Mexico Travel Guide
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Barcelo Maya Renovates After Ramp Up Results in Increased Revenues
Where: Carretera Federal Chetumal-Puerto Juárez, Km. 266,3 , Riviera Maya, Quintana Roo, Mexico, 77750
After completing a multi-million dolllar renovation of the Barcelo Bavaro in Punta Cana that increased its occupancy rate by about 2% and revenue per available room by 8.6%, Barcelo will now turn its attention to its gigantic Riviera Maya property in hopes of achieving similar results.
The project will cost more than $45 million and will begin on May 6 and focus on the complex’s Maya Beach and Maya Caribe hotels. Each will receive a revamped lobby, a new bar and an a-la-carte restaurant. The complex as a whole should benefit from the addition of an entertainment center that is to include a sports bar, bowling alley, teen disco, kids club, waterpark, and paddle tennis courts. A new Premium Club lounge will also be added.
The property consists of five adjacent hotels and one of the largest pools we've seen on a resort property in that region, with plenty of space to find serenity and avoid the drunk people at the swim up bar.
Hotel Openings / Hotel News / Mexico City Hotels / Mexico Hotels / → All Tags
Live Aqua Mexico City Officially Open
Although Mexico City’s Live Aqua Bosques did have a soft opening last October, it's now "officially" open and ready to dazzle guests. If you recognize the name it’s because this hotel is the sister property of Live Aqua resort in Cancun.
The main difference is that this 135-room property is primarily aimed at the business market, although it’s not your average cookie-cutter corporate set up. Hotelera Posadas, Mexico’s leading hotel company, designed and placed the five-floor hotel in the heart of Mexico city’s fast-moving business district, Paseo de los Tamarindos, in the exclusive neighborhood of Bosques de las Lomas. It’s also close to the important Santa Fe, Interlomas and Paseo de la Reforma areas.
Arriving guests won’t find a traditional check-in desk. Instead, it will be done on a one-to-one basis with a staff member using a tablet. The guest is then led to their sleek and polished room that follows the multi-sensory concept of Live Aqua Cancun. They’ll find in-room aromatherapy and pillow menus (with 18 options!) and customizable in-room lighting.
Celebrity Scoop / Divorce Hotels / Auberge Hotels / Sharon Osbourne / Ozzy Osbourne / → All Tags
Sharon Osbourne Gets Rubbed Down By Another Man at The Esperanza Resort
But don't worry, he was paid to do it. Er, we mean, she got a poolside foot massage while vacationing at the Esperanza Resort in Cabo San Lucas yetserday, according to these pics on TMZ.
Rumors have been swirling lately that the thought-to-be rock-solid rock n' roll marriage between Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon is now, well, on the rocks. Ozzy has apparently admitted on Facebook that he's been using drugs and drinking alcohol again and has just been a total nightmare to his family. Yet he denied that they are splitting. SooSharon is just taking some much-deserved "me" time at the Esperanza.
She's probably booked one of the resort's villas which include gourmet kitchens, spacious bedrooms and baths, garden courtyards and sweeping ocean views, although she would probably be equally happy in one of the casitas or suites at the Auberge hotel which start at 925 sq. ft. of indoor/outdoor living space and have private terraces (with hammocks!)
Hotel News / Hotel Openings / Mexico Hotels / La Paz Hotels / Hyatt Place / Hyatt Hotels / → All Tags
The Next Hyatt Place Will Overlook the Sea of Cortez
2013 has been quite the year for Hyatt Place so far, with two major openings in Austin and New York within weeks of each other (we recently stayed at the latter, and wrote our thoughts about it here).
Now, the brand has us all worked up again thanks to an announcement about a 151-room hotel built on a 550-acre luxury resort in La Paz, Mexico. Opening in 2014, the hotel will be just a few minutes from downtown La Paz, and only 30 minutes from Manuel Marquez de Leon Int'l Airport (that's good news if your schedule only allows for quickie long weekend jaunts).
