The Caribbean - Q&A Database on San Juan, Puerto Rico

Hi there Friends.... as a proud Puertorican I've decided to start a new master thread on the great city and bring more people to this beautiful island.

Please post all and any questions you have on SJU right here, Ive subscribed to this thread so I should be able to check it out on quite a short notice and hopefully help you all plan your next trip to SJU.

Un Abrazo, Boricua!
Victor



www.gotopuertorico.com

Thanks for the offer, Guigoortiz!! I will start this one off: what is the Dorado area like? Specifically, beach quality, area attractions, etc. I am eyeing a winter time to trip to the Embassy Suites Dorado.

Thanks for the offer, Guigoortiz!! I will start this one off: what is the Dorado area like? Specifically, beach quality, area attractions, etc. I am eyeing a winter time to trip to the Embassy Suites Dorado.


I bought a house in dorado, Sabanera It has a private school www.tasisdorado.com - This is the best area, There are two main hotels, Hyatt Dorado Beach and Golf Resot - and Embassy Suites Dorado del Mar Contry Club. Hyatt is a High End more relax and quiet resort with the best golf course in the island. Embassy suites is more easy kind of hotel. The good thing is that you can stay at the Embassy wich is a excelent bran new hotel. and enjoy of the amenities of the rest of the hotels in Dorado.

Dorado is 25min away from the LMM Airport, you can arrenge for a bus from the hotel to pick you at the airport. or Rent a Car from the one of the main car rentals. They all have facilites at the airport.

www.gotopuertorico.com
check this site I will post more information to you tonight!
Restaurants and Palces to Visti ok.

Regards,
Victor

thanks guigoortiz ^ ^ ^

years ago the road that went through the El Yunque rainforest had a portion washed out. Are there any plans you know of to ever complete the road?

Thank you for providing this service! :) :) :)

I am flying into San Juan in December for a Cruise, I would like to know about the transportation and rates from the airport to the ships.

thanks guigoortiz ^ ^ ^

years ago the road that went through the El Yunque rainforest had a portion washed out. Are there any plans you know of to ever complete the road?


Willie the road was repaired but up to the peak, now it does not cross the mountain in to the other side, I guess for security reasons!

But is well maintained and have new sings and references.

Thank you for providing this service! :) :) :)

I am flying into San Juan in December for a Cruise, I would like to know about the transportation and rates from the airport to the ships.

A taxi will cost 15.00 + 2.00 for each laugage that you carry.
but usually the Cruise Company will arrange for a tour bus to pick you at they airport and drop you at the docks, at no charge. They will even take care of the laugage.

Enjoy your trip!
Spend a couple of days in San Juan! :)

A taxi will cost 15.00 + 2.00 for each laugage that you carry.
but usually the Cruise Company will arrange for a tour bus to pick you at they airport and drop you at the docks, at no charge. They will even take care of the laugage.

Enjoy your trip!
Spend a couple of days in San Juan! :)

We were thinking about doing just that!! Again THANK YOU for your reply..Beamer

My Jetblue flight gets in at about 3.00 am into LMM airport. What are my options?

Are taxis available in the middle of the night? Or should I book a cheap airport hotel for that night? Any suggestions?

Are rental car companies open that late for that flight?

Found this article on beach eating,


San Juan, Puerto Rico- Eating on the beach is a gritty business. But it’s where you find the comida verdadera, the real food, of the island. Not the pallid hotel version, but fried in front of your eyes in a metal trough of boiling oil over a fire built of scrap two-by- fours.

Get a bunch of food writers together, and like a fleet of heat-seeking missiles they'll quickly find the good stuff. Here for a conference, we homed in on this beach lined with food stands, some with tables and chairs, others just a walk-up counter with fritters and fruits under glass and Cokes on ice.
Mofongo makers Ari Estevez and Maria Morales have beautiful skin. Must be the sea breeze. Or the emollient quality of the air in the Piñones beach kiosko where they spend the day frying various types of meat-filled dough.
We order mofongo con carne frita, the plantain mush everyone talks about here, with bits of fried pork. Estevez, who seems to be an apprentice, removes a peeled unripe plantain from its water bath in a plastic bowl and chops it on a wood cutting board. She pivots and dumps the starchy fruit into a wok-like frying pan full of oil, and Morales, the senior cook, takes over, stirring the sizzling chunks and wiping her forehead.

Once the bananas are golden, Morales removes them from the oil and puts them into a cardboard box that once held a case of Coke. Estevez then loads the nuggets into a wooden pilón and mashes them with a fat pestle. She adds what she calls mantequilla ("butter," but it's from a large can labeled Mrs. Filbert's Golden Margarine) and Adobo Criollo, a blend of salt, garlic, oregano and turmeric.

While we wait for the mofongo, we sample the other crispy delights in the glass case that faces Route 187, about a mile from the cornstarch-clean beaches of Isla Verde.
Morales plops the raw dough into a large sea-grape leaf and molds it into a crib for the filling she scoops from plastic bins. She tucks the meat into a swaddled shape, and into the oil it goes, to emerge golden and steaming.

Alcapurrias (al-ca-PURR-ee-as): dough made from unripe plantains, tinted with achiote (annato-seed oil), filled with crab or ground beef, then fried.

Piononos (named for Pope Pius IX, whose nickname is Pio Nono): sweet, ripe plantain dough cones filled with meat or cheese, then fried.

