LuxuryPuertoRico — Luxury Travel, Experiences, and Lifestyles
Puerto Rico takes the idea of Caribbean luxury to a whole other level. So if you’ve been thinking this United States’ territory is just great beaches and poolside cocktails, think again. In reality, Puerto Rico boasts a sophisticated blend of experiences that range from restored 16th-century convents in cobblestoned Old San Juan to contemporary golf resorts carved into former sugar plantations.
The luxury hotel scene in particular has evolved dramatically over the past decade. Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, occupies 50 acres of what was once Laurance Rockefeller‘s private estate, complete with an 11-mile nature trail system and a five-acre spa built around local botanicals. The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort is even bigger and spreads across 483 acres between El Yunque National Forest and the Espiritu Santo River State Preserve, and is where guests play golf on a Robert Trent Jones Jr course that doubles as a certified Audubon sanctuary.
And in San Juan’s Condado district, the century-old Condado Vanderbilt Hotel maintains its Jazz Age grandeur with a Turkish-inspired hammam spa and a rum library featuring more than 120 varieties. And we’ve only just scratched the surface.
Luxury Puerto Rico Lifestyles and Travel
The food and drink scene here is also worth writing home about. Highlights include culinary stars like Chef Juan José Cuevas, who brings Michelin-starred magnificence to 1919 Restaurant at the Condado Vanderbilt, where dishes like local spiny lobster meet French butter sauces and Caribbean spices for a mouthwatering experience you won’t soon forget.
At Vianda in Santurce, Francis Guzmán, a James Beard semi-finalist for Outstanding Chef, sources ingredients from small farms across the island, changing the menu based on what arrives each morning.
San Juan itself operates on multiple levels of luxury. The fortified walls of Old San Juan shelter boutique hotels like Hotel El Convento, a former Carmelite convent from 1651 that now features luxe rooms set around a lovely courtyard where nuns once grew medicinal herbs. A 15-minute drive east brings you to Condado, where beachfront high-rises house everything from Mario Pagán‘s flagship restaurant to independent jewelry designers working with rare black coral and larimar stones.
Island Adventures and Luxury Experiences
The island certainly rewards those who venture beyond their resort swimming pools and beachfronts, however nice they might be. In Rincón, international surfing competitions run from October through April when swells can reach up to 20 feet. And for fishers, the Continental Shelf drops to 3,000 feet just two miles off the north coast, creating conditions that attract blue marlin weighing up to 800 pounds.
Private aviation has simplified access considerably, with several hotels offering helicopter transfers that cut the 90-minute drive from San Juan to a mere 12-minute flight above the island’s dense rainforest.
Whether you’re here for a long and luxurious weekend or have a winter residence as a second home, for Americans, Puerto Rico delivers sophistication without the hassle of visa requirements, currency exchanges, or language barriers. And for international visitors looking for a change of scenery, they say that once you’ve had a taste of luxury travel to Puerto Rico, you’ll definitely be back for more.
Visit LuxuryPuertoRico frequently to keep on top of the latest news and reviews relating to high-end travel and lifestyles in what is without doubt one of the Caribbean’s top destinations.
