Recommend February 2015 - (Page 10)

world editor's notes One of my favorite issues of the year is now in your hands-the Luxury Travel issue. That brings to mind time on the greens and hours whiled away in the spa. For those clients who equate luxury travel with golf and spa escapes, Recommend's editors have handpicked a few resorts in the Caribbean, Mexico and the U.S. that are simply idyllic. In the Caribbean piece on page 25, Caribbean editor Ed Wetschler notes that Rosewood Tucker's Point on Bermuda's northeast coast "is home to one of the best courses on an island full of great ones: the par 70 Tucker's Point Golf Course." The Recommend staff liked it so much, we decided to feature it on this month's cover. Meanwhile, in the Mexico feature on page 23, John Long, vice president, sales & marketing, IBEROSTAR Hotels & Resorts, says that IBEROSTAR Playa Mita, "our newest gem in Mexico, offers golfers more than just an oceanfront golf experience with an 18-hole championship golf course designed by Greg Norman. We also have exclusive SPA Rooms where guests can relax and unwind." Those golfers heading to Mexico's Caribbean coast won't have it so bad either, according to Frank Corzo, vice president, U.S. ﬁeld sales, Palace Resorts, who notes that the Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course at Moon Palace in Cancun "is a true championship attraction. The course's thrilling layout and spectacular landscape of verdant foliage and native vegetation offers 27 holes of unforgettable golﬁng." And for those who just can't seem to tear themselves away from their own backyards' greens, we've highlighted golf courses in Arizona, California and Florida-some with ocean views and others bathed in Sonoran Desert sunsets (page 21). Beyond the greens and treatment rooms, luxury travelers are looking for experiences infused with local culture. In fact, according to Chris Austin, v.p., global leisure and luxury sales, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, luxury travelers are "seeking even more authentic and unexpected 'moments' during their travels." Austin goes into detail on today's luxury landscape in our piece on page 14, "Let's Talk Luxury," for which we reached out to a few luxury travel brands. Latin America editor Carla Hunt features authentic indigenous experiences in her piece, Upscaling the Wilderness (page 28). In it, she highlights upscale lodges that "have tamed the wilderness experience," pointing to such accommodations as Explora de Patagonia in Chile, Lapa Rios in Costa Rica, and Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge in Peru. She also delves deep into the Salta province in Argentina, where she "discovered" accommodation delights such as the House of Jasmines, a family-run estancia that's part of the Relais & Chateaux collection and which, Hunt says, is "furnished with... cowhide rugs, antique slipper chairs and love seats draped with indigenous textiles," and where the onsite restaurant serves "hearty regional cuisine." Authentic? Check. Local? Check. Luxurious? Check. corre ctions In the Quantum of the Seas piece, which appears in the December issue on page 72, we inadvertently said that Richard Fain is chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean International; we should've written Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. In the Outrigger Resorts piece, featured in the January issue on page 8, we noted that Outrigger had 51 properties, but it's actually 47. -Paloma Villaverde de Rico E-mail me at paloma@recommend.com 10 february 2015 10-11 MH Editors.indd 10 group publisher/editorial director associate publisher editor-in-chief managing editor associate editor art director latin america editor caribbean editor cruise editor contributing editor corporate director of marketing marketing associates laurel a. herman terence k. murphy paloma villaverde de rico deserae e. del campo michelle marie arean janet del mastro carla hunt ed wetschler vivian holley sergio ortiz sharon lewen kristina viera amor pagan irizarry production manager estrella bibas ad traffic coordinator daimee feliz chairman/founding editor hal herman president/editorial director laurel a. herman executive vice president gary herman miami corporate headquarters: 5979 nw 151st. st., suite 120, miami lakes, florida 33014, tel: (305) 828-0123; fax: (305) 826-6950 caribbean, central & south america, south florida, georgia: terry murphy, terry@recommend.com, tel: (305) 828-0123; ext. 120; fax: (305) 828-0799 northeast usa, eastern canada, europe, maryland, virginia, D.C.: jean-claude chaouloff, jean-claude@recommend.com, tel: (917) 244-7000; fax: (305) 828-0799 west coast usa, alaska, arizona, new mexico, nevada, texas, western canada, asia: marta priestley, marta@worthit.com, tel: (310) 804-9465; fax: (310) 496-1491 florida, southeast and midwest usa: brenda goodwin, brenda@worthit.com, tel: (305) 828-0123; ext. 160; fax: (305) 826-6950 hawaii: alan rock, alanrock1@gmail.com, tel: (310) 721-2825 mexico city: renata villa, renata@renatago.com, tel: 011 52 555-255-3212 cancun: margarita alvarez, margarissima@gmail.com, tel: 011 52 998 287 1545; fax: 011 52-998 884-1716 RECOMMEND, Vol. 30, issue number 5, (ISSN 0034-1452) is published monthly by Worth International Media Group. OFFICE OF PUBLICATION: 5979 N.W. 151st St., Suite 120, Miami Lakes, FL 33014.Periodicals postage paid at Hialeah, FL and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to RECOMMEND Circulation Department, P.O. Box 171070 Hialeah, FL 33017-1070. RECOMMEND is distributed at no charge to qualified travel agents and tour operators. Paid annual subscriptions are available for $48 in the U.S., $96 in Canada, payable in U.S. dollars in advance. Published for North American distribution. Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608. Canada Returns to be sent to Pitney Bowes International, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2 Copyright© 2005 Worth International Media Group. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. Recommend is not responsible for unsolicited photography, art or manuscripts. 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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend February 2015

Editor’s Notes
Four Haute Hotel Happenings in 2015
Tauck
Let’s Talk Luxury
In the Lap of Luxury, At Sea
Tee Off & Unwind in the U.S.
Golf with “a Shot of Spa” in Vibrant Mexico
Barbados & Bermuda Get a Boost
Curaçao’s Santa Barbara Beach & Golf Resort
Upscaling the Wilderness
The “High Life” in France
Africa Ups the Luxury Ante
A Sense of Wellness in India

Recommend February 2015