Is there a definitive answer on which hotels and resorts are viewed as the best in Mexico, Central America, and South America?

Sort of. I’ve said before that there’s a lot of hanky-panky that goes on with “best of” readers polls in magazines. Ballot stuffing is a part of the job when you’ve got a vested interest in who wins and people who are on the clock are much more likely to go through those hour-long surveys. Plus some readers are voting for places they’ve never set foot in, on reputation alone.

But if the two biggest travel magazines get the same results on some hotels, AND they’re featured here in Luxury Latin America, well that starts to look like a real trend. Three hits and you’re solid. Here are the hotels that came out on top in this year’s Conde Nast Travel Best in the World survey, Travel & Leisure’s 500 Best survey, and our picks here (follow the links to detailed reviews).

Mexico Top Resorts and Hotels

La Casa que Canta – Zihuatanejo

Four Seasons Mexico – Mexico City

One & Only Palmilla – San Jose del Cabo

Las Ventanas al Paraiso – San Jose del Cabo

Capella Pedregal – Cabo San Lucas

Esperanza – Cabo San Lucas

Ritz-Carlton Cancun

Banyan Tree Mayakoba – Riviera Maya

Fairmont Mayakoba – Riviera Maya

Grand Velas Riviera Maya

Four Seasons Punta Mita – Riviera Nayarit

St. Regis Punta Mita – Riviera Nayarit

Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit

Central America Top Resorts and Hotels

Lodge at Chaa Creek – Belize

Hotel Casa Santo Domingo – Antigua, Guatemala

Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica – Papagayo Peninsula

Top Hotels and Resorts South America

Llao Llao Hotel & Resort – Bariloche, Argentina

Palacio Duhau Park Hyatt – Buenos Aires, Argentina

Alvear Palace Hotel – Buenos Aires, Argentina

Four Seasons Buenos Aires

Park Hyatt Mendoza – Argentina

Ritz-Carlton Santiago – Chile

Hotel Monasterio – Cusco, Peru

JW Marriott Hotel Lima – Peru

Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel – Peru

Obviously it pays to have a well-known brand name and the hotels that have been around for a decade or more have a clear edge. The big surprise for me is how few matches you see for Chile (where the most impressive resorts have been opening) and for Central America overall. Conde Nast had loads from Costa Rica, but T&L hardly any. Expect that to change in the coming years as more readers get out and about in this region.

We’re more disappointed with U.S. hotel chains than we’ve been in seven years. That’s the conclusion of the most recent J.D. Power consumer survey when it comes to hotel guest satisfaction. When staying at a hotel in the United States, we’re far less happy than we used to be with the service.

As with airlines, it’s not difficult to find the root causes: fewer staffers and annoying fees. As hotels and resorts have cut staff levels in this recession, they’ve also done long-term damage to their brand. A disappointed guest is far less likely to recommend the hotel, either on social media or in person.

The survey also found that reaching into guests’ pocckets again to extract a fee for internet access—now as expected an amenity as hot water—creates outsized annoyance. “Guests who were charged for access had an average satisfaction score of 688 for costs and fees — 76 points lower than those who weren’t charged extra.”

And no, bundling that into a “resort fee” doesn’t help: we hate that too.

Just as free-bag airlines like Southwest and JetBlue come out on top in these surveys, those hoteliers who seem to provide great value in one rate come out on tops here as well: modest Drury Inn has kept its crown in the “midscale limited service” category for seven years now.

Luxury hotel guests are more forgiving of the nickel and diming though. Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, and JW Marriott came out as the top three in the luxury category, with the first one getting the highest score overall. The lower annoyance with extra fees is partly because the company is paying when guests stay there on business, partly because loyal customers get the extra fees waived. And Ritz-Carlton has built up a well-deserved reputation for personalized service and delightful surprises: just the kind of thing guests seem to be missing elsewhere in the DIY atmosphere (and long check-in lines) encountered so often elsewhere.

So what abou Latin America? Fortunately, when you run across an understaffed hotel in this region, it’s an anomoly. While you won’t find the swarms of people falling all over themselves to serve you like you will in India or Indonesia, low staff numbers are seldom an issue. When you stay at a luxury hotel in Latin America, you can expect luxury treatment.

You won’t’ go wrong with the big names, of course, like the ones mentioned above or the Starwood Luxury Collection and St. Regis properties. When those aren’t available in the region though, there are dozens of great local chains and fine independent hotels. See our Luxury hotel reviews in each country for the best of the best, reviewed by an expert travel writer on the ground.

See the full J.D. Power survey results here.

