The Dreamcatcher, San Juan
San Juan's Dreamcatcher hotel is one of those dreamy places that, as soon as you arrive, you know you're going to have a damn hard time leaving. And it's not just all the secret nooks decorated with lacy hammocks and potted plants and intricately tiled floors. Or the subtle smell of incense or gentle jangling of wind chimes that greet you as you walk through the front gate. Or even the fact that the whole place is tucked behind a jungly tangle of trees on a tranquil residential street in Ocean Park, just one block from the beach.
Though obviously all these things are pretty great, it's more that the vibe at the Dreamcatcher is just really good. Like, really, really zen.
Which is totally the point: The two-year-old mini hotel bills itself as a vegetarian yoga destination, so the whole place is geared toward relaxation and decompressing. We stopped by on a whim after hearing about it from a travel writer friend and though we didn't have any real reason to be there, the staff and guests were all ridiculously welcoming. Not in a cult-y, creepy way; just in a really cool, generous way. After leading us on a tour, they gave us one of the hotel's famous hand-drawn neighborhood maps, told us to hang out as long as we wanted, and invited us to come back for a three course vegetarian brunch the next day. And then they brought us each a glass of chilled cucumber-mint water.
good to know
Ocean Park, where the Dreamcatcher is located, is one of San Juan's coolest neighborhoods. About ten minutes' drive from Old San Juan and the airport, it doesn't feel touristy at all — the residential part of the neighborhood isn't open to thru-traffic, so the area around the hotel is really peaceful. There are a ton of really cute restaurants, food trucks, shops, and bars within walking distance, so you could totally get away with not renting a car. The hotel itself serves breakfast and brunch and offers guests access to a communal vegetarian kitchen, as well as daily yoga and meditation classes and free beach chairs and umbrellas.
www.dreamcatcherpr.com