We recently stayed at the Rainforest Inn during our trip to Puerto Rico, and I want to share our…read morehonest experience both the good and the bad. This is simply our experience, and I'm not interested in debating or defending how we felt.
To start with the positives: before booking, I read many reviews and was excited about supporting what appeared to be a small business run by a husband and wife. The property itself is absolutely beautiful , truly breathtaking scenery. The rooms were clean, comfortable, and surprisingly cool despite there being no air conditioning. The cooling system on the beds was amazing. We also did the hike on the property, which was beautiful and definitely one of the highlights of our stay.
The wife was incredibly pleasant, welcoming, and knowledgeable about hospitality. She made us feel comfortable from the beginning. Unfortunately, several interactions with the husband left us feeling uncomfortable throughout our stay.
Each morning, coffee and tea were offered to guests. One morning, since we planned to hike, we politely declined coffee multiple times. Despite saying no several times, the offer continued in a way that felt oddly tense, as though our declining offended him. During conversation, he openly mentioned that his wife often tells him he comes across as rude. He also praised her hospitality skills, and honestly, I completely agreed with him on that point.
What really unsettled me happened when we were signing waivers for the hike. He handed me the waiver with a pen attached. After I passed the paperwork to my husband, my husband reached for the pen, and instead of handing it to him directly, the pen was tossed toward him. Whether intentional or not, the interaction immediately rubbed me the wrong way and changed the energy for me completely.
For context, we are a Black couple, and while I cannot say what anyone's intentions were, some of the interactions throughout our stay felt uncomfortable enough that it became hard not to notice. Especially in the way my husband was treated at times.
Another example: he offered to send horseback riding information to me. Since I didn't have my phone nearby, I asked twice for the information to be sent to my husband instead. Despite that, the information was still sent to me.
The final issue involved the laundry area. We were washing a small load of clothes and some towels during the allowed hours. A few minutes into drying, he opened the dryer himself, removed my personal clothing including bras and underwear -- and left them sitting on top of the washer. He later sent a text saying the dryer was overloaded and making noise, although the load was not packed tightly and was smaller than the load left behind by the previous guests. What bothered me most was not the concern about the machine, but the fact that my personal undergarments were handled instead of simply asking us to adjust the load ourselves.
None of these incidents individually caused a confrontation because we chose to remain respectful and calm throughout our stay. However, taken together, they left a stain on what otherwise could have been an excellent experience.
Afterward, I revisited some of the lower rated reviews and noticed that several other guests also mentioned discomfort with the husband's demeanor and communication style. I also noticed responses to criticism often seemed defensive.
Again, this review is not written to argue with the owners or invite debate from strangers online. This was our experience, and no one gets to tell us how we should feel about the interactions we had during our stay.
