Our unit is on the top floor of a relatively small 12-story residential building located near the tip of a narrow peninsula between the two best beaches in San Juan. On the East side is the Ritz Carlton beach (aka Pine Grove), favored by surfers, and on the West side is the El San Juan Hotel beach (aka El Alambique), with its hard-packed sand favored by joggers, walkers and paddle boarders. The nearby hotels also offer all the typical beach rentals, whether it’s a kayak, jet ski or paraglider, or just a lounge chair and umbrella. In their lobbies you may also book fishing trips and guided tours, as well as one-day trips to some of the neighboring islands such as Vieques and Culebra.

Before purchasing this unit, we scouted the area for several years looking for the perfect spot. During different visits to the island we stayed at the Ritz Carlton and Caribe Hilton hotels, the ESJ Towers, as well as the Marbella, Girasol and Raquet Club condominiums. All of them are right on the beach and offer easy access to the shops and restaurants of Isla Verde Ave, but for our taste they were either too big, too noisy and/or too crowded. Navigating huge lobbies, circling around underground parking structures and fighting heavy traffic on Isla Verde Ave just wasn’t our idea of a nice vacation. Then we found the Amapola 14 condominium.

Only six minutes away from the airport, it is on a quiet dead-end street which is accessed directly from the main highway without having to traverse busy Isla Verde Ave (surprisingly, the airport noise has been a non-issue). Since it has only 60 residential units (most of which are not offered for rent), the building is quiet, family oriented and peaceful, yet the hustle and bustle of Isla Verde is always a few steps away, with its top-rated dining, bars, supermarkets, cafes, banks, drug stores and shops.

If casinos are your game, some of the best in the island are right next door, such as the El San Juan, with its lavish lobby, lounge and bar area, the Casino Metro at the Sheraton, the largest in Puerto Rico, with almost 450 slot machines and 16 table games, including blackjack, roulette, baccarat, pai gow poker and three-card poker, as well as the Condado Plaza, the Ritz Carlton and the Marriott.

If you choose to rent a car, our unit includes a reserved spot in the building’s secure parking area, right at street level, in the shade and steps away from the lobby, so you can get in and out easily, rain or shine. Puerto Rico has many attractions to offer within short driving distance, such as Old San Juan, the best-preserved colonial city in the Americas, the El Yunque tropical rainforest, with its beautiful waterfalls, swimming holes and hiking trails, and the phosphorescent bays in Fajardo and Guánica. You can rent from one of the national chains, Alamo, Hertz, Avis, Enterprise and National, or try one of the often cheaper local alternatives such as Popular Auto, Target, Charlie or VIAS.

Venturing outside Isla Verde to the neighboring areas, you will find an even wider array of truly excellent restaurants. Lima, in the Miramar area, offers delicious Peruvian dishes and ceviche. The local cuisine has some strong entries, such as José Enrique, near the Plaza del Mercado in Santurce, where crowds gather on weekends to enjoy the popular cluster of bars and restaurants, including the also wonderful El Pescador and Boronía. Other terrific local cuisine choices are La Casita Blanca and La Jaquita Baya, both in Santurce, and Manolín in Old San Juan. Keep in mind San Juan also has the strongest Spanish presence of any Latin American capital, which includes fine restaurants such as Compostela, José José, Casa de España, El Mesón Gallego and El Picoteo, but also the immensely popular and not-to-be-missed Spanish-style delis Kasalta, La Ceiba and Cafetería España, where jamón ibérico, caldo gallego and Spanish wine can be savored side by side with espresso and delicious sweets such as mallorcas, natilla and tembleque.

At Amapola 14 you get the best of both worlds, you can relax in your own private balcony overlooking a stunning view, or walk to one of the many nearby lively casinos, bars and restaurants. You may opt to walk alone on the beach, book tours alongside fellow travelers or drive around the island. It’s your choice.