San Juan — The Vacation Gals

Win Two Free Nights at the San Juan Marriott in Puerto Rico

December 19, 2009 | Author: ColoradoGal

It’s not too often we promote win-a-trip social-media contests here at The Vacation Gals, but the San Juan Marriott has a particularly special spot in our hearts, given we were hosted by the resort for a girls’ getaway this spring. At the property, we very much enjoyed lounging by the pool, drinking an array of differently flavored mojitos in the lobby bar, and indulging in tasty Puerto Rican food at La Vista’s buffet spread and Italian specialties at the Ristorante Tuscany.

You can win your own mini vacation (no passport required for American citizens) through the San Juan Marriott’s “Countdown to Christmas” social-media scavenger hunt. Start following, if you’re not already, the San Juan Marriott crew at @SanJuanMarriott on Twitter. From the contest announcement:

Beginning Monday, December 21, @SanJuanMarriott will tweet a holiday item at 10 am EST each of the five days leading up to Christmas. The first day of the search, the first follower who replies to @SanJuanMarriott with a picture (via TwitPic, Tweetphoto or otherwise) of the item will receive a complimentary 3 day / 2 night stay at the San Juan Marriott Resort in Puerto Rico. The second day of the scavenger hunt (December 22), the second person to find the item and submit a photo will receive the 3 day / 2 night stay prize, the third day will be the third person, and so on. Additionally, anyone who tweets all five pictures of the requested scavenger hunt items (one per day) will receive a free room upgrade on their next visit to the San Juan Marriott Resort – valid throughout 2010.

Sounds pretty fun to me — I’m so curious what the scavenger hunt items will be… something simple like a photo of a Christmas tree or stocking? Or more difficult, like a fruitcake or mistletoe? I wonder if anyone has frankincense lying around. It’s fun just thinking about potential photo subjects; I bet the creative marketing crew that conceived this promotion had a ball coming up with them.

Advice for folks who win: consider tacking on a night or two to your free vacation in Puerto Rico. You’ll want to have time to explore El Yunque rainforest, maybe do some evening kayaking through a bioluminescent bay or wander through Old San Juan’s historic sites. Of course, lolling on the beach must be on the agenda, too. Good luck!

Quiet beach in front of the high-rise San Juan Marriott in Puerto Rico.

Posted in: Destinations, Family Travel, Girlfriend Getaways, Romantic Getaways | 1 comment

Beach Girlfriend Getaway: San Juan Marriott Resort

April 30, 2009 | Author: TwinCitiesGal

View from the San Juan Marriott Girlfriend getaways — there is nothing like them. Last month we Vacation Gals hit San Juan, Puerto Rico, for a week of fun. We covered it all — relaxation, adventure and history and culture. A huge part of our fabulous time was due to where we stayed, the San Juan Marriott. Below are several reasons I love this resort and why you should go there for your next girlfriend getaway adventure:

Fantastic views. Both of the water-view photos in this post were taken from my balcony. The first one was shot in the morning, the other was taken in mid-day. As you can see, the rooms certainly have a view.

Good Spa. Located in close proximity to the gorgeous pool is the intimate Ocean Club Spa (the fitness room is right next door). All four of us gals tried a different treatment, mine being the lavender Aromatherapy Massage. After the hour long, relaxing, float-on-a-cloud experience (that’s how I felt!) I walked a few steps out the door and to a poolside chair and continued to enjoy my la-la experience beneath the bethsanjuan looming palm trees and warm sun. (Yes, I left with a fantastic tan despite wearing my Coppertone sunscreen and Walaroo hat).

Good Eats. San Juan Marriott two main restaurants. The first night we hit La Vista Restaurant and Ocean Terrace. I enjoyed the buffet and couldn’t help visiting the pasta bar (the chef makes your dish right there as you pick your ingredients). Just make sure to save room for some flan at the (huge) dessert table.

The next night we dined at the marvelous, and I do mean marvelous, Ristorante Tuscany. We got dolled up in our dresses and headed down for an evening of delicious Italian cuisine. Between the fresh bread and antipasto bar I was in heaven.

Good Drinks. To be honest, I didn’t think I liked mojitos (I had only tried Daytime view the kind in a bottle) but when I tasted the San Juan Marriott’s version of this rum drink I was sold. You should see how much mint the bartenders use. If I had to describe a mojito it would be refreshing. Did you know mojitos come in flavors, too? Pina Colada was my absolute favorite. You can order one at the Lobby Lounge (live music and dancing every night) or even at the Beach Bar to enjoy (sans glass) poolside or lounging on the beach.

Good Beds. I’ve announced my need for a good hotel bed many times before and all I can say is that the San Juan Marriott has comfy, cozy, perfect beds.

Good Friends. You can’t go on a girlfriend getaway without good friends — someone to laugh with when you find out the restaurant you took a $20 cab ride to is gone. So when you go to San Juan Marriott for a getaway, don’t forget the girlfriends and your giggles!

Posted in: Girlfriend Getaways | 1 comment

When Things Go Wrong On Vacation: Lesson Learned, Always Call Ahead

April 10, 2009 | Author: ColoradoGal

Before setting off on our girls’ trip to the San Juan Marriott in Puerto Rico, I grilled some of my local friends who’d lived in San Juan for two years before having kids (about 9 years ago). They’d also been back a couple of times since moving to Colorado.

