Condado Vanderbilt
1055 Ashford Ave., San Juan, Puerto Rico, condadovanderbilt.com. 323 rooms from $270 (U.S.).
In its heyday, everyone from swashbuckling Errol Flynn to former U.S. president Franklin Roosevelt came to play at the Condado Vanderbilt Hotel. Built in 1919 by Frederick William Vanderbilt, the hotel was the social centre of San Juan during the 1920s and 1930s, when it was likely the only first-class property on the island. But, as is often the way with such celebrated grandes dames, the hotel gradually faded and eventually closed in 1997.
International Hospitality Enterprises, which runs several other hotels in Puerto Rico, began renovations in 2003. The original plaster and terrazzo floors were restored and two new guest-room towers were built on either side of the original building, each tower with its own pool area. At long last, the Condado Vanderbilt is ready to welcome back the rich and famous.
Location, location
The hotel is located in the Condado district on the Atlantic Ocean beach. It’s a 10-minute cab ride from the charms of Old San Juan, with its fantastic forts, sloping streets and colonial architecture. Across the street, several luxury shops – Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Salvatore Ferragamo, Gucci – await should you have left home without a diamond bracelet or fancy footwear. Next door, a sister property, La Concha resort, offers a lively nightclub scene and a casino.
Design
A sweeping iron staircase remains the centrepiece of the 1919 Spanish Revival building. Set amid the original terracotta-hued stucco archways and French windows, this is where you’ll find most of the hotel’s restaurants and bars. I spent a lot of time in these intimate spaces, including one for cigar aficionados and one for cocktail connoisseurs. Each is decorated in rich colours – lots of crimson and chocolate – and appointed with comfy leather and velvet seating. On several evenings, live music – one night a piano player, another a trumpeter – enhanced the mood. Up in my room (in one of the new towers), I enjoyed the cooling Carrara marble floors that extended into the bathroom, generous storage space and a comfy bed.
Whom you’ll meet
The hotel does a thriving wedding business, and I encountered many a canoodling couple pool-side. Meanwhile, at the 10,000-square-foot spa, there was a gaggle of giggling girlfriends. On another sunny morning, I listened in dismay as a solo guest loudly discussed his stock positions over the phone.
Eat in or eat out?
The neighbourhood is mostly residential, but outside the hotel doors a character-filled retail strip is lined with bodegas, bars and fast-food outlets. Better to stay inside, where the Condado’s dining and drinking spots make it easy to catch a spectacular sunset, eat in style, then settle in for a nightcap. Meals at the fine-dining restaurant 1919 come courtesy of chef Juan Jose Cuevas, who earned a Michelin star at New York’s Blue Hill. Here, I enjoyed a ricotta ravioli stuffed with beet and hazelnut and, for dessert, a transporting warm chocolate cake drizzled with truffle salted caramel.
If I could change one thing
Breakfast was only available as a sit-down option, and I sorely missed the kind of well-stocked “grab-and-go” meals that are so popular in better hotels today. Sometimes a gal just wants a pastry, an espresso and a daily newspaper for breakfast.
The writer was a guest of the resort.