BEST Aquatika penthouse: beachfront 8 beds 5 rooms

This is the closest penthouse to the beach plus only 200 feet from heated pool, clubhouse and more. It has 13 beds: 2 kings, 3 fulls, 2 queen sleep sofas, twin futon, 2 airs and 3 kids beds. Amazing views of ocean/mountains from windows + huge roof deck. Also has 800-gallon cistern capacity, 3 big TVs, board games, cards, tons of beach/pool gear, snorkels, pickleball, tennis, mini-golf, yoga, basketball, soccer, volleyball, ring toss and lots more. Click "Show more" for 18 reasons it’s the best: The space I have backup water cisterns with a capacity of 800 gallons, far more than most condos in PR. Aquatika has a 60,000 gallon water tank that usually refills mine daily during outages. You might already know Aquatika is an excellent condo resort with 5 pools,, 3 jacuzzis, 4 pickleball courts, 2 playgrounds, a lovely beach and courts for volleyball, tennis, soccer/football, basketball and mini-golf. More on those things further below. First, here are 18 reasons why this is the best condo at Aquatika. I put headings in caps so if you’re in a rush, you can skim the headings and read the ones that interest you: 1) ALL RECREATIONAL ITEMS ARE INCLUDED AT MY CONDO: Aquatika does not provide a basketball, volleyball, soccer ball, pickleball or tennis rackets or mini-golf clubs and balls. Most rental owners also don’t provide those things because of the time, money and storage required. But my condo has 2 of each type of ball, 6 adjustable-length golf putters, 6 tennis rackets and 6 pickle ball rackets. I also provide 2 footballs, 2 frisbees, 2 kickballs, 2 whiffle balls/bats, badminton, bean toss, ring toss, jump rope, magnetic darts and too many other things to list. If it rains, there are 4-5 big umbrellas. I also have 8 to 10 beach chairs, many beach towels, beach pails/shovels, a huge beach blanket, a cooler, many Freeze Ice Paks, 3 to 5 swimming noodles, pool toys, 1 to 2 kick boards, 2 to 3 boogie boards, 3-4 inflatable tubes, 2 inflated lounge chairs, 1 to 2 inflator machines, beach balls and 8 to 10 sets of snorkels and masks of different sizes. KEY NOTE: Aquatika has a resort access fee of $10 per person for the entire stay, not per night. If your trip is 7 nights, this is only $1.41 per night. See the "Guest access" area of Airbnb for details. 2) ALL NEW: Almost all of the furniture and artwork are new, the hot water heater, microwave and dishwasher are new. I have one of the only condos with a dishwasher, so you don't waste valuable vacation time scrubbing dishes ... and you don't inherit poorly cleaned dishes from the prior renters. The fridge and stove are like-new. If you have more than 6 people, the dining table has 8 matching cushioned chairs around it, and 2 other cushioned chairs are nearby. So you can comfortably seat 10. Also a free washer and drier and free detergent in the condo. 3) MANY BEDS, LARGE BEDS: This includes 2 king beds and 3 fulls in the 3 bedrooms. Each of the two living rooms has a queen sleep sofa, and room on the floor for my queen or full air mattress. One living room also has a twin futon. There's also a crib, a child cot, and 1 to 2 toddler chairs that convert to a toddler bed. In total there are 13 things to sleep on, 10 of which fit adults and some of which fit two adults. Most rental owners don’t spend the money to buy king beds. And their bunks are usually twins. The place can comfortably sleep 15 people (12 adults and 3 kids), though the resort has a limit of 10 people. Also over 25 bed pillows. 4) TOP TIER ENTERTAINMENT: the condo has 3 big-screen 4K TVs with paid subscriptions to Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, Apple TV, Hulu, Peacock and HBO Max. Also over 100 live channels. If you have other subscriptions, you should be able to stream them through the TVs. I also have 12 board games/ group games and 9 card games for people of most ages. Also about 15 children's books. 5) USEFUL GUIDES: I created a top-notch guide of the best sites to see, things to do and places to eat in the region. It would take about 75 days to do everything available in the region, and I've put the best 20% into a guide including map links and booking links. It has a huge variety of activities to choose from including zip lines, snorkeling with sea turtles, hiking, beaches, kayaking, golf, music, horse riding, jet skis, fishing, museums, historical sites and lots of children activities. I spent about 90 hours making the guide, and it will probably save you 10 to 18 hours of your time. It also has services for most major religions and denominations, hospitals and urgent care centers and more. Before you arrive, I can also send you a guide to renting cars in PR, a set of language tips and a guide to the condo including the wifi password, where things are located etc. 6) TOP SPEED INTERNET: Super high-speed, high bandwidth Internet that reaches throughout the condo. We have the most expensive Internet 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 just in case you ever have weak reception (or if you want to save minutes on your plan), I have a landline phone 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 two new rattan dining tables of the same style and height that can be slid together with 10 new dining chairs. Also a couch, coffee table, 2 chaise loungers, end tables, 6 adirondack-style chairs and 4 other chairs. Two large bins with optional cushions for most of them, though they're pretty comfortable without cushions. Four big planters with pretty bushes. 