Happy New Year!

e welcome 2002 and are look forward to what certainly has to be a better year than the last. Speaking of, life goes on, post 9-11. Hopes for a steady Caribbean winter travel season were put on hold by unseasonably warm weather in the Northeast. From what we hear, all it took was one light snowfall to spur the hotel reservations lines a ringing. Meanwhile, we note that the U.S. Navy Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has been selected as the “least worst option” (per “Operation Get Osama” spokesman and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld) for depositing prisoners of war from the Afghanistan conflict – Guantanamo Bay may also be the site of military tribunals. By the way, Don, “least worst option?” Wouldn't “most prudent option” have been a better and more articulate way to say this?

ell, if Cuba is the least worst place to be, then our vote goes to Puerto Rico as being the most best in the Caribbean for a long weekend getaway. The island is the most accessible in the region (with air service from all major Eastern-U.S. cities), and for people who desire an overseas tropical escape, but don't want to risk over-border, Puerto Rico is a Commonwealth of the U.S. and the almighty greenback is also the currency. We spent a rewarding week here in early December, and were among the first guests to experience the region's hot new hotel for this season, The Water Club. An overhaul of the old Colonial San Juan Hotel, the 11-story Water Club aims to create an ambiance that has more common with a Manhattan boutique hotel than with a typical beach resort – to a large degree, the owners succeeded. Although it sits on a good beach, the focus here is on the modern, Wallpaper worthy interiors – no generic tropical print bedspreads here, and rum-based drinks take a back seat to martinis at the swank bars.

Falling water is a key element of the concept: there's a waterfall over corrugated metal behind the main bar, Liquid; glass-enclosed waterfalls tumble inside the elevators (quite a head rush when the elevator zips up and down); and a mirror on each floor is drizzled with trickling water. The central lighting throughout is subdued, neon blue – warmed by votive candles that glow in the lobby and hallways 24-7. By day, rooms are stylish and bright, with blonde wood floors (faux, but attractive), and king sized beds angled toward the water; all rooms have at least a partial ocean view. The mod furnishings were designed to order. Although currently the old bathroom design is in place – mauve and coffee tones that clash acutely with the new color scheme in the room – the sexy final concept for the bathrooms includes double head showers with glass doors and stainless steel pedestal sinks. There are neat touches, like the CD/TV stand on a floor-to-ceiling swivel, the psychedelic blue glow that emanates from each room at night, and the “desires” board – a glass note pad and pen for guests to make maid requests on. There are a few annoyances: Rooms don't have a real closet, just a recess in the wall with a hanger and, at the prices charged here, isn't collecting a rental fee for the front desk's library of CDs a little much?

There is a tiny rooftop pool, where Sunday afternoon Champagne parties will be staged, and just around the corner from the pool, the 11th-floor lounge named Wet has a 360-degree view plus sushi bar and fireplace. On the ground floor is Liquid, while the second-floor restaurant, Tangerine, breaks with the blue light intrigue – the small dining room is all white with a single orange chair at each table (cute – maybe too cute). Room service is 24 hours, and the Pacific Rim menu is delicious, if meager in portion. The staff seems hired at least as much for looks as talent – none appear much older than 25, all are dressed in sleek black or clingy white, and they rush around with walkie-talkies as though they were coordinating a visit by Madonna. But although Water Club owes a lot of its concept to the success of the W chain of urban boutique hotels, don't mistake this as a place that other W would be caught dead in – this is a trendy splash of glam style, and not for all tastes. The Water Club is located a half-mile west of the El San Juan on a dead-end street that becomes jammed with traffic on Friday and Saturday nights. Yes, San Juan's It boys and girls discovered this spot quickly, and as long as The Water Club stays in favor with that crowd, this will be the scene to beat. Rates are WICKED PRICEY, but the hotel has a special now through April 30, with rooms starting at $199 (a great deal); reservations: 888-265-6699 or 787-728-3666; www.waterclubsanjuan.com.

San Juan's movida is not limited to the Water Club. Another scene to discover is Dragonfly, a chic new Asian eatery across the street from the Parrot Club, and by the same entrepreneur, Robert Trevino. There are only seven tables, and no reservations are taken (expect a wait), although there's a community table or you can dine at the bar. The room is painted deep red and appointed in assorted chinoiserie, the music is Buddha Bar, and the gorgeous waitresses wear long silk dresses, slit up the leg. It's got sex appeal to spare, but the food is also indelible: Peking duck nachos, quesadilla spring rolls, ceviche in coconut milk and ginger, and – well, you get the idea. Trevino will have a new restaurant and club opening on the corner this spring – it's sure to be another smash.

