Puerto Rico is an exciting Caribbean oasis!

But I chose to spend a week there in January this year. The main reason (apart from recalling how lovely Old San Juan is) is down to the launch of a new low-cost flight from Gatwick with the carrier Norwegian.

I didn’t have much (eh, make that ANY) help from their Tourist Board – well the island is about to go bankrupt, so fair enough – and very few, if any, tour operators from the UK offer packages there.

Unlike other Caribbean islands the all-inclusive concept doesn’t exist here, but undeterred I emailed what felt like every hotel in Puerto Rico and managed to set myself up in three very contrasting properties so I could tell you about the place.

After my nine-hour flight I was met by the impressive chauffeur company Bespoke (book via Viator, see below) who whisked me to the Hilton Condado for a couple of nights. A big place, but the service was good and the room was spacious and comfortable. The pool area was gorgeous and it adjoins a beach. Rooms start at $229. See hilton.com

Setting out to explore San Juan the next morning was when I learned that you can wait for a bus, but your roots might need re-tinting before it actually arrives.

They don’t have a timetable. When you ask a local, you’re met with a wry smile and advised to take a taxi.

After an hour of waiting at a bus stop in 32 degrees C, I’d had enough, so coughed up $16 for the 10-minute ride into Old San Juan (thinking, blimey, that’s expensive…!).

It was worth it though because the old part of this city is just gorgeous: brightly coloured Colonial style buildings and small winding alleyways which burst on to magnificent sea views and historic old forts.

This is one of the most beautiful cities in the Caribbean, which might explain why it’s the most-visited.

For the most part, it doesn’t really feel Caribbean, it’s more Hispanic. Time after time it reminded me of Cuba.

Annexed as a US colony in 1898 (now termed an ‘unincorporated territory’) it’s main market is Americans, but since the start of this new Norwegian.com flight the Brits and Scandinavians are discovering it too.

With apologies to anyone who had to be close to me for that week but I just couldn’t stop humming Bernstein’s songs from West Side Story the entire time.

Yes, I know that was the 1950s, when a lot of Puerto Ricans had little choice other than go to the US to get on, but actually, it’s not so different now.

Each of the young locals I encountered who were doing well had spent some time in the US and were doing well as a result. Their English was better; their service attitude more highly tuned.

And, boy, is this nation entrepreneurial. Everyone seems to have two jobs and is renovating several properties, or setting up a tourism-based business.

Climb the hill towards Fort San Felipe del Morro – the 400-year-old fort that once guarded against the raids of Sir Francis Drake – and you come across pretty courtyards where you enjoy a Sangria or one of their super-sweet pastries.

That night I discovered a fabulous restaurant called Budatai. A five-minute walk from the Hilton, it has superb food and is definitely one of THE restaurants to try if you get here. It’s a fusion of interesting Latin and Asian flavours. It has a wonderfully calm, stylish interior, a terrace lounge and the food is truly exceptional. Once there call 725 6919. Book ahead.

The other place I stayed was at the opposite end of the scale. The name gives it away – The Olive Boutique Hotel is small and quirky to the point of eccentric, but if you like somewhere, stylish and different, this was voted Best Boutique Hotel in the World in 2015 by Small Luxury Hotels. Rooms start at £130. See oliveboutiquehotel.com.

They have a fabulous in-house restaurant, run by one of the country’s top chefs – Mario Pagan.

His steakhouse is a MUST.

He intertwines local goodies like papaya and mango with mouth-watering steaks, serves foie with guava ketchup, and the bread comes with a pork crackling crust, like a Yorkshire pud – it is fabulous!

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