Hotel Review: Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve Puerto Rico

My husband and I expected our son to love the sandy beachfront, babbling fountains and bright-green lizards scurrying across the gardens of Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve Puerto Rico. What we didn’t expect was that the swaying coconut trees ringing the hotel’s 1,000-acre peninsula would bring his favorite book to life.

Those with a 3-year-old will likely have memorized the colorful pages of “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom,” a book that chronicles the travails of the letters of the alphabet tumbling down a tropical tree. But even those vacationing without kids at this Puerto Rico hotel will find almost everything they need for an ideal getaway, from A to Z.

The Guestrooms and Pools

That includes spacious digs no matter what the category, as Grand Reserve’s minimum room size is 520 square feet — what’s considered a suite at most stateside hotels. It’s easy to get a crib or pack and play put in the room and still have space to navigate around, although the marble floors prove pretty slippery for little kids just getting their sea legs. We were particularly pleased to find a spacious tub for bath time since our son is terrified of spa showers (although his parents, most assuredly, are not).

The splishing and splashing continued just outside our door: Grand Reserve’s second, smaller pool was steps away from our room, but despite lots of activity — and a bumping Saturday DJ session — not a peep disrupted afternoon nap time thanks to ample soundproofing.

Our room was also just a football field’s distance from Coco Beach, where only a smattering of guests gathered during low season (November, when temperatures are comfortably high, but prices are not). The tides never get too overwhelming but, unlike other beaches in Puerto Rico, the shore is less smooth and the water a bit murkier. Bringing a pair of water shoes or Crocs for kids will be helpful, especially since the plentiful shells and coral make for a fun afternoon of souvenir-gathering.

Want to avoid the sand altogether? Grand Reserve’s larger, lagoon-style pool — the largest on the island — has a maximum depth of less than 6 feet and lots of smaller, shallow pockets that are ideal to guide kids with floaties. Sandbar-like oases in the middle make great spots for children and adults alike to climb up and keep toes in the water but heads high above it.

Although the setting looks fitting for a Spring Break party, the atmosphere is quite laid-back, and no one bats an eye when a toddler takes a dip. The same goes for the swim-up bar, where 20-somethings sip margaritas while bartenders are all too happy to indulge a toddler with extra cherries in a Shirley Temple.

The Food

No one can subsist on fruit alone, however, and we were pleased to find many dining options — and kids menu fare — at the hotel’s five on-site restaurants. The property’s secluded location means that trekking anywhere else for a meal (especially with a toddler and no rental car) is pretty tricky, so we opted for sandwiches, salads and pizzas on location, and found the takeaway market and adjacent store especially helpful for beach snacks and sundries. While not an all-inclusive hotel, food prices didn’t feel exorbitant — even for room service — and all our servers were helpful in highlighting the included gratuities on bills.

Not all were so accommodating, however, when it came to allergies. Clients with allergies will want to double check ingredients as we had to for our son.

We particularly loved The Sand Trap, a family-friendly spot with pub grub, a TopGolf Swing Suite and stellar service. We played virtual hockey and other sports on a big screen while munching on nachos, burgers and tater tots. Family-operated Nectar was another standout when it came to detail, and it was nice to enjoy some authentic Puerto Rican cuisine like mofongo and tostones.

Families whose kids have a taste for adventure will enjoy rides around the resort in open-air transport carts; there are also opportunities to go a bit faster with go-karts at Museo del Nino during a day trip to Carolina. The museum has a great playground in addition to lots of other interactive fun, including exhibits about art, music and animals. There’s even a volcano in the center that “erupts” once an hour.

Puerto Rico is, of course, no stranger to precarious natural events, and the 40-minute drive to the hotel from the airport will show that Mother Nature has not always been kind to the area. But the recent Hurricane Fiona did virtually no damage to the resort, keeping it pristine and keeping a construction project supplementing a 2019 renovation mostly on track. Grand Reserve is taking spring reservations for a new building that includes all villa-style suites (up to 1,050 square feet) with kitchenettes. Many of the accommodations include the option to string together several rooms for large family gatherings, reunions and weddings.