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Hotel Fashion / Riviera Maya Hotels / Fairmont Hotels / Stephanie Johnson / Hotel Shopping / Hotel Giveaways / → All Tags
The Fairmont Mayakoba Inspired This Designer's New Line of Travel Accessories
Where: Carretera Federal Cancún- Playa del Carmen Km. 298, Playa Del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico, 77710
Usually, when fashion designers get inspired by fancy hotels and resorts, it's bikinis they churn out. But in the case of designer Stephanie Johnson, what we get is a new range of travel accessories. And the hotel that took Johnson's fancy? The Fairmont Mayakoba, on Mexico's Riviera Maya.
We haven't stayed at this property but we've stayed at one next door that's on the same Mayakoba development of lush jungle rolling down to the ocean. Can't say we blame Johnson for getting inspired--it is indeed very pretty!
So is the new line of bags, which includes an iPad case and a few small cosmetics bags that double as cute clutches for a night out on the town—or on the beach at the resort's bar.
Playa Del Carmen Hotels / Riviera Maya Hotels / Hotel Renovations / → All Tags
The New-Look Acanto Hotel is Now Open in Playa Del Carmen
All of the big five-star resorts and convention-ready hotels may be off the highway between Cancun and Playa Del Carmen, but if you want to experience the activity of a Mexican town and still be a short stroll from the beach, you need to stay in Playa Del Carmen.
You won't find the Fairmonts, Rosewoods and Tides of the world here, but you will find smaller, independent hotels lining the beach and streets off of Quinta Avenida (Fifth Avenue). The newest--although actually a longtime resident, now coming out of an expansion and renovation--is Acanto Hotel & Suites.
Soap Concierges / Tides Hotels / Riviera Maya Hotels / Hotel Renovations / → All Tags
The Tides Riviera Maya is Looking Good (And Has a Soap Concierge)
Good news: the renovations at the Tides Riviera Maya are this close to completion. We were at the resort last week and saw all of the finishing touches being, well, finished.
The new villas look like places we'd happily swap our apartments in the States for -- hell, we'd even sleep in the new gym with floor-to-ceiling views of the beach. Luckily, we didn't have to resort to that and stayed in one of the Tides' existing villas, which happily looks exactly like the big, glossy photos on the hotel's website. (No switch and bait here.)
Even though we only had a short hop over to Cancun from Miami, any lingering sense of obligations at home vanishes with the resort's welcome ritual--a Mayan blessing performed at the entrance to the spa. And then there is the Soap Concierge...
Pop-Up Hotels / Mexico Hotels / Starwood Hotels / Design Hotels Collection / Beach Hotels / Odd Hotels / → All Tags
In These Tough Economic Times, Mexico Puts Its Money On The Pop-Up Hotel
After learning last week that Design Hotels had been partially taken over by Starwood, we worried that the originality and flair of the former might start to be undermined. Starwood's great and all—but running a multi-brand corporation is certainly different than running a small, design-oriented boutique collection like Design Hotels.
For now, our worries have been put to rest by some exciting news about a new pop-up hotel being launched by DH this month in Tulum, Mexico. According to MSNBC.com, Papaya Playa is a 99-cabana resort on the Mayan Riviera, and boasts a spa, private suites, and several restaurants.
Unlike other flashy resorts along the Caribbean, this spot has an expiration date of May 6. So if you like what you hear, you'd better not dally!
Sweet Suites / Celebrity Hotels / Riviera Maya Hotels / Rosewood Hotels / Overwater Bungalows / → All Tags
Why We (and Celebs) Like Lagoon Suites vs. Beach Suites
Last year, we named the Ocean View Suites at Rosewood Mayakoba one of HotelChatter's 10 Sexiest Hotel Rooms Alive! This is a fact.
However, after returning to the property this fall, we were introduced to a new breed of sexy hotel suite: the Lagoon Suite.
At first, we were all like, "why would we wanna stay here, where we might see a crocodile swimming below our bedroom floor?" Then we had the pleasure of bunking down in a lagoon suite for a few nights and voila! We were converted. And now we know why so many of the celebs who stay at this ritzy Riviera Maya retreat also opt for the lagoon over the ocean view suites. (Said celebs may or may not include: Meg Ryan and John Mellencamp, U2, TomKat and Suri, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.)
Scroll down for a few more reasons to love the lagoon...
Hotel Openings / Mexico Hotels / Fairfield Inn / Marriott Hotels / Beach Hotels / → All Tags
Fairfield Inn Is Fairly Smitten With Mexico
Following up on last week's news that Marriott would be opening a new hotel in Haiti, plus expanding into Serbia, Fairfield Inn announced that it would be setting up a new property in Cabo San Lucas. And not only that: Fairfield's partnership with Mexican operator Pulso Hotelero has proved so successful that they plan to open another 35 Fairfields throughout Mexico.
For those who know the brand's "select-service" appeal (meaning no added frills like a restaurant, bar, or room service), this is good news for jet-setters on a budget.
Rooms at the new five-story Fairfield Los Cabos will start at just $99, and are located just a few minutes' walk from the Marina. Oh, and free wi-fi in all the public spaces. You're already planning your post-New Years getaway, aren't you?
Tequila / Hotel Restaurants / Hotel Bars / Mexico Hotels / Rosewood Hotels / Riviera Maya Hotels / → All Tags
Tequila Tastings Are The New Wine Tastings
We've seen a lot of wine-centric events at hotels but after a visit to the glamorous Rosewood Mayakoba, we've been converted to a new breed of booze tasting: tequila tasting.