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 every time you come or go. Door keypads are far more convenient. Just in case the keypad breaks, I also have a backup lockbox with 3 keys in it by the door. 9) VERY LOADED KITCHEN: It has a super-equipped kitchen including a huge fridge, microwave, two tiered oven, blender, air fryer, coffee maker, dutch oven, toaster, slow cooker, tea kettle, coffee grinder, rice cooker and dishwasher. Also lots of pots/pans, cutting knives, mixing and serving bowls, tupper ware and huge variety of cooking implements. Also 40 plates, 35 bowls, 20 coffee mugs, 8 wine glasses and 35 regular glasses. Thus even when the dishwasher is full, you have enough clean items for dinner for 10. I also provide plastic baggies, tin foil, plastic wrap, wax paper, parchment paper, 100 napkins, 1-2 rolls of paper towels, ketchup, mustard, cooking oil, sugar, coffee filters, salt, pepper and many spices. Also 1 water filter in the sink and 1 water filter in the fridge, so you save money not buying bottled water. 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. 4 of the 5 ACs have a dehumidification mode that removes extra humidity from the air after the target temp is reached. The showers have large shower heads, and are stocked with 7 to 10 shampoo types, 7-10 conditioner types and 2-3 body washes. 11) REALLY BEACHFRONT: It’s one of only eight beachfront penthouse condos. Beware many owners say “beachfront” or "steps from beach," but are not. Check if any photos show views of the beach from inside the condo windows. If not, it's probably not beachfront. Some Aquatika condos are a 6-12 minute walk to the beach for adults and 9-18 minutes for kids each way. 12) CLOSEST: Of the 8 beachfront penthouses, it’s one of the two closest to the beach. These condos are also closest to the grills, gazebo and volleyball. Also directly next to the huge field for soccer, football, frisbee, yoga, etc. It’s also 200 feet from the only heated pool and the Aquatika clubhouse. 13) PENTHOUSE BENEFITS: The penthouses have a much bigger living room, enormous windows, 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 mountain range 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 and/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 the middle condo units, you have neighbors directly on the other side of the condo wall from you. 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 half of one side. This makes the views far wider and beautifully stunning. 16) PREVENTATIVE SECURITY: While Aquatika is very secure, for added security there is a Eufy doorbell camera outside near the door that is a great deterrent because potential thieves or pranksters will always choose a condo without a security camera rather than one with one. An added plus is at the top of the stairs, my door is 7 feet to the right, so a thief can’t get to the camera to cover it without first being recorded. If someone was so dumb to still try to break in, the likelihood of the police finding them and getting your items back is far higher. Loiza has under 15,000 people and security photos let them find someone pretty easily. 17) THE ORIGINAL BUILDER’S CONDO: The builder of the resort chose my condo to be his own and did a few key things to make it better than the others: A) Mine is 1 of only 2 penthouses with an open living room without the huge pillar all others have sort of in the middle of the room. The pillar divides the space, blocks views and greatly limits how many of you can watch TV and movies together. To avoid these problems, the builder put a costly beam hidden in the ceiling of his. So my living room can fit 10 people watching a movie or TV together. B) my upstairs balcony wall is glass for great views, while most other walls are concrete blocking views. You’ll see the pillar and concrete wall in the photos of almost all penthouse listings unless they avoid showing them. 18) BACK-UP WATER: About half of condos at Aquatika don't have a backup water cistern. Of those, about 2/3rds are between 150 and 300 gallons. I have the 2nd largest capacity at 800 gallons. Also, the vast majority of cisterns are manual, while mine is fully automated so you don't need to do anything. See the "Guest access" section below for more details. Guest access IMPORTANT: You're not sharing the condo with anyone. There is a one-time resort fee of $10 per bracelet, 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 Airbnb’s site is only set up to charge large nightly resort fees. Fortunately Aquatika only charges a very low one-time fee of $10 per person for the whole stay. Since Airbnb can’t handle a one-time resort fee, it isn't included in the rental price. If their site could handle it, they’d automatically charge you 7% tax plus their 8% to 13% renters fee. I'd also be charged a 4% to 6% fee I'd have to pass onto you. So you save about 23% by paying separately. Most Aquatika rentals do the same approach. You receive the bracelet at the front gate when you arrive. It’s payable 7 days before arrival; or within 24 hours if you book within 7 