Traveling with the Jones

In mid-December, we stayed two nights at the Marriott Union Square hotel during a quick weekend visit to our favorite city by the bay.

Located at the corner of Sutter and Powell, this Marriott is just one block from San Francisco’s holiday-festive Union Square.  We like the fact that this hotel is an easy walk from the Powell Street Bart station, (as long as you can navigate your suitcase through the holiday crowds.)

Here’s a quick peek inside room 2805 of the San Francisco Marriott Union Square Hotel:

Room 2805 is a terrific room on the 28th floor where the Executive Club lounge is located.

When you walk into Room 2805 in the evening, this is the view.

But when the sun is up and the curtains are open, this is the view of Nob Hill from Room 2805.

And this is the view of the San Francisco Bay and Coit Tower from the same window.

Here’s a look at the other side of Ro0m 2805, which features a flat screen television and a good-sized desk with ample plug-ins for computers and other electronics.

A sliding pocket door leads into the bathroom. This door is a little strange but it saves space in the room.

Here is a better view of the compact but well-appointed bathroom.

The Executive Club lounge is just down the hall.  It is open Sunday -Thursday night, but since Mr. Jones is a platinum level Marriott Rewards member, he scored breakfast coupons for the Restaurant downstairs during our weekend stay.

Our bottom line: we love the location and the views from this hotel!

We also like the lobby bar – bin480 – which features a great happy hour, a terrific food menu and friendly bartenders. A nice place to stop in for a drink or nosh when around Union Square, even if you are not a hotel guest.

One last tip: we paid for our hotel stay here at the Marriott Union Square Hotel with Marriott Gift Cards, purchased through a special promotion via the Southwest Rapid Rewards program that netted 10,000 bonus miles.  Southwest seems to run this promotion during the forth quarter each year.  If you are staying with points, this hotel is a Marriott Rewards category 7, requiring 30-35,000 points per night.

Have you stayed in the San Francisco Marriott Union Square Hotel? What was your impression?

For a look inside more Marriott and Renaissance hotel rooms, check out these posts”;.

• A Peek Inside the Prague Marriott Hotel
• A Peek Inside the Renaissance Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port Hotel
• A Peek Inside the Renaissance Toronto Downtown Hotel
• A Peek Inside the Budapest Marriott
• A Peek Inside the San Juan Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino

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While in port during a cruise on the Seabourn Pride, we took a private food tour around San Juan with Paulina Salach, the owner of Spoon Food Tours.

After visiting Delavida Restobar and Plaza del Mercado in Santurce, and enjoying Peruvian food on Loiza Street, the third part our private tour with Paulina focused on walking through Old San Juan.

As we walked, Paulina (left, in photo above with Mr. Jones) shared some of the history and interesting facts about Old San Juan, much of which is surrounded by a 42-foot-high stone wall.

This skinny building, located at 101 Calle Tetuan, is called La Casa Estrecha (The Narrow House). It is only 5 feet wide inside.

The cobblestone streets of Old San Juan are blue stones cast from furnace slag. The stones arrived from Europe as ballasts on Spanish ships.

Built more than three centuries ago as a Carmelite Convent, this historic building was converted into the luxurious boutique Hotel El Convento in Old San Juan. Inside is a beautiful open courtyard with two restaurants:  the open-air Patio del Nispero restaurant is downstairs near the hotel’s century-old nispero fruit tree, where bartender Luis Flores makes the best mojito in San Juan.

Upstairs, the El Picoteo features authentic Spanish tapas and unbelievably delicious desserts. This was our third food and beverage stop on our Spoon Food Tour with Paulina.

Since it was warm, we opted for the iced version of coffee con leche.

The dessert sampling included flan and Tres Leches cake. Both were luscious!

Here’s a closer view of the Tres Leches cake.  Magnificent!

After that rich dessert, it was time to walk again.  We headed to Castillo San Felipe del Morro, better known as El Morro, a historic fort and lighthouse that is now a national park. While it was dark by now, Paulina shared the history as our group took a few photos.

