Puerto Rico

Hotels in Puerto Rico offer options for every kind of traveler, from the weekend partyer to the family vacationer to the romantic couple looking for downtime. A recent flurry of renovations has brought many hotels in Puerto Rico up to a new level of spit and polish, not to mention style: One thing Puerto Ricans understand is clean, colorful, modern design. Hotels here are downright chic, from lobby to pool to guest room. Moreover, the economic slowdown means hotel rates have dropped, turning Puerto Rico into a great value. Not surprisingly, many hotels in Puerto Rico book up early, especially in winter.

Some downsides? Service on Puerto Rico is a bust. Expect to ask for ice and never receive it, to come back to your room and find the bed not yet made. Everyone is kind and courteous, but too overworked or undertrained to provide consistent help. If service is a real priority for you, book at the Ritz-Carlton or the Copamarina. On-site restaurants at the large resorts in Puerto Rico can also be lackluster. The offerings almost always feature 1) a "New York style" steak house and 2) a chain-style Japanese sushi/noodle bar. Unless you're staying at La Concha, Numero Uno, Gran Meliá, or Villa Montana, book all your special meals at any of the terrific stand-alone restaurants in San Juan.

In Puerto Rico, hotels (as opposed to resorts) are mostly located in Old San Juan; there are also a few hotels on Vieques. You'll find beach resorts in San Juan in the neighborhoods of Condado and Isla Verde. Puerto Rico's calmer, larger golf-and-beach resort options (like the Gran Meliá, El Conquistador, and the Wyndham Rio Mar) lie about an hour's drive east of the city. Much smaller, individually owned, sand-centric resorts can be found on the western side of the island in surfer-cool Rincón (the Horned Dorset) and Isabela (Villa Montaña), and to the south along the Caribbean Sea (the Copamarina). The few extra hours of driving are worth it for those who want to melt into a puddle on an almost empty beach.

Similar escapes from stress can also be found on the tiny islands of Vieques and Culebra, a puddle-jumper flight east of Puerto Rico. Boho-glam Vieques is growing in popularity, however, as the vanguard Hix Island House and the W Resort (due to open in fall 2009) attest. Scene-averse travelers prefer Culebra, whose calling cards are its phenomenal deserted beaches, like Flamingo, and its eclectic, tiny, casual hotels, like Club Seabourne.