One of the places I’ve most enjoyed staying in Puerto Vallarta is Villa Premiere Hotel & Spa. Part of the pleasure is the size; with only 83 rooms, it’s not crowded like larger resorts, yet it’s big enough to offer plenty of services (including excellent spa treatments). Part of the appeal is the comfortable and…
Author: Mark Chesnut
VIDEO TOUR: San Juan Condado, Part 2 – Nightlife & Shopping
If you need inspiration for nightlife and shopping in San Juan, check out this video! It’s Friday night along Ashford Avenue, and at the trendy open-air bars and restaurants that sit along the park called Ventana al Mar, members of San Juan’s young, beautiful elite are gathered, enjoying exotic drinks. Just across the street, patrons…
VIDEO TOUR: San Juan Condado, Part 2 – Nightlife & Shopping
If you need inspiration for nightlife and shopping in San Juan, check out this video! It’s Friday night along Ashford Avenue, and at the trendy open-air bars and restaurants that sit along the park called Ventana al Mar, members of San Juan’s young, beautiful elite are gathered, enjoying exotic drinks. Just across the street, patrons…
Too Much Snow? Consider a Hot Date in Cancun
Dreams Cancun watery wonderland. If you’re in my part of the world, you just might be a bit snowed in right now and thinking how nice it would be to get away to somewhere warmer. Perennial favorite Cancun has a pretty good remedy for anyone sick of the snow. Over the past few months, public…
Snowed in? Consider Cancun
If you’re in my part of the world, you just might be a bit snowed in right now and thinking how nice it would be to get away to somewhere warmer. Perennial favorite Cancun has
VIDEO TOUR: San Juan Condado, Part 1 – Hotels, Sun & Dining
When I first started visiting Puerto Rico in the late 1980s, I wasn’t that impressed with Condado. Sure, it had its beaches and sure, it had some decent hotels and nightlife. But it always seemed grimy, and just a bit behind the times. Today, happily, that has changed. Hotels have been relaunched with the best…
VIDEO TOUR: San Juan Condado, Part 1 – Hotels, Sun & Dining
When I first started visiting Puerto Rico in the late 1980s, I wasn’t that impressed with Condado. Sure, it had its beaches and sure, it had some decent hotels and nightlife. But it always seemed grimy, and just a bit behind the times. Today, happily, that has changed. Hotels have been relaunched with the best…
Sports Illustrated Models Show Off Chile in Photoshoot
Chile’s Atacama Desert made for a dramatic backdrop for this year’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, which hits newsstands this week. Four of the models — Julie Henderson, Daniella Sarahyba, Irina Shayk, and Zoe Duchesne — traveled to the Atacama Desert and posed at the Alta Atacama Desert Lodge & Spa. Photos were made on guest…
The Facelift Continues at San Francisco Church in Quito
The oldest church and monastery in Quito, Ecuador, is slowly but surely getting a facelift. Officially reopened in December, the 16th-century San Francisco church will continue to receive much-needed attention for quite some time. According to tourism officials, excavations carried out during renovations have unearthed artifacts from aboriginal to colonial times — including human bones…
Hotels Where the Stars Sleep in Acapulco
Sure, years may have passed since the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Elvis Presley and John F. Kennedy graced the swimming pools along Acapulco’s beautiful bay. But Mexico’s first jet-set destination is regaining some of its retro-chic, thanks to the imminent re-opening of Boca Chica, a 1950s-vintage beachfront hotel re-imagined by the folks at Grupo Habita,…
Hotels Where the Stars Slept in Acapulco
Sure, years may have passed since the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Elvis Presley and John F. Kennedy graced the swimming pools along Acapulco’s beautiful bay. But Mexico’s first jet-set destination is regaining some of its retro-chic, thanks to the imminent re-opening of Boca Chica, a 1950s-vintage beachfront hotel re-imagined by the folks at Grupo Habita,…
LF DEAL ALERT: Acapulco Luxury, with Banyan Tree
Mexico’s first jet-set resort destination, Acapulco, is getting a needed shot in the arm with a spate of new luxury hotel openings. During my last visit, I checked out the pre-opening model of the Banyan Tree Cabo Marques, the newest property in the Americas run by the Asian luxury hotelier. And it’s quite a luxurious…
LF DEAL ALERT: Acapulco Luxury, with Banyan Tree
VIDEO TOUR: Antigua Guatemala
Could it be that Antigua Guatemala, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was actually saved by the earthquakes that ravaged it during earlier centuries? If you consider that these natural disasters convinced politicians to move the capital and leave this charming city with its original colonial charm, then yes. Join me for a quick video tour…