Jeannine Williamson checks out new tours, flights, hotels and resorts in Mexico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic
Spanish culture may be stereotyped with the laid-back lifestyle that is summed up in the word mañana, where things happen at their own leisurely pace, but there is plenty going on in the Spanish Caribbean.
New products
Adventure operator Imaginative Traveller has introduced a new Mexico tour for 2009. The 13-night fully escorted Mayan Mysteries and Mexican Waves itinerary includes a jungle trek with a night in a traditional Lacandon settlement, a visit to Chichen Itza and Palenque and a beach break at Playa del Carmen.
Since relaunching Mexico in its brochures, and with the first flight this May, the Cosmos Distant Dreams product has continued to expand and now features 32 hotels.
Recently added resorts include Tulum on the Yucatan Peninsula. Cuba was also reintroduced to the programme last December and 2008/09 products include twin-centres in Havana and Varadero plus a Cuban Splendours tour.
Thomson Worldwide has introduced two three-night tours to its Cuba programme, a Havana Highlights itinerary and a Cultural Cuba programme offering a taster tour of the main historical sites.
The Dominican Republic is featured in Cosmos’s new Dream Weddings brochure 2008/09. It offers a choice of five hotels as wedding locations, with renewal of vows ceremonies at several properties.
New hotels and resorts
Fairmont Hotels and Resorts has begun worldwide expansion and new developments include the luxury Roco Ki in the Dominican Republic. Scheduled to open in 2011, the resort will include a 255-room hotel, villas and a spa.
Other future luxury hotels due to open include Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, Fairmont and Westin, reflecting confidence in the government’s plans to invest $1 billion in the Dominican Republic’s tourism infrastructure by 2012. A major focus of the investment is turning the east coast into an upmarket golfing destination with world-class courses.
In Mexico Nizuc Resorts and Residences is due to open on the Riviera Maya in October 2009. Housed in a former Mexican presidential retreat, the £98 million development will offer hotel rooms and villa ownership, a restaurant showcasing Mexican regional cuisine, a Jack Nicklaus golf course and ESPA Spa with a treatment menu inspired by local Mayan traditions.
Also new on the Riviera Maya is the Rosewood Mayakoba, which opened in March. Spread across small islands, the retreat has 128 suites and 32 residences and a golf course designed by Greg Norman. The Sense Spa, situated on its own island, offers treatments using ingredients made from local plants such as aloe and agave cactus. Rosewood Mayakoba is the brand’s second resort in Mexico, joining Las Ventanas Al Paraiso, in Los Cabos.
New flights
UK-based Alternative Airlines has teamed up with Spanish airline Air Europa to offer low-cost flights to Cuba. The scheduled service started in May and return flights to Havana from Gatwick start at £640. Flights operate via Madrid’s Barajas airport. Air Europa offers daily flights (except Thursday) to Havana, along with Cancun in Mexico and Santo Domingo and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.
Charter flight-only company Avro recently introduced Cancun to its programme using Monarch. Flights currently operate from Gatwick, Manchester and Newcastle (except in the winter). Prices for a flight from Gatwick to Cancun lead in at £349. Avro also operates a service from the same airports to the Dominican Republic.
