When we started looking for a home in Puerto Rico, realtor after realtor recommended that we buy in Palmas del Mar, a massive oceanfront resort development on the southeast coast. The largest planned resort development in the Caribbean, Palmas del Mar bills itself as “Puerto Rico’s #1 vacation destination.” But is it? Not for us.
The many rings of gated security work for some people, but for us they made us feel disconnected from real Puerto Rico. We visited the beach and were underwhelmed, and access to it is extremely limited.
Palmas del Mar started as a vacation spot and evolved to include residential opportunities, and features a golf course, tennis club, athletic club, equestrian area, a forest (Bosque Pterocarpus), marina, school (Palmas Academy), shopping area, hotels, restaurants and more. The residents ride around in golf carts, and their association has regular social events.
So what’s it like? Take a tour and see if it’s your cup of tea. We decided it’s not ours. Lisa calls it Gringolandia.
Links
Info
Palmas Promotional Brochure
Map
Photo Attributions
Alina Santiago, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons – Palmas Marina
Alina Santiago, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons – Palmas
Alina Santiago, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons – Golf course
Bjoertvedt, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons – Houses
Col Nesty Delgado, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons – Palmanova plaza