Our next stop was Cuartel de Ballají¡, a military barrack that houses the Museo de las Americas. At night, the lighted courtyard changes colors. One minute it is blue.

Then, suddenly it is hot pink and purple.

This was the end to our official Spoon Food Tour.

Paulina, however, offered to show us one more place in Old San Juan on our way back to the ship.

At the corner of San Jose and San Sebastian streets, we stepped into an unmarked bar called La Factorí­a at Hijos De Borinquén. It was a laid-back bar serving hand-crafted cocktails and beers.

But inside the bar, Paulina led us through a non-descript door, into an artfully-decorated, two-room, hidden wine bar.

In addition to a list of interesting wines by the glass or the bottle, this wine bar featured unique art made completely from wine corks on its walls.

A glass of chilled rose here was the perfect end to a fun-filled, interesting and delicious day exploring San Juan with Paulina.

Whether you are in San Juan for a few days or only a few hours during a cruise ship stop, we highly recommend exploring the city with Spoon Food Tours.

Check out the earlier part of our adventure with Spoon Food Tours here:

• Eating and Drinking Our Way Through San Juan, Puerto Rico with Spoon Food Tours – Part 1
• Eating and Drinking Our Way Through San Juan, Puerto Rico with Spoon Food Tours – Part 2

Do you have a favorite “foodie” destination in San Juan? Please share in comments below.

Other posts on San Juan and food tours in other cities that you may want to check out”;..

• Outrageously Delicious Italian Food in San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Dinner at Jam in San Juan, Puerto Rico
• A Peek Inside the San Juan Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino
• Walking and Eating With Chicago Food Planet Tours
• Eating Our Way Through Budapest With Taste Hungary

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For part two of our private tour with Spoon Food Tours, our driver zipped our group to Loiza Street in another part of Santurce.

We were headed to La Chola for a taste of Peru in San Juan. Loiza Street can be tough for parking, but has some terrific food, mostly enjoyed by locals and a few “in the know” visitors, our guide Paulina explained.

Soon after we were seated at La Chola, the food started appearing. First out was seafood ceviche with white corn. Fresh and delicious!

Along with the ceviche came toasted corn (salty, crunchy and addictive), and a Pisco Sour cocktail, made from pisco combined with key lime juice, the white of an egg and sugar.

We were already stuffed from munching on those addictive corn nuts but that didn’t stop us from digging into this next dish. This one was chicken.

This version contained a different meat topping the crispy shell underneath, topped with fresh lettuce and red onions, complemented with both spicy and creamy sauces.  La Chola is a popular evening spot but on weekends is also open for lunch.

Stuffed after are second restaurant experience of the afternoon, our driver appeared and zipped us back to Old San Juan, despite a traffic jam due to some kind of unexpected march, protest or parade.

When we arrived back to the main road along the waterfront where our ship was docked, we followed Paulina’s suggestion that we walk rather than continue to sit in traffic.

Old San Juan is made for walking, and we arrived as the sun was just beginning to sink from the sky.

It was the perfect time for setting sun photos, and walking to work up enough of an appetite for another eating and drinking opportunity.

Does this sound like a fun adventure? This was just the second hour or so of our 3.5- 4 hour tour. Check out the earlier part of our adventure with Spoon Food Tours here:

• Eating and Drinking Our Way Through San Juan, Puerto Rico with Spoon Food Tours – Part 1

Look for our “Part 3” post as we eat, drink and sight-see through Old San Juan.

Do you have a favorite restaurant in San Juan? Please share in comments below.

Other posts on San Juan and food tours in other cities that you may want to check out”;..

• Outrageously Delicious Italian Food in San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Dinner at Jam in San Juan, Puerto Rico
• A Peek Inside the San Juan Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino
• Walking and Eating With Chicago Food Planet Tours
• Eating Our Way Through Budapest With Taste Hungary

Follow us on Twitter or interact with us on Facebook.