Jorge Landa receives the IHG General Manager of the Year 2014 Award, after a successful complete renovation of the Holiday Inn Beach Resort & Casino Aruba. Landa also received the Renovation Excellence Award in 2013.
In 2015, Grand Velas Riviera Maya, its signature fine-dining restaurant Cocina de Autor, and Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit once again were awarded American Automobile Association's (AAA) Five Diamond Award for excellence in quality and service. Casa Velas, the Grand Velas Resorts' sister property, is the recipient of the AAA Four Diamond Award, which brings the number of Velas Resorts' AAA Diamonds to 43.
The "Beyond All-Inclusive, Beyond All Compare" Velas Resorts in Puerto Vallarta, Riviera Maya and Riviera Nayarit have once again been named among the best in the world in TripAdvisor's 2015 Travelers' Choice Awards. Grand Velas Riviera Maya won the group's highest distinction, named in the top 25 all-inclusive resorts in the world. Three properties — Velas Vallarta, Grand Velas Riviera Maya and Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit - received Mexico's best family-friendly properties award. The Grand Velas Resorts were also both highlighted among the top 25 hotels in Mexico and the best luxury hotels in Mexico. This elite honor is awarded to the top 1% of all hotels on TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel site reaching 315 million unique monthly visitors, based on reviews and opinions from its users.
Mexico's "Beyond All Inclusive, Beyond All Compare" Grand Velas Resorts in the Riviera Maya and Riviera Nayarit have been honored for the third consecutive year by Travel + Leisure readers in its 19th annual World's Best Awards Survey. Both resorts were named among the top hotels and resorts in Latin America. Judging for the prestigious survey is based on opinions of magazine's readers who are among the most discriminating travelers around the world. Grand Velas Riviera Maya received a total score of 90.97 for its rooms, location, service, restaurants, and value, while Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit received a score of 91.13.
Hotel Equities was selected to partner in a project that will bring its development and management expertise to the beautiful Guanacaste region of Costa Rica. The luxury hotel will offer resort-style amenities in a site overlooking the Pacific Ocean on Costa Rica's Gold Coast.
For the fourth consecutive year since opening in 2008, Grand Velas Riviera Maya was awarded American Automobile Association's (AAA) Five Diamond Award for lodging, an award for excellence in quality and service. According to the AAA website, each year AAA reviews more than 30,000 lodgings, while less than one-third of one percent make the AAA Five Diamond list.
Grand Velas Riviera Maya's signature restaurant, Cocina De Autor was awarded American Automobile Association's (AAA) Five Diamond award for restaurants, making it the first restaurant of an all-inclusive resort to ever receive the distinction. Cocina De Autor, serving gourmet Spanish and Basque cuisine since 2008, is also the first restaurant in the Riviera Maya to earn Five Diamonds in such a short time after opening. Cocina De Autor Chefs Bruno Oteiza and Mike Alonso are disciples of the famed Chef Arzak of Northern Spain.
The Holiday Inn Resort Aruba announced today that General Manager Jorge Landa has been named IHG Latin America & The Caribbean General Manager of the Year. The award, presented by Alvaro Diago, COO for IHG Latin America and Bob Morse, COO for IHG The Americas, recognizes Mr. Landa for his achievements in 2012 as Area General Manager for both the Crown Plaza Maruma and the InterContinental Maracaibo in Venezuela. Jorge Landa, a seasoned hotelier with previous experience managing successful international hotels in the Americas and flagship resorts in the Caribbean, recently assumed the role of General Manager at Holiday Inn Resort Aruba to lead the refurbishment and successful repositioning of the resort. He is a recent recipient of IHG's Quality Award for the Crown Plaza Maruma Hotel and IHG's Newcomer Award for InterContinental Hotel Maracaibo, hotels that ranked consistently at the top in their respective brand categories for guest and associate satisfaction, as well as financial achievement in their region. The hotels were part of a cluster led by Landa as the Area General Manager. For more information on the Holiday Inn Resort Aruba, visit www. http://holidayarubaresort.com/
Playa del Carmen, Riviera Maya, Mexico – Mexico's "Beyond All Inclusive, Beyond All Compare" Grand Velas Riviera Maya is honored twice in the 2012 Travel Weekly Magellan Awards. Grand Velas Riviera Maya was selected as a Gold Magellan Award Winner for Guest Room Design and a Silver Magellan Award Winner for Luxury Spa Design for Hotels and Resorts. The AAA Five Diamond resort boasts 491 luxurious suites in three separate ambiances -- ocean-front Grand Class, ocean-view Ambassador, and Zen Grand. The resort also boasts the region's largest spa sanctuary. The $15 million architecturally-striking spa features dramatic environmental design inspired by the jungle and natural water pools of the Yucatan Peninsula and a 40,000 square-foot Water Lounge. The prestigious awards were judged by top travel industry professionals against a standard of excellence based on the long experience of Travel Weekly.
