Luquillo's Playa Azul Condo Complex

Last year, in April, we went to Puerto Rico to celebrate our second anniversary. After the trip, I got pregnant and we had our son, Arjun, on January 9th, 2015. Maybe I should name him Rico instead, since I'm pretty sure he was conceived there. I got lazy to write during my pregnancy so I skimped out on blogging for the past year. But I'm back now and will share my experiences in Puerto Rico. This post is about where we stayed while we were there.

First of all, I'd like to mention that Puerto Rico is absolutely gorgeous. We were there for ten days with my in-laws and had the best time of my life there. Every single person we met there was extremely hospitable and cordial. This is my second trip to an Island (after Hawai'i) and I'm realizing that island people are so happy and chilled out about life. Maybe we should move to an island. I know Ankit would like to.

Just like Hawai'i, we rented a condo while we were there. After extensive research, we chose to stay at Luquillo's Playa Azul Condo Complex. We chose to stay at Luquillo because we didn't want to be stuck in the touristy areas of San Juan. We wanted to experience the culture and stay away from the capital. Luquillo seemed like a good place to be and the beach was quite popular, too.The condo had direct access to the beach and had a number of amenities like a swimming pool (which we obviously didn't use because the beach was right outside the gate), basketball courts, tennis courts, volleyball courts, a library, and more. 

We had the best time of our lives here. Words are not enough to explain the hospitality we received from the owner, Joe. He came to the airport to greet us and give us the keys. He also gave us a file which included directions to the condo, information about activities around the area and other papers. Not only that, he drove half way from the airport to guide us out of San Juan and put us on a straight route to Luquillo. He was super duper nice and extremely courteous. 

Our flat was 1904 on the 19th floor with a fantastic view of the sea and the El Yunque rainforest. From the balcony, if you looked right, it was a vast view of sea and on the left was the rainforest. Best of both worlds. Luquillo beach was one of the most beautiful beaches I had ever seen. Joe had kept the condo like a hotel suite and left us noodles, milk, water bottles, pretty much every thing we could need in the pantry to cook and all utensils, beer in the fridge, cereals, and the list goes on. There was 24/7 running hot water in the bathroom. He even provided us with beach chairs and snorkels, as well as a push cart to carry them to the beach in. The complex is gated and monitored 24/7. I was so impressed; I clicked lots of pictures.

The living room with two futons. TV had cable, DVD Player, Boom box and free Wifi.

Dining area

Sweet of Joe to keep snorkeling equipment for us.

The bedroom. Counting the queen bed and the two futons, I'm guessing six people could sleep here comfortably.

Extra pillows, tennis balls, volleyball, ironing table, etc.

Kitchen with Washer/Dryer

Stove with oven, microwave and cutlery

All pots/pans, toaster, coffee maker and tupperware included.

Spices, paper plates/cups, trash bags, zip lock, pasta, rice, oil and alcohol(!)

Pretty dishes

The bathroom was nice, too.

Barbecue grill and a cart to carry beach chairs/umbrellas and other equipment. Cleaning equipment was there too which was helpful because we brought in lots of sand from the beach. So it was nice to be able to clean the floor once in a while.

And here is the grand view from the balcony. The balcony is on the side, so if you look right, you see this.

Can't get enough of it

If you look left, you see El Yunque Rainforest. 

Perspective.

More perspective.

Now I think about it, staying in Luquillo instead of San Juan was the best decision we made. An ice cream truck pulls up next to the beach multiple times in the day and the best part, the Luquillo kiosks were right on the beach. These were like 50+ little restaurants with brilliant Caribbean/Peruvian food for a reasonable price. I was so impressed with the food.

This is how the kiosks look. It's always busy and hard to find parking.

Chicken Mofongo - Popular Puerto Rican dish

Me with my in-laws at Luquillo beach

Here we are sharing a banana split that we bought from the ice cream truck, The chairs and beach towels were all provided at the condo.

Having been around the island, I think the Luquillo kiosks are the best place to eat in Puerto Rico. El Yunque National Park is 10 minutes away, Walgreens is right opposite the building and Subway is right outside the gate of the complex apart from lots of other eating places. Not only that, Fajardo is a 15 minutes drive away and that was a blessing because it is from Fajardo where you can take a ferry to Culebra or Vieques or kayak to the bioluminiscent bay. Bioluminiscent bay is a MUST do in PR. If you want to buy vegetables and house stuff, go to Econo which is a 10 minute drive away. I would recommend this place to anyone in a heartbeat. 

Here is a link for Joe Santana's condo - http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p3728790

Next post will be all about San Juan - the capital of Puerto Rico.

Love! 

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