Fodor's Expert Review CasaBlanca Hotel

Mere steps from some of the best dining in town, this boutique hotel not only adds Moroccan-themed panache to Old San Juan but also offers real value. The lobby makes a big splash with its silk pillows, Asian antiques, and blood-red sofas as counterpoints to dramatic, contemporary, photo-realist pop art by noted painter Carlos Mercado. Individually themed guest rooms blend the same mix of modern art with antique and ethnic pieces such as gilt mirrors, Moroccan tea sets, mirrored cushions, and queen beds framed with gauzy drapes. Quirky and fun, the overall effect is smile-inducingly stylish. An elevator takes you upstairs, perhaps for a soak in one of the rooftop's five stone hot tubs.