In the last weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of participating in two activities sponsored by the San Juan Marriott and Stellaris Casino. The first activity was the La Vista Bloggers OutReach by invitation of my good friend Raul Colon (twitter username: @rj_c) for lunch at La Vista Grill. The second activity was the Vloggers in Paradise gathering, where video bloggers and travel enthusiast gathered to watch and comment on six presentations about Puerto Rico tourism spots and our host offerings.
La Vista Grill
One of the aspects I like about the San Juan Marriott and Stellaris Casino is the feeling of coziness and warmth of the hotel staff and facilities. The staff is very attentive and oriented to quality customer service. Our hosts, Cristina Román (Marketing Communications Manager) and Melissa Delgado (Marketing Coordinator), showed us the fabulous amenities the San Juan Marriott hotel has to offer.
La Vista Grill is an elegant restaurant with an excellent view to the beach and pool area. Along with Raúl and Lucy Feliciano (@lucymfel), bloggers from different avenues were invited to the activity. I met José “Pepé” Pesante (@joeprog) and Zuleyka Robles (@dr_zu) from www.vorticeonline.com, Nelson Bermejo (@nelsonbermejo) local radio dj and announcer, Bianca Estrada (@PayasaAgapita) from www.agapita.com, Ivelisse Arroyo (@IvelisseArroyo), our resident connoisseur on perfumes and fragances (http://www.creatupropiafragancia.com/), and Mark Ficek (@papchote), phtopgrapher extraordinaire at http://ficek.tumblr.com/. I can’t forget to mention Raúl and Lucy’s beautiful daughter Daniela who accompanied us and behaved above expectations.
The lunch menu selection was exceptional. First, let start with the salad alternatives. I tried the couscous, with freshly diced tomatoes, lettuce, and some vinaigrette salad. Also, for the gluten free option, they offered quinoa. On the entreé, the soup of the day was a plantain soup. I picked the yellow rice and pork loin with cappers and white sauce. The desert menu was the most complete I’ve ever seen. Local delicacies such as “tembleque” (coconut custard), “arroz con dulce”, “flan de queso” were available. I tried the chocolate cake and the guava cheesecake (excellent!). Veggie guests will feel well served, since they can tailor the menu to your requirements. Definitively, we want to extend our compliments to the La Vista Grill chef and their staff for a great tasting and varied buffet.
Vloggers in Paradise
I enjoyed very much coming back again to San Juan Marriott and Stellaris Casino to participate in the video presentations by professional travel bloggers in the Vloggers in Paradise activity. I joined Raúl Colón, Ivelisse Arroyo, Rick Lipsett (@ricklipsett) from papaheroes.com, and Gustavo Francechinni (@iTavoTweet) from http://www.theiospost.com/ to appreciate the beauty and scenery captured by these talented folks about our island.
A brief summary and links (if available) of each presentation:
Ryan Van Duzer (@duzer)
This video got the Best Video award for presenting fabulous scenery from Old San Juan (El Morrrrrrrrrrrrrrro!!), Loiza, and El Yunque. One of my favorites.
Cailin O’neil (@CailinONeil)
This video explores the western area of the island. She emphasized in Rincón, our own surfing capital (sorry Hawaii).
Matt Stabile (@TheExpeditioner)
Matt main theme was his famous bucket list, and the things he wants to do in Puerto Rico before kicking the bucket (long life, Matt!). The video shows great scenes from Culebra Flamingo Beach, a must for the casual tourist.
JD Andrews (@earthXplorer)
His video explores the Old San Juan historical sites of Castillo El Morro and San Cristóbal, beaches and folklore.
http://www.earthxplorer.com/videos/
Kelley Ferrero (@kelleyferrero)
Kelley was brave! She went to Jayuya (Puerto Rico tallest mountains) to explore how coffee is really made at Hacienda San José. Also, she went to La Bombonera in Old San Juan, for a taste of good puertorrican coffee.
Josh Johnson (@joshywashington)
His video main theme was about the memories and mementos we take from the places we visit. Great shots from El Yunque waterfalls.
http://matadornetwork.com/tv/memories-of-water-and-sand-in-puerto-rico/
Safe journey, guys!
Disclosure: The San Juan Marriott hired CIMA IT Solutions to assist with the coordination of this event. Even though our lunch was Complimentary on behalf of the La Vista Latin Grill and the San Juan Marriott, we don’t feel that this influenced the writing of this post in any way.