Mexico Travel Guide
Tags: Snapshot / Swine Flu Hotels / Guadalajara Hotels / → All Tags
This Little Piggy Doesn't Care About Swine Flu

Last month we spent a few nights at the Intercontinental Guadalajara and we couldn't get over how every time we got off the elevator in the lobby, this little piggy was ready to greet us. The pig actually was a part of the hotel's lobby restaurant Frutas y Flores which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Diners did not seem to be deterred by this figurine and we never asked whether the pig had always been there or if it was an "Eff Swine Flu" sort of display. Still, we got a kick out it. Until we returned home from Mexico with a stomach virus. But that's another story.
Tags: Thanksgiving Hotels / Peurto Vallarta Hotels / Four Seasons Hotels / → All Tags
Skip Turkey Dinner for Grilled Lobster at the Four Seasons Punta Mita

We’re all about unconventional holiday excursions — anything to avoid old musical marathons in Aunt Suzie’s basement, really — but we do believe a few traditions should be safeguarded. Like cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. But that’s just us. If on the other hand, turkey dinner has never been your thing, you might prefer a Four Seasons grilled lobster dinner in Punta Mita, Mexico.
Meal preferences aside, you’re likely to find a few things to be extra-thankful for (no musical marathons, for one; also: a sandy beach) when booking the Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita’s “Thanksgiving Beach Escape.” In particular, when you book four nights in a casita room between Nov. 19th and 27th, you’ll get a $500 resort credit. (Or you can upgrade to a one-bedroom suite and nab a $1,500 resort credit.)
Tags: Hotel Bookshelves / Hotel Amenities / Rosewood Hotels / Mexico Hotels - / → All Tags
Read Next Year's Hot Books Today at Las Ventanas in Mexico

We’ve been following the Hotel Bookshelves craze for awhile now, and for good reason. We’re fans of anything that lightens our carry-on load, so books in our room or lobby are welcome. We like to leaf through those big, sexy art books that hotels like the Cooper Square and the Greenwich Hotel in New York stock bedside, and occasionally we might reacquaint ourselves with a classic while we wait for room service.
But the best thing about the books available for guests at Las Ventanas al Paraíso in Los Cabos, Mexico is the fact that you can read them before anyone back home. As we mentioned when the resort first introduced its Hot Type Menu, an arrangement with top publishing houses means that the Las Ventanas library features books six weeks to six months before their official publication date.
Tags: Halloween Hotels / Halloween Cocktails / Mexico Hotels / All-Inclusive Resorts / → All Tags
Knock Back 'Day of The Dead' Cocktails At Velas Resorts
Where: Mexico

In continuing our Halloween Cocktails series, we bring you some Day of The Dead Cocktails from Mexico.
Remember over the summer when the Grand Velas Resort in Playa del Carmen introduced their margarita trolley and we nearly got drunk writing about it? Well, the resort's sister properties are also doing their best to get us buzzed.
In celebration of Mexico's Day of the Dead on November 1st and 2nd, The Grand Velas Riviera Maya is offering guests "The Cemetery" drink made with Vodka, Kahlua, Coca Cola and "Bloody Champagne," accompanied by strawberry and raspberry juices and served with dry ice for a "spookier feel." (Ed. note: can we get a contact high from this dry ice? Just curious is all.)
In Puerto Vallarta, the Casa Velas and Velas Vallarta Resorts are offering the "Red Devil" and the "Zombie" with a selection of rums and juices. Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit will be serving "The Skull" with Campari, Cider, lemon-lime soda, minced apples and walnuts and "The Blue Death" with Blue Curacao liqueur and Vodka.
Tags: Hotel Deals / Riviera Maya Hotels / Romantic Resorts / Mexico / Mexico Hotels / Mexico Riviera Hotels / → All Tags
The Rosewood Mayakobá Offers Tequila Upon Arrival and a Third Night For Free

"Buy One, Get One Free" offers usually refer to things like magazine subscriptions and ice cream sundaes. In the case of Mexico's Rosewood Mayakobá resort the promotion is a "Buy Two Nights, Get the Third Free" deal at a hotel we once described as "a dash of Venice" with "a bit of Disney's Jungle Cruise, a shot of the Hobbit's Shire, and a touch of Tatooine mixed in for good measure."
Included in the offer, which is valid through December 15th and requires you to stay two-consecutive nights to get that third freebie, is daily breakfast. That early morning "extra" doesn't seem like much of a bonus, though, considering that ye old Continental Breakfast is standard fare at many hotels.
Tags: Hotel Video Tours / Guadalajara Hotels / Mexico Hotels / Intercontinental Hotels / → All Tags
The Intercontinental Guadalajara: A Tale of Two Hotel Rooms
So remember that hotel keycard we showed you the other day with the um, interesting ad on it? Yeah. Well, that belonged to the Presidente Intercontinental Guadalajara where we stayed for four days during the Society of American Travel Writers conference.
Before we go any further, we must tell you the most crucial bit of information: Request a room above the 16th floor. Do not settle for a room on the 14th, 15th or 16th floors.
The reason being is that the hotel has recently completed a massive renovation of its lobby and floors 17-23. However, the renovation has not yet extended to the other floors. These rooms are very old and in terrible condition. We heard reports from fellow conference-goers of broken phones, missing mini-bar keys, broken lights and the like.
But upstairs in the "gated community," as some other folks referred to these new rooms, it's a different story. The rooms are light and happy, spacious and modern. Our only issue with our room was that sometimes the toilet wouldn't flush. But other than that, everything worked perfectly.
Tags: Snapshot / Hotel Key Card / Mexico Hotels / → All Tags
What Is Going On With This Hotel Room Key?

