San Juan Puerto Rico (Part 2): Hotel view and the food!

Hey Dolls,

I’m back with part 2 of my PR trip.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen water more beautiful.  We stayed at the Caribe Hilton and the view from our room was gorgeous as well as everything on site.  Take a look!

The wind was trying to blow me away!

Top:  F21 – Belt: Cotton On – Shorts:  Banana Republic

Even the rocks were pretty to look at!

On this side of the hotel are hammocks,cabanas, pools, poolside bar, Starbucks, a jacuzzi, and an onsite beach!

In the hotel lobby are colorful talking parrots!  They say “hello” and “Hola”!  Adorable!

 I rocked my natural hair that day and I loved feeling the wind blow through it!  The weather the entire time was amazing!  Not too hot, not to cold…just right.  There was always a nice breeze, even in the middle of the day.  It rained a few times but when it did, the rain didn’t last long.

Fortin de San Geronimo

Condado Bridge

Another beautiful view from our room!

THE FOOD

 You know I couldn’t go on vacation and not share what I had to eat with you!!!  Wellllll….I must preface this review by stating that overall, I was not too thrilled with the food in PR.  It wasn’t horrible but it wasn’t great either.  I did, however, want to try authentic Puerto Rican cuisine so I will start off with the restaurant I enjoyed the most while there. 

(THE GOOD)

 “Restaurante Raices”

While strolling the streets of Old San Juan, hunger set in and though there were several places to choose from, Raices was the most crowded so we assumed it was probably the best choice.  The waiting list was pretty long but we got seated in no time!

The decor reminded me of a Spanish cottage and the uniforms the waitresses wore were a nice touch to everything else going on.

It seemed like every where we went to eat in PR, they served their drinks in these tin cups.  I am now on a mad search to find and purchase them because they kept our drinks ice cold!

  Two of us decided to order the Chicharrones de Pollo, fried chicken chunks.  It came with rice and any side of your choice.  I ordered red beans to add to my rice.

I had no complaints!  The chicken was super moist and flavorful!  It went perfectly with rice and beans!

 This was the Chuleta Kan Kan, the biggest pork chop I have ever seen!  It also came with rice and a side.  I tasted a small piece of this and it was pretty good.  Very fatty, but good.  It reminded me of cracklin’ .  If you’re native to Louisiana, you definitely know what cracklin’ is.  If not, take a look here.

 These were the wings and plantains.  My mom wanted them to be “SPICY” and boy did they spice these bad boys up!  You can see the spice on them just looking at the picture and one bite would have you tongue on fire!!!!  

Overall, Raices was good.  Like I said before, it was the best Puerto Rican meal we had on our vacay.  I would definitely recommend it if you were visiting PR and needed somewhere good to eat.  The decor and traditional uniforms added to the experience which I appreciated as a visitor and the food was pretty good!

(THE BAD & UGLY)
“Latin Star”
I really wish we would have done our homework and read up on reviews before going to this place.  I’m going to tell you now…DO NOT EAT HERE!!! It’s not often I give bad reviews but this place deserved every bit of it.

(Look at my brother’s face LMBO!)
Just looking at the outside, It seemed very inviting.  Plus it was recommended to us by a local so we thought we had a winner….not so much.  The staff was beyond rude but we over looked that, hoping the food would make up for their lack of good service….yeah, not so much.  

Thank goodness for the complimentary bread!  If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know how I feel about complimentary bread lol!

 They were little bread bites. They were buttery, toasty, and chewy. It was honestly the best thing we ate here.  I asked for a second basket.  They told me O.K. and never came back with the bread….FOUL!!!!

For an appetizer, we ordered BBQ chicken wings….this is what we got…………

Mofongo is a Puerto Rican staple that’s made with mashed green plantains, spices, and a meat.  It was only right that we tried it while in PR.  This was the chicken mofongo.  It came in a cool looking Puerto Rican dish  but it was not a good eating experience.  The mashed plantains were cold and thick and the meat tasted a little overcooked.

This was the plantain skirt steak sandwich that lacked ALL flavor what so ever.  The plantains (tostones) were thick and bland, the steak was tough and flavorless.  It was an absolute waste of money.

 This was a Puerto Rican stew……I honestly was scared to see what was in it.  It too was lacking in the flavor department.

Eeeek is what comes to mind when I look at this picture LOL!

 This was their version of fried chicken.  Weird because the BBQ wings looked fried and the fried chicken looked barbecued.  The struggle!

 Thank goodness for spirited beverages to wash this stuff down with.  They were sorely over priced as well not to mention water was almost $3 bucks!

The food here may have looked appealing but we left there with rumbly stomachs and a bill over $100!!!  Hey, you live and learn.  When things like this happens, I like to say “it adds character to our trip!”  If nothing else we’ll always have our great memories including this horror story to add when talking about our vacation to PR.
There were a few other places we went to eat but they are not worth mentioning.  These two were the best and worst restaurant experiences. 
As always, thank you so much for taking time to read my blog!  You are truly appreciated.  Stay tuned for last part of my PR vacation! It features one of my bucket list items I was able to check off!


XOXO