Now, don't go thinking that Hyatt Place gets all those 550 acres to itself: the hotel will be part of a luxury resort complex known as "CostaBaja." And as such, guests of the future hotel will get to enjoy all the resort's amenities, like a 250-slip double-basin marina, La Paz' first-ever spa, two pools, two restaurants, and an 18-hole golf course. Oh, and white sandy beaches along the Sea of Cortez.
Hotel Cocktails / Hotel Bars / Mexico City Hotels / Mexico Hotels / Four Seasons Hotels / → All Tags
The Craziest Cocktail of the Day is in D.F.
Mercy it's cold outside and your usual champers does nothing to warm them bones. We'll get into all the Hot Toddy and Chocolate goodness out there soon, but for now, we want to focus on El Bar at the Four Seasons Hotel in Mexico City, Why? Because we need to distract the hell out of ourselves and these frigid temps.
Plus, we like nothing more to amuse y'all. So when you go to your favorite watering hole tonight (that is if you aren't the lucky SOB's already in Mexico) we challenge you to ask them to serve a lil something like this:
It's called "The Grasshopper" and it's barrel aged mezcal, accompanied by fresh orange and a trio of salts: hibiscus (sal de jamaica), grasshopper (sal de chapulines), and worm (sal de gusano). Yeah, two of these have your eyes crinkled, fo sho. But wait, it's actually good for you!
High in protein, vitamins and minerals content, grasshoppers, or chapulines have been used as a Mexican food source for centuries (we love 'em in guacamole!). If you order a mescal at El Bar, your drink will probably be accompanied by grasshopper salt. Buggin' out by this? Ok, perhaps Chef Edgar Kano's worm salt is a better fit. The savory blend is made from worms that live on the maguey plant, from which tequila and mezcal come from. And don't say you don't like your tequila! We know better. You'll find the salt in his tangy guacamole and sauces.
See? We distracted you from the cold for a few minutes. Job done.
[Photo: Four Seasons Hotels]
Odd Hotels / Mexico Hotels / Hotel Alternatives / Themed Hotels / → All Tags
Sleep In Recycled Concrete Tubes at Mexico’s Tubohotel
We’ve shown you where to spend the night in a beer barrel (that’s Germany), and for today’s quirky hotel concept we’re heading to Mexico, where in the village of Tepoztlan, 45 minutes south of Mexico City, the hotel rooms in question are stacked – and recycled – concrete tubes.
Tubo-social, Tubo-cool, Tubo-hotel! – exclaims Tubohotel's website.
So what’s it all about, Alfie?
Guess the Hotel / Mexico Hotels / Baja California Hotels / Cabo Hotels / Solmar Hotels / → All Tags
Guess the Hotel Revealed: Ridge Luxury Villas, Los Cabos
Well, we'll assume we stumped you with last week's edition of Guess the Hotel. None of you could guess! We gave you some killer clues and a damn-good picture of one hungry hot tub, but now we'll help you out: That oasis belongs to the Ridge Luxury Villas at Playa Grande in Cabo San Lucas.
The rooftop pool club is only available to guests of The Ridge, which offers one, two, or three bedroom villas with full kitchens and living rooms. There's also a restaurant and infinity pool overlooking the property/ocean (along with another hungry hot tub, see photo).
We know that downtown Cabo San Lucas screams puke and rally, but you really can have a luxurious experience outside of the hotel corridor - we swear.
Oh, the two bodies of water that converge are the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean. The famous rock structure is the arch of Los Cabos, and The Ridge is one of five Solmar properties grouped on the southwest side of the harbor. Rates start at $308 a night.
[Photos: Will McGough for Hotel Chatter]
Guess The Hotel / Mexico Hotels / Habita Group Hotels / → All Tags
Guess The Hotel Revealed: Grupo Habita’s Endémico in Ensenada
Last week, we relied on the deck chairs at this emerald green pool to get us out of a little bout of winter blues. But where are they? No, it’s not an Aman Resort, although we can see that comparison - both SFHotelGuy and nickdla guessed it right: we were hinting at Hotel Endémico in Ensenada, Mexico.