We also spent a night at the Caribe Hilton, where a two-year $60 million renovation is finally complete, marked by the addition of the excellent new, freestanding Olas Spa, located at the west end of the property. This is a really attractive facility, with a terrific gym (free to guests), natural light massage rooms, outdoor Jacuzzi, and spa cuisine bar. Hilton chose to redo the main lobby bar a second time – apparently its last incarnation (completed in 1999) had temperature and acoustic problems. There is now a glass wall enclosing the waterside of the lobby, meaning the lobby doesn't have the wind tunnel effect it sometimes suffered from. Lunch at the hotel's Palmeras was enjoyable and tasty; there is also now a Morton's of Chicago for the expense account set (alas, not us!). Incidentally, rooms are smallish, and now standard-issue-corporate in style. Rates are VERY PRICEY (at the “Bounce Back” rate); reservations: 800-HILTONS.

A few other San Juan notes: We had dinner at Amadeus, but were fairly unimpressed – the crowd is still fun, yet the food is sub-par and overpriced. On the other hand, lunch at Pamela's at Numero Uno was splendid – you can now dine on the sand (the hotel also has cabana boys to procure beer and sandwiches from the bar), while the main restaurant is now expanded and glass-enclosed (rainy days were a problem when the place was packed). Pamela's chef Estaban Torres explores culinary traditions of the Caribbean, ranging from the jerk seasonings of Jamaica, to Cuban pork sandwiches, to the curries of Trinidad. Although local chefs increasingly embrace cuisines from around the world, Spanish chef Antonio Buendia came to Puerto Rico with a different idea. “None of this Latin-fusion shit,” he told us. At Café Bohemio, Buendia's menu celebrates unfettered Puerto Rican favorites like ropa vieja and mofongo. The success of the revamped menu at Café Bohemio has given its owner cause to have Buendia re-tool the tapas menu at his Picoteo next door to create properly Spanish dishes. This elegant tapas bar in a romantic courtyard features five different paellas and exotica like whole calamari stuffed with beef, and imported baby eels served sizzling in olive oil, garlic and chili peppers (and priced $50 a pop). Bohemio and Picoteo are situated next to each other, at the romantic courtyard of El Convento Hotel in Old San Juan. Recently relocated to the grounds of the Museo de Arte in Santurce is Pikayo, home of the island's best-known chef, Wilo Benet. His pricey menu covets Puerto Rican roots, but is honed with Caribbean and Mediterranean accents, superb culinary finesse, and a chic setting. Incidentally, the four-year, $53 million renovation of a former municipal hospital has created an exciting new home for the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico – a state-of-the-art museum. The facility has a permanent collection of local artists ranging from the 18th-century to contemporary, is visited by traveling shows, and has a five-acre sculpture garden – definitely worth checking out on your next visit, even if the local Sanjuaneros haven't warmed to the site yet.

Our visit to Puerto Rico concluded with a stay at the 43-year-old Hyatt Dorado Beach, a resort that could be considered the antithesis of The Water Club. One aspect that we appreciated more than previously was (original developer) Laurence Rockefeller's inspiration to create rooms that were wide rather than narrow. Thus, although the beachfront units – 168 of the hotel's 298 total – aren't substantially larger than today's average hotel room (in square footage), they provide a sensation of expanse, created by the CinemaScope-shaped panorama opening onto the sea. And this affects the room layout – when you awake, the view is through your toes, rather than over the shoulder of your companion. No matter how attractive your sleeping partner, this is a priceless perk.

The Hyatt Dorado has a loyal base of repeat customers, some of whom have returned each winter for more than three decades. In deference to these guests, Hyatt makes changes at the resort with caution. This means that much of the choice, circa-1958 architecture is intact – the low-slung “casita” rooms by the pool (appealing, if overpriced), and the vault-roofed restaurant, the Surf Room, with its floodlit, eye-level view of incoming breakers. We like that these things have been left as is – but we think the dining scene (and at sister property Hyatt-Regency Cerromar just down the beach) needs a fresh transfusion of energy. Compared to the briskly percolating restaurants of San Juan, the two dinners and two lunches at Dorado and Cerromar were uniformly stodgy, a real failing of this resort complex. Although we didn't dine at Su Casa (which is not run by Hyatt), the food at the Surf Room and at Cerromar's Steak Company pales in comparison to what is found in the better San Juan restaurants. Rooms at Dorado and Cerromar are WICKED PRICEY; reservations: 800-223-1234.

his isn't an all-Puerto Rico issue (but who could complain if it was?). Our geological sources tell us things are heating up in the Grenadines, with Kick ‘em Jenny – the humorously monikered undersea volcano located a few miles north of Grenada (just south of Carriacou). On December 4, Jenny had an underwater eruption that is presumed to have added another layer of hot lava to its summit, located about 500 feet below sea level. Earthquakes were felt on neighboring islands, a tsunami warning was issued, and a shipping alert cautions all watercraft to give the volcano a three-mile berth. After a few days, the activity died down, but further eruptions in years to come are likely, probably eventually leading to the birth of a new Caribbean island (perhaps as soon as this century!).

When Kick ‘em Jenny finally pokes her head above the surface and things cool down, we hope to provide the first assessment of its prospects as a new island to discover. Stay tuned – it's all part of our responsibility to keep you informed of what's hot in the islands… and what's not.

Until next month…