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When Conde Nast Traveler published their 16th “Hot List” issue in April, they included a feature I loved on what hotel trends have emerged in that time that were loved or hated.

I found myself nodding along a lot and some of the “Terrible 10″ echoed features we’ve complained about plenty in our luxury hotel reviews. So let’s start with some of those. Are there people who actually like these things? I haven’t met them yet.

Hated hotel trends

- The mandatory resort fee: charging extra for things that should just be in the room rate, like gym access.

- The TV hotel channel, which comes on by default when you turn on the TV. Who watches this?

- The wall-less bathroom. Great if you’re 20-something and spending your first weekend with someone maybe…

- Club lighting in your room. Their quote: “Last time I checked, we paid for a room, not a private discotheque.”

- The motion-sensor minibar. Better not move one can to see what’s behind it!

New hotel developments we liked

We’ll say, “yes indeed” and agree with CN Traveler’s cheers for these though:

- The turndown gift

- The pillowtop bed

- The flat-screen TV

- The pool amenity

I’m not so sure I love the paperless check-in. I’d rather have a sufficient front desk staff in place. I’ve also got mixed feelings about the rain shower since it wastes far more water. The celebrity chef restaurant? Maybe, but it depends on the who and where. In Vegas, the trend seems so overdone that none stand out.

A few not mentioned that I love:

- Kiosks to print out your boarding pass

- Free Wi-fi (common in Latin America apart from a few holdouts like the Four Seasons and Marriott)

- A welcome gift for kids (my daughter at the Four Seasons Mexico City pictured here)

- Key fobs that just need to be waved by the door lock to open it

- Make-your-own margarita kit in your room upon arrival (Viceroy, Four Seasons)

See CN Traveler’s full list here: Best and Worst Hotel Trends of Past 16 Years

........Maroma Resort & Spa, Riviera Maya........

The June issue of Conde Nast Traveler had their readers poll results on top spa hotels and resorts arount the world. South America was missing in action and the “Mexico and Central America” section had 19 results for Mexico spas, one for Central America.

So first of all, congrats to Four Seasons Costa Rica for being the only resort south of Mexico to get on readers’ radar. They were #8 overall, with a perfect score for their facilities. Having soaked in their pools and gotten a great sports massage after a golf game there, I’ll agree wholeheartedly that it’s a special place for unwinding and relaxing.

Travel + Leisure’s last spa rundown had 5 resorts in Central and South America (including another Costa Rica resort, Tabacon).

These magazine reader polls are subject to lots of ballot-stuffing of course. PR firms and hotel chains buy a lot of staffer subscriptions so they can put in their votes. (That partly explains why you see so many perfect scores of 100 at the top.)

But hey, in a bit of circular cause and effect, the most famous places do have the resources to keep facilities and staffers top-notch and with such a high reputation at stake, they’re going to go out of their way to make you happy. After winning these awards, the great ones tend to stay great.

Here are the top spa resorts in Mexico where we’ve reviewed the hotels in detail. (Some of the others placing high are in non-luxury properties.)

Capella Ixtapa
Capella Pedregal – Cabo San Lucas
Maroma Resort & Spa – Riviera Maya
Rosewood Mayakoba – Riviera Maya

Esperanza – Los Cabos
Fairmont Mayakoba – Riviera Maya
Pueblo Bonita Emerald Bay – Mazatlan

One&Only Palmilla – Los Cabos
Ritz-Carlton Cancun

Four Seasons Punta Mita – Riviera Nayarit

See the full list for all regions of the world at CNTraveler.com and follow this link for all our reviews of the best luxury hotels in Mexico.

....(Your editor researching in Punta Mita)

The April 2012 issue of Condé Nast Traveler has another reader’s poll, this time highlighting golf resorts. Six of the 20 in the International category are in Latin America.

They’re all familiar names to Luxury Latin America readers and you can follow the links to see our detailed, professional reviews.

One&Only Palmilla in Los Cabos, Mexico

Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita, Mexico

Esperanza, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Four Seasons Resort Peninsula Papagayo, Costa Rica

Fairmont Mayakoba, Riviera Maya, Mexico

Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort, Cancun (not a luxury property)

Fairmont Acapulco Princess, Mexico

Keep in mind that these readers’ polls get distorted by lots of factors, including which places are already the most popular and who’s doing the best job at mobilizing their staffers to engage in ballot stuffing. So you’ll seldom see lesser-known gems like Tamarindo in Costalegre or a golf resort in Guatemala, of all places. You’ll have to discover those on your own.

Here are some other golf round-ups of ours to check out for ideas:

Golf Courses of Los Cabos

Golf in Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit

Golf Communities Sprout in La Paz, Baja Mexico