Trendy Boutique Hotel with Ocean Views

At San Juan Water Beach Club Hotel in Puerto Rico, even the elevator ride is a unique experience. Inside the elevator, there’s a waterfall enclosed by glass. Then, you’ll notice the elevator’s glass ceiling, which allows you to look up the shaft as you ascend. Such unique details helped the hotel to earn recognition from TripAdvisor as one of the Caribbean’s top five trendiest hotels. Providing further evidence to the hotel’s fashionable reputation, celebrities including Snoop Dogg, Benicio del Toro, and Kid Rock have all paid a visit to Mist, the resort's rooftop lounge, which overlooks Isla Verde beach.

The hotel is located along Isla Verde beach, an idyllic stretch of Atlantic coastline where water girls stroll the shore handing out cocktail popsicles and cooling towel wraps. San Juan Water Beach Club Hotel’s staff prides itself on pampering guests—you can order food and have it delivered right to your beach chairs. For a more formal sit-down meal, head to Zest, the hotel restaurant located in the lobby. Its decor is inspired by water; the ceiling resembles an ocean surface, and the floors are illuminated. Here, you can feast on malt-braised pork cheek with parsnip purée or miso-dressed cod with green-papaya compote. Feel free to head up to the Mist rooftop lounge, where DJs spin a Latin-inspired soundtrack Thursday–Saturday.

The mood is much more relaxed in the accommodations area, as the sound of the ocean surf is piped into the corridors that lead to the Atmosphere rooms. From floor-to-ceiling windows, you can get a nice view of the skyline and the Atlantic Ocean. In the morning, enjoy an included continental breakfast at Zest.

San Juan, Puerto Rico: Cosmopolitan City with Spanish Heritage and Excellent Surfing and Fishing

Located along Puerto Rico’s northeastern coast, San Juan is a city of superlatives: it is the island’s largest city, one of the country’s oldest colonial cities, and it operates one of the world’s most important seaports. The city preserves much of its Spanish heritage. At the mouth of the San Juan Bay, you'll find the blue cobblestone streets of Old San Juan lined with museums, churches, and military forts dating back to the 16th century. The San Juan National Historic Site—located 7 miles from the hotel—features old but well-preserved buildings such as El Morro, a castle-like fortress built along the water in 1539 to defend the city from seaborne enemies and serve as a party house whenever the mayor went out of town.

Strong waves and constant wind keep windsurfers and kiteboarders busy in San Juan, and sailboats ring the marinas year-round. But the island might be best known for its deep-sea fishing. Numerous charter boats can take you out to fish for tarpon, blue marlin, and mahi-mahi in the Puerto Rican waters, where 30 world-fishing records have been broken.

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