Forget your frat days and sloppy Day of the Dead celebrations: this is pure class. At Rosewood Mayakoba's tequila bar Agave Azul, a tasting is structured similarly to a wine-pairing dinner. Of course, you can slide up to the bar and order your shots straight if you know what you want--but we highly recommend opting for the pairing that comes with some snacks and little glasses of sangrita--a spicy little chaser.
Hotel Tragedies / Hotel Crime / Mexico City Hotels / Hilton Hotels / Airport Hotels / → All Tags
Flight Attendants Change Hotels After Death at Mexico City Hilton
This is just the kind of awful news you don't want to wake up to on any morning let alone a Halloween Monday morning--a US Airways flight attendant was found dead in his hotel room at the Mexico City Airport Hilton.
The AP reports that Phoenix-based crew member Nick Aaronson, 33, was found early Saturday morning naked in his hotel bed with his hands tied behind his back. His body showed signs of a beating and the Daily Mail reported his luggage was scattered throughout the room. Mexico City police are investigating the incident, which they are treating as a homicide and there have been reports that Aaronson's mother said an arrest has already been made.
Meanwhile, AFA 66 flight attendants' union put a statement on their website saying they did not believe a security breach had happened yet they have moved their crews to another hotel for layovers until the matter is resolved.
Hotel Spas / Riviera Maya Hotels / Grand Velas Hotels / Hotel Fun / → All Tags
The Spa Treatment That Relaxes You Before Your Spa Treatment
Here's the thing about spa treatments: in cities like NYC, we could get the best massage ever but our zen totally evaporates when we step out onto the streets or hit the subway. In resort locations, we're often so relaxed by the warm breeze and a margarita that hitting up the hotel spa is an afterthought.
But! We have now experienced a spa treatment that has made our skin sparkle and taken away all our worries in the process--and it all took place before we even stepped inside the treatment room for our massage.
It's called the Riviera Maya Water Journey, and you'll find it at the huge, $15-million Spa at Grand Velas Riviera Maya. The concept of a water journey is not new, but what struck us about this one was how detailed the multi-process step was and how helpful it was to have a spa attendant guide us through the whole thing. (Often when we see all those pools and showers, we just hop from one to the other, willy nilly, which is fun, but doesn't always lead to the desired state of mush.)
Hotel Cribs / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / Cancun Hotels / Family-Friendly Hotels / → All Tags
Even Babies Have a Ritzy Place to Sleep at The Ritz-Carlton Cancun
Everyone altogether say, "Awwwwwwwwww."
Yes, that is one of the brand-new baby hotel "rooms" that the Ritz-Carlton Cancun has begun offering for guests who won't let the arrival of a little one stop their jet-setting ways.
The Itzy, Bitzy Ritz Kids rooms are actually ocean view deluxe rooms inside the hotel but outfitted with baby-centric amenities to resemble a home nursery such as:
A safety-approved crib; a changing table over the chest of drawers; a television armoire positioned so as not to disturb baby at naptime; miniature hangars in the closet to fit an infant’s wardrobe; and a telephone programmed to light up, not ring.
Even the Do Not Disturb sign gets the baby treatment saying "Shh, Baby Sleeping" so that folks passing by might heed the sign and lower their voices. (And if you see this sign, you really should lower your voice. You don't not want the wrath of parent who has tried for an hour to get the baby to sleep.)
Cool Hotel Jobs / Green Hotels / Mexico Hotels / Fairmont Hotels / Nature Hotels / → All Tags
Green Hotel Jobs: Managing The Subterranean Rivers At Fairmont Mayakoba
Where: Carretera Federal Cancún- Playa del Carmen Km. 298 Playa del CarmenSolidaridad, , Quintana Roo, Riviera Maya, Mexico, 77710
All this week, HotelChatter contributor Eric Rosen will be talking with the people who perform some of the coolest Green Hotel Jobs out there. He reached out across the globe to talk to the dynamic folks who do everything from breeding fish to teaching indigenous survival courses, and everything in between.
When we think of interesting ecology, the tequila-soaked clubs and crowded beaches of Cancun don’t spring to mind. But just 45 minutes south of party central on the way to the Riviera Maya, is the exclusive enclave of Mayakoba, a lush, jungly environment with three luxury resorts discreetly arranged among the winding limestone canals and mangrove-anchored beaches.
There, we talked to the Fairmont Mayakoba’s Ecology Manager and Green Team Leader, Lyn Santos. Hear about the resort's natural underground rivers, stingless Melipona bees, and why Santos loves boating on the resort’s freshwater lagoons and wetlands.
Divorce Hotels / Hotel Packages / Puerto Vallarta Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags
This Hotel is Giving the Newly Divorced a Coffin for Their Wedding Rings
Are you Maria Shriver? newly divorced? Ready to fling your wedding ring into a deep dark abyss? How about giving it a burial party down in Mexico?
While hotel packages catering to the newly divorced are nothing new, Casa Velas in Puerto Vallarta is going the distance with their new Divorcee Package which includes a ceremonial farewell party to your old wedding ring complete with a coffin.
The package will also include a stay for the divorcee and five friends in the hotel's newly renovated Presidential (or is that Presidente?) Suite, a jewelry consultation to redesign your ex-engagement ring, a VIP night on the town, a spa treatment, VIP airport transportation and a shopping tour to "start enjoying that settlement." Hmm...calling Jamie McCourt.
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