When you're busy sipping your frothy drink along the Riviera Maya, isn't your first thought always -- I wonder how Fido is digging his thalasso-therapy?
The Paraiso de la Bonita just rolled their "Haute Dog Package," a Leona Helmsley-esque treatment just for your four-legged friend.
In the event you brought your doggie with you to the sprawling Mexican shore, be rest assured -- Chicken liver puree, dog walks and massage, as well as thalasso-therapy and "daily afternoon tea in the Bird's Lounge" are but a few of the pooch perks here.
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.
Since it's totally different from another killer view we liked from Pueblo Bonito a couple of years back, we're super-impressed with this resort. What we especially like about this view is the way you get the pool, the beach and the sea all in one, but there are enough palm fronds to give you a bit of privacy too--you don't want everyone at the pool seeing what you're up to on your balcony.
The only big thumbs down we give is to the Pueblo Bonito's website: all we wanted to do was check some prices but we got bombarded with truly atrocious music and we were too dumb to find the off button for a while. We did manage to find out that a room next week would cost us about $160 a night.
Imagine booking a much-needed vacation to Tulum at the CasaMagna eco-resort, a favorite retreat for celebs like Drew Barrymore, and arriving at the hotel only to find that the "Mexican Mafia" has seized the place with armed men and helicopters on the beach, prompting the staff and the owner to flee.
That's what did happen on May 1, according to the NY Post.
Exactly who pulled off the raid remains unclear. But one art collector received an e-mail recently from the hotel stating, "We have run into some unexpected problems with the Mexican government involving a land dispute that has affected Casa Magna's stability. The people we lease from are being sued and the opposing party has appeared out of the woodwork with papers giving them temporary occupation."
The art collector was advised to try Casa de Miel, a few miles away on the so-called Mayan Riviera.
Interestingly, Casa de Miel looks very similar to CasaMagna. they even have the same pictures as CasaMagna on the their website.
For now CasaMagna is foreclosed and the property is shut down. However, the owner Melissa Pearlman told Page Six that the hotel is just in the middle of a Mexican land deal and that the hotel will reopen again on December 1.
Want to doze off in a swing cabana? Want to be welcomed to your hotel in Mayan? Want a red parrot to come when you call it?
Try Cancun's new Aqua Hotel & Resort which opened in February to pretty much instant acclaim.
It's outfitted with eight pools, three restaurants, and three kinds of cabanas (beach, pool, and swing). It's got a rockin' spa with all various offerings of massages, jacuzzis, sauna, and hydrotherapy. Still need to coddle your bod? there's a gym and yoga classes on the beach.
Once again, HotelChatter contributing editor Tim Leffel is moving around Mexico, checking out the hotel scene in the colonial heartland. If you have a question about where to stay in Guanajuato or San Miguel de Allende, hit us on the tipline, or just comment below, and we will do our best to get you some sort of answer. Enjoy.
Hotel Casa Linda is an American expatriate's dream hotel and parts of it actually do look like something out of a dream. Each room here has a different theme and whimsy wins out over subtlety every time.
The Angeles Suite features a carved headboard filled with angels, angel tiles in the bath, and a few colonial era religious sculptures. Las Rosas Suite features a bright red whirlpool tub in the bath. Las Gardenias (pictured here) is a huge open space with two queen beds, hardwood floors, full kitchen, and a terrace with a view.
Most everything you need is at your fingertips here: gas fireplaces, satellite TVs with DVD players, minibars, coffee makers, and nice Lord & Mayfair toiletries.
Once again, HotelChatter contributing editor Tim Leffel is moving around Mexico, checking out the hotel scene in the colonial heartland. If you have a question about where to stay in Guanajuato or San Miguel de Allende, hit us on the tipline, or just comment below, and we will do our best to get you some sort of answer. Enjoy.
The two luxury San Miguel de Allende hotels we profiled earlier present an elegant, toned-down side of Mexico, intentionally draining out some of the vivid colors and bold folk art motifs. Casa Luna B&B goes in the opposite direction, figuring if one angel statue and blood red wall are nice, then a dozen of both must be better.
If you're the type who wants a real sense of place to be evident in every nook and cranny, then Casa Luna is the colonial Mexican experience of your dreams. In two restored 300-year-old buildings--one on Pila Seca and one on Quebrada a block away--you find 15 fantastic themed rooms outfitted separately with saints, cherubs, metal star lanterns, stamped tin mirror frames, antique headboards, and plenty of color. Hey, there's even a Frida Kahlo room.
The result is a mix of style and whimsy, with much of the original architecture restored and the new additions blending in seamlessly. Most of the rooms have fireplaces, some have a private terrace, and the hearty breakfasts are a big hit. The original Pila Seca building has a group whirlpool in a courtyard and the Quebrada building has an outdoor lap pool. The American owner and her bilingual staff can arrange most any excursion and they host cooking classes at a ranch outside of town.
Rates run $140 to $160 double for a room or $260 for a suite, all including breakfast and taxes.
April 22nd is Earth Day so all this week we will be bringing you the latest news on Green Hotels. Got some eco-friendly news you wanna share? Let us know.
In the spirit of wishing everyone a happy Earth Day, here's a hotel that is definitely trying to do the right thing by the earth.
The partly-opened Boca de Iguanas Beach eco-resort in Mexico is doing its bit by appointing a Sustainability Manager to make sure the environment comes first.
Their Sustainability Manager, Lorena Vargas, comes from a line of organic farmers and then studied environmental biotechnology; good qualifications to keep this eco-resort truly eco. One of the neat things she's in charge of is the herb gardens that use heirloom seedlings (that means unmodified, "pure" strains of herbs, traced back over 150 years).
When the resort restaurant gets fully up and running these herbs should make a real difference to plenty of meals. Beyond that, the eco treatment gets into things like solar energy, gray water recycling and green on site sewage treatment.
The Boca de Iguanas hotel is offering a Romance package at the moment--three nights for $720. If you're not wanting romance, but just a green break, then now might be a good time to go. As they're still doing construction work to finish off the entire development, they're offering 40% off rack rates.
Once again, HotelChatter contributing editor Tim Leffel is moving around Mexico, checking out the hotel scene in the colonial heartland. If you have a question about where to stay in Guanajuato or San Miguel de Allende, hit us on the tipline, or just comment below, and we will do our best to get you some sort of answer. Enjoy.
Prior to 2006, Casa de Sierra Nevada was already the top hotel in town. But then the Orient-Express company took over, making it their second hotel in Mexico after Maroma in the Riviera Maya. They got straight to work, sprucing up the place and renovating the main restaurant (in what was once the home of the local archbishop). While they were at it, they bought a cooking school just down the street.
Two years later they're still adding on to their collection of rooms in different buildings. A new spa will be finished next month and some additional guest rooms will up the total from the current 31. The newest section of the hotel (for now) is Casa Limon, where six suites surround a courtyard, a library, and a swimming pool set in a grassy lawn.
The video tour here is a trip through one of the Colonial Room Suites in that Casa Limon section. With this one--number 444--you get your private plunge pool/whirlpool on a terrace, two big flat-screen TVS, an iPod dock, and a spacious double-vanity bath with separate tub and shower--both lit by a skylight.
Naturally, the room comes stocked with all the pampering goodies: thick towels, robes, Molton Brown toiletries, and soft cotton sheets with a high thread count.
Published rates are roughly $300 to $600, with the suite featured here at the top of that range.