Bacalaito (back-a-la-ITO): salt cod, flour and parsley formed into tortilla shapes, then fried.

Empanadillas (em-pah-na-DEE-yas): flour dough half-moons filled with ground meat, seafood or cheese, then fried.

Tostones (toast-OWN-es): green plantain chunks soaked in salty garlic water, fried, mashed, then fried again.

Estevez then loads the mofongo into an old plastic container that could have held cottage cheese, molding the mash into a little castle that she places on a dish with a palm-tree motif, along with shredded iceberg lettuce and tomatoes doused in the fun-to-say aji-li-mojili, a vinegary garlic-pepper sauce.
My fellow food journalists and I descend on the platter like a swarm of locusts, which, if you swaddled them in plantain dough, would make a fine beach snack.
Some versions of this starchy staple go back into the oil to become mofongo fritters, but at El Jardin de Damaris, once-fried is enough.
Like the many permutations of words for "snow" in Alaska, Puerto Ricans have myriad names for "fried dough." Whether they're called frituras, pastilillos, cuchifritos or buñuelos, you can bet they'll be greasy, but in a good way. Look for clean oil and ask for your frituras recien hecha (recently made) to assure a crisp experience.


http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~189~2461227,00.html
got any good spots to dine on such dishes or other "street food"?

Found this article on beach eating,

got any good spots to dine on such dishes or other "street food"?
I like the "Kioscos" by the Luquillo Beach.

I like the "Kioscos" by the Luquillo Beach.
for sure, have been to those many times ^ ^ , made the mistake of walking from the beach once w/o shoes, LOTS of broken glass.

Any in San Juan?

Our cruise ship docks in San Juan and we will have 4 hours to spend there. Should we just plan on strolling the streets of Old San Juan? Can you recommend a great restaurant for lunch?

Thanks!

Hi: I've been to Puerto Rico several times and love it. We will be there for two days prior to a cruise. I would love to find a driver who would set a price and spend the day with us....either going to the Rio Camuy Caverns....or a combination of El Yunque and some other places. My sister has not seen as much as I have and I find the tours are overpriced and prefer a personal type guide. Do you know of anyone?


EDITED: I did find the name and number of someone on Cruisecritic however I don't know if they will be available or if it will work out. I will call this week. I would still like an alternate if possible. Thanks

Hi Victor,
Thanks for the wonderful service you provide with this thread. We're going to the Hyatt Dorado Beach next month and I had heard that some or all of the rooms had been renoved (I was last there in 2002). In searching the web, it sounds like maybe some of the beachfront rooms have been updated, one review said rooms that start with 41 were renovated. What have you heard about this?
Thanks!

We will be in San Jaun just for 11/24 through 11/26 stopping on the way to Guadelupe.
Staying at the Caribe Hilton, will there be places open for Thanksgiving day I want a nice bit upscale restaurant, great food ( NOT necessarily at all regular mainland Thanksgiving fare)
Any recommendations? We will have a car.

Was hoping to stop and see an old friend but he in now in Jamaica.
Thanks,
mike

P.s. great idea this thread.

I haven't been to Puerto Rico in a while. What ever happened to the Hyatt Regency Cerromar resort? I know they closed it and were threatening to turn it into a 100% time share. I really liked their river pool and water slide.

Our cruise ship docks in San Juan and we will have 4 hours to spend there. Should we just plan on strolling the streets of Old San Juan? Can you recommend a great restaurant for lunch?

Thanks!

Hello,

I don't know if you have gone on your cruise already, but I've been to San Juan twice. If you only have 4 hours, then I think walking around Old San Juan would suit you just fine and probably be your only option. The only restaurant I went to while there was, "The Parrot Club". I was there for dinner, so I'm not sure if it's even open for lunch. It was a great place for drinks, dinner. It's pretty famous too, with pics of celebrities on the wall who have frequented it. I did visit a place called, "The Convent" I believe. I think they have a restaurant as well and it was very nice and tropical inside the courtyard.

Then of course I did see a MacDonalds in Old San Juan as well! ;)

Ciao!

for sure, have been to those many times ^ ^ , made the mistake of walking from the beach once w/o shoes, LOTS of broken glass.

Any in San Juan?

Sorry that I'm answering this question so late but I was unable to check Flyertalk for more than a month.

Well, not exactly in San Juan but close to the airport in Carolina. There are "Kioscos" with typical Puerto Rican food.

We will be in PR over the Xmas holidays. We would like to see a bio bay, but don't want to do the overnight in Vieques. Any idea which of the other 2 are better? The one in Fajardo or the one in Lajas? We will be staying in San Juan at the Caribe Hilton (on points, yay!). Thanks!

My hotel is charging a fortune for parking in Old San Juan. Any leads on cheap parking lots? Thanks.

Hi all,

I'll be going to San Juan this Wednesday with my girlfriend. She'll be there on business, and I'm just there to hang out. We're staying at the El San Juan Wyndham. Any suggestions on things to do while I'm there? I haven't had much time to research. And I'm there only until Sunday. Also, anyone know if there are any golf courses close to the Wyndham? I'd like to get at least one round of golf in.

Victor,

Thanks for referring me to the website. It is indeed a valuable resource. I also really like the tour book that they mailed to me.

Another question: can you suggest any good family friendly restaurants in the Dorado area? Travelling with two young children. We will have a car.