Mexico

Of Perception And Promotion: The Creation Of The Mexico Real Estate Coalition

In response to the ongoing safety challenges that have been facing Mexico the past year, many top real estate and resort developers, title companies, banks, and other companies throughout the country, have formed a coalition to specifically promote living and investing in Mexico. More than 30 organizations have formed the MREC (Mexico Real Estate Coalition.) It's the first time a coalition like this has been created to advocate for the potential buyers and retirees interested, but yet hesitant, about buying and living in Mexico. This includes the high end fractional and Private Residence Club buyers as well as luxury and mid-level second home purchasers.

The Mexico Real Estate Coalition includes Juan Diaz Rivera of Capella Pedregal, Eduardo Sanchez Navarro of Grupo Questro, Andres Rosetto of Punta Mita, Jorge Carerra of Querencia, Horst Schulze (founder of the Ritz Carlton) and Christopher Hill, CEO of Stewart Title, Latin America, among others. Together, the group is taking a proactive stance to educate Americans and others on the benefits of living and for some, retiring in Mexico. The coalition also directly addresses perceptions about Mexico being a dangerous country.

"Recently," Juan Diaz Rivera, founder of Capella Pedregal, and Chairman Of The Mexico Real Estate Coalition, told Luxist, "I flew to Tijuana from Cabo to pick up a new car. I had no problem, even though I had accidentally left some important papers in the car. Then, the same day, I drove to Beverly Hills to meet some friends for lunch. I parked in a parking garage downtown. When I returned from lunch, my passport, travel money and other papers had been stolen. It was such an ironic thing to happen to me, as we at MREC always say that bad things happen everywhere, not just Mexico. And here I am, living proof, and in Beverly Hills!"

Tags: Capella Pedregal, Grupo Questro, Juan Diaz Rivera, Live Mexico website, LiveMexico.org, living in Mexico, Mexico, mexico real estate, Mexico real Estate Coalition, MREC, promoting living in Mexico, Punta Mita, Querencia, safety concerns Mexico, second home buying Mexico

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Celebrate a Sky High Valentine's Day on the St. Regis Mexico City's Helipad

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels

How to rise above the ho-hum Valentine's Day celebrations taking place down on the ground? The St. Regis Mexico City has the answer in the form of their high altitude "True Love Has No Limits" experience, set 33 stories atop one of the tallest and most exclusive addresses in town. Ensconced on the hotel's helipad – 492 feet above the ground – which will be transformed into an intimate entertainment venue for the evening, couples will enjoy a candlelight four-course dinner and wine pairing personalized according to tastes, a bottle of champagne, live music and private security. The bespoke "True Love Has No Limits" experience begins at $1,500 for two including a one-night stay at the elegant St. Regis Mexico City (above), designed by legendary architect Cesar Pelli featuring 189 captivating guestrooms, including 35 suites and The St. Regis and Astor Suites, each with a gorgeous view of the bustling metropolis below.

Tags: helicopter, luxury hotels, Mexico, Mexico City, St. Regis, The St. Regis Mexico City, Valentines Day

Casa Noble Single Barrel Extra Anejo Tequila

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

In time for the holidays the Park Avenue Liquor Shop in New York has acquired one of only three existing barrels of seven-year-old tequila from Casa Noble CEO Jose "Pepe" Hermosillo. These precious casks are known as his "friends & family" barrels which have never been commercially available before.

Only 300 bottles of the rare spirit, which sells for $100, have been produced exclusively for the store. The Casa Noble Single Barrel Extra Anejo Tequila is aged in a single certified French white oak barrel, individually numbered and registered, made from 100% Blue agave, triple distilled, and USDA organic.

The intense heat of the Jalisco region of Mexico where the tequila is made accelerates the aging process. The blue agave plants that become Casa Noble Single Barrel Extra Anejo Tequila - plants grown in the mountains of Jalisco by Casa Noble itself - take 12 years to fully mature, so it has taken 19 years in all to produce the precious elixir.

Tags: Casa Noble, Mexico, New York, Park Avenue Liquor Shop, spirits, tequila

Photos of Old Mexico Revealed in Two New Shows in NYC

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art, Books

Mexico is having a big historical moment, at the moment -- celebrations marking its 200th anniversary of independence, and the centennial of its revolution reached a fever pitch this month.

Such anniversaries are a great time to reflect on the past, and New York City's Aperture Gallery, in Chelsea, and the Bronx Museum of the Arts, have just opened shows on that theme. American photographer Paul Strand spent extended time in Mexico in the 1930s and the 1960s, and during these journeys, made photographs now considered to be among his best. The Chelsea gallery displays more than 100 photographs by Strand, including a remastered version of his 1936 film, Redes. The Bronx Museum shows twenty gravure prints from Strand's 1967 travels in Mexico.

And if you just can't get enough of Strand's Mexico photographs -- or you're not in New York -- next month brings another way to experience the exhibit. Paul Strand in Mexico, will be published by Aperture and the Televisa Foundation. The book, which will sell for $75, reprints 234 of Strand's photos from both of his trips -- of these 123 have never before been published.

Tags: bronx, chelsea, Mexico, PhotoGallery, photography, photos

Mexicana Airlines Bankruptcy Strands Passengers

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

Panic at Los Angeles International Airport this week as Mexicana Airlines filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. and Mexico. The airline has suspended some of its flights in Mexico and across the U.S. The airline has promised to give passengers refunds or to rebook them on other flights. The Wall Street Journal reports that the airline had already had several planes repossessed. In filings on Tuesday the airline said that it had lost $350 million since 2007 and listed debt of more than $1 billion.

The Mexico City-based airline attributed its problems to high labor costs and also the problems afflicting Mexico's tourism industry. According to an article in the LA Times the airline says that its costs for pilots and flight attendants are far higher than those of rival airlines. It has called for new contracts that would cut the wages for pilots and flight attendants and reduce the workforce by 40 percent. The secretary general of Mexicana's flight attendants union said the comparison between Mexicana's salaries and the other Mexican airlines doesn't really make sense because those carriers offer shorter flights and a different level of service.

Mexican tourism has taken a lot of hits recently and this latest development won't help matters. In the past couple of years the combination of the global economic crisis, the swine flu epidemic and worries over violence caused by drug cartels has had the popular vacation destination fighting for tourism dollars.

Mexicana operates nearly 70 planes flying to the U.S., Canada, Central and South America and Europe. Last year alone it carried 11.1 million passengers in 2009. The airline's parent company, Nuevo Grupo Aeronautico operates two low-cost domestic airlines, Clink and Link, which will continue