We’ve had a review up for some time of the hip Condesa df Hotel in Mexico City, a lovely small hotel in a great leafy neighborhood. I stayed there in January but am happy to leave our last correspondent’s review as is because she captured the place well. It’s really thoughtfully designed and executed, but unlike so many other art hotels where I have stayed, things actually work well and it’s comfortable. I like the whimsical attitude too: they don’t take themselves too seriously, which I hope comes through in this quick video tour of the ground level.

To see another video tour of the roof deck and atrium, follow this link.

Most upscale travelers visiting Mendoza, Argentina stay at the excellent Park Hyatt in the center or the fantastic Cavas Wine Lodge plopped in the middle of a vineyard. We’ve just added a review of a third option: Club Tapiz.

Club Tapiz, part of which is a historic bodega building surrounded by grape vines, is a bit simpler and more like a B&B than Cavas, but it has a few notable things going for it. I have eaten at their restaurant myself and can vouch that it’s one of the best in the region. There’s also a villa for rent as part of the complex. Here’s what our reviewer had to say about it:

Run as part of the Tapiz estate in its own private grounds, it was once was the ambassador’s private residence. This exquisitely appointed private house has four bedrooms, each of which has a private bathroom, cable TV, Wi-Fi, and maid service. The games room has a large living and dining area, plus a lounge has its own private pool. There is a breakfast bar and even a private area for tango.

Naturally there is a great wine cellar where you can do tastings and the staff can arrange activities at the Tapiz winery nearby. (The label is marketed as Zolo in North America.) Anyone up for some pruning and grape picking?

At times when we are touring a city in the Americas we see old photos of “how it used to be” and it’s hard for us to grasp how much things really have changed in the space of less than a century. Here are two interesting paragraphs I pulled from the history pages of Hotel Geneve in Mexico City.

It was 1907 when Canadian born architect Thomas Sinclair Gore fulfilled his dream of opening this grand hotel in Colonia Juarez, which back then was on the outskirts of Mexico city; at the time a bustling 650,000 inhabitants.

In February 1921, while President Alvaro Obregón launched his plan to make Mexico grow into a touristy center, nice lodging rooms were counted all over the country; they totalized 1000, 400 of which were in the capital city and of those, 200 belonged to the Hotel Genève.

A thousand decent rooms in the whole country!

This 1907 hotel does not have fine enough rooms to qualify it for our luxury hotel listings in Mexico, but it’s definitely worth stopping by its Zona Rosa address for a cocktail or meal. The lobby and bar are both spectacular and you really get transported back to an age when this was a very different city.

If you read much about real estate investment in Central America, you will surely run across articles about all the reasons why Panama offers some of the best opportunities. There are good tax incentives, a stable government, and all transactions are in dollars, for a start. One of the most attractive spots in the country is the Caribbean archipelago of Bocas del Toro.

It’s not all rosy and easy getting your slice of this idyllic island paradise though, as Beverly Gallagher explains in this feature story on buying real estate in Bocas del Toro.

It is important to understand why prices here look cheap compared to more developed markets, even Roatan. As one agent quoted in the article says, “We have so many natural resources you can practically live off of the land. What we don’t have, which makes the prices look ridiculous, is infrastructure. One of our biggest problems here is water and waste management.”

There are also issues in getting clear title, which makes it tough for developers. For now, this is not an area where you can just come in and buy a home in a gated community, expecting it to be like home but with a different accent and a warmer climate. Be sure to pack some patience along with those flip-flops.

The Caribbean’s Last Bargain – with a Few Caveats

Other Latin America real estate stories.

A few readers have asked us why we don’t have any hotel or tour reviews for Brazil Funny thing is, all of those questions came from people connected to the tourism industry there, so they have something to gain. In the other hand, not all that many travelers seem to be in a hurry to go there and the tourism industry is constantly shooting itself in the foot. Combine that with high crime in the cities and an onerous visa process and most tourists take a pass on Brazil. They go to Peru, Chile, or Argentina instead.

What’s the story behind all this? Here’s a great explanation from the terrific site BrazilMax.

We do have correspondents visiting there this spring, however, so we will launch a limited batch of hotel reviews after that. Stay tuned…