The best luxury resorts in Puerto Rico

The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort sits on 483 acres between El Yunque and the Espiritu Santo river, with two miles of beach. Iridium Spa adds a cold plunge pool, hot tub, sauna, and steam room, and a Robert Trent Jones Jr. course covers the on-site golf. Three restaurants, Paros, Seagrapes, and Beach Club by Jose Enrique, cover dinner without leaving the property.

Good to know: Forbes Travel Guide lists it as Five-Star and AAA lists it as Five Diamond, and the resort borders the El Yunque rainforest.

Skip it if you'd rather stay in Condado; Condado Vanderbilt Hotel and O:Live Boutique Hotel are both there instead.

Dorado Beach opened in December 2012 as the first Ritz-Carlton Reserve in the Americas. More than fifty private pools sit among its villas, suites, and residences, and two 18-hole golf courses share the grounds with the historic Rockefeller Nature Trail. Spa Botanico rounds things out with body wraps and Ayurvedic treatments.

Good to know: It's set in Dorado, about 15 miles in a straight line from the Condado hotels on this list, and 11.9 miles from Hotel El Convento in Old San Juan.

Skip it if named on-site restaurants matter to you; this resort is built around its pools, golf, and Spa Botanico instead.

Royal Isabela has just 17 rooms and casitas, and each casita comes with its own terrace and plunge pool. Restaurant Jota draws on an on-site garden for Puerto Rican and Caribbean dishes, while The Restaurant at La Casa runs a farm-to-table menu. Spa treatments here include couples massages, on a property with a real, sourced spa.

Good to know: The property is in Isabela, on the island's north coast, well away from the San Juan area hotels on this list.

Skip it if you want to be near Old San Juan or Condado; Royal Isabela sits far from both.

Built in 1919 and reopened after a restoration in December 2014, the Condado Vanderbilt Hotel has 217 guest rooms and 100 suites on Ashford Avenue. Three restaurants, STK San Juan, 1919 Restaurant, and Ola Ocean Front Bistro, sit on site, and the Condado Vanderbilt Spa adds a Turkish steam room and hydrotherapy.

Good to know: The hotel sits 0.1 miles in a straight line from O:Live Boutique Hotel, so both are options within the same stretch of Condado.

Skip it if you want a small boutique hotel instead; this one has 217 rooms and 100 suites.

Hotel El Convento occupies a restored 17th-century Carmelite convent in Old San Juan, with 81 rooms furnished with handcrafted pieces and marble bathrooms. Three restaurants, Patio del Nispero, El Picoteo, and Santisimo, are on site, and the pool and hot tub overlook San Juan Bay.

Good to know: The property has fitness facilities rather than a spa, and sits 2.8 miles in a straight line from both the Condado Vanderbilt Hotel and O:Live Boutique Hotel.

Skip it if a spa is the priority; this hotel has fitness facilities, not a spa treatment menu.

O:Live Boutique Hotel has just 17 rooms and is the only adults-only hotel on this list. It sits by the Condado Lagoon nature reserve, and its rooftop terrace holds an infinity pool that looks out over the lagoon. The hotel belongs to Small Luxury Hotels of the World, the same group that includes Hotel El Convento in Old San Juan.

Good to know: It's 0.1 miles in a straight line from the Condado Vanderbilt Hotel, right in the same stretch of Condado.

Skip it if you're traveling with children; O:Live is an adults-only property and cannot host them.

El Conquistador Resort, A Waldorf Astoria Resort, is in Fajardo, where the Waldorf Astoria Spa is the main draw. It's the only Hilton-brand hotel on this list; the rest here run independently or under Marriott's St. Regis and Ritz-Carlton Reserve brands. Fajardo also sits apart from the Condado and Old San Juan cluster.

Good to know: The resort sits 12.3 miles in a straight line from the St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, its nearest neighbor on this list, and about 29.4 miles from the Condado hotels.

Skip it unless a resort spa in Fajardo is the priority; no restaurants or room details are named for this property.