Riviera Maya, Mexico (August 20, 2012) – Mexico’s “Beyond All Inclusive, Beyond All Compare” Grand Velas Riviera Maya is honored as a 2012 “Best of” Award winner in the Western region of the U.S. and Mexico by Meetings Focus Magazine. The resort is one of only two Mexican resorts honored as a top regional meetings destination by meeting planners. The prestigious Groups and Conventions magazine polls readers to determine what hotels and resorts throughout the regions it covers deliver a superlative meetings experience. “We are honored to be distinguished as a top meeting destination in the Western US and Mexico” said Fernando Garcia Rossette, Managing Director for the Grand Velas Resorts. “We are committed to providing an overall excellent experience for groups using our facilities.” Planners who have held meetings at the Grand Velas Riviera Maya distinguish the destination as one of the top meeting sites in the West based on the quality of meeting space, guest services and amenities, food and beverage service, high-tech services and equipment, recreational facilities and activities, the efficiency and helpfulness of staff, and the overall value and experience. About Grand Velas Riviera Maya: Recently featured in Forbes’ roundup of the 10 Coolest All-Inclusive Resorts, the AAA Five Diamond Grand Velas Riviera Maya, an all-suites and spa resort located five minutes from Playa del Carmen, is the latest and most sophisticated iteration of the ultra-luxury, all-inclusive resort experience. This Leading Hotels of the World designated resort is the preeminent one of its class boasting 491 suites, each more than 1,000 square-feet, in three separate ambiances-- premium ocean-front Grand Class Suites with terrace plunge pools for families with children 12 and up, family-friendly ocean-view Ambassador Suites and Zen Grand Suites embraced by the flora and fauna of the Yucatan Peninsula’s jungle. The resort presents a gastronomic tour of the Yucatan, Europe and Asia offering seven restaurants with world-class chefs from France, Spain and Mexico; dedicated butler service for each guest, and the region’s largest spa sanctuary at over 89,000 square-feet specializing in signature treatments inspired by ancient cultures from around the world. The spa was named “Best Spa" in the world by Virtuoso and also earned a SpaFinder Readers’ Choice Award. The resort was designed by lauded Mexican architecture firm Elias and Elias and features the sleek and modish interiors that fuse the serenity of the Caribbean with the vibrancy of Yucatan cultures. # # #
Kura Hulanda Resorts, comprised of Hotel Kura Hulanda and Lodge Kura Hulanda & Beach Club, has enlisted Sandton Hotels, a Netherlands-based hospitality management and services company, to handle day-to-day operations for their boutique luxury properties. Ownership of Kura Hulanda Resorts, founded by Jacob Gelt Dekker, will remain the same. Sandton Hotels will be responsible for resort operations, repositioning, staffing and international sales and marketing. Additionally, the resorts will now be known as Sandton Kura Hulanda Hotel & Spa and Sandton Kura Hulanda Lodge & Beach Club.
BHG S.A. – Brazil Hospitality Group (BM&FBovespa: BHGR3; OTC: BZHGY) announces that through its company in the north ofBrazil, the hotel administration company firm Solare, the Company has signed a series of agreements for the management of hotels in said region.
This Fund, which will invest in the region known as the Colombian Caribbean corridor, is the first such fund in the country dedicated exclusively to investment in luxury hospitality assets. The Fund has eight years to invest both in operational luxury hotels and in new hotel construction, and will pursue joint ventures with local and international investors as well as work with local and international hotel brands.
Trust Hospitality, a professional management firm, and operator of Boutique Hotels worldwide under its Desires Hotels collection is pleased to announce the addition of the Acanto Boutique Hotel, Playa del Carmen, Mexico adjacent to the Riviera Maya.
Riviera Maya, Mexico (March 22, 2010) -- Eduardo Vela, Founder and Chairman of Mexico's Velas Resorts Group, was honored with a prestigious award from Mexico's President Felipe Calderon and the National Chambers of Commerce, Services and Tourism for his outstanding contributions and support of Mexico's tourism industry.
Morgans Hotel Group Co. today announced a management agreement for the Hotel Las Palapas, located in the vibrant Playa del Carmen resort area, which is owned by affiliates of Walton Street Capital (“Walton”). Morgans and Walton are already joint venture partners in the ownership of two other hotels - the Sanderson and St Martins Lane hotels in London.