I’m visiting hotels in the colonial heartland of Mexico this week and just spent a couple nights at Villa Maria Cristina, which has been the finest hotel in town since its opening near the end of ‘06. (It nudges out its neighbor a few blocks away, Quinta Las Acacias, which I’ll also be reviewing for Luxury Latin America’s listings.)

Villa Maria Cristina is a member of the Small Luxury Hotels organization and hits all the right notes in terms of architectural integrity and attention to detail in the rooms. Linking together old and new construction on the prestigious Paseo de la Prensa street, it blends together in a series of patios, stairs and railings. (Lots of stairs, which is Guanajuato in general; if you’ve got a bum knee, say so when making reservations so they’ll put you near the one elevator.)

There’s a lot packed into the space, including a spa with an indoor pool and hot tub, a patio with Jacuzzi that faces a mountain, and a good upscale restaurant with a pocket bar featuring fine tequila. Spacious rooms have all that you would expect, like high-end mattresses and linens, but also Bang & Olufsen phones and satellite TV with far more English channels than usual. Plus something so rare in a luxury hotel that I was shocked to find it: free WiFi!

Watch for the review in a week or two in the Mexico listings, but if you’re heading to Guanajuato soon, book a room, junior suite, or master suite through this direct link at Small Luxury Hotels. Published rates are $180 to $390 including taxes and continental breakfast.

UPDATE - Review of Villa Maria Cristina is now posted.

With the help of New Age Town & Country Hotels in Argentina, Luxury Latin America is giving away six nights of hotel stays in Buenos Aires or in the countryside. No essays, no photo competitions, just plain old luck to win. We are not Yahoo or TripAdvisor though, will millions of readers, so your odds are pretty good. Go enter the contest.

N/A has plenty of fine hotels in Argentina, including Solar de la Plaza in Salta and Club Tapiz in Mendoza, which we’ll be posting a review of soon. For this contest though, the winner will have their choice of five hotels in and around Buenos Aires. Here are descriptions of the participating hotels.
Even if you don’t come in tops, you can get a copy of Moon Handbook Argentina (our vote for the best guidebook on the country) or a copy of Putumayo’s Tango Around the World collection. See all the details here: Argentina boutique hotel contest.

A while back I posted some pics and a quick description of the M.V. Discovery ship in Panama. Now we have the full feature story posted here: A Two-ocean Yacht Tour in Panama.

Even on the Web though, it’s hard to use even a fraction of the great photos that come out of a journey like this. So besides the ones you will find on the pages of the Panama boat trip story, here are a few more that didn’t make it in. I shot some video footage too and hope to have an edited version up in April, complete with dolphins, birds, and the Panama Canal in action.

Francis Mallman is a well-known figure in both Argentina and Uruguay. He is a chef, the owner of several restaurants, and the person who gets most of the credit for making Uruguay’s Jose Ignacio beach area the hip and happening place for celebrities and international playboys (and girls). We’ve just posted a review of his small inn in a small town: Hotel el Garzon.

In Luxury Latin America, we try to go beyond the big splashy places, which can often be impersonal and uninspiring. Hotel El Garzon is a great example of a gem where you can expect great service, interesting furnishings that don’t come from a hotel catalog, and cuisine served with a flourish.With a winery nearby supplying el vino, you’ll surely drink something new and interesting as well. Check out the full review.

The Llao Llao Hotel and Resort in Argentina is one of the continent’s most famous and most interesting hotels, with a fantastic location on a hillside facing snowcapped mountains and a beautiful lake. Like many historic lodges around the world, however, there’s just one drawback: small rooms built for a time when people didn’t expect so much space in their sleep quarters.

Before the Llao Llao guests who weren’t price sensitive and wanted to upgrade had to fight over the few suites in the building. That’s all history now as the long-awaited Moreno Lake Wing is officially finished and open. There are 43 new rooms and suites, adding 25 percent to the hotel’s capacity. The whole wing is on a hillside below the main building though, so it doesn’t block anyone’s view.

These 43 new suites increase the Hotel capacity by 25%. They cover 7.000 sq. mts.  in six  3 and 4-storey modules of rooms leaning on the side of the hill  that overlooks Moreno Lake,    since this wing is  below the Hotel level  it does not interfere with the view to and from the lake.

The 23 Deluxe Moreno Lake Studios are spacious single rooms with a terrace. The 17 Deluxe Moreno Lake Suites have two rooms with a total area of at least 645 square feet (60 to 63 square meters), all of them with a terrace.

There are also two Master Suites over 1,000 square feet each, plus a terrace, and the even larger Moreno Lake Royal Suite. All rooms have huge windows that showcase the unique view of Moreno Lake and Mt. Tronador, have a jacuzzi (built for two people in the suites), LCD TV set, Wi-Fi Internet and safe box.

This wing will function like a VIP area or executive level, with an independent access for cars and its own reception area and cozy lounge facing the marina.
Unfortunately, Llao Llao doesn’t seem to understand the importance of image: the only photos available of the new wing’s rooms are these tiny grainy ones we found on a press release.