Puerto Rico
October 1, 2005
David Soskin, Non-Executive Vice Chairman
Where? Puerto Rico
Why? It’s an extremely beautiful Caribbean island that’s relatively easy to get to and has an amazing history: Puerto Rico was one of the places that Christopher Columbus stopped in at on his exploration of the New World. Its capital, San Juan, is a Unesco world heritage site and is one of the best preserved old cities in the whole world. So it has an extraordinary combination of a fascinating history along with the traditional wonderful beaches you associate with the Caribbean.
It’s not terribly well known by British tourists as it’s slightly off the beaten-track of the normal British Caribbean haunts.
Where would you stay? My favourite hotel is El Convento, right in the heart of old San Juan. It’s a Seventeenth Century convent which has been converted into a hotel. That might sound very ascetic and limited in the facilities it offers, but that’s not the case. It’s very comfortable with beautiful rooms, nearly all of which have fantastic views over the harbour of San Juan. It also has a wonderful tapas bar, very nice staff and it’s within easy walking distance of the excellent shopping in San Juan.
Best meal? I try to eat the local specialities wherever I am. If I’m in Italy I’ll eat Italian, in France I’ll eat French, but when in San Juan – eat tapas.
Best way to spend an hour? Go and walk up to the old fort by San Juan. This enormous fortification was built in the Sixteen Century by the Spaniards. It juts out on a peninsula right in the old city. It makes a wonderful walk to the Old Fort from town and back again – extremely picturesque.
Top Tips? San Juan is very interesting and beautiful, but I’d recommend exploring the island as a whole to anybody visiting Puerto Rico. Although it’s one of the largest Caribbean islands, by driving standards it’s not huge. Within a few days you can cover the whole island by car. It’s worth going to all the different parts of the island. For example, there’s a wonderful rain forest in the centre which is well worth seeing. Perhaps the most famous thing of all in Puerto Rico is the telescope which was featured in the James Bond film Goldeneye. It’s an enormous telescope which you can walk around and have a look at. There’s a lot to do in Puerto Rico – if you go all the way there don’t just stay in the San Juan area with the beaches and hotels. Hire a car and tour round the island.
© Cheapflights Ltd. Interviewed by Sabrina Wolfe
