Heather P.
Yelp
Plaza Las Americas, which opened in 1968, is the 2nd largest mall in Latin America! It is 3 stories, a movie theater, two banks (First Bank & Banco Popular), U.S. Postal Service delivery, and a passport processing area (Pasaportes y Servicios). The prices are the same as malls in the U.S. and the tax rate is 7%, but there are a lot of stores so you can compare prices from store to store (Don't take that literally. Use a deal-finding app.). One of the entrances is attached to a free parking deck, so you don't have to go to the ground level, which I find immensely helpful because I'm creeped out by walking around streets at night by myself. Bust out one of those find-my-car apps because the garage is quite large.
Plaza is a great place to spend the day when the weather is bad; or, you know, if you're on a romantic getaway and need to stop by Victoria's Secret. Year-round there is live music, car shows, and informational seminars (on finances, pet care, etc.). You can keep track of the events on their website, their Facebook, and their Twitter. My favorite time to go is during the holiday season, because it has decorations (photo ops) galore, is absolutely packed with tourists and locals, has holiday movies playing in the cinema, plays Hispanic holiday music on the intercom, and has a mall Santa.
The best place at Plaza to eat quality affordable Puerto Rican food is El Meson Sandwiches, which is in the food court (as opposed to a sit-in restaurant). You can check out their menu online: http://www.elmesonsandwiches.com/