Part of Grupo Habita (which includes the likes of Hotel Americano in New York and Condesa DF in Mexico City), Endémico has just 20 luxury cabins, scattered on a hillside overlooking the wine region of the Baja Peninsula.
Political Hotels / Mexico Hotels / Baja California Hotels / Cabo Hotels / → All Tags
Where Did Mexico's Prez Stay During Cabo's G20 Conference?
Now that his time as Mexico's President has come to an end, Felipe Calderon has begun a year-long fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School in Boston. We're sure he's freezing his tail off, no doubt in need of an early spring break. Where do you think his in-class daydreams are taking him?
We're guessing back to Cabo, which he chose as the site of the 2012 G20 Summit last summer. Obama posted up at the Esperanza Resort, but where did Mr. Calderon decide to rest his head? We figure the host president had his fair share of open doors when it came to where he would make camp for the conference, an assumption that makes his selection all the more telling. His choice? The Imperial Suite at the Fiesta Americana Grand.
The two-bedroom suite is housed in a private building and features an ocean-front pool, sunken outdoor Jacuzzi, fire pit, and floor-to-ceiling glass windows that allow the scenery and Sea of Cortez to pour into the master bedroom. Check out the photos of the room and the resort in the gallery below. The Imperial Suite is one of those rooms you have to call to book, but $5,000/night is the approximate starting point.
Celebrity Scoop / Kendra Wilkinson / Palace Resorts / Mexico Hotels / Cancun Hotels / → All Tags
Kendra Stays At Mexico's Moon Palace For Playboy Club Party
It seems like lately, Mexico's Moon Palace Resort is blowing up. Who knew this all-inclusive resort complex, just 25-minutes away from Cancun’s airport, would turn out to be such a hot spot?
It was recently the playground for reality-tv star (and Hugh Hefner's ex-girlfriend) Kendra Wilkinson, who stayed at the 123-acre resort's Moon Grand section while in the country attending the anniversary party of Cancun’s Playboy Club. Contrary to popular belief, Kendra was never a Playboy Playmate.
She arrived with husband Hank Baskett and had a private check-in into the resort's presidential suite. Waiting for her was a bottle of Moet and petit-fours (she immediately ate a few. However, the sweets didn't ruin the mother of a 3-year old's body, or her appetite for an Ameri-Caribbean meal that night at Caribeño restaurant.
Celebrity Scoop / Eva Longoria / Puerto Vallarta Hotels / Mexico Hotels / Sweet Suites / → All Tags
Eva Longoria Lazes With Gal Pals at Puerto Vallarta Resort
Where: Carretera a Barra de Navidad Km. 7.5, Zona Hotelera Sur, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, 48390
Eva Longoria has already set off the pre-winter season right with mini-getaway with a few pals at the Garza Blanca Preserve Resort & Spa in Puerto Vallarta.
The group of gals spent five days lounging by the pool, playing in the sand and ocean waves, and generally and literally letting their hair down. After enjoying brunch on the beach the girls participated in a private tasting of several varieties of Wahaka Mezcal, served to them by the co-founder of the company.
Longoria sent out these Tweets when she returned from the resort:
"Didn’t want to leave tropical paradise of @garzablancapvr! Could have sat by the infinity pool overlooking the ocean 4ever. Pure bliss!"
What Is This / Hotel Art / Mexico Hotels / → All Tags
Revealed: Who is This At Secrets Huatulco?
Last week we showed you a pic of this handsome guy, who you can see at the all-inclusive Secrets Huatulco Resort & Spa, an under-the-radar property just a two-hour flight away from Oaxaca.
Our question to you was, who is he? And it seems we stumped ya! Well, we can tell you, he is the epitome of Mexico's icons-a mariachi!
This guy is moved to different locations around the sprawling resort based on events they think he should guest star. When we visited in August, he stood outside a conference room during the FIFA World Cup finals while Mexico played Brazil. We were surprised he didn't fall over with all the commotion coming from the crowd.
But that might be because he's made of sturdy stuff. The sculpture, crafted by artisans from Jalisco, is constructed from strong wrought iron, hammered into this intricate shape, and accented with a rustic finish.
