Most of the luxury hotels we feature are full-service affairs since, as we’ve said many times, it’s the staff attention that really separates a great hotel from an average one. There are times, however, when you want something that falls somewhere between a villa rental and a straight hotel. You want a kitchen and plenty of space, but a staff that’s there to serve you drinks and clean up each day. And maybe you don’t want to stay there for a whole week.

In laid-back Belize, these condo hotels work quite well, so we’ve featured two of them. A while back we posted a review of Chabil Mar Villas, a place I visited myself by just walking down the beach from Turtle Inn. It’s got the most dramatic beachfront, the largest rooms, and the most in-room amenities in Placencia. For a family, this is really a more sensible choice than Robert’s Grove or Turtle Inn.

We just added another place that fits that description: Phoenix Resort in Ambergris Caye. This place “has many of the same top-notch amenities that other Ambergis Caye resorts do, with the additional convenience of being within short walking distance to San Pedro’s restaurants, stores and nightclubs.” And of course more room, with a full living room and kitchen.

These two hotels will probably never end up on any glossy magazine’s “Hot List” or fill a wall with awards, but if your idea of pampering is a full-size fridge and a concierge equivalent to give you the scoop on everything in town, they’re great vacation spots.

See other reviews of the best hotels in Belize.

Michael Brown is half of the partnership of Mead Brown, a boutique vacation rental firm serving Costa Rica. The company offers private villas and homes plus premium condominiums for those who expect excellent value, personal service and supremely comfortable accommodations. Co-founders Mark Mead and Michael Brown once enjoyed successful careers in the U.S. working with the likes of princes, presidents, celebrities and sports stars. We asked Michael about the appeal of Costa Rica and what makes Mead Brown the go-to company for travel in this popular destination.

Tell us where your Costa Rican rental villas are located and how your clients get there from North America.
Mead Brown villas are located in Los Sueños Golf Resort and Marina, Manuel Antonio, and the lively beach town of Jaco. Guests fly into Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) in San Jose and then transfer by private Mercedes van or helicopter.

What are the draws of this region and the developments where you have properties available?
People are attracted to Costa Rica specifically for the adventure; for the flora and fauna. Because Costa Rica is such a relatively narrow bridge of land connecting North and South America, the country has a remarkable abundance of nature. Costa Rica boasts more than 1,000 species of butterflies and 1,300 types of orchids. Sixty-five world-record fish have been caught here. Beaches, rainforests, and the championship, par-72 golf course designed by Ted Robinson, Jr. in Los Sueños are all draws.

(Punto de Vista in Manuel Antonio)

What makes these rental properties ideal for a vacation or honeymoon?
For the price of a hotel room, one can have a spacious 1-, 2- or 3-bedroom condo with the amenities of a hotel and the space found in a private home, including a fully-equipped kitchen, plus washer and dryer! All Mead Brown vacation rentals include daily housekeeping and wireless Internet. Some even have room service from a close-by hotel. Spend less, and get a greater value at every price point.

Continued – Full Mead Brown interview here

As I mentioned in an earlier post specific to Latin America, I attended the Luxury Travel Expo last week and got to hear what people in the industry had to say about the state of upscale travel in late 2009.

They were more upbeat than I expected, especially since travel to Europe has fallen off a cliff and the convention/incentive market is having a terrible year. And of course there are too many new hotels and too many new cruise ships for any of them to be much more than half full without major discounting. (Tough for them, good for you. There are some amazing deals on sites like LuxuryLink.com.)

Besides the obvious search for value though, lots of other interesting luxury travel trends came out that I thought were newsworthy.

1) More family travel
It used to be that “luxury” and “family travel” didn’t mix much, but that has changed in a big way. People are having kids later, they’re having fewer of them, and the grandparents often have more money than the parents do. I started noticing this shift a couple years ago when I’d go to a Four Seasons and find the pool packed with kids, but this has extended to safaris, soft adventure trips, and nature excursions. African safari operator Micato said in a panel discussion that their family travel bookings had gone from 10% to 35% in eight years. This bodes well for villa rental places and small-ship cruises, but not so well for cookie-cutter hotels that think connecting rooms are going to be enough to serve this demand.

2) Deeper travel experiences
It used to be that bragging about shopping in Paris or Milan was what you did to impress the neighbors. Now it’s more likely to be that you visited some place they’ve never even heard of or you did something worth talking about on your vacation. Adventure travel is way up, volunteer travel is way up, and travel to former pariah destinations is way up—to places like Colombia, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. Luxury travelers are becoming more like backpackers—wanting to mingle with real people and get authentic experiences instead of just being sheltered away in an artificial world.

3) Rising influence of green hotels and travel
Have you been paying more attention to the environmental practices of the hotels where you stay? If so you’re not alone. Tour operators are finding that guests are becoming steadily more demanding about how “green” the hotels are where they stay and are no longer looking at “luxury” and “eco-friendly” as being different things. Since Costa Rica is considered the birthplace of eco-tourism and a large portion of trips to Latin America are by nature lovers, parts of the Americas are perceived as being in better shape than many other parts of the world in this regard.

What has changed in what you are looking for when you travel now? What are you willing to pay more for…and not?

We were honored to be among the first batch of guests at Banyan Tree’s first hotel in the Americas. The president of Mexico had just been a guest at the opening ceremony two weeks before we arrived, kicking off what is (for now) the most impressive resort in a region full of impressive resorts. Where do we go from here?

Who knows, but for now check out the Luxury Latin America review of Banyan Tree Mayakoba in Mexico.

Jamie Schectman spent his whole adult life in Lake Tahoe, California but now enjoys living full time in the Lakes District of Argentina, just outside of Bariloche. He and his wife Shanie manage a wide range of private and fully-equipped properties and they offer personalized service to all guests. Check out our their Living In Patagonia blog for more information on the area and Bariloche Vacation Rentals for property rundowns. We caught up with him to get the scoop on renting a house in Argentine Patagonia.

For our readers who have never been there, what’s special about the Bariloche region of Argentina?
Bariloche offers and endless array of outdoor activities. In addition, the natural beauty and dining options are truly world-class. The Andes Mountains are usually topped by snow and they surround a long lake. A major ski resort, Catedral, is near Bariloche.

Why rent a house there instead of staying at a hotel?
All of our properties are located in the most beautiful parts of the area. The homes are all fully stocked, offer wireless internet and offer a nice, spacious, good-value alternative to a cramped hotel room. (Plus very few of the hotels have a view like the one below.)

What are the differences between Bariloche town itself and the lakeside areas where most of the rental houses you represent are located?
People sometimes make the mistake of visiting Bariloche and staying in the city center. In reality, almost all of the sites and attractions, as well as the best restaurants, are located to the west of the city, towards Llao Llao and Ruta 77 (Circuito Chico). The area outside the city is far more attractive to the eye and is quieter.

How do the prices of rental homes in this area of Argentina compare to those in comparable areas of North America, such as Colorado, Montana, or British Colombia?

…full interview continued after the jump