They told me I had to check out the swanky lobby at the El San Juan Hotel & Casino in Isla Verde, about a 15-minute cab ride ($20) from the San Juan Marriott. Better yet, they said, go late-night to enjoy the live music, salsa dancing and bar scene. Their other tip: don’t miss the tableside, made-in-front-of-your-eyes guacamole at the hotel’s rooftop restaurant.

bbq

On our last night in San Juan, we weren’t sure we’d be up for dancing at midnight (due to early wake-up call to get to airport by 7 a.m.), so I highly encouraged (okay, made) my friends to hop in a cab to head east to the El San Juan before backtracking and heading west to Old San Juan, where we had dinner reservations. “Pretty view at sunset!” I told them. “Homemade guacamole made tableside!”

After all, after Googling “el san juan guacamole” and clicking on a link to Travelocity.com, I read about this nifty open-air, 10th-floor Mexican restaurant offering guacamole “created to your taste.” I’d scanned the El San Juan website and didn’t see anything about it, but figured out we’d be directed to the restaurant once we arrived.

Ha!

The concierge looked at me funny when I asked where the rooftop Mexican restaurant was. I said, “Tableside guacamole!” a couple times, like it was some code word for passage to the secret place. Finally, another front-desk employee chimed in, “Oh, that restaurant is now Brother Jimmy’s a barbecue joint.”

Wha?

Like a ding-a-ling, I asked desperately, “But do they still have the tableside guacamole with a view?” Indeed, the front-desk gal called upstairs and confirmed, yes, we could get our homemade guacamole.”

Success!

But as soon as we walked into Brother Jimmy’s we couldn’t help but crack up. It was a true sports bar and grill, themed to the gills with references from the South (Gators pennants) and vintage Georgia license plates, complete with a mechanical bull. And the menu? Hush puppies, fried okra and wings.

After getting settled in a booth with a great view of Isla Verde’s beach, the ocean and the neighboring city skyline, we asked our server for the famous guacamole.

“We’re out of avocados,” she said.

This is where the scene really got funny. We spent $20 on a cab ride to get our tableside guacamole at a Mexican restaurant turned BBQ joint… and there are no avocados.

Our waitress somehow managed to secure three avocados (we think she traded some other ingredients with another hotel restaurant), so we could enjoy our tableside guacamole. Which we devoured in a matter of minutes (and it was good, albeit a little bland; we weren’t asked how spicy we wanted it).

bbq

A $40 pitcher of sangria later (served in mason jars with fresh fruit on ice), we set off for our next adventures at Barrachina’s in Old San Juan, which offered us a more authentic experience, with Puerto Rican mofongo on the menu, and a bona fide flamenco show.

Moral of the story: Always check the official website carefully to make sure your intended restaurant is still open or any other service is still offered. Better yet, call ahead and get someone on site to give you the scoop. Don’t rely on third-party websites for up-to-the-minute, accurate travel information.

And most important of all, travel with fun folks who can see the humor in situations like this. Travel is an adventure, and most likely there will be missteps along the way. No vacation is ever perfect, so try to take minor snafus in stride. After all, travel tales are so much more fun to tell when things go just a little bit wrong!

Posted in: Destinations, Girlfriend Getaways | no comments

Family-friendly Pool at the San Juan Marriott Resort

March 27, 2009 | Author: ColoradoGal

For my family, a resort’s pool can really make or break a vacation. When my kids were toddlers, if there wasn’t a good wading area for them, it wasn’t quite as much fun for Mom and Dad, since we constantly had to be “on,” next to them or holding them in the water. Now that they’re older, the more bells and whistles a water-play area has — whether it’s slides or waterfalls or faux cliffs to jump from — the better.

What’s nice about the San Juan Marriott Resort‘s pool area is that it’s got a little something for everyone in the family. First, the kiddie area is one of the biggest I’ve ever seen. It’s 1.5 feet deep all the way around, except for a wonderful zero-depth entry area, where even the littlest swimmers can wade in safely. The kiddie pool also has some fun water fountains to splash in.

For bigger kids (as well as fun-loving adults), there’s the twisting water slide, where you land into the “adults” pool, which is closer to four feet deep. Also adjacent to the adults pool is a swim-up bar. The pools are not heated, so they seem to get the most use during the hottest part of the day — 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (which is also when the water slide is open).

I love that there’s a posted sign explaining there’s no “reserving of chaise lounges.” This is a brilliant policy, as I’ve been to some Caribbean and Mexican resorts, where people get up at 6 a.m. just to reserve primo locations. The San Juan Marriott says that they’ll reassign empty chairs to waiting guests.

Families can borrow board games and beach balls at the towel desk. Activities staff also run various events throughout the day, including water volleyball, poolside bingo and yoga classes.

Another highlight: the pool is just steps from Condado Beach, so you can position lounge chairs to take in the gorgeous green-blue ocean. It’s also easy to toggle between swimming in the ocean and the pool — as my kids like to do. And speaking of the pool, the other Mamas are enjoying the relaxing scene as I type this. I’ve got to go chill out with them and enjoy the view!

Posted in: Family Travel | 1 comment

Memories: Honeymoon in San Juan, Puerto Rico

March 24, 2009 | Author: ColoradoGal

We’re getting SO excited to meet up in San Juan, Puerto Rico, this week! This is going to be one special trip, thanks to the San Juan Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino. We’ll be blogging about our adventures as they happen,but in the meantime, I hope you’ll indulge my walk down memory lane. I actually had part of my honeymoon in San Juan, Puerto Rico, 10 years ago! ColoradoDad and I spent three nights in the island’s capital city after our Windjammer Barefoot Cruise (pity the Windjammer folded — we absolutely adored our trip). I dug out my old photo album (no digital images from 1999), and scanned these pictures from my honeymoon. Here’s the funny: we’re pictured in various places in and around San Juan that we’ll be visiting later this week!