While in Ponce, you have to visit this place. History, views, a nice shop, gardens, etc. Great place to take pictures.
This is well worth a visit - the views are stunning. There is a small Japanese Garden on the property. The house is amazing, all the original furniture and contents were donated as part of the sale of the property to Puerto Rico so its quite stunning. The guides are very informational. The grounds can be toured. Parking is quite limited so if its busy - you could end up with a bit of a jaunt to the building - its not too bad! Snacks and drinks are available for purchase. The short movie at the start of the tour is very informational.
Oh where to begin well I live in Puerto Rico and my mom was having one of her co workers over to stay in our house her name was Lucy and she's from California. So we where checking for some nice places to go in the island for this really nice lady called Lucy . San Juan (been there) Carolina (done that) Humacao (so last season) then I thought ponce (nice historic clean and most of all great) so we picked up Lucy and headed toward ponce where we had a blast we didn't stop laughing from San Juan to ponce when we got there our first stop on the list was the castle . I had been there some 3 times before with Boy Scouts and those stuff but now it was different . We started of with this great movie about the history of the house and it's family and the. Our tour guide leaded us to the butterfly garden where its charm began you could see in Lucy's eyes the complete and total amazement as she walked thought the little garden full of small butterfly's. After that we started the actual tour of the house . This formidable castle is sure to amaze you from the beginning . From its mahogany dinning room to its inner garden to the well preserved richly decorated (with original furniture) and a aristocratic feeling of this heart palace . And as for Lucy she adored the castle and promised to come again with her husband Tim and I was like "mission accomplished " hahaha
Although the decor in this "castle" isn't our choice, it was an amazing place to see. Beautiful grounds, wonderful home. there is a "coffee shop" which is really a rum tasting area. they will let you taste any and all of the rums. there is also soda, ice cream and coffees for sale. they should do away with the gift shop. tour starts with a video. you learn all about the sugar cane and rum making business. def worth seeing.
The house of the Serralles family, owners of the Don Q Rum and most of the city, as it seems. I didn´t specially like the house, but the view is nice and the guided tour made it amusing.If you are in Ponce, you must come see this. There is not much more to see.
Beautiful views from almost anywhere in this wonderful old home. You can rent it for special occasions if you can afford it. The tour is short and to the point and very informative. Some of the rooms have their original furniture and it's amazing to see how people lived without so much modern technology. Check out the Japanese Gardens on the way, it's incredibly peaceful. Well worth the drive up the mountain. Photo fans will love it !!!
This is a great place. It is the former home of the Serralles family who had vast sugar cane field holdings. It became a municipal museum in the 1980s. It is located on a hill with a commanding view of all of Ponce down to the water. The house and its furnishings have been preserved in situ, and the tour guide, Will, explained it all very well for us.
This is NOT a castle, but a beautiful old home of the owner of a sugar cane plantation. It's high on a hillside overlooking the city of Ponce, so the views are incredible. It was fun to see the architecture,and how people lived in the early 1900s. The gardens of the home were equally beautiful. Not a "must see" but certainly fun, enjoyable, and recommended.
I visited here recently as part of a tour group visiting the island. We began with a short film and then we had an informative and interesting tour from a docent and learned a great deal about the Serralles family, the beginnings of the sugarcane and rum industry on the island. We learned that this Spanish Moroccan style house was built in the 1930's for the son of the founder of the Don Q rum industry. It was purchased by the city of Ponce in the 1980's for $400,000 which included much of the furnishings in the mansion. The home was subsequently designated a historic landmark and now functions as a museum and wedding location. The house is full of photographs of the family and although interesting, it was difficult to keep everyone straight as there were so many members of the Serralles family. The house is absolutely gorgeous both inside and out, but especially inside. The design of the house on the hillside with wonderful views, terraces, courtyards and impressive furnishings in each room beckons one to sit and relax. I could have sat and enjoyed being in those very special rooms for hours. Such a peaceful and beautiful place. We were not allowed to take photographs inside the house, but once on the outside terrace on the top floor, we could photograph the town of Ponce below and the view stretching to the sea beyond. The gardens with pool are beautiful below and also fun to wander in. The gardens are not huge, but have some very nice plantings in a terraced setting. I really enjoyed seeing the orchids planted in the front of the house. There is a gift shop located here, but since our tour group had limited time, I decided to check out the gardens rather than the gift shop. Since the home is located on a hillside above Ponce, it is visible from much of the city. I really enjoyed viewing the home from the balcony of my hotel room. This is a must see if you are ever any where near Ponce or a great destination by itself. You will love visiting this special home with a unique history!
Hidden away in the hills of Ponce this is an absolutely impressive and beautiful house/Mansion . We did the English tour and loved learning about everything also tasting the Don Q :) Definately a must that halfway through the tour allows you expanding mind blowing views of Ponce and Beyond .