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Tags: Hotel Renovations / Mexico Hotel Reviews / Hotel Spas / → All Tags
Riviera Maya's El Cid Hotel Gets Some Upgrades
The $50-million renovation of Riviera Maya's Hotel Marina El Cid Spa & Beach Resort is now complete, adding to the property 150 new junior suites, a fourth restaurant, Mayan-themed spa, convention center and host of eco-friendly activities. Here are the details that matter...
The all-inclusive resort, which sits along 1,969 feet of Mexico's Riviera Maya, features an architectural design that mixes Mexican colonial with contemporary, and the hotel's new junior suites are consistent with that look and feel, decorated in dark wood furnishings, granite countertops and stainless steel accents.
Tags: Habita Group Hotels / Mexico Hotels / Mexico Hotel Reviews / New York Times / → All Tags
La Purificadora More Nightclub Than Hotel
The latest in a string of achingly trendy Mexican hotels, La Purificadora is the Habita group's first property in Puebla, near Monterrey. The syndicate's other properties have opened in what are arguably more jet set locations, like Cancun and Mexico City, but that isn't stopping them from bringing trendy design and a party-focused scene to Northern Mexico.
With an open-air lobby, glassed-in pool and rooftop bar, the place stays busy, with music pumping until late, reviewer Tara Fitzgerald reports. Despite the noise, the hit-or-miss service, "patchy" WiFi and shoddy room construction, she declares the Purificadora worth a stay:
[It's] a cool alternative for design-savvy travelers who aren't sticklers for service.
Guess its great location in the heart of town--and at the convention center--makes up for all the miscues.
[Photo: Adriana Zehbrauskas for The New York Times]
Related Stories:
· Check In, Check Out [NYT]
· Mexico Hotels [HotelChatter]
Tags: Mexico Hotel Reviews / Hotel Activities / → All Tags
Kiteboarding and Sand-Biking are Big Attractions at La Zebra
Down on Tulum Beach in Mexico the La Zebra Beach Cantina & Cabanas are adding to their already established repertoire of having retro jungle vibes (and sometimes free tequila) by ramping up their onsite adventure activity sideline.
Combining transport, a workout and a lot of fun, La Zebra is offering guests the use of its special sand-bikes. The sand-bikes are specially geared and have extra fat tires so you can hit the beach in front of La Zebra and ride for miles (or until you want to turn back for more tequila).
And for more extreme adventurers, La Zebra has hooked up with a local kiteboarding school to offer lessons and equipment hire--apparently the wind situation makes this beach an ideal spot for kiteboarding year round.
And at the end of the day there are still plenty of chances to sample some local tequila (including regular Friday night tequila tasting parties) or to eat up a storm with Sunday's salsa fiesta pit roast grill meal. Must be something for everyone with all that mix.
Related Stories:
· Retro Jungle Vibes and Free Tequila at La Zebra [HotelChatter]
· Hotels in Tulum [HotelChatter]
Tags: Celebrity Scoop / Mexico Hotel Reviews / → All Tags
Kate Beckinsale Displays Signs of Paranoia at Palmilla Hotel Pool
A reader wrote into Perez Hilton about some especially atrocious behavior of Kate Beckinsale at the One & Only Palmilla Hotel in Mexico recently. It turns out other paying hotel guests are not allowed to take pictures of anything or anyone, so long as Ms. Beckinsale is around. Here's a snippet of the letter posted on P-Nasty's site.
I was staying at the Palmilla in Cabo this weekend for a friend's wedding. The day after the wedding (Sunday, July 8th) the bride's sister was taking pictures at the kiddie pool of her young son with a big iguana.
A hotel employee sheepishly asked her to see her camera. She was flustered and gave it over, and two of somebody's "handlers" looked through all of the pictures on it (all containing wedding pictures and her son with the lizard.)
She started to say, "What the hell?" and the employee told her that a famous person was sitting in front of her and didn't want anyone taking her pictures. Turns out it was Kate Beckinsale.
Wow, we feel bad for that hotel staffer who had to ask the guest to fork over her camera. Can we say awkward? Also, shouldn't Kate Beckinsale have her own private pool at these places when she travels?
Tags: Hotel Renovations / Mexico Hotel Reviews / Towel Origami / Tequila / → All Tags
'Retro-Jungle Vibes' and Free Tequila at La Zebra
Heading to the Mayan Riviera? Check out the newly renovated La Zebra Cantina & Cabanas in Tulum (about two hours south of Cancun), a nine-cabana property that promises an authentic Mexican beachfront experience.
