the water and it was clean and nice. Just very aggressive waves This is a rainforest. There are bugs and lizards and iguanas. The lizards are pretty large and everywhere. If that freaks you out, maybe this isn’t your kind of place. The vibe here is pretty corporate. It’s not a warm and fuzzy place - very formal in a lot of ways. The service was generally good but we have resorts we go to where it feels like family. This isn’t that. Our bikes were taken twice during our stay, despite being tagged with our room number. This is again a people issue, but unless you actually borrow a bike I’m not sure you would be given the rules about their use. The daily resort fee is $99 on top of the room rate and tax. Nor cheap. I don’t think we got $300 in value out of the resort amenities that the fee covered - but your mileage may vary.