Condado Vanderbilt Hotel

Ashford Avenue follows the ocean through Condado, the strip of sand and apartment towers east of Old San Juan, and at number 1055 the one building that predates the towers faces the Atlantic across a lawn. The Condado Vanderbilt Hotel, San Juan, opened in 1919, built for Frederick William Vanderbilt, the railway heir, to designs by Warren and Wetmore, the New York firm whose Grand Central Terminal had opened six years earlier.

History

Vanderbilt's investment was part of a push to make San Juan a winter resort for the American rich two decades after Puerto Rico passed to the United States. The hotel was the first of its scale on the island, and in its early decades it received the governors, the sugar families and the visitors of the Jazz Age.

Ownership changed many times after the Second World War. By the late 1990s the hotel was closed, and it stood shut for years while the La Concha next door, a 1958 landmark of tropical modernism, was restored and reopened in 2007. The same group, International Hospitality Enterprises, then turned to the Vanderbilt: the original building was stripped to its structure and rebuilt, two new towers were added on either side, and the hotel reopened in stages, the towers first in December 2012 and the historic building in 2014. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Architecture and design

The 1919 block is Spanish Revival: a stuccoed facade, a terracotta roof, a loggia facing the sea, and an interior of high ceilings, marble floors, iron balustrades and a central staircase. Its lobby and the Veranda above it were restored to the original plan. The two towers that flank it are plain and contemporary, built to hold the bulk of the rooms without competing with the old facade. The whole faces the ocean, with a pool terrace between the building and the beach.

Rooms and suites

Rooms in the historic building are the most sought after, with the original proportions and ocean or city views; the towers hold the majority of the rooms and the larger suites, several with terraces over the Atlantic.

Dining

1919 Restaurant, named for the opening year and set in the historic building, is the formal room, serving a menu built on Puerto Rican produce and counted among the island's leading restaurants. Ola Ocean Front Bistro is the beachside room for lunch and dinner; Tacones, off the lobby, serves tapas and cocktails; and the Veranda bar on the first floor overlooks the sea. Further bars and a cafe serve the pool and the lobby.

Wellness

The spa occupies a floor of its own with treatment rooms, and a fitness centre looks over the ocean. The pool terrace on the sea side gives direct access to Condado beach.

Weddings and events

The Vanderbilt is the most formal wedding address in San Juan. Ceremonies are held on the oceanfront lawn and terrace, receptions in the ballroom and in the historic salons. Meeting rooms in the towers cover conferences and corporate dinners, and the hotel is a regular venue for the city's galas. Capacities vary with the room.

Location

Condado is a ten-minute drive from the walls of Old San Juan, with its forts of El Morro and San Cristóbal, and about 15 minutes from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Carolina. The avenue around the hotel holds the island's designer shops and restaurants, and the Condado lagoon, with its kayaks and paddle boards, lies behind. The beach is in front. For a luxury hotel in San Juan, the Vanderbilt offers the rare combination of an original building, an oceanfront position and the old city a short ride away.