Las Alamandas

Many of the hotels we’ve tagged as the best luxury hotels in Mexico have gotten more kudos.

The AAA five-diamond awards are out and we’ve reviewed all but two of the winners in Mexico (a Fiesta Americana and JW Marriott that, in both cases, we found to be impersonal convention hotels). This is the strictest award system out there and here’s who came out on top:

Las Ventanas al Paraiso in Los Cabos
Four Seasons Hotel Mexico D.F. in Mexico City
Grand Velas All Suites & Spa Resort near Puerto Vallarta
Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita near Puerto Vallarta
Fairmont Mayakoba in the Riviera Maya
Occidental Royal Hideaway Resort & Spa near Playa del Carmen
Zoetry Paraiso de la Bonita Resort near Cancun

Grand Velas and Las Ventanas al Paraiso also scored first prizes in the Conde Nast Johansens Awards of Excellence. Here were the other winners in Mexico:

Hacienda Xcanatun near Merida
Las Alamandas in the Costalegre region

A while back we posted a detailed review of Hacienda Zuleta in Ecuador. This week I read the April issue of National Geographic Traveler and there’s a great Ecuador “Valley of the Volcanoes” story in there.

You’ll have to get the magazine to see the whole thing, which is quite good, but they have posted some of the best photos from in and around Hacienda Zuleta.

Zuleta is the former home of two presidents, a father and son. Imagine if George Bush Sr. and Jr. turned their Maine mansion into a hotel, but added an embroidery cooperative and a cheese factory. Hmmmm, can’t see that happening. (An in-house hedge fund and oil drilling cooperative perhaps?) Well, this one has more acreage anyway and the weather is better.

We’ve just gotten our Colombia section of the site up, starting off with some top luxury hotels in Colombia that meet our criteria.

A few of the reviews are from Richard McColl, a writer who lives in this country. Fittingly, he penned this piece for another site: Why Colombia is not as Dangerous as You Think.

We also like this Colombia piece that ran a couple years ago in Perceptive Travel: Dangerous Minds.

It takes a while for old perceptions to change, but Colombia is not the same country as it was five or ten years ago and the country has a lot to offer in terms of landscapes, beaches, food, and music. If you want to go somewhere on the cusp, a place not yet flooded with other tourists but with a constantly improving infrastructure, this is a good bet.

Colombia has moved from being a hotspot for the wrong reasons to being a hotspot for the right ones.

Usually when you see photos of thatched bungalows clinging to a dock, with the water surrounding them on every side, it’s not in Latin America. You’re usually reading about Tahiti, Fiji, or Bora-Bora. But you can actually get that overwater bungalow experience by flying a few hours south on the same time zone—to Panama.

We finally got one of our correspondents out to review Punta Caracol, which we have been meaning to cover for quite a while. It’s the swishiest resort in Bocas del Toro and is a favorite for fashion magazine spreads.

This serene and photogenic hideaway, practically synonymous with Bocas de Toro, has become a bit of an area landmark. Punta Caracol Acqua-Lodge won’t disappoint the loving couples, the water enthusiasts and the need-a-break-from-it-all executives who embrace the idea of luxury defined more by pristine surroundings than by high-end modern convenience.

See more on Punta Caracol in Panama.

While I’ve read a lot of reports about declining tourism in some sectors, especially for leisure travel to Europe and business travel within the U.S., Latin America seems to be faring pretty well. While some operators I’ve spoken to reported a soft October and November, business is almost back to normal in many destinations.

Overall around the world, it’s not as gloomy as you would expect. Here’s an interesting adventure tour company snapshot from the blog of Don George, formerly of the San Francisco Chronicle and Lonely Planet Publications. A few key quotes:

“Our travelers still have money and they’re beginning to come back; our sense is that they won’t be content sitting around Dallas or DC for the next 12 months,” says Jim Sano of Geographic Expeditions.

George Wendt, President of OARS, said, “Increasing numbers of extended families are joining us on river trips and other outdoor vacation multi-sport experiences. We believe this is precisely because of our country’s challenging economic times. Families are deciding that it is better to get their kids active in the outdoors instead of having them hanging around shopping malls or playing video games.”

“Relatively last-minute bookings may very well be more the norm in 2009,” says Bill Bryan, Co-Founder and Chairman of Off the Beaten Path.

Three things are keeping Latin American travel relatively stronger than other regions though. 1)The whole area is made up of some of the world’s best values, especially with the dollar being strong at the moment. 2) Latin America is attracting a lot of families because of its adventure activities and the “no jet lag” geographic advantages. 3)Nature lovers and birdwatchers are often older travelers who don’t have such exposure to the stock market or housing market, so their travel plans have not changed much.

See the options at Luxury Latin America.