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by
Margaret
Hundley Parker  There
are at least two different ways to travel for leisure. One is to arrive and hope
for the best. Another is to head straight for a resort and relax.
The
first time I went to Puerto Rico, my husband-to-be and I landed in San Juan and
ad libbed. We wanted to kick back on the beach, but we wound up in the part of
San Juan that is just like Brooklyn. We were trying to keep the cost down so we
stayed at some flea-infested hotel near the city. There were some lovely resorts
nearby, but we could only gaze at them longingly. After that first night, we went
to an island off the East Coast, called Culebra, where the beaches were empty,
wild horses ran free, and chickens had the right-of-way. Perfect. But it was a
close call. The
next time I went to Puerto Rico, I tried another tactic. I bee-lined straight
for the Hyatt Dorado Beach Resort and Country Club. This time I didn't mess around
trying to find a cheap hotel on some random beach, this time I got off the plane
and stepped into a car that took me -- us, actually, my mom came, too -- straight
to the resort. What a difference! Instant relaxation instead of New York style
stress!
We rode about 30 minutes, passing a few goats along the way, through the gates
to the lush grounds of the resort, which used to be a grapefruit and coconut plantation.
As soon as we pulled into the driveway, we were surrounded by 1,000 acres of palm
trees and a Robert Trent Jones, Sr. designed golf course -- not that either of
us planned on golfing, but it was beautiful and lush. Exotic birds flew from tree
to tree and hopped around on the grass. Nope, not like Brooklyn at all.  When
we got out of the car to go check in, we were greeted by a Macaw (she didn't actually
say anything, but stood majestically atop her cage), as the ocean beckoned in
the background. We got our keys and rode a golf cart to our rooms. Wow. There
are ocean view, beachfront, or golf view rooms and suites to fit any needs. All
rooms have air conditioning, terracotta tire flooring, coffee makers, telephones,
etc.
(CONTINUE...)
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