Condado Vanderbilt Hotel

The name gives it away: the Condado Vanderbilt isn’t your typical beach resort. The oceanfront hotel, financed by the Vanderbilt family in 1919, was considered Puerto Rico’s first luxury hotel. And the Vanderbilts, of course, spared no expense — they hired the same architectural firm responsible for New York’s Grand Central Terminal. After several iterations, including extensive recent renovations and new construction to the tune of $220 million, the Condado Vanderbilt has reopened its doors under new ownership.

The original hotel, an elegant Spanish Revival-style building perched on the water’s edge, remains the heart and soul of the property. But the new Condado Vanderbilt also features two towers, soaring high on either side of the historic building, home to the hotel’s most lavish suites. The Spa Tower has an infinity pool and a terrace with sweeping views — and, of course, a spa — while the Beach Tower has two swimming pools. Guest rooms and suites within both buildings all have ocean views. The look is contemporary, if not cutting-edge, and the amenities plentiful: even the most standard room has linens by Rivolta Carmignani, a bathroom with a stone vanity and a marble shower and tub, a 48-inch HD screen with AppleTV, and a French press with complimentary Puerto Rican coffee. Suites come with round-the-clock butler service and plenty of space to entertain, plus balconies where you can catch the sea breeze.

There’s something to be said, though, for booking one of the heritage rooms in the Condado Vanderbilt’s historic original building. Though slightly smaller than guest rooms in the towers, you’re trading off the extra square footage for an air of old-fashioned charm. Regardless of which area of the hotel you stay in, you’re unlikely to spend much time in your room when a beach club with dedicated Pool and Beach Butlers — and a tanning and hydration specialist, to boot — is waiting outside. Rum cocktails flow freely here, naturally, and throughout the hotel’s several restaurants and bars. The table to book is at 1919, where Michelin-starred chef Juan Jose Cuevas does farm-to-table cuisine with a Puerto Rican bent. The name is a nod to the year the Condado Vanderbilt first opened: a proper homage to the nearly hundred-year history of this lovely landmark hotel.