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Exotic San Juan: trendy hotels, historic old town, beaches, casinos & sumptuous food.By Lucy Komisar
This landmark of the San Juan beachfront would first be the site of private cocktails and some hours later a grand buffet and dance in a collection of connecting ballrooms. Puerto Ricans being laid back and welcoming, my companion and I joined the revelry. Ladies in elegant dresses mixed in the open-air lobby with the shorts-clad guests, a few airline crews and bright caged parrots, then with their escorts moved into a swirl of Latin music and seafood paella. (The Madrid-San Juan Restaurant and Tapas Bar, one of nine hotel eateries, serves the same.)
After breakfast at the Sheraton’s Spanish style café, we took a five-minute stroll to la Casita (the little house), the tourism information center, to pick up a walking tour map and guide.
San Juan is not just a beach place to visit in winter; it’s full of history and culture. And it’s both foreign and familiar. People speak Spanish, but of course they also speak English. And the currency is dollars! Hey, if you’re American, it’s part of your country. Isn’t it time you discovered it? Caribe Hilton The Ritz-Carlton, San Juan Hotel, Spa & Casino Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel Images by Lucy Komisar. |
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How do you know you’ve picked a trendy hotel? In San Juan,
it’s where the new governor of Puerto Rico, Aníbal 
Then people headed for the tall white Caribe Hilton a short
walk away! They had picked my hotel! 
That night I stepped out on the balcony of my room to gaze
at the lit stone remnants of a fortification at the edge of the sea: a bit of
old history to end a day of modern history. The next day, it was time to spend
some lazy moments at the pool, an azure, palm-tree studded oasis looking out to
the Atlantic. 
I regretted not having time for the tennis courts or spa,
just for a bit of wandering through the patio, along the quiet private beach and
out to the end of a jetty. 
And then to a sumptuous champagne brunch at the Ritz
Carlton San Juan Hotel Spa & Casino in Isla Verde at the eastern end of San
Juan’s long oceanfront. The beach at the Caribe Hilton and hotels in the Condado
area to its east drew tourists for years. Then a new section of beach was
developed, in Isla Verde, spiffier than Condado and home to new sophistication.
The Ritz stands out here, its cool white walls with brown trim encircling subtle
elegance, a casino and spa, and outside the artistically designed pool area,
tennis courts, and a smooth beach dotted with palms.
We started the champagne brunch with caviar. And then we
went on to the open groaning board of oysters and other seafood, made-to-order
crepes, salads, deliciously sauced meats, fish and chicken, and scandalous
deserts. The cool room with rattan chairs looks out on trees bordering the pool
area.
As the champagne flowed, we were glad that just outside
there was a pristine beach with chaises and hammocks where one could snooze away
the bubbles.
But visiting San Juan isn’t only about food and libations.
What I love most about the city is Old San Juan, the village of narrow streets
and surprising gardens and the wonderful mysterious fortress called La Fortaleza
set on a cliff looking out on the sea. It was once the residence of the Puerto
Rican governor, Acevedo Vilá’s long-ago predecessor. Fortunately, he doesn’t
have to live there now – it might not get cold in San Juan (the winter weather
is 80s perfect), but the fortress’s stone walls look like they’d make the
interior damp! Perhaps for nostalgia, government house is also called the
Fortaleza. (Check it out at http://fortaleza.govpr.org/)
The Caribe
Hilton is the closest beach hotel to the old town, but if you want to be in the
middle of it, stay at the Sheraton as we did (moving hotels to check out
prospects for you, dear reader).
It was past midnight when we arrived, and there was a party
going on, in the dining room a scruffy group of musicians on drums, bass and
guitar happy making music for guests quaffing champagne and rum and coke and
moving dreamily to the Latin beat.
Evy Garcia was there for Tishman Hotels, which owns the
Sheraton, to welcome guests at the door and make sure everything ran smoothly.
The Sheraton is strategically located. The balcony view from our room looks onto
to the docks where cruise ships drop anchor. And inside, you couldn’t miss the
casino! But the next day was much too nice to spend inside. We decided to skip
the outdoor pool as well and move straight into touring.
Old San Juan is a charmer. It was restored in the early
1970s, so the palaces and colonial houses have regained their old elegance. The
intricately carved wood of what is now the U.S. Customs House evokes the Moorish
influence of Old Spain.
Just up from la Casita, local residents engage in the “paseo,”
the promenade along the royal palms of the Paseo de la Princesa, the walk of the
princess. La Princessa, once a prison, how has a gallery of works by local
artists. In late afternoon, we joined townsfolk gathered at the nearby
waterfront Plaza de la Marina for a band concert and community dance.
The old town is full of carved 17th century gates and
churches and statues and pastel row houses with balconies. A full walk around
the historic district would take about two hours. Unless you stop for a rum
drink at one of the cafes or decide to hang out at the Plaza de Armas across
from the city hall. Or visit any of the 33 art galleries, 12 museums, and 79
shops. Museums of art and history cluster near the Fortaleza.