Destination: Puerto Rico
With Bitcoin hovering around $100K, crypto millionaires are flocking to this Caribbean tax haven. Here's why.
Having emerged from hurricanes, earthquakes and a debt crisis, Puerto Rico is coming out swinging. As one of the Caribbean’s most popular winter getaways, it is experiencing record-breaking tourism.
Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport reported record growth in 2024 with over 6.6 million passenger arrivals. This is over 518,000 more passengers and an 8% increase vs. 2023, according to Discover Puerto Rico. This year thus marks the fourth consecutive year of tourism growth for the island, in a trend that began in 2021 that shows no signs of slowing. The destination anticipates more airline connections from cities across the U.S., including nonstop Spirit Airlines flights from San Antonio set to launch in March.
According to Tourism Economics, roughly four million of last year’s passengers were mainland Americans. With no passport, currency exchange, or international phone plan required, more U.S. citizens than ever are taking Puerto Rico up on its offer of a relatively hassle-free holiday.
Some are even deciding to stay and buy property in neighborhoods like San Juan, Rincón, and Dorado, attracted as much by the sun and sand as by the island’s tax-haven status for U.S. citizens. Under Act 60 (formerly Acts 20 and 22), which was established in 2012 to spur economic growth and investment, Puerto Rico became the only place on U.S. soil where personal income from capital gains (including crypto gains), interest, and dividends are untaxed. And President Trump, himself a newly minted crypto billionaire, is ushering in a new era for Bitcoin.
This confluence of events has catalyzed the development of high-end hotels, world class restaurants and amenities for both tourists and residents. In 2024, the supply of luxury class hotels increased 7.1% after only a 2.1% increase the year prior, according to CoStar. This is a significant jump for an island so heavily dependent on imports for its most basic necessities, including food, energy and raw materials for manufacturing.
For travelers, the takeaway is this: Puerto Rico is not just a tax haven—it has become a bona fide luxury hotspot.
Where to Stay
On either side of San Juan airport are two well-known entry points with an avid fan base. They are the luxury enclaves St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort (soon to become a Four Seasons resort) and Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, each with miles of combed beaches, well-manicured golf courses and private security detail.
For newcomers, these resorts provide not just a place to stay but a gateway to luxury living on the island. Though most upscale hotels have wellness spas, fitness centers, and restaurants on property—these guys raise the bar beyond their walls, with private yachts and sailboat charters, rum distillery tours, curated nights in Old San Juan, and boat trips to La Parguera, a bioluminescent bay.
The not-so-subtle message is this: You, too, can live like hedge fund maverick John Paulson, a longtime proponent of investing in Puerto Rico and majority owner of the St. Regis Bahia Beach resort. Situated on the northeast coast of Puerto Rico, it commands 483 acres between the El Yunque National Forest and the Espíritu Santo River State Preserve. In the residential section of the resort, Paulson’s private four bedroom apartment has a rooftop lounge, full kitchen, outdoor shower, plunge pool, and glorious views of the Atlantic ocean on one side, and El Yunque on the other. (It’s rentable starting from $7,500 per night. A private chef is extra).
The property opened in 2010 and underwent a $60 million renovation following Hurricane Maria in 2017. It now comprises 139 rooms, 35 of which are suites, an 18-hole golf course, four miles of jogging and walking trails, and two main restaurants Seagrapes and Paros. Fresh ingredients are supplied by the resort’s own 10,000 square foot farm, teeming with tropical fruits and vegetables (think papaya, cucumber, spinach, passion fruit, pineapples, plantains, and a dozen different herbs). The value of a working farm cannot be overstated on an island where food access has long been a challenge.
To keep pace with buyer demand, there are also currently 30 new residential units under construction, according to General Manager Anja Frankenbach. She expects them to open in 2026.
“A lot of people move here from Miami and California for business. Sometimes it’s a second house, from Texas or Hawaii. In San Juan, most condos under construction are already sold. New residences have private security. Just state police? No gracias,” says Michelle, a Puerto Rican driver for Bahia Beach Transportation, which primarily serves guests staying at the St. Regis.
This is a core revenue stream for Marriott International, the largest branded residences company globally. The company closed 2024 with 142 open residential locations and a pipeline of 138 locations across 16 distinct brands—including JW Marriott, St. Regis and The Ritz-Carlton.
In Puerto Rico specifically, the residential component is taking on a life of its own.
What would-be buyers need to know is that if they join a resort-managed rental program to help recoup costs, they’re not eligible for the tax break. (To meet Act 60 requirements, Americans must become residents for at least 183 days of the year to align with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service’s “183-day rule” for tax residency.
On balance, that means the resorts lose rental inventory—but gain a community.
“For me, it’s an entire benefit. Either we have them as a residence-owners or as a guest; they still bring their families over for festive seasons, which have our occupancy levels through the roof,” says Vanessa Borrero, Marketing Manager at Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve.
The historic 50-acre Rockefeller estate is home to 96 rooms and suites with their own private plunge pool and direct beach access, 14 residential units, two golf courses, four fine-dining restaurants, and Spa Botánico. A lush botanical garden with indoor and outdoor pools and showers, the spa is a retreat unto itself spanning five full acres. Think real-life Ferngully, where a therapist scrubs you down with a potpourri of Himalayan sea salt, rose petals, and calendula flower before your 60-minute coconut oil massage.
Where to Eat
Whether or not you’re a guest at Dorado Beach, you can book a table at any of the resort’s five restaurants. My personal favorite is Positivo, a chic beachside sandbar favored by Gringos and Puerto Ricans alike for its romantic al-fresco setting and high quality sushi. Here, you can sip fine Japanese sake or a jalapeno margarita with your feet in the sand, listening to the waves break and the coqui frogs sing. For a VIP experience, pre-book the 6-seat Omakase bar at Positivo. They only open twice a week, but serve some of the best sashimi and nigiri on the island.
Before you venture out, get in touch with Omar Ramos. As the chief concierge at Dorado Beach, he has earned his golden keys (Les Clefs D’Or), the highest honor a concierge can attain. He can connect you with pretty much any luxury experience known to the island. A private snorkeling trip? No problem. A private jet to St. Barth? It can be arranged. But more importantly, if you’re hankering for a night out in San Juan, the culinary epicenter of the island, Ramos can get you into the hottest restaurants—such as Cocina al Fondo, for chef Natalia Vallejo’s award-winning homestyle Puerto Rican dishes, Bacoa for a stunning open-air restaurant that’s tucked into the base of the El Yunque rainforest (you can even arrive by helicopter, if that’s your thing), or Vianda, which makes magic out of vegetables and was recently selected as one of the 20 best new restaurants in America by the James Beard Foundation.
There are no Michelin-starred restaurants on the island, so relying on trusted recommendations from guys like Ramos, and following the island’s James Beard award-winning chefs isn’t a bad strategy. As for the best coffee shop, native Puerto Rican Georgina Nieves Bosch from the St. Regis calls out Café Regina in San Juan, “where the coffee is so good you’ll run into everyone you know.”
As it turns out, she’s not wrong.
Sounds wonderful!I would love to vacation here…