Mexico’s coastal regions are ripe with new hotels, convention centers and other developments geared toward augmenting the meetings market.
In Los Cabos, Barcelo Palace Deluxe was rebranded to the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos last year, and Sandos Finisterra Los Cabos, formerly Hotel Finisterra, opened with 250 guest rooms.
Meanwhile, three new properties are planned for the destination: The Ritz-Carlton Reserve, slated to open later this year with 124 private villas; the JW Marriott, set to debut in 2015 with 300 guest rooms and 13,000 square feet of meeting space; and The Park Hyatt (www.park.hyatt.com), set to open next year with 196 guest rooms and a spa.
The Los Cabos Convention Center, which celebrated a soft opening in June 2012 for the G-20 Summit, offers 72,000 square feet of meeting and function space.
“Late this year, the convention center will host the first Pan American Conference of Internal Medicine, which will set the stage for additional large-scale events in the destination,” says Eduardo Segura, managing director of the Los Cabos Tourism Board.
Farther south, Puerto Vallarta is preparing for two new properties slated to open this fall: Hotel Mousai at Garza Blanca, with 72 suites, and Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta, formerly Dreams Puerto Vallarta Resort & Spa, with 337 guest rooms and 8,500 square feet of meeting space.
In Riviera Nayarit, Iberostar Playa Mita recently debuted with 452 rooms and offers more than 6, 700 square feet of meeting space.
Later this year, Acapulco will unveil a destination-wide transportation system known as ACABus, providing service from the Traditional Zone to the Diamante Zone. Also on the calendar is a renovation of the downtown Traditional Zone.
Meanwhile, the Resort Mundo Imperial, situated at the Mundo Imperial complex, is expected to open 400 of its 814 suites during the second half of this year.
“Some of Acapulco’s iconic hotels have invested in extensive renovation projects over the last few years,” says Javier Aluni, Guerrero’s secretary of tourism.
Properties that have made significant enhancements include the Grand Hotel Acapulco & Convention Center and Hotel Encanto.
In Ixtapa, a new tower with 323 rooms and two presidential suites opened in 2013 at the Azul Ixtapa Grand.
In Mazatlan, the airport is undergoing a renovation that is slated for completion next year, and Hotel Mision Mazatlan debuted last October with 117 guest rooms and five meeting rooms.
In the Mexican Caribbean, Dreams Cancun will reopen later this year as the Hyatt Ziva, while last year the Royal Cancun transformed into the all-suite Hyatt Zilara Cancun, which features more than 6,500 square feet of meeting space.
Farther down the coast, the former Aventura Spa Resort is now the Hard Rock Riviera Maya, offering 88,900 square feet of meeting space and an expanded ballroom.
In the works in Riviera Maya is a $360 million development called Kanai, which will host four luxury resorts, two golf courses and a spa.
Other resorts are planned for the region, including The St. Regis Kanai Resort, Riviera Maya, slated to open in 2016 with 140 guest rooms, 35 villas and more than 242,000 square feet of event space; W Retreat Kanai, slated to be unveiled in summer 2015 with 181 guest rooms; The Auberge Resort, offering 50 luxury suites, six waterfront villas and a spa; the 220-room Park Hyatt Riviera Maya, slated to open in 2016; and the 213-room Andaz Mayakoba, set to debut in 2015 in the Mayakoba development complex.
— Marlene Goldman
