RITZ-CARLTON HOTEL CO. said it will reopen
the Ritz-Carlton Cancun on Sept. 27 following extensive renovations
after Hurricane Wilma. The $15 million renovation involved all 365
guest rooms, public areas, and recreational and meeting facilities.
The resort will debut an expanded Kayanta Spa and fitness center, a
new seaside restaurant called Casitas with 16 private cabanas and a
$250,000 culinary center created in association with the Viking
Range Co. that will offer cooking and wine classes for hotel
customers and will host visiting chefs. The resort also added a
tennis program operated by former pro and ESPN commentator Cliff
Drysdale. As for the rooms, Ritz-Carlton added gourmet coffee
machines, 400-thread count sheets and rain forest showerheads to
all units. For information or reservations, call (800) 241-3333 or
visit www.ritzcarlton.com.
THE SPANISH
HOTEL CHAIN RIU said it will open its 12th resort in
Mexico, the RIU Vallarta in Puerto Vallarta, on Nov. 6. The
nine-story 550-room hotel will operate as an all-inclusive
property. It will feature conference facilities, two swimming pools
with integrated whirlpool spas, a fitness center, nightclub and
five bars. Restaurants will include Don Rafael, which will serve
Mexican and international cuisine. For information or reservations,
visit www.riu.com.
SOL MELIA
HOTELS & RESORTS became one of the first major hotel
chains to begin using the dot-travel domain name for each of its
Paradisus all-inclusive resorts, including the Paradisus Riviera
Cancun (www.paradisusrivieracancun.travel). In a release, Sol
Melia said the move was designed to protect its brands against
fraudulent dot-com domains that use similar names to mislead
potential customers to their sites. To promote the new Web sites,
Paradisus Resorts is offering 1,000 Delta SkyMiles per night for
reservations made through any of the new dot-travel sites through
Dec. 15. The other Paradisus resorts using the dot-travel domain
are the Paradisus Puerto Rico, Paradisus Palma Real, Paradisus
Playa Conchal and Paradisus Punta Cana.
PARAISO de
la BONITA, the 90-room resort in the Riviera Maya, is
offering travel agents a $50 bonus plus commission for booking its
Luxe Life Getaway package through Nov. 30. The three-night package
costs $2,499, double, for a one-bedroom suite, daily breakfast, one
dinner for two at La Canoa restaurant, a private wine tasting with
the resort's Sommelier, one treatment per person in the spa and a
manicure and pedicure for two, among other features. For
information or reservations, visit www.paraisodelabonita.com.
SHOPPERS
TAKE NOTE: Mexican restaurant and pharmacy chain Grupo
Sanborns SA said it obtained a license from Saks to launch a Saks
Fifth Avenue store in Mexico City. The upscale retailer is
scheduled to open a 161,460-square-foot store in the capital's
upscale Sante Fe district in September 2007. "Mexico City is a
major market for tourism and shopping and therefore we consider it
an apt place to open our third international Saks Fifth Avenue
franchise," Saks CEO Stephen Sadove said in a statement. Outside
the U.S., Saks has stores in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates. Saks plans to open a store in Shanghai in
2008.
CORRECTION: Cozumel received 2.5 million
cruise passengers in 2005. Incorrect information appeared in Travel
Weekly's Sept. 13 Mexico E-letter.
Mexico
E-Letter Editor:
Jorge
Sidron
Phone: (973) 898-0011
[email protected]
For promotional
opportunities in the E-letters, contact [email protected].