The latest results of Travel & Leisure’s annual reader’s poll are out and incredibly, there are only three hotels on there not already reviewed in detail in Luxury Latin America. One is a mystery that must be a ballot-stuffing anomoly (Le Meridien Cancun), another is a business hotel that gets so-so ratings from our correspondents (Hyatt Santiago). The other is the Four Seasons in Mexico City, which we were slated to have a review of up six months ago until our correspondent there fell ill. She’s back in action and it’s coming soon–I mean it this time–along with a batch of other fine hotels in that city.

There have been some shifts in the rankings this year though and it looks like a lot more readers have had Mexico on their itinerary (12 of the 25 entries) and Belize got nudged out entirely this time. The Bristol Hotel in Panama snuck in at number 24 though, just ahead of the Fairmont Acapulco Princess.

The interesting move this year was the Tides Zihuatanejo (pictured here) popping into the top-5 soon after its makeover from the already nice Villa del Sol. Peru also made a nice showing this time. Inkaterra Machu Picchu Hotel, formerly known as Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, came out of nowhere into the top-10 and Miraflores Park Hotel popped in at 15. See our detailed reviews by following any of the links above, or see the full rundown here on the survey.

If you’ve traveled a lot in this region, give us your take on the results!

We just posted a review of the new luxury hotel on Easter Island: Explora Posada de Mike Rapu. It’s also known as Explora en Rapa Nui, which makes more sense. My guess is that most people will just end up calling it Explora Easter Island. (Or “that hotel on Easter Island that doesn’t suck.”)

This is from the same people who opened the Explora hotels in Chile (and the architect also involved in Remota—Germán del Sol) and lead tours in Patagonia. These hotels have set the Chilean standard for mixing local elements with a strong sense of design. Our reviewer says, “It’s stylish but at the same time rough and ready, with thick stone pillars of volcanic rock and unpolished, unpainted wood.”

This remote island has a reputation for terrible food, so it’s encouraging to hear that the cuisine here is top-notch. Rates are priced accordingly, with everything wrapped into an all-inclusive package. But why not splurge? This probably is a true “once-in-a-lifetime experience.” Who goes to Easter Island twice?

Unfortunately, Explora hasn’t caught on to the whole global warming and conservation story. There’s a whole lot of waste and not much care about it, again showing us that too many executives think luxury travelers don’t give a damn about the planet. Hopefully those that do will speak up and things will improve on this fragile Rapa Nui island–already wrecked once by short-sighted inhabitants.

Literally, southern Chile is smokin’ as a volcano near the aadfa park is erupting. If you visit the story page at the BBC, you can see some amateur video that makes it look like quite an impressive blast.

The Llaima volcano is about 400 miles south of Santiago, so it doesn’t look like it will affect any major population centers. Those evacuated so far were about 150 tourists visiting the Conguillio National Park.

The volcano has been active for centuries and the last big eruption was in 1994. If you’re heading to this part of Chile in what is about to be high season, reroute!

[photo from The Guardian story] 

Last week we posted a travel feature story on Pumalin Park, located in the Patagonia region of Chile. Sometimes luxury means truly getting away from it all and finding real wilderness apart from crowds and bustle. This “Yosemite of South America” delivers, covering 740,000 acres that are seldom occupied by more than a fraction of the visitors the big North American national parks see.

A typical tour of Pumalin goes four or five days, and many begin it by getting there on a boat ride that starts out from the southern city of Puerto Montt. This recommended boat trip navigates through the park’s often windy but stunning fjords, with stops at a natural hot springs and an organic farm once inside the park boundaries. The boat trip eventually arrives at the park lodge in Caleta Gonzalo, which boasts seven tasteful, rustic–looking cabins capable of holding as many as 5 people.

This is not a place like the Galapagos where anyone who can fog up a mirror is able to obtain a tourism license to sponsor trips. The park was enabled by Douglas Tompkins, the founder of North Face, who bought up the land to keep it pristine. Tourism concessions are limited on purpose and you won’t find megaresorts flying people in by private jet. This is the other side of luxury travel: keep things unspoiled so that your grandchildren can also find a place for quiet contemplation later…

Eco-touring Pumalin Park in Chilean Patagonia

Travel & Leisure’s August ‘07 issue has the results of their annual reader’s poll. It lists the top vote-getting hotels all over the world, including the 25 best hotels from Latin America.

I guess it shows we don’t pick what we cover out of thin air because we have already reviewed 21 of the 25 hotels that made the list. Two of the remaining ones I will be reviewing myself in October, in Zihutanejo, Mexico. This includes the number 1 winner, La Casa Que Canta, nosing out the number 2 one Four Seasons Buenos Aires.

For those keeping score, number 3 was Esperanza in Los Cabos, number 4 was the Ritz-Carlton in Santiago, and number 4 was One & Only Palmilla in Los Cabos.

Take the exact placement of these winners with a giant chunk of rock salt. Few people who travel frequently in that region would put the Ritz-Carlton Santiago above the Park Hyatt in Mendoza (# 12) or the Hotel Monasterio in Cuzco (#19), but hotels in large cities or major resort areas tend to get more votes than the others. The important thing is, we try to present a rounded view of the best places to stay, leaving it up to you to decide which one is right for you, whether the place is #4, #24, or isn’t on the list.

By the way though, two we covered showed up on T&L’s list of Top 15 Hotels $250 or Less. They were Blancaneaux Lodge and Lodge at Chaa Creek, both in Belize.