February 21, 2008

Caribbean | Puerto Rico | San Juan

Project Puerto Rico: Part I

By Mark Jolly

SoFo, so what? LXR Luxury Resorts & Hotels wants to cast the spotlight away from Old San Juan toward the beaches of Condado and Isla Verde.

view map

Puerto Rico’s on a mission to turn around its image from low-rent Gringolandia to Spanish-Caribbean jewel. The restoration of Old San Juan has already put the capital back on the map alongside Cartagena and Havana, and has even produced the sub-barrio of SoFo (south of Fortaleza Street), where a growing clutch of hipster bars, restaurants and galleries has sprung. But beyond the backstreets of the capital’s colonial quarter, a quiet little revolution has started to unfold. Puerto Rico’s second city, Ponce, is now home to the most extensive art collection in the Caribbean, and Rincon has emerged as a hot spot for surfers. Meanwhile, LXR Luxury Resorts & Hotels has entered the mix by completely overhauling three of the island’s destination lodgings to the tune of $300 million.

The most stylish of the trio is Condado Plaza (pictured), which has helped revitalize the upscale seafront strip of Condado, just over the bridge from Old San Juan. On a block lined with new neighbors Gucci and Ferragamo, the hotel was totally gutted and reconceived from the ground up. The result: a 632-room urban resort that pulls off the rare feat of feeling like a boutique hotel — thanks to its recently completed lipstick-red guestrooms (goodbye floral hell), and a chic lobby-bar designed by David Rockwell (whose portfolio includes several W Hotels), opening at the end of this month. Rockwell also designed the hotel’s bordello-style Strip House (pictured), a new outpost of New York’s award-winning steakhouse (42-ounce rib-eye, anyone?). Along with neighboring Budatai, the restaurant should go some ways to bring destination dining to Condado — which, despite its art-deco heritage and gay-friendly vibe, is still chasing that “Next South Beach” dream. Just keep an eye on the brand new La Concha and upcoming Vanderbilt hotels, down the block: Condado’s moment isn’t far away.