days. I will email you links to three payment method options. You need to send me the names of all in your group 7 days before, so the bracelets 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. IMPORTANT PUERTO RICO INFO: PR is poorer than the US, so power / water outages and water conservation rationing are more common. Fortunately, I have two backup water cisterns with a total of 800 gallons of capacity. Often they will help a big amount. Aquatika has a backup water tank that typically refills individual cisterns more than once a day. If their tank runs out, you’ll usually have about 800 gallons until utility water resumes. Of the condos at Aquatika with cisterns, 800 is the second highest capacity, with one condo having 900, mine at 800, one at 600, two at 500 and the rest being between 150 and 400. Most of the first and second floor condos have 150 to 300 gallons because they can't put cisterns on their balconies, and must squeeze in next to the laundry machines in the laundry room. Also, my cisterns are fully automatic, so you don’t need to do anything. They automatically fill up when water is coming through the water main pipe. When the main pipe doesn’t have flow, a pump by the cisterns automatically pumps water throughout the condo. Most cisterns at Aquatika are manual, so you need to turn 2 levers to put them into the mode to receive new water. If you forget or you do it too late, the cistern doesn't refill. The levers have to be changed again to be able to receive water from the cistern. Other things to note MORE AQUATIKA RESORT DETAILS: Aquatika has 5 pools, 3 hot tubs or jacuzzis, 2 half-court basketball courts, 2 tennis courts, 2 nice playgrounds with tunnel slides, a volleyball court, a mini-golf course and a super large grass field ideal for soccer, frisbee, football or doing yoga. Aquatika has one of the only heated pools in Puerto Rico, and it’s only 200 feet from the condo. None of the 3 pools at the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar are heated, and none at the nearby Hyatt Regency or St. Regis Resort are heated. And they get cold from November to May. KEY NOTE: Aquatika has a resort access fee of $10 per person for the entire stay, not per night. If your trip is 7 nights, this is only $1.41 per night. See the "Guest access" area of Airbnb for details. None of the condo complexes in Loiza, Rio Grande, Canovanas or Luquillo have heated pools. I know because I love swimming, but the highs in PR from January to March are in the low 80s, so pools are about 75 degrees. So I checked every location in the eastern third of PR before buying because it was my top factor. There is a winding river shaped pool, but note it's not a lazy river: there's no motion. The owners who live by it promote it as a lazy river online to try to rent their places, which are far, far from the beach. But it's not a lazy river. It's also the coldest pool due to how close the buildings are to it. That pool is under renovation until about late April 2025. If that pool matters to you, please message me and I'll give you an update on it. There's also 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 24/7 that keeps out anyone who's not a guest, so you're very safe. We give you the phone number for security so you can call if you need any help. If you haven't read the section of this listing about resort wristbands, please read it. The resort is also close to many stores and restaurants, and two large supermarkets for food shopping. It's only 25-30 minutes from the airport, 40 from Old San Juan and 20 from the entrance to the El Yunque rainforest park. There's a Walmart Supercenter, Ralphs Grocery, Marshalls and Walgreens in a shopping center only 12 minutes away that is open late, and 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. TIPS ON RENTAL PRICING: A) Prices tend to be lower if you don’t arrive/depart on a Saturday because that breaks up the weekend. If I have Friday/Saturday open, I can rent to city people in San Juan who pay good prices for a beach resort weekend. That’s not doable if I have only Friday or Saturday open. B) Weekdays are far lower priced. If you want 4 or 5 nights and are flexible, it’s much cheaper to do Sunday-Thursday nights. If you want 8 or more nights, it’s cheaper if you include more weekday nights. D) More nights tends to result in lower prices, especially 7 nights. 4) I usually discount the 1 or 2 nights that are just before and after existing rentals. This incentivizes my calendar filling up and avoiding gaps of 1-2 days. If you’re flexible, find an existing rental and enter dates just before or after it.




 PUERTO RICO INFO: PR is a far poorer country than the US or Canada. As a result, power outages, water outages and water conservation rationing are comparatively common. Fortunately, Aquatika has a huge 60,000 backup water tank that often supplies water for 3 one-hour periods per day. These hours often run on a pre-set schedule like 7-8am, 1-2pm and 8-9pm. If water rationing supply occurs during different hours, then the reserve tank hours add to the total number of hours. For example, if the utility supplies water for 10 hours a day, from 7pm to 5am, the reserve supply schedule would generally add another two hours. If there’s an outage, I’ll also supply bottled drinking water.