Puerto Rico

Spending a week on the enchanted island. Arrived in the evening and checked into the Doubletree San Juan in the Ocean Park area. It seemed relatively new, I think there were some literature that referred to the location as a Best Western in its previous life. It looks recently renovated and the location is convenient. The room was nice, it was interesting that the room was a psuedo double. In other words, a double/queen bed was in the room but the murphy bed would make the room a two bedded room if you pulled it down. I think I should have asked for a king room when checking in but it wasn't a big deal. The bathroom was designed in a way that I've always wanted for my own at home. It was nice to see it in real life and made me think of redesigning my own back home. The hotel was attached to a residential complex and sits across a 24 hour supermarket. The lobby restaurant bar, Michael's Bistro, has very tasty appetizers and the breakfast items were good. Then again, there were only three menu items for breakfast, it would be sad that they couldn't do those items very well. I enjoyed the pork carnitas and croquettes for my afternoon snack and pancakes for breakfast. I would recommend going to Under the Trees restaurant, had a pleasant breakfast there one morning and I think a better deal than Michael's especially if you have a breakfast voucher. I was pleasantly surprised and would recommend hanging out there if you were in the mood. The hotel is an easy 3 block walk to the beaches which was relatively empty and nice. The waves can be a little strong in this part of the island. On the
bright side, the front desk gave us cookies upon our departure! Yummy!!

Grabbed dinner at Bebo's Cafe at Calle Loiza esq. Del Parque 1600, Condado, San Juan 00911 which was around the corner to the Doubletree. I had the mofongo stuffed with fried pork and a very tasty coconut flan. A family style restaurant, it was a good meal. Not quite a hole in the wall, will have to continue hunting for a cash only place....





After getting over the jet lag and time zone difference, moved closer to Old San Juan and checked into the Conrad San Juan Condado Plaza. It seems that the Conrad brand recently purchased this hotel as it has been in operation since the 60s and there wasn't a Conrad when I was in Puerto Rico back in 2004. The hotel bartender mentioned that it has been a Conrad for a couple of years and I think it shows. When I checked into the hotel, they didn't seem to know all the ins and outs and I had to request my breakfast coupons. Larger accommodations than the Doubletree, the hotel had a very modern chic feel. The rooms were nice and the ocean view couldn't be beat. I generally don't care about vistas but it was nice to wake up and see only blue out the window/balcony. I really liked the L shaped couch in the corner, another home idea for myself.... ;) The bathroom doubled as a bathroom and closet/mini fridge area. It sounds weird but it worked. The area near the Conrad appears to be undergoing some type of gentrification as there were new construction mixed with abandoned buildings. It's a good thing the hotel is self-sustaining in entertainment and food!

Had dinner at the hotel, Pikayo. It was an amazing dinner and I would highly recommend going to this restaurant. I'm not usually a fan of eating at hotels but this one was fantastic. Started with pork belly sliders, then moved onto a red snapper entree and finished off with a chocolate souffle. (The double cut pork chop was very tasty as well.) There was also an amazing honey butter that went with the very chewy crusty french bread. I think I flagged the bread boy at least five times during the meal. Service was impeccable although they seemed to forget that a bill should have come at the end of the meal. Maybe it was my cue. :)

Tromped around Old San Juan. Visited the fort surrounding the old city, Castillo San Felipe del Morro. Pretty massive construction, it is always interesting what people have had to build to protect themselves back in the day. Apparently, it took 50 years to build and has canon ports EVERYWHERE! :) The fort has a castle and a "fort" where both structures are about a mile apart along the coastline.

Went through the old city afterwards, grabbed the free trolley and had a late lunch at Cafe Manolin Old San Juan. Not quite a hole in the wall, it seems a fairly local spot with counter seats in the restaurant. Ordered the carne frita and flan queso. I've come to realize that Puerto Ricans call flan "flan queso" perhaps because their flan has cream cheese which makes it creamier and thicker. I've made flans for years and never realized that cream cheese makes it creamier without the extra sweetness that condensed milk brings. Another Puerto Rican thing to eat is the mallorca. I haven't tried a mallorca yet but haven't really gotten to the point of wanting to eat one even when passing La Bombenera known for the pastries.

Booked a rental car from Avis for the rest of the trip. Tromped around the El Yunque Nationl Forest and the car was convenient to get to the Embassy Suites El Darado Beach and Golf Resort, about 20 miles west of San Juan. Getting out of San Juan wasn't bad, the traffic wasn't as terrible as the reviews/locals talked about. Hiked around the rainforest for a couple of hours, opted to do a minor trail as well as visit the La Mina Falls instead of travelling to the very top. Didn't really go to the peak because that would require four hours and the park closes its road gates at 6 pm. Not wanting to chance being stuck in a rainforest overnight, the shorter trails were more suitable. It was a pretty good hike and the falls were fun to look at. I don't know why people are enamored with swimming (really, actually sitting in a pool of water) under falls when there is an ocean within 10 miles. C'est la vie.

I opted to move outside the San Juan area to get a resort feel for this vacation. The other hotels were closer to the metro areas and, though close to the beach, was small due to their locations and population density. Eventually got into the Embassy Suites and made it in time for the Manager's reception. Most of the basic amenities are typical at the Embassy Suites like the Manager's reception and cook-to-order breakfasts. The differential for this property is that it sits inside a golf development, you actually drive through a security point and then drive through what looks to be as vacation homes before coming up on the hotel. The Manager's Reception is also all you can drink open bar (liquor, wine and beer) which is not typical. The rooms are the typical configuration and I found them suitable. The room was equipped with LCD TVs which was nice. I've seen some reviews saying the rooms were worn but I don't think so. The oceanview is pretty nice as well. :) The resort charge here includes the use of the tennis courts, wireless access, and two bottles of water per day. The pool here is very large, about three pools linked to each other and then a protected beach beyond the pools. By far, the nicest of the beaches visited because of the size of the area and the quality of the sand. It also seems that alot of locals vacation here as I didn't see as many mainlanders in this hotel.

Before heading out to the airport, went to the Cathedral of Rum AKA the Casa Bacardi, the largest Bacardi factory facility. The tour is free and gives two drink tickets. A great way of getting some free alcohol and see some interesting facts about Bacardi. I opted to purchase the Reserve Limited edition since it is only available in Puerto Rico. I was able to persuade the manager to sell a bottle for half price. The "full price" bottles come with a certificate and engraving. I asked about the ones that had mistakes on the engraving and the manager said that they would sell them for half off. After talking to him some, he was willing to give a normal bottle for that price. No matter what, ended up with a bottle of Reserved for half price and leaving quite happy with Bacardi and the gift store manager. I totally recommend to visit if you ever get a chance. Also, it is the only place that I was able to find rum cake.

All in all, a better experience and impression of Puerto Rico in this trip.