Recommend September 2016 - 34

Mexico As part of its All Playa Experience, Sandos Playacar Beach Resort showcases worldfamous beaches, including Malibu. Multigen Crowd Heads to Mexico Paloma Villaverde de Rico If you think grandparents, mom, dad, and the kids are the only folks that make up today's multigenerational family traveling group, you might be missing out on some lucrative commission. Jacques De Paep, Palladium Hotel Group's commercial director for North America, points out that, "We are seeing an increase in family reunions at our resorts because of the ease of booking accommodations at diverse styles and levels of luxury all at one location. We expect to see this trend continue and encourage travel agents to look for resorts that can meet everyone's needs whether it be accommodation preferences, dietary restrictions or activity choices." In other words, start thinking extended family members as well as the core family. This is a segment of the market you simply can't ignore, with 26 percent of those surveyed in MMGY Global's 2016 Portrait of American Travelers study stating that in the next 12 months they plan to take more multigen vacations, and on average, those surveyed took 2.3 such vacations in 2016. With Mexico offering both cultural and beachside fun, it makes for an ideal choice for families looking to make everyone happy, whether they want to be on Mexico's beaches when the sea turtles are nesting or fine-tune their Spanish with a kid-friendly language lesson. There's also culturally immersive Day 34 september 2016 of the Dead festivities coming up-Oct. 28 through Nov. 2-as well as new outdoor play areas and beachside Mexican-style fairs that family members, no matter the age, won't want to pass up on. Eco Explorations Palladium Hotels & Resorts, for example, with all-inclusive beach resorts in both Riviera Nayarit and Riviera Maya, offers ecological tours that take kids 4 to 12 around the resort to feed the fish, flamingoes, alligators and ostriches (parents are also welcome); it also includes a boat ride on the resort's mini-lake. In the Riviera Maya, Palladium has five resorts within the Palladium Riviera Maya Complex, so, for example, grandparents might opt to stay at the adults-only The Royal Suites, while the rest of the family stay at a double-bedded room at the Grand Palladium Riviera Resort & Spa. Families can also select from spacious suites and connecting rooms. There are also age-tiered kids clubs for children 1 to 18, kid-oriented buffets, clown days, science lessons, cookie decorating classes, the newly launched Zentropia kids' spa menu, including a Zentropia massage for kids, and the Play at Palladium with Raggs program. The adults, meanwhile, can hang at the adults-only spas and pools. Come nighttime, everyone can come together to enjoy the multigenerational-friendly show. De Paep points out that the "benefits of having extensive onsite activities and dining choices means you can enjoy a family reunion by simply selecting the accommodations and never worrying about splitting the bill. Riviera Nayarit room rates start at $188 per night; at Riviera Maya, it's $190.18 per night. Velas Vallarta, too, offers onsite, behindthe-scenes eco-tours that take guests to hotel areas seldom seen by visitors including the solar panels, which heat the showers and pool water, and recycling facility. Tour participants learn how composting is keeping plants healthy, and they get a rare peak at enclosures used to house resident peacocks and injured wild birds, and the turtle nursery. Additionally, a new sea turtle conservation program at the resort also allows guests the opportunity to participate in conservation training, hatchling releases, nesting patrol and cleaning of hatching nests (take note: turtle release takes place July thru December in Puerto Vallarta). Velas Vallarta (as well as other select Velas Resorts) is offering the Single Parent Promotion, which waives the single supplement fee for single parents traveling with their children through December. Rates for the Single Parent package at Velas Vallarta, available through Dec. 22, start at $450 for one parent per night and up to four children (5-17 years old), and include recommend.com http://www.recommend.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend September 2016