La Zebra boasts a "retro-jungle" vibe and they describe their own decor as "jungle chic." Hmmm... we have no idea how chic or retro jungles can be, but the pictures on the website look pretty neat.
Tags: Killer View / Mexico Hotel Reviews / → All Tags
Room with a Killer View: Hotel Misión Uxmal
We are suckers for a room with a killer view. We find that we are even more likely to forgive some minor hotel inconveniences if we can stare out the window at something pretty--yeah we are that shallow. Let's help out our fellow hotel mavens by uploading rooms with killer views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. We will feature our favorites in this space from time to time. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number of the hot view.
Flickr member Lichtfanger snapped this shot from the balcony of the Hotel Misión Uxmal in Mexico's Yucatan, where the Mayan city Uxmal can be seen in the distance.
According to the hotel:
"Yucatan" is a legendary land chock full of sun and fun. This Mexican region is rich with archaeological wonders that reflect the Mayan magnificence with its cities and buildings which will astonish you beyond belief. The" Hotel Mision Uxmal" is situated only 5 km from "Uxmal", one of the most famous "Mayan" cities. The city of Merida is a mere 50 km away.
TripAdvisor guests however say the views might be pretty but the hotel is worn down on the inside. Sigh. Why can't a killer view always come with a killer room?
Related Stories:
· Hotel Mision Uxmal reviews [TripAdvisor]
· Lichtfanger's photostream [Flickr]
Tags: Playa Del Carmen Hotel Reviews / Hip Hotels / Mexico Hotel Reviews / → All Tags
Hotel Básico: Women Topless, Vibe Relaxed
Suncrawler, over at the always entertaining W4 blog, was in Mexico this month, lucky bastard.
Upon arrival at Cancun airport all of our worst fears were realized -- drunken midwesterns doing tequila shots in the departure lounge, overweight mammas in far too revealing shirts which read Spring Break 2007, and more than a few passed out high school kids who looked like they needed medical attention after doing too many Jello shots at Wet Willies.
Luckily, Suncrawler escaped Cancun and made it to Playa Del Carmen. When it came time to sleep, Hotel Básico got the call:
The hotel Basico, we were greeted with a chilled out - dare we say - even Mediterranean vibe? The hotel is the sister hotel to Mexico City's uber trendy Habita Hotel and features an elaborate rooftop pool / lounge area. Playa itself: tacky - kinda; Americans - not too many; cocktails - strong; women - topless; vibe - relaxed.
Remember, Bonnie Tsui told us this place was not right on the beach, however it still sounds well worth a look.
[Photo: Orrin]
Related Stories:
· Hotel Básico Comments [TripAdvisor]
Tags: Hacienda Hotels / Mexico Hotel Reviews / Merida Hotels / Starwood Luxury Collection / → All Tags
A Luxury Hacienda That's Not So Lonely: Xcanatun
You may be inclined to feel sorry for the Mexican investor who turned five crumbling haciendas of Mexico's Yucatan region into Starwood Luxury Collection Hacienda Hotels. Upkeep has to be a pain and it costs good money to market them, yet years after opening, they're still empty more often than they're full. We've seen this first hand, but a March 17 Wall Street Journal story summed it up with a round-up piece called "A Hacienda of Your Own". (Scroll down to second story.) Their point? The haciendas look grand, but you'll probably have the whole thing to yourself when you go. (A hint from us: Temozon is usually the liveliest of the five and is a good base for exploring both Mérida and Uxmal.)
That investor is Banamex founder Roberto Hernandez though, who sold his company to Citigroup in 2001 for $12.5 billion. So we don't feel all that sorry for him really.
Meanwhile, you can get the hacienda experience in a less isolated setting at Xcanatun (pictured here). Their ugly web site is pure amateur hour, but take our word for it that this is the best small hotel in the region. In a way it's sort of a semi-hacienda experience. You get the 18th-century historic structures and the sense of place, but the grounds are not all that extensive because you're just a 15-minute drive from central Mérida. This refined boutique hotel has large, well-stocked rooms, a sizable pool for cooling off, a full spa, and a restaurant that wins plenty of local "best of" awards.
There are only 18 rooms though, so you still get the personal service and that privileged bigwig feeling. Since Xcanatun can pick staffers from a city of one million, English proficiency is also much better here that at the Starwood hotels. If you truly want to get away from it all and have the Mexican equivalent of a plantation all to yourself, try Hacienda San Jose or Hacienda Santa Rosa. Otherwise, this one gives you a more polished experience, with alternate dining and entertainment options (plus golf and a beach) a short drive away.
