I’ve gotten some e-mail comments now and then that we seem to favor small and intimate hotels over the big and brash ones when it comes to which ones we cover in the Luxury Latin America hotel reviews. In a sense, this is a fair observation, because to us the main thing that differentiates a true luxury hotel from one that just claims to be is not how long the amenity list is, but how the staff and management goes about anticipating and meeting the needs of well-heeled, experienced travelers. The smaller hotels tend to focus intensely on service, while the largest ones focus on making it easy for business travelers and conventioneers to get work done.

There are plenty of exceptions, of course, which brings me to a hotel that has nothing to do with Latin America, the Fairmont Banff Springs in Alberta, Canada. I spent a night there recently and came away wishing it could have been three or four nights instead. The place is a maze that takes a day to figure out, but once you get beyond that they really do get almost everything right. Sure, it’s huge and there was a convention going on while I was there, but the staff did an impeccable job throughout my stay, the facilities are really well maintained despite the age, and it’s hard to beat this view out the window, which a majority of the rooms have.

I stayed at two other Fairmonts as well recently and while the others can’t match the Banff Springs one for the wow factor, the chain has a solid operation that’s a clear notch above the far and wide business hotel chains like Marriott and Sheraton. Back in Latin America, the company does have a few resorts in Mexico that we have reviewed:

Fairmont Acapulco Princess review

Fairmont Pierre Marques review

Fairmont Mayakoba review

In the June ‘08 issue of Conde Nast Traveler there’s a rundown of the best golf resorts in the world, as chosen by subscribers. The very top spot goes to one in Mexico: Four Seasons Punta Mita.

In all fairness though, If you’ve ever actually taken one of those Conde Nast Traveler reader surveys, you must be someone with a lot of time and patience. Last time I tried it—in the interest of professional research even—I gave up halfway through. I had already spent 17 minutes on it, was 29 screens in, and looked like I was still only halfway done. (Who knows, there’s no indicator to tell you.)

So I’m always a bit skeptical of the results, since people who really travel a lot and get paid the big bucks aren’t usually very willing to give up an hour of their well-paid time to fill out a survey. That leaves the people who have nothing better to and the ones who are forced to do it by their employers. (Hey, get subscriptions for all your staffers, have them each go in and do the survey, and voila–you have a close to perfect score!)

But back to the results. Let’s assume anyone could argue about any of these since very few people have played and stayed are more than a handful, but here are the ones in Mexico that scored highly in addition to the Four Seasons near Puerto Vallarta.

Westin Resort and Spa - Los Cabos, Mexico
One & Only Palmilla - Los Cabos, Mexico

You can read about both these in our article on Golfing in Los Cabos.

That leaves out a lot of stunning places, like the Tamarindo golf resort between Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo and a few others at Los Cabos, not to mention Llao Llao in Patagonia or, say, half of Scotland. But naturally, the problem with reader surveys is that places that draw the biggest crowds are going to get more votes. (Most of the resorts were in the U.S.)

I got back from Honduras recently and have posted some new reviews of some of the best hotels on Roatan Island and one new one for Copan.

All our Honduras hotels come with a caveat or two I must admit. There is not one hotel in the whole country that is on par with the high-end resorts in Mexico or Argentina, but things are improving all the time as more tourists (and more demanding tourists) join the scuba divers that have been the mainstay there. So don’t expect any of these places to blow you away with their opulence or dazzling amenities, but each is special in its own way. Where would I go back to tomorrow if I could? The Lodge at Pico Bonito. I can’t remember the time I last felt that relaxed and at one with the natural world.

Here are the new Honduras hotel reviews:

Hotel Marina Copán — Copán Ruinas, Honduras

Barefoot Cay — Roatan, Honduras

Infinity Bay Spa & Beach Resort — Roatan, Honduras

Palmetto Bay Plantation — Roatan, Honduras

We’re getting ready to kick off a new real estate investing section of Luxury Latin America. We’ve got an advance taste of things to come here with an interview on farm and vineyard investing in Argentina.

It’s an interview with David English, who lives in Mendoza - the main wine-producing area of Argentina. David advises people on investing in land so they do not lose their shirts and then will be their eyes and ears on the ground to ensure things run smoothly. He is not a real estate agent who makes a sale and then pockets a commission. He works with buyers on a retainer basis to help them make the right choices.

So for all you wine business dreamers out there, how does a vineyard in Mendoza rate as an investment? How long until you start rolling in the cash?

“There is not standard length of time, since each investment is unique, ” David says. “What one has to keep in mind is that the wine industry in particular is quite capital intensive. Returns are low or nil for a number of years, as capital is tied up in wine, barrels, supplies, etc. while the wine is aging, being sold and being developed into a successful brand. All this takes time, and time truly is money. Also, economy of scale is critical with agricultural ventures. Whether one owns a grape farm or a peach farm, the larger the piece of land over which fixed costs can be spread, the better.”

We’ve pulled the winners out of a hat for the Argentina Boutique Hotels contest we were running with N | A Town & Country Hotels in Buenos Aires. We had about 150 entries from 9 countries. Thanks to everyone who entered! If you’re on this list, expect a package in the mail this month.

Grand Prize - 6 Boutique Hotel Nights in Buenos Aires
from New Age Town & Country Hotels

Ralph Blessing of Washington, D.C.
USA

First Prize - A copy of Moon Handbooks Argentina

Maria Verdaguer
Fairfax Station, VA
USA

Charles Weaver
Birmingham, AL
USA

Sydney Freas
Santiago
Chile

Second Prize - A copy of Tango Around the World
from Putumayo Music

Avril Nunez
Brooklyn, NY
USA

Thomas Andrillon
La roche sur foron
France

Catherine de Vries
Toronto, Ontario
Canada

Kara Dodson
Whangarei, Northand
New Zealand

David Wiggins
Boulder, CO
USA