Some 20 years after the end of military occupation, little has changed for this 52-square-mile Puerto Rican speck and its roughly 9,500 residents.
All it takes is a 15-minute flight and 8 miles of open ocean to lose the crowds, cruise ships and cookie-cutter chain resorts. Now, you’re in Vieques, a tiny islet off “mainland” Puerto Rico. It’s a dose of the Spanish-speaking Caribbean that time forgot.
“There is this relaxed atmosphere and authenticity that’s so hard to find in the Caribbean today,” said NYC architect Lee Mindel, who’s married to an in-the-know Puerto Rican. “It’s untouched and ungentrified with tiny cafes and hip food trucks and those wondrous wild horses.”Over the last decade, Vieques became known for its trove of chic hotels. The most elaborate was the W Vieques, a Patricia Urquiola-designed playground that’s remained closed since 2017’s devastating Hurricane Maria .
Once a US Navy outpost, today this low-key Puerto Rican island is home to expansive, untouched beaches and sexy boutique hotels.Then there’s El Blok, a solar-powered inn opened by New Zealand-expat and one-time music exec Simon Baeyertz, who nurtured the careers of acts like Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails. The property’s 30 rooms are set in a curved “blok” of a building fronted by a white, concrete lattice with a rooftop restaurant.
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