We spent the past four days in Guadalajara, Mexico and we'll have more on the hotel scene there tomorrow but we just had to post this snapshot for ya of our hotel room keycard. It says, "Taller de sexualidad. Desmitificando las disfunciones sexuales en Mexico." And it's accompanied by a picture of a man and woman in a bed that's being carried away (or rescued?) by a parachute.
We're pretty sure you don't need a Spanish to English dictionary to understand what this advertisement is for (a doctor's name is also listed on the card) but we thought it was something you'd get a kick out of.
Seen any other hotel keycards with sexual dysfunction ads on them? Or any other kind of ads? Send 'em to us!
Tags: Hotel Video Tours / Mexico Hotels / Tequila Hotels / Tequila / → All Tags
The Closest Place to Crash After Tequila Tasting? La Cofradia Boutique Hotel
The other day we stumbled upon our dream hotel, La Cofradia Boutique Hotel in Tequila, Mexico. Yes, tequila.
The hotel, which is really comprised of four rooms next to one another, is literally steps away from the blue agave fields and the Cofradia distillery where the tequila undergoes its refinement and aging process. Each of the rooms are named after different tequila brands that are produced here.
This is a look inside the Casa Noble room, a brand of tequila which we coincidentally learned about through another hotel--Viceroy Santa Monica.
Tags: Hotel Openings / Hilton Hotels / Mexico Hotels / Business Hotels / → All Tags
Business Travelers, Take Note: Hilton Mexico City Reforma Coming Soon

Chalk this hotel opening up to some of the notable ch-ch-ch-changes of hotel goliath Hilton Worldwide (née Hilton Hotels). Following news of the company's logo and name change, and overall brand rebirth, comes what they are dubbing a "historic" announced opening in Mexico City.
The Hilton Mexico City Reforma—currently a Sheraton—is scheduled to open at the end of 2009 after a series of upgrades, making it the first full-service Hilton hotel in the city. Is it a happy coincidence that it happens to be located on the aptly named Reforma Avenue?
The announcement touts the future Hilton as being ideal for business and pleasure-seeking travelers, but their description is especially suit-and-tie formal: Hilton looks forward to building its "portfolio of brands throughout Mexico and Latin America;" it will strengthen their "presence in one of the most important markets with one of the most impressive products in Mexico City." Can we get a hedge fund with room service?
Tags: Hotel Deals / Riviera Maya Hotels / Swine Flu Hotels / → All Tags
The Upside of Swine Flu? 'Splurge' Deals at Riviera Maya's Esencia Estate

Hoping for an economic inoculation against swine flu fears, and what it calls "negative media reports and unsubstantiated fears of the H1N1 virus," the "residential retreat" Esencia Estate is introducing a battery of deals right now. The Esencia has dubbed the promotion "Splurge on the House," and it is intended to revive the tourism industry that has been in a slump since the H1N1 scare earlier this year.
The Mayan-themed resort on Mexico’s Riviera Maya is offering guests a daily account credit equal to the amount they pay for their nightly room rate. Rates start at $459 per night, so we’re talking some big money here. The credit can be used at the hotel’s “organic” spa (treatments use indigenous fruits, plants and herbs, many of them grown in an onsite garden), at the poolside restaurant, or on other expenses like airport transfers, room service, in-room babysitting, and even beachside drinks.
Tags: Mexico Hotels / Hotel Bars / Luxury Hotels / Tequila / → All Tags
The Classy Way to Consume Tequila in Cabo

You know we love the infinity pools and the Department of Romance (staffed by a dedicated "Romance Coordinator") at the Las Ventanas al Paraiso resort in Cabo, but now it seems like the hotel figures all guests really need is a shot of good tequila to get the fiesta going.
Before you ask: no, this is not your chance to relive that glorious (and foggy) spring break you spent in Cancun doing body shots off sunburned coeds. The exclusive hotel is now offering classes led by their in-house Tequileros on the fine art of tequila appreciation. And you even get a diploma at the end...provided you’re coherent enough to answer the final test question.
Tags: Labor Day Hotels / Mexican Riviera Resorts / Mexico Hotels / → All Tags
$49 Mexican Riviera Getaway? Yes, Please.

Barbeques. Chilled Beer. A three-day weekend. These are standard things associated with Labor Day, and while we appreciate a mellow respite from the work week as much as anyone else, we prefer to use the holiday as an excuse to scour for killer hotel deals.
It's said that Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer, and, that being the case, we consider it time for one last hurrah before settling into fall's more humdrum pace. We found one holiday rate that we'd normally file under "Too Good To Be True," if the New York Times hadn't been the tip source.
