In this section we will recommend various places to eat and where to stay in and around the eastern part of Puerto Rico. We have only traveled the Eastern part of the island so we can’t say much about the Western part.
Eating in or around San Juan
Two of our favorites are Jose Enrique and Santaella and they can be found in a little area called La Placita.
The founder of Jose Enrique was born and raised in Puerto Rico. The restaurant appears to always be busy, but when we went we only had a thirty-minute wait. The dishes are absolutely incredible and rotate daily. It was definitely one of the best meals we have ever experienced and would highly recommend this restaurant to everyone. It is pricey but definitely worth it!
Santaella seemed to have more of a fixed menu. It is very pricey but great food. Every thing we ordered on the menu was delicious. The food melted in your mouth, and the drinks were incredible. If you plan on going, I would recommend calling a head and making a reservation.
For these two restaurants I would expect to spend around $35-50/person depending on the dish.
The following are some places you may be interested in if you are on a Budget
Food Trucks
If you are on a budget, we definitely have some recommendations for you. The taco trucks in Puerto Rico are usually very delicious and around $2-3/taco. We found ourselves at the taco trucks probably once a day if not more.
La B de Burro is a wonderful place for great Mexican food and is very affordable. They have great service and great food. Specifically, they had great ceviche and delicious margaritas.
Vieques or Culebra
On Vieques or Culebra, there are many vendors that sell a variety of foods. Pinchos and empanadas are delicious and are a local staple. You can expect to spend $2-3 dollars for one.
Places to stay in Puerto Rico
If you are looking to stay in Puerto Rico for fairly cheap, I would recommend using Airbnb. Try looking for hosts that like to go out with their guests, that way you basically have a free travel guide. We did not know about Airbnb when we went to Puerto Rico so we used Priceline to bid on hotels. The three hotels we have stayed at in Puerto Rico are the Sheraton Convention Hotel, Hilton Caribe, and the Radisson Ambassador Plaza Hotel.
The Sheraton is in a really nice area right next to the convention center. There are several restaurants in the area as well as a casino in the hotel. The casino is small but has a Vegas vibe to it with all the table games you would expect a casino to have. The hotel charged for parking but there was street parking close by that felt very safe. The hotel had very friendly staff. The property as well as the hotel room was very nice, clean, and comfortable.
The Hilton Caribe in Condado, not to be confused with the Condado Plaza Hilton, is a very nice hotel. The hotel has its own private beach, which is very well maintained. The beach has a section closed off by a reef that can be used for swimming laps without being hit by waves. There are also floating wood islands that you can swim to and dive off of. The pool is also very nice; its best feature is its swim up bar. If you have some extra cash to spend, it is worth spending a night or two at this hotel.
Radisson Ambassador Plaza Hotel
As of writing this, this hotel is closed (06/21/2015). Its closure may be for good reason too. It was very outdated and had a grungy feel. The cost was slightly cheaper than other hotels, but not cheap enough to justify the state the hotel was in. On a plus side, the staff and location were great! It was very conveniently located in Condado, walking distance to many restaurants and bars including La Placita! Additionally, it was 2 blocks from a small beach. We grabbed a cooler of Medalla and a football and hung out on the beach to watch the sunset.