Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / Puerto Rico / San Juan / Caribe Hilton
Caribe Hilton
San Juan, Puerto Rico · Hilton Hotels & Resorts · Accessible Luxury
Puerto Rico built the Caribe Hilton under Operation Bootstrap and leased it to Conrad Hilton after he answered the bid in Spanish; it opened on 9 December 1949 as the first Hilton outside the continental United States. Local firm Toro Ferrer won the design competition with tropical modernism beside Fortín de San Gerónimo. On 15 August 1954 bartender Ramón Monchito Marrero first mixed rum, coconut cream, and pineapple here, the drink the hotel still claims as the piña colada birthplace. Hurricane Maria closed it in 2017; it reopened in May 2019 after a $100 million rebuild.
- 652 rooms
- Opened 1949
- Neighborhood: Puerta de Tierra / Santurce peninsula
- Architect: Toro Ferrer (Osvaldo Toro & Miguel Ferrer, with Luis Torregrosa)
About Caribe Hilton
- PRIDCO spent about $7 million on the first 300 rooms, and Gloria Swanson and Eddie Rickenbacker attended opening night.
- Hunter S. Thompson used the hotel as part of the setting for The Rum Diary.
History
Opened 9 December 1949, first Hilton outside the continental United States, Toro Ferrer tropical modern. Monchito mixed the pina colada here on 15 August 1954. Maria closed it in 2017; May 2019 reopen after $100 million.
The setting
On its own peninsula by Fortin de San Geronimo, between Old San Juan and Condado. This is the Caribe Hilton, not a Condado beach strip hotel.
Restaurants and bars
- Caribar Caribe Hilton — Restaurant · Bar & grill
- Rustica y Lola's — Restaurant · Puerto Rican
- Nectar de Caribe — Restaurant · Breakfast
- Bagua — Restaurant · Bar & grill
Amenities
- Spa
- Pool
- Hot tub
- Fitness center
- Tennis
- Private beach
- Water sports
Open Caribe Hilton in the atlas for live weekend rates, photos, and the full folio.
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