Journal
Short dispatches on the tile, the corner, and the days between.
Plan your trip
An honest, neighborhood-by-neighborhood guide from a small hotel on Calle Taft.
San Juan is a city of distinct neighborhoods, and where you sleep shapes the whole trip. Here is how we describe them to friends — including the one we chose for our own hotel, and why.
Read the guide →When to go, where to swim, and what to bring — from one block away.
Ocean Park Beach runs along San Juan's Atlantic coast between Condado and Punta Las Marías. It is wide, golden and, compared with the resort beaches, refreshingly local. We live one block from it, so here is what we tell our guests.
Read the guide →Rideshare, taxi, private transfer or rental car — what we recommend.
Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) is close to the city's beach neighborhoods. From the airport to Stay at Mare on Calle Taft is 8 to 15 minutes by car, depending on traffic.
Read the guide →Notes from the hotel
Why our entire renovation started at ankle height.
When we gutted this 1920s Spanish Revival house, we made an inversion that ended up defining the whole hotel: everything above the floor would go quiet — white plaster, raw microcement, black-framed furniture made for the rooms — so that everything below it could speak.
Read the story →Regina, Hilda, and the thirty-second commute.
There is a correct way to do our corner, and it takes about four minutes to learn. Morning one: walk to Café Regina on the corner, get a coffee and the avocado toast, then take them back to the courtyard while the pool is still glass. Do not rush this. The crosswalk is the whole commute; act accordingly.
Read the story →Sunrise to Loíza, no car required.
6:45 AM — Walk the block to Ocean Park while the light is still pink; the calm end is empty and the water is warmest-feeling before the wind picks up. Swim. 8:00 — Coffee at Regina on the way back, cup in hand for the courtyard. 10:00 — Pool and a book, then back to the shade.
Read the story →