Return to main article10 Great Places to Spend Christmas
Puerto Rico
Why Go: - “Jingle Bells” set to a salsa beat. Where to Stay: Hotel El Convento (doubles from $325), a converted 354-year-old Carmelite convent, has 72 rooms with handcrafted colonial furniture. The Water Club (doubles from $199), billed as Puerto Rico’s only beachfront boutique hotel, has 78 rooms overlooking the ocean through floor-to-ceiling windows. Holiday Dinner: The 160-year-old La Mallorquina (dinner for two $50) is known for its family-style cocina criolla, or traditional Puerto Rican feasts: seasonal favorites include lechón (suckling pig), arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon peas), and pasteles (yucca and meat wrapped in a banana leaf). Stocking Stuffer: Take your pick of the best santos—wooden folk carvings of Catholic saints—at Puerto Rican Art & Crafts. A small santo can cost anywhere from $45 to $350, depending on the reputation of the santero, or artisan. —Robert Maniaci
- Instead of pine trees, palms and exotic flora in El Yunque rain forest.
- Evening strolls through a 500-year-old Spanish colonial city on the Atlantic.
