Like a scrubbed-up Havana, diminutive Old San Juan’s perfectly preserved cobbled streets, parks and plazas are lined with pastel-coloured mansions, their balconies festooned with tropical blooms. Founded by Spanish conquistadors in 1508, it’s one of the oldest settlements in the Americas. But this is no museum piece. Puerto Rico’s party-loving capital – it’s the birthplace of the piña colada and home to Bacardi’s «Cathedral of Rum» after all – is full of life.
Once a base for Spanish soldiers, this colonial house in Puerto Rico’s capital makes a unique B&B, says Sarah Gilbert
Like a scrubbed-up Havana, diminutive Old San Juan’s perfectly preserved cobbled streets, parks and plazas are lined with pastel-coloured mansions, their balconies festooned with tropical blooms. Founded by Spanish conquistadors in 1508, it’s one of the oldest settlements in the Americas. But this is no museum piece. Puerto Rico’s party-loving capital – it’s the birthplace of the piña colada and home to Bacardi’s «Cathedral of Rum» after all – is full of life.
The island may be vying to become the USA’s 51st State, but away from the tourist shops its Spanish, Caribbean, African, and Taino Indian roots are all alive and well in its crafts, food and the salsa rhythms that drift from hole-in-the-wall bars. Now, it has its first true Puerto Rican-owned B&B, set in a painstakingly restored colonial house. Once a base for Spanish soldiers from the nearby fortress of San Cristóbal, it is now the embodiment of mi casa es tu casa.
The Bed
The original lofty brick-and-beam ceilings, window grills, and thick wooden doors have been kept, within which five rooms have been created – two at the front and three around the patio – each with its own style and each named after San Juan neighbourhoods. Walls are decorated with local art and vintage posters; the brightly coloured bedspreads, wardrobes and lamps were all made by Puerto Rican artisans. La Muralla is the largest, with a living space, mezzanine-floor bedroom and a claw-foot bathtub. The other rooms all come with powerful showers.