Recommend December 2015 - (Page 64)

mexico The spa at the newly opened Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya. New Year, More Choices paloma villaverde de rico Mexico is energized. New hotels, new air service and other goodies are spicing things up in this wonderful country that offers a bounty of delights for travelers looking for everything from golden shorelines to jungle-embraced ancient ruins. hotel bonanza New hotel openings are spread throughout Mexico-from Los Cabos to Cancun. Hyatt Ziva has new offerings on both coasts, in fact. Last month saw the opening of the 547-suite, familyfriendly Hyatt Ziva Cancun, surrounded on three sides by the Caribbean Sea, and in September, the recreated Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos debuted with 591 suites, including 34 swim-up suites, 12 restaurants, bars and lounges and a KidZ Club with waterpark. By the way, you are all loving Hyatt's all-inclusive offerings-Hyatt Ziva and Hyatt Zilara garnered honorary mentions in this year's Recommend Readers' Choice Awards, getting a good chunk of the votes in the Best All-Inclusive Hotel category. In other news, just last month, Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya welcomed its first guests; among its offerings are suite options with private pools. This month, the family-friendly Sunscape Puerto Vallarta Resort & Spa, with more than 300 rooms and offering expansive views of Banderas Bay, becomes the fourth AMResorts property in the destination. In April 2016, AMResorts is set to debut the 526-room Breathless Riviera Cancun, while 2017 will see the opening of the 500-room Breathless Playa del Carmen Resort & Spa, as well as the Dreams Villas Playa del Carmen with 150 luxury villas and 50 junior suites. Los Cabos has definitely recovered after Hurricane Odile: the 299-room, beachfront JW Marriott Los Cabos Beach Resort & Spa opened its doors last month, and this month saw the opening of the 169-room Breathless Cabo San Lucas Resort & Spa, which offers views of the famous Arch of Cabo San Lucas. Melia fans, take note, because the 151-room ME Cabo is reopening this month. For guests who like hacienda-style accommodations, Hacienda Encantada now offers guests The Residences, with nine villas, each accommodating up to eight guests in three bedrooms. And let your high-end clients know that Solaz, a Luxury Collection Resort, Los Cabos will debut in June 2017. This February, Riviera Nayarit welcomes W Punta de Mita with 120 guest villas, while in neighboring Puerto Vallarta, the adultsonly, 443-room Grand Fiesta Americana Puerto Vallarta came onto the hotel scene just a couple of months ago. Look over to Acapulco for the opening late in 2016 of the 428-room Fiesta Americana Grand Diamante Acapulco. Debuting next year on Mexico's Caribbean coast is The Westin Cozumel and the Andaz Mayakoba Resort Rivera Maya. Also in Riviera Maya, the 630-room Bahia Principe Akumal was recently renovated and is now part of Bahia's luxury Don Pablo Collection, and the hip 92-room Thompson Playa del Carmen has swung open its doors. Grupo HABITA has also been busy and just opened the 37room Casa Fayette in Guadalajara's Lafayette neighborhood; it's a converted 1940s mansion displaying its original Art Deco structure. Colonial Puebla will welcome a 79-room Rosewood property next year, the fourth property in Mexico for the brand; it will be housed in a collection of buildings from different eras december 2015 65

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend December 2015

Editor’s Notes
19th Annual Recommend Readers’ Choice Awards Winners
Cruising Into the Future
Anthem of the Seas
Norwegian Escape
Looking Ahead
Saint Lucia 36-Page Pull-Out Travel Agent Specialist Program
Trending Now in the Caribbean
Eyes on 2016
Dive Into the New Year
Wild Encounters in the Coming Year
New Year, More Choices
Latin America in 2016 & Beyond

Recommend December 2015