As with all the hacienda hotels, however, don't expect chain hotel standards: there are no TVs in the rooms and Internet access is iffy. They make up for it with peaceful gardens, stereos in each room, and Mexican antiques throughout.
Tags: Celebrity Scoop / Mexico Hotel Reviews / Boutique Hotels / Beachfront Hotels / → All Tags
Where Those Beachy Corona Commercials Come From
Today we have another Part 2 story---video of the Las Alamandas Resort shot by Hotel Maven Tim Leffel, who has this to report:
This is one-minute virtual tour of upscale retreat Las Alamandas, on a deserted stretch of coast on the west coast of Mexico. From the palapa area where you can have breakfast or a sunset cocktail to the colorful pool with a lounging bed at each end. Grab a margarita and pretend you're a hot shot getting a break away from your busy schedule of shooting movies and signing autographs.
This just has to be the inspiration for those Corona commercials.
Related Stories:
· Keeping the Paparazzi at Bay at Las Alamandas [HotelChatter]
· Virtual Tour of Las Alamandas--Tim Leffel [YouTube]
Tags: Gay Hotels / Mexico Hotel Reviews / → All Tags
All-Male Synchronized Swimming Classes at La Villa Hidalgo
We kid of course. We bet these men just decided to take a dip in the pool at the La Villa Hidalgo in Mexico City and ended up doing a little routine totally unplanned.
Perhaps they were overjoyed at the warmth of the water as the caption below this Flickr shot states:
You will find that the pool is always heated to a comfortable 88 degrees. Enjoy the sun and a bit of fun in the pool.
Actually if you check out the hotel's entire photostream photostream on Flickr, all the pictures are captioned with hotel advertisements. And we thought it was just fake hotel blogs we had to look out for.
Funny...why do all these pictures have men in them? Ohhhh....
Related Stories:
· La Villa Hidalgo reviews [TripAdvisor]
· Otra Vez2's photostream [Flickr]
Tags: Celebrity Scoop / Mexico Hotel Reviews / Boutique Hotels / Beachfront Hotels / → All Tags
Keep The Paparazzi at Bay at Las Alamandas
While some bratty celebrities are making life miserable for the staff (giving us plenty of material each week), others just want to get away and not be bothered. For that, they come to a hideaway like Las Alamandas, on the west coast of Mexico.
Many of the guests who stay at Las Alamandas fly in on a private plane and land at the resort's own paved airstrip. Us mere mortals arrive via a leisurely two-hour drive south from the Puerto Vallarta airport, with the last few miles being over a rutted dirt road that entails dodging "free range" chickens, and then past a gate with a guard who takes his bouncer role very seriously.
More on Las Alamandas after the jump.
Tags: Bad Rate / Mexico Hotel Reviews / → All Tags
Bad Rate: Gotta Pay to Play Kid-free at Secrets Capri Riviera Cancun
[Ed. Note: This is the Bad Rate in our Good Rate/Bad Rate feature. This rate was valid on Nov 7, 2006 and is subject to change. Enjoy.]
If you're just looking for a beach break and some cocktails, does $510 a night plus tax make sense in Mexico? When it's not even high season?
We pulled up the first weekend in December--not exactly a busy time on the Caribbean coast of Mexico---and were quoted a rate of $510 per night at Secrets Capri Riviera Cancun.
Four ideas stuffed into one name already gives us feelings of pretention, but we also would have serious trouble paying three times the price of our good rate this week at the Grand Oasis Riviera Maya, especially since the premium seems to be because the resort is "adults only."
Yes, we're sure the name-stuffed Capri has a bit fancier linens and with this rate you're assured some view of the water (without a view it's $387), but who hangs out in their room at these all-inclusive resorts anyway?
Early December is supposed to be low season in Mexico, which is why most resorts are running all kinds of deals to get people to forget about visiting relatives at Thanksgiving and shopping for holiday presents. Not here though. The rates also do not include airport transfers (43 miles away) and Internet access requires a fee. This is an adults-only resort, so no "kids stay free" policy like the Oasis has obviously.
Related Stories:
· Secret Capri Riviera Maya reviews [TripAdvisor]
· Good Rate: Under $140 a Night All-Inclusive at Grand Oasis Riviera Maya [HotelChatter]
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