Travel Reference
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and wine reception). Perched romantically above the Atlantic waves and boasting 25 ec-
lectic rooms and a stunning plunge pool, it will be like nowhere else you have ever visited.
Three hundred years of art, antiques and history stuffed into one building - staggering. The
reception area showcases photos of the Obamas when they overnighted here a few years
back.
Chateau Cervantes
HOTEL $$$
( 787-724-7722;
www.cervantespr.com
; 329 Recinto Sur; r/ste $225/975; )
Twelve rooms on six floors, intimate decor and a stunning level of all-round opulence, the
Cervantes is about as luxurious as Puerto Rico gets. Designed as a boutique hotel of the
highest class by local guru Nono Maldonado, the hotel barely advertises itself from the
street - probably because it doesn't need to. Once inside, 'chateau' is definitely the right
word in this Parisian-influenced city beauty with its eye-catching art (original, of course)
and electronic gadgets deftly splashed around angular rooms that retain a tangible old-town
feel. Its restaurant, Panza, serves all meals in high season.
Casablanca Hotel
HOTEL $$
( 787-725-3436;
www.hotelcasablancapr.com
; 316 Fortaleza; r incl breakfast
$95-195; )
Cut from the same cloth as its sister property, longtime favorite Da House,
this stylish new SoFo hotel blends a luxurious mix of colonial and contemporary styles.
Five floors of rooms (but no elevator) are swathed in vibrant fabrics, and cozy bathrooms
sparkle with gorgeous mother- of-pearl sinks from India. Greet the morning with a yoga
class on the roof deck with inspirational views of El Morro and El Yunque, or swan around
in one of the shaded soaking tubs. Its restaurant fills out a Moorish-style lobby of eye-
candy lounges and bold tile work, commanded by a sunburst chandelier.
Da House
HOTEL $$
( 787-977-1180;
www.dahousehotelpr.com
; 312 San Francisco; r incl breakfast
$80-150; )
One of Old San Juan's funkier hotels is also one of its best bargains,
with boutique-style rooms kitted out with chic furnishings and decorated with eye-catching
contemporary art. Each room is dedicated to a different local artist whose work is displayed
within, complete with tantalizing price tags to ponder over. For the musically inclined, one
of San Juan's best salsa bars, the Nuyorican, is situated downstairs; for the less enamored
(or sleep-deprived), the reception staff will ruefully give out ear plugs.
