Ponce hotels
With few Ponce hotels to choose from, accommodation in the "jewel of the south" can be hard to find if you arrive during the annual carnival. Despite the difficulty, it is worth booking well in advance to visit a city that is a world away from San Juan's cosmopolitan culture and no visit to the south of Puerto Rico can be considered complete without a stop in Ponce.
Founded in 1692 by the grandson of Juan Ponce de León, the "Pearl of the South" is an important trading center and home to Puerto Rico's main port - one of the busiest ports in the Caribbean area, it handles tobacco, coffee, rum and sugar cane.
If you're planning on visiting Ponce itself then a good option is to choose one of the few Ponce hotels in the city itself - consider the colonial style Hotel Melía, El Tuque or Fox Delicias Hotel.
Also close to Ponce is the Holiday Inn. It's on top of a hill on the Ponce by pass with views of both Ponce and the Caribbean and if you have enough energy after a hard day's sightseeing, not to mention cash, there is an on-site casino too.
For those whose idea of a vacation is to hide away in a resort for the entire time, Ponce also has something to offer too - the Ponce Hilton resort has a casino and 27 hole golf course as well as various other facilities. Although the resort is on the sea,the rocky shore means no beach, although it naturally has a swimming pool.
