BEST Aquatika penthouse: beachfront 8 beds 5 rooms

This is the penthouse closest to the beach plus only 200 feet from heated pool and clubhouse. It has 10 beds: 2 kings, 3 fulls, 2 queen sleep sofas, twin futon and 2 airs. Most furniture is new. Amazing views of ocean and mountains from the windows and big roof deck. It has 3 big TVs, a DVR, board games, cards and gear for beach, snorkeling, pool, pickleball, tennis, mini-golf, yoga, basketball, soccer, volleyball, ring toss etc. Click "Show more" for 15 reasons this is the best condo to rent: The space 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 15 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) 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 and money required. But my condo has all of them ready for you whenever you want including 6 rackets for both pickleball and tennis. I also provide a football, 2 frisbees, whiffle ball/bat, badminton, bean toss, ring toss, magnetic darts and too many other games to list. If it rains, there are 4-5 big umbrellas. I also have 8 beach chairs, many beach towels, beach pails/shovels, a large beach blanket, a cooler, many Freeze Ice Paks, 2 swimming noodles, a kick board, and boogie board, inflatable tubes, inflator machine, beach balls and 8 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 a leaf to expand to fit 8 people in 8 matching cushioned chairs, or 10 with two folding chairs. Also a free washer and free detergent in the condo. Sometimes there is a drier, but sometimes renters break it, so it's not guaranteed. If it's not working, you can hang dry clothes or dry them at a laundromat. 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 has a twin futon. There are also 25 bed pillows, a crib and a small child bed that converts to a child chair. In total there are 12 spots to sleep, 10 of which fit 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 (13 adults and 2 kids), though the resort has a limit of 10 people. 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. The DVR will often have some content already recorded from past renters ready for you to watch or to record over. All TVs are smart and can stream most services. I also have 12 board games/ group games and 7 card games for people of most ages. 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, hiking, beaches, kayaking, golf, music, horse riding, fishing, museums, historical sites and lots of children activities. I spent about 60 hours making the guide, and it will probably save you over 12 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 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. 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 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, rice cooker and dishwasher. Also lots of pots/pans, cutting knives, mixing and serving bowls, cooking implements, 10 coffee mugs, 8 wine glasses and 25 each of plates, bowls and glasses. I keep cooking oil, vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper and many spices in the pantry. 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. The showers have large shower heads, and are stocked with 3-4 shampoo types, 3-4 conditioner types and 2-3 body washes. In all, I have 6-8 shampoo types and 6-8 conditioner types. 11) REALLY BEACHFRONT: It’s one of only eight beachfront penthouse condos. Beware many owners say “beachfront,” 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 5-10 minute walk to the beach for adults and 7-15 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 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 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 1/2 of one side. This makes the views far wider and beautifully stunning. Two bonus advantages: 16) 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 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. 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. 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. Guest access IMPORTANT: You're not sharing the condo with anyone. 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 Airbnb’s site 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 Airbnb 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. If Airbnb’s site could handle it, they’d automatically charge you 11% tax plus the 7% to 14% rental app fee. I'd also be charged a 7% to 14% app fee that I'd have to pass onto you. So you save about 30% by paying separately. 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. 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.