BEST AQUATIKA PENTHOUSE: truly beachfront, 8 beds, 5 rooms, 10 person capacity

This is the penthouse closest to the beach, plus only 200 feet from the heated pool and clubhouse. It has 8 beds in 5 rooms including 2 kings, 2 fulls, 2 queen sleep sofas, and 2 airs. All indoor furniture is new. Amazing views of the ocean and mountains from the windows and huge roof deck. You may already know Aquatika is a great resort with 5 pools, 3 jacuzzis, 2 playgrounds, a lovely beach and facilities for many sports and games. More on Aquatika benefits is below. First, here are 15 reasons why this is the best condo there. I wrote headings in caps so if you’re in a rush, you can skim the headings and read the ones that interest you:

1) RECREATIONAL ITEMS INCLUDED: Aquatika does not provide a basketball, volleyball, soccer ball, tennis rackets or mini-golf clubs and balls for use on its facilities made for those things. Most rental owners also don’t provide those things because of the time and money required. But my condo has all of them ready for your use whenever you want. I also provide a football, air pump, 4 big umbrellas, 5 beach chairs, a large beach blanket, many beach towels, a cooler, many Freeze Ice Paks, a swimming noodle, 2 boogie boards, 2 blow-up floaters and 2 sets of children’s snorkeling gear.

2) ALL NEW: All the interior furniture and artwork are new, the hot water heater and microwave are new and the fridge and AC units are like-new. If you have more than 6 people, the dining table has a leaf to easily expand its size to fit 8 people in 8 matching cushioned chairs or 10 people with two other chairs. Also a free washer and dryer and free detergent in the condo.

3) MANY BEDS, LARGE BEDS: This includes 2 king beds, 2 full-size bunk beds, 2 queen sleeper sofas (one in each of the 2 living rooms) and 2 air mattresses (queen and full). Most rental owners don’t spend the money to buy king beds. They almost never have 2 queen sleep sofas. If they buy bunks, they don’t spend the money for full-sized beds up and down.

There are 3 bedrooms plus one sleep sofa is in the upper living room, which has a lot of privacy, a half bathroom and a large armoire with drawers and hangars for clothing. It’s basically like a 4th bedroom, and can also fit a queen air mattress on the floor. The other sleep sofa is in the downstairs living room. You could have 8 people each with their own bed. Or 10 people with sharing.

4) TOP TIER ENTERTAINMENT: the condo has 3 big-screen 4K TVs with the highest-tier, most expensive cable TV package including lots of English-language channels, plus many free on-demand shows and movies. Most rentals have the lowest tier or average tier TV package. All of my TVs connect to a combined DVR that you can record shows and movies to. All TVs are smart and can stream most services. I also have a dozen card / board games.

5) USEFUL GUIDES: I created a top-notch guide of the best things to do in the region. It would take about 70 days to do everything available, and I've put the best 15% into a guide including map links, booking links, advice and nearby restaurants. I spent about 60 hours making the guide, and it will probably save you over 10 hours of your time. Before you arrive, I also send you directions and a guide to the condo.

6) TOP SPEED INTERNET: Super high-speed, high bandwidth Internet that reaches throughout the condo. It is the most expensive tier. It can handle streaming to multiple TVs plus many people using computers and smart-phones at the same time. Most rentals have a low to medium Internet plan. My condo has never had a problem with cell phone reception. But if you ever have weak reception (or if you want to save minutes on your plan), I have a landline with free unlimited calling in the US and PR.

7) ROOF DECK: Most penthouse roof decks are not very well furnished. My roof deck has 2 lounge chairs, a large couch, 2 regular chairs, 6 cushioned dining table chairs, a dining table and a food serving cart.

8) EASE OF ACCESS: It has a front door keypad password so you don’t have to worry about sharing a key or losing the key. It also lets you check-in whenever you want. This is not a lockbox keypad - for which you would still need to either share a key, or open and close the lockbox each time you come or go. Door keypads are far more convenient.

9) VERY LOADED KITCHEN: It has a super well-stocked kitchen including a huge fridge, new microwave, 2-tier oven, coffee maker, tea kettle, toaster, blender, rice cooker and lots of pots/pans, cutting knives, serving bowls, cooking implements and dinnerware. Also 1 water filter in the sink and 1 water filter in the fridge, so you save money not buying bottled water. I have a new air fryer and slow cooker, but I don't guarantee these because if they break, it takes time to get a new one.

10) COMFORTS: All rooms have blinds including the living room. The BRs have both blinds and light-blocking shades. All BRs and both living rooms have their own separate AC units / zones that you can set to the exact temperature you want. The showers have very large shower heads, and are stocked with 2 shampoo types, 2 conditioner types and 2 body washes. In all: 4 shampoo types and 4 conditioner types.

11) REALLY BEACHFRONT: It’s one of only 8 beachfront penthouse condos. Beware many owners say “beachfront,” but are not. Check if any photos show views of the beach from the living room and roof deck.

12) CLOSEST: Of the 8 beachfront penthouses, it’s one of the two closest to the beach. It’s also 200 feet from the only heated pool and Aquatika clubhouse.

13) PENTHOUSE BENEFITS: The penthouses have much bigger living rooms, plus a 2nd living room (that can be used as a 4th bedroom), enormous windows, a 3rd bathroom, a huge roof deck and no noise coming from neighbors upstairs. By contrast, the 1st and 2nd floor units have a small living room, no 2nd living room, no 3rd bathroom, no roof deck, small windows, and neighbors’ music, arguments and footsteps above you.

14) FULL OCEAN AND MOUNTAIN VIEWS: My building is one of only a few that face the ocean on the front side (to the east) and face the rainforest mountains on the back side (to the west). By contrast, most Aquatika buildings are north/south, and don’t face either the beach or the mountains. The back sides face low-income neighborhoods, and the front windows face directly at other condos. So you’re looking at other condos that are looking at you. Moreover, they have either no views of the ocean and mountains, or very limited views. 100% of my windows have very nice views of the ocean or the mountains.

15) END UNIT PLUSES: My condo is an end unit, which has 3 benefits: A) 2 extra bedroom windows with lovely ocean views. B) In middle units, on one side you have neighbors 10 feet away PLUS on the other side, you have neighbors directly on the other side of the condo wall. Ends units only have the former, with open space on the other side. In total, my unit only has direct neighbors below, while non-penthouse middle units have neighbors above, below and to the side: they have triple the number of neighbors. C) on a middle unit roof deck, the majority of the wall areas are tall, so you can’t see over them. But the end unit deck has mostly short walls you can see over, and only one tall wall on 1/2 of one side. This makes the views far wider and beautifully stunning.

IMPORTANT: There is a one-time resort fee of $10 per wristband, which must be worn to enter and be in the resort. Most resorts charge a nightly resort fee of $40 to $90 per room, with 3 bedrooms being $120 to $180 a night of resort fees, and $600 to $900 for 5 nights. So the rental website is only set up to charge nightly resort fees. Fortunately Aquatika only charges a very low one-time fee of $10 per person for the whole stay. Since this site can’t handle a one-time resort fee, it isn't included in the rental price.

It is payable 7 days before arrival; or within 24 hours if you book within 7 days. I will email you links to two payment method options. Almost all Aquatika rentals do the same approach. You receive the wristbands at the front gate when you arrive.

You need to send me the names of all in your group 7 days before, so the bands can be made. If you book within 7 days, send within a day. If you book within 4 days, send within a half day. At least one of the names must match a passport of any country, or a driver’s license from the US or PR. Naturally this means extra guests can't visit. Otherwise, people can book 1 condo and have 40 visitors, which would make the facilities too crowded for you. So this protects your enjoyment.

THE REST IS MORE AQUATIKA INFORMATION:

Aquatika has 5 pools, 3 hot tubs or jacuzzis, 2 half-court basketball courts, 2 tennis courts, 2 nice playgrounds with tunnel slides, volleyball court, mini-golf course and a giant grass field for playing soccer or football, or doing yoga.

It has one of the only heated pools in Puerto Rico, and it’s only 200 feet from the condo. None of the resorts (including the Wyndham Grand, the Hyatt Regency or St. Regis resorts) or condo complexes in Loiza, Rio Grande, Luquillo, Canovanas or Fajardo have heated pools ... and they get cold from November to April. I know because I love swimming, but my body gets cold easily. So I checked every location in the eastern third of PR before buying because it was my top factor.

There's an exciting water slide open on the weekends. There's also a sand soccer field. and a sandy beach with palm trees for shade. There is excellent security that keeps out anyone who's not a guest, so you're very safe.

The resort is also close to many stores and restaurants, and 4 big supermarkets. It's only 30 minutes from the airport and 20 minutes from the entrance to the El Yunque rainforest park. There's a Walgreens, Marshalls and Walmart only 12 minutes away that's open late where you can get just about anything you need. Even if you forget to bring something, you can most likely get it for a very good price nearby.