Travel Agent - December 24, 2007 - (Page 27)

One-bedroom suite at Paraíso de la Bonita on Puerto Morelos tours and packages (011-52998-847-4581). Perhaps Puerto Morelos’ most luxurious property is Paraíso de la Bonita (www. paraisodelabonita.com), an adults-only resort on 14 acres that belongs to the Leading Small Hotels of the World and has received AAA’s five-diamond award. All 90 of its rooms feature oversized marble bathrooms and oceanview terraces. Some one-bedrooms suites have their own plunge pool. Presidential Suite The top accommodation at the resort is the Presidential Suite, a private villa with plunge pool, wraparound terrace and two master bedrooms, each with its own bathroom with sunken bath, glass shower and handcrafted sink. Adjoining the bedrooms is a large living room area with a TV, CD/DVD player and minibar. The suite also contains a kitchen and a dining room that can seat 10 people. Nightly rates start at $3,500. Deluxe options that don’t cost quite that much include an Ocean View Suite with plunge pool, which starts at $900. The Lovers Suite, featuring an outside shower and terrace with a plunge pool, starts around $1,000 a night. Onsite at Paraíso de la Bonita is a 24,000square-foot spa that offers yoga, fitness and indigenous therapies like thalasso (using seawater) and temazcal (a type of steam bath). The hotel also provides private sailings on its 48-foot luxury catamaran, La Bonita, which has four deluxe cabins. For more information and bookings, agents can call Don Mackinnon, sales manager, at 011-52-998-872-8300. Ceiba del Mar (www.ceibadelmar.com) features 45 rooms and Junior Suites, 36 Master Suites with separate bedroom and living areas and seven one-bedroom Penthouses with terraces that feature whirlpools and ocean views. The Penthouses start at $1,000 per night. In addition to an eight-treatment-room spa, a fitness center and two meeting rooms, Ceiba del Mar has two restaurants: the beachfront Creative Cuisine, featuring grill and woodfired-oven specialties, and Terrace Lounge, which serves both Mexican and Asian cuisine. Call Christian Rodriguez, sales manager, at 011-52-998-872-8060. Puerto Morelos does have an all-inclusive, CONTINUED ON PAGE 28 December 24, 2007 TravelAgent | 27 Puerto Morelos sits between Cancun, to the north, and Playa del Carmen, and combines extensive beachfront with small-town charm. Named for independence leader José María Morelos, the fishing village has been a main port between the island of Cozumel and the Yucatan mainland. At its center, within a block of the beach, the town square is lined with restaurants and shops, including a grocery where people often buy vanilla—like tobacco, a local product. The town is small enough that you can walk it all, though taxis are available. Public buses to Cancun or Playa del Carmen (fare is about $1.25) run to and from a stop on the highway about a mile and a half outside Puerto Morelos; taxis will take you into town from the bus. For the Eco-Traveler As for the natural attractions in this destination, Puerto Morelos Coral Reef National Park, located just over 300 feet from shore, protects the Great Mesoamerican Reef, the largest reef in the Western Hemisphere. Snorkelers and scuba divers will discover great underwater views of coral and sea life in the area. Puerto Morelos, as well as Cancun, is surrounded by an area that the Mexican government has designated La Ruta de los Cenotes, or the Route of the Cenotes, which are natural wells found in the Yucatan. The caves and limestone scenery are outstanding. Visitors can see plants of the area plus monkeys, birds and other native animals at the Dr. Alfredo Barrera Marín Botanical Garden of Puerto Morelos. It is run by ECOSUR, a local college whose Spanish-only web site for the garden is www.ecosur-qroo.mx/jardin.htm. Within the botanical garden’s 140 acres are an old Mayan home and a re-creation of a chiclero camp, where chewing gum was produced. The Crococun Zoo (www.crococunzoo.com, 011-52-998-850-3719) is also nearby, with its resident collection of reptiles and mammals indigenous to the region. Selvatica (www.selvatica.com.mx), a top Yucatan adventure tour company, is headquartered in Puerto Morelos. Its trips include a Canopy Tour through the jungle where guests go ziplining, mountain biking and swimming in a cenote. Other excursions involve snorkeling, driving through the jungle in an open-air Corona buggy or nighttime ziplining capped off with a gourmet meal served in the starlit jungle. Agents can call Guido Benassino, general manager of Selvatica, for more information AGENTADVICE “There are so many great restaurants in Puerto Morelos and Mexico in general that I usually don’t recommend staying at the all-inclusives,” says Lisa Kehl of Shelter Travel in Columbia, MO. “There are some great luxury products in Puerto Morelos that you have to see. And a lot of people don’t realize that Puerto Morelos offers a lot of the same things as Playa del Carmen [which is farther from Cancun], such as eco-tours and Mayan ruins.” http://www.paraisodelabonita.com http://www.paraisodelabonita.com http://www.ecosur-qroo.mx/jardin.htm http://www.crococunzoo.com http://www.selvatica.com.mx/extreme_adventure.html http://www.ceibadelmar.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Travel Agent - December 24, 2007

Travel Agent - December 24, 2007 Online Now Contents From the Editor Letters to the Editor Contributors Europe: Lyon, the Center of France Two Iconic London Hotels Jazz Up their Top Suites Europe Briefs Mexico: Puerto Morelos on the Riviera Maya Mexico News & Notes Pacific/Asia: Large-Scale Developments Strengthen Singapore’s Appeal to Families, Meetings and Other Travelers Caribbean: Old San Juan’s New Hotel The Cervantes Ritz-Carlton Upgrades, La Concha Reopens in San Juan Peter Island Resort Hawaii: Maui Enhances its Allure for Active and Luxury Clients Las Vegas: Hoteliers and Wholesalers Go Beyond Gaming Las Vegas Briefs Tours: Pacific Northwest Briefs Hotels: News and Packages from All-Inclusives in Mexico and the Caribbean Cruises: Luxury Lines’ Shore Excursions Cover Story: Gerry Cahill Agent Profile: Nancy Nicol, Hawaii Specialist and Hyatt Award Winner Technology: Mailpound’s Customized Marketing Transportation: Boeing’s Anticipated Next Arrival: the 747-8 Intercontinental New York: The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Agenda: Fam Trips, Deals & Incentives, Calendar Vegas Travel Week Sofitel’s Two New Brands Travelport Rolls Out Leisure Product Expedia CruiseShipCenters Debuts U.S. Tourism to Israel In the Spotlight Editorial Index Advertising Index Classified Marketplace Trendwatch Special Supplememt: 2008 Portugal Travel Guide

Travel Agent - December 24, 2007

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