Caribbean editor Gay Nagle Myers spent the night in a
convent-turned-deluxe-hotel in Old San Juan. Her report
follows:
Reed Travel Features
OLD SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- I attended convent school as a
child, and I've never forgotten it. My husband and I recently slept
in a convent, and I will not forget that experience either. Guess
which experience I preferred?
Our fifth-floor room at El Convento (actually, the hotel's third
floor, since the first two floors are given over to retail space)
overlooked a bricked terrace area with a Jacuzzi and plunge pool.
We could have easily climbed over the wrought-iron railing outside
our window and dropped right into the pool. From the open French
doors we had a view of water and boats, rooftops and plazas.
What I loved about our room: the mustard walls with terra-cotta
trim; the piles of throw pillows in warm colors, and the
wrought-iron bedside lamps that enabled us to adjust the lighting
levels from dim to bright (other hoteliers, please note). And then
there were the English soaps; the Rosenthal china on the breakfast
tray; the thick Royal Marquis bath towels; an antique wool area rug
on the tile floor; a carved wooden headboard; well-framed,
limited-edition prints on the walls, and the leather key rings
holding the room and elevator keys (only hotel guests had access to
the three floors of guest rooms).
What my husband appreciated: the Health O Meter bathroom scale,
although neither of us dared step on it after sumptuous meals in
Old San Juan (nor did we visit the hotel's fitness center); the
VCR, CD player and tape deck, and the fluffy robes and slippers. He
ordered the complimentary eye-opener continental breakfast served
in the room with the morning newspaper; he made and served wake-up
coffee in the coffeemaker using packets of Alto Grande Puerto Rican
roast.
El Convento has come a long way from its beginnings as the first
Carmelite convent in the Americas, where nuns lived in tiny cells
with single beds and straw mattresses. Its reopening earlier this
year, across from San Juan Cathedral and the Plaza of the Nuns in
the heart of Old San Juan, marked the start of the hotel's
year-long 350th anniversary celebration of the site, now a national
historical landmark.
In 1995, the building was acquired by a group of business
executives, led by Hugh Andrews, head of San Juan-based
International Hospitality Enterprises. The group began a $15
million renovation, spending an average of $275,000 on each of the
57 guest rooms.
Designer Jorge Rossello of San Juan retained the characteristic
Spanish features of the original building, including the mahogany
and ausubo (a dark wood from the West Indies) doors and trim,
wrought-iron grills over slotted windows, the enormous open
interior courtyard framed by tiered balconies and arched
corridors.
"Many of the walls were removed, room sizes were increased to
get rid of the cloistered feel of the convent, and the 300-year-old
nispero fruit tree began to grow again," Elaine Siegel, the
property's manager, said.
It didn't take long for the word to get out following the
reopening of the new El Convento in January. Fashion designer
Gloria Vanderbilt came for one night, stayed for 10 and now has a
suite named after her, which goes for $1,200 per night. Actor
Lorenzo Lamas, the leading man in a film titled "Under Current,"
spent much of his time at El Convento this spring during the
filming of various scenes in the former chapel, now the hotel's
80-foot-long ballroom with 40-foot- high, vaulted nave ceilings.
The suite named for the cellist Pablo Casals features a small
balcony, high ceilings, antique rugs and a connecting bathroom
between the guest rooms and goes for $750 a night year-round.
The focal point of the meeting room is a massive mahogany
conference table and a separate seating area for informal
discussions.
The guest rooms are completed; opening this month, according to
Siegel, is El Picoteo Bar de Tapas, on the second level of the the
Galleria, overlooking the open-air courtyard, where cloistered nuns
used to walk in silent prayer. Guests can choose from 50 different
tapas, pizzettas and an assortment of wines, beers and other
beverages.
Cafe Bohemia opens in September, a Mexican restaurant in October
and a formal restaurant by December. The sidewalk cafe that faces
the small plaza in front of the hotel opened in July. Retail space
on the first two floors includes a cigar shop, a sundries store, an
art gallery and a jewelry and gift shop. Jazz nights in the
Galleria courtyard are held on Thursdays and Saturdays.
So much hotel, so little time, but we did peek into the elegant
casino, whose entrance is being redesigned and enlarged; gazed in
awe at the enormous formal foyer, tiled in black and white, that
will serve as the ballroom and grand entrance, and sipped a
late-night cognac on the terrace overlooking the old city.
I'll take a convent like this anytime. Amen.