Most destinations in Greece need more tourists, not fewer, said the country’s prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, on Tuesday at a conference titled “Reimagine Tourism in Greece,” hosted by the newspaper Kathimerini.
14.10.2024 - 10:58 / thepointsguy.com / Isla Mujeres / Marriott Bonvoy / Brian King / Costa Mujeres
Ritz-Carlton is returning to Cancun two years after leaving the popular Mexican tourist destination.
Set to open in 2027, the all-new Ritz-Carlton, Cancun, Punta Nizuc will be located 10 minutes from the airport in a towering building with 131 rooms and suites and 126 branded residences, all developed in partnership with FibraHotel, Fibra Danhos and Beyond Ventures.
Though details are currently sparse about what else the resort will feature, we do know there will be an oceanfront pool complex, a spa, and six restaurant and bar outlets.
Related: The best Ritz-Carlton hotels in the world
"Marriott is thrilled to bring The Ritz-Carlton brand back to Cancun, as we continue aiming to meet the growing demand for luxury travel experiences and world-class branded residences," said Brian King, president of Caribbean & Latin America at Marriott International, in a statement about the project.
Ritz-Carlton's presence in Cancun was first established in 1993 when The Ritz-Carlton, Cancun became the first hotel in the brand to open outside of the U.S. In 2022, the aging hotel dropped the Ritz-Carlton flag and was rebranded as the Kempinski Hotel Cancun.
At the time, the aging hotel faced stiff competition from new luxury hotels in the region with fresh paint, updated amenities and overall better value. It also felt like the former Ritz-Carlton, Cancun wasn't living up to Ritz-Carlton's brand standards or matching the modern luxury experience offered at newer Ritz-Carlton locations around the world, like The Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad.
With the return of the Ritz-Carlton, Marriott continues to double down on its luxury offerings around Cancun. Next year, The St. Regis Costa Mujeres Resort is scheduled to open slightly north of Cancun in Costa Mujeres. Farther south near Playa del Carmen, The Riveria Maya Edition at Kanai opened this year to much fanfare.
While The Ritz-Carlton, Cancun, Punta Nizuc will offer Marriott Bonvoy members a traditional resort experience, Marriott is also focusing on its luxury all-inclusive resorts in greater Cancun. Later in October, Almare, an adults-only Luxury Collection all-inclusive resort, will open on Isla Mujeres, adding a high-end option to Marriott's all-inclusive offerings.
Related reading:
Most destinations in Greece need more tourists, not fewer, said the country’s prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, on Tuesday at a conference titled “Reimagine Tourism in Greece,” hosted by the newspaper Kathimerini.
Grupo Vidanta's 22 hotels are dotted across the beaches of Mexico, from Los Cabos to the Riviera Maya.
After an amazing week at sea, many cruisers wish they could just move onto a ship permanently. Sisters Jo Johnston, 69, and Elaine Durham, 63, who are both single and retired, turned this fantasy into a reality.
Once our two daughters went off to college, it seemed my husband and I had different plans for enjoying our empty-nest years.
A United Airlines plane diverted and made an unplanned landing after cockpit screens went blank while it was flying over Canada's far north.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said Wednesday it’s requiring Marriott to put in place a new data security program following three breaches from 2014 to 2020 that affected over 300 million people worldwide.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Christopher Willson, a 52-year-old retired engineer who spent more than 15 years renovating a cruise ship he named Aurora . The following has been edited for length and clarity.
Following numerous delays, the EU’s planned Entry/Exit System (EES) for travellers outside the Schengen Area has been postponed once again.
A North Korean tourism advert with low production values, near-empty beaches and cloudy skies has caught the internet’s attention.
I've been obsessed with travel since I was young, and so far, I've ticked off more than 40 countries on my bucket list. Before I leave for a trip, I usually research the destination beforehand and put together a rough idea of the key sites I don't want to miss.
A single panda can eat more than 70 pounds of bamboo a day, so before Mao Sun and Xing Er, two Chinese-born bears, moved to the Copenhagen Zoo in the spring of 2019, Danish zookeepers had to find a reliable source of the treelike grass. One supplier was the farmer Søren Ladefoged, whose crop has recently benefited another local attraction: the fine-dining destination Noma. The chef Mette Søberg, 34, who heads Noma’s test kitchen, was inspired to add tender young shoots to the menu after the restaurant’s 10-week pop-up at the Ace Hotel in Kyoto last year, where thinly sliced bamboo was served in squid broth. “In Japan, and in Kyoto specifically, they’re so excited about ingredients that are in season for a short time,” she says. From late March through May, “everyone knows, ‘Ah, it’s bamboo season!’” Back in Denmark, she started grilling the shoots over pine boughs for a slightly smoky tinge and serving them with a butter and sencha tea dipping sauce. “We want to make it really simple so people can actually taste the bamboo,” says Søberg, who describes the plant’s flavor as “nutty, vegetal and a little bit sweet.” She adds that many Noma diners are surprised to encounter bamboo in Denmark, where it’s cultivated but not typically consumed. Outside of Asian restaurants, the same is true in the United States, where, at Brooklyn’s Cafe Mado, the chef Nico Russell, 36, has been pickling the shoots and serving them with razor clams in a garlicky sauce. He gets his supply of the yellow groove variety from the New Jersey-based forager Tama Matsuoka Wong, 66, who described this year’s demand as “a frenzy.” Wong, who specializes in harvesting edible invasive plants, points out that yellow groove multiplies rapidly through horizontal roots and can quickly overtake a plot of land. She works with property owners to contain the plant, while getting it into the hands of chefs like Mads Refslund, 47, of the wood fire-centered restaurant Ilis, also in Brooklyn, who has ordered over 750 pounds from Wong so far this year. This past summer, he served vertically cut salt-cured shoots with buckwheat oil-brushed uni and caviar pooled in the divots of the stems. He also preserved the majority of his supply, he says, so that — despite bamboo’s short season — he can offer it for months to come. —
I've been to over 80 countries, so people always ask me for firsthand vacation advice.