We enjoyed our recent stay in the condo at the Villas Cristobal in Carolina. The condo unit was very cute and clean, with modern furnishings. Bed was super comfy and the air conditioner worked well. We didn't cook but the kitchen was updated and had everything you could need to prepare meals. The laundry unit came in handy-we were able to take all clothes home clean. There were plenty of towels and beach supplies like chairs and an ice chest. Overall, a very well-equipped condo!! As my daughter said, "Everything that could be controlled by the owner was fantastic!"
On the downside, the noise from the nearby (like right next to us!) airport was substantial! If you are bothered by noise, then you would have a terrible time sleeping here. It goes on all day and night (although less at late night) with planes taking off and landing. It literally sounds as loud as when you are in the plane--maybe louder because the plane has some noise reduction. Not the condo--no glass in windows (just shutters) makes it so very loud. There's no point sitting on the balcony as you couldn't hear anyone talk there with the noise. The building itself has a very sketchy elevator--we were a little afraid of it but it did work ok. Since the unit is on the 7th floor, the stairs are not an option. The bathroom was super tiny--no room to actually get ready for the day in there. But the master bedroom has an amazing closet and there's a large mirror to use in there. Lastly, the neighborhood seemed safe to us but our rental car was stolen from the street on our second-to-last night there. The police were great and all the neighbors were super nice with one guy even offering to drive us anywhere we needed to go. The car was found later that day about 30 miles away, but we lost an entire day of vacation dealing with the police, rental agency, and insurance before the car was located. Unfortunately, this meant no shopping in old San Juan and no tour of El Morro for us. It was a huge bummer. On the bright side, the police did say that it was an extremely rare case to have a car stolen in that neighborhood and they were very surprised.
The owner was definitely easy to communicate with by text or phone--she responded immediately to any questions I had. I think the condo matches the pictures and it's just a few blocks to the beach (really just at the end of the street). Despite the theft, the neighborhood did seem very nice and was super convenient.