Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
students over beers on the bustling strip of Calle Post. The university also boasts two excel-
lent sports mascots; men's teams are the Tarzáns, while the women's teams are the Janes!
Estación Experimental Agrícola Federal
AGRICULTURAL
CENTER
(
http://eea.uprm.edu
;
AvParis; 7am-4pmMon-Fri)
Wandering through the Estación
Experimental Agrícola Federal, the tropical agricultural research station of the US Depart-
ment of Agriculture, is a bit like wandering through a geeky botanical garden, what with the
neatly labeled plantations of yams, plantains, bananas and imported tropical 'cash crops'
such as cinnamon trees from Sri Lanka. Today, the station also throws many of its federal
grants behind biofuels and tropical medicine. The adjacent city park known as
Parque de
losPróceres(Patriots'Park; dawn-dusk)
, on the south side of Hwy 65, also has verd-
ant walkways and together these make an interesting stroll. These grounds lie just southeast
of the RUM campus.
Sleeping
Howard Johnson Downtown Mayagüez
HOTEL $$
( 787-832-9191;
www.hojo.com
; 70 Calle Méndez Vigo; d $111-133;
)
The stained-glass windows in this freshly remodeled central hotel are left over from the
building's history as a monastery, a fact also evident in the smallish rooms and somber
heavy wooden doors. Some rooms, with a bit more space and brightly colored bedspreads,
are geared toward families, though most of them are oriented toward business travelers,
with desks, mini-refrigerators and flat-screen televisions. It has a bit of a corporate feel, but
there are perks in the small courtyard pool and absolutely enormous collection of bottles at
the on-site tapas bar, Stoa's. For discounts, book online.
Mayagüez Resort & Casino
HOTEL, CASINO $$
( 787-831-7575;
www.mayaguezresort.com
; Rte 104 Km 0.3; r $189-335;
)
This hotel-and-casino combo is the plushest option in town and locals pack into the
casino to drink and play slots. Located off Hwy 2 north of town, this 140-unit property -
with tennis courts, pool and casino - will seem strangely familiar to travelers who have fre-
quented the hotels of Isla Verde or the megaresorts that populate Fajardo and the east coast.
Surprisingly, it is not on the water, but on 20 acres of tropical gardens - actually an adjunct
