By Alexander Britell

One of the hippest corners of the Caribbean has a serious new addition: the Serafina Beach Hotel, a 96-room stunner in the heart of the Condado neighborhood in San Juan.

Puerto Rico’s first new hotel opening of 2018 is the first-ever hotel by the popular Serafina Restaurant Group, best known for its New York-area Italian eateries.

The Serafina has a mix of rooms featuring floor-to-ceiling windows and sweeping views of either the Condado Lagoon or the Atlantic.

Dining options range from the aMare restaurant to the “By the Pool,” a beachfront poolside lounge and the PiñaCo bar, offering everything from coffee to rum.

“Expanding the Serafina brand into a lifestyle hotel experience is a natural fit and next step for my partner Fabio Granato and I. San Juan is a city close to our hearts and we could think of no better place to bring to life the essence of Serafina in a hotel experience. We look forward to welcoming guests to our beautiful island, which is open for business,” said Vittorio Assaf, Serafina Restaurant Group Co-Owner. “Serafina Beach Hotel really captures the energy of the Condado district with stylish lounges, sleek guestrooms and signature Serafina hospitality.”

Condado has quietly become one of the Caribbean’s capitals of cool, thanks in large part to the existing O:live Boutique Hotel, which is working on a new project of its own called O:LV 55, slated to debut this summer.

That property, along with the luxe Condado Vanderbilt, an impressive slate of high-level restaurants and a broad portfolio of luxury shopping boutiques, have helped turn Condado into Puerto Rico’s destination-within-a-destination.