San Juan hotels mix business with pleasure

In the swim: the pool at the Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel & Casino.

By Mark Chesnut

The city of San Juan, Puerto Rico, is not only a hub for Caribbean vacations and cruises — it’s also a hotspot for business, meetings and conventions. Yet even business-minded travelers will find it easy to enjoy the tropical vibe, thanks to the scenic locations and indulgent amenities offered by many San Juan hotels.

Square one forlarge business groups is the 580,000-square-foot Puerto Rico Convention Center, which sits adjacent to the 500-room Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel & Casino, a meetings-focused luxury property that opened in 2010. But other neighborhoods in the metropolitan area have business-friendly venues as well, including meeting space and restaurants.

Top hotels for business travelers in the beachfront Condado district include La Concha, a Renaissance Resort, which recently debuted its new Suite Tower with one- and two-bedroom suites complete with kitchens. The hotel’s dining options also continue to expand; the newest venue is Voga, an Italian eatery that overlooks one of the pools.

Just down the street sits the Conrad San Juan Condado Plaza, an upscale hotel with a trendy lobby bar. Across the mouth of the Condado Lagoon is the legendary Caribe Hilton, which for decades has hosted big-name diplomats and celebrities.

Closer to San Juan’s Luís Muñoz Marín International Airport is the beachfront area known as Isla Verde, where luxury resorts include the Ritz-Carlton Carlton, San Juan and the El San Juan Resort & Casino. Nearby is the 222-room Verdanza, a hotel that recently opened a wine-and-tapas venue called Di Vino.

Also in Isla Verde is the Courtyard by Marriott San Juan Isla Verde Beach Resort, where the weekly invitation-only cocktail parties for corporate guests are being held on the beach during the months of July and August — providing the perfect opportunity to talk shop in a setting that could best be described as paradise.

Related resources

• All inclusive vacations
• Bahamas vacation
• Beach vacations
• Puerto Rico hotels

Mark Chesnut is a travel writer, editor and publisher of LatinFlyer.com, which focuses on business and leisure travel to Latin America.

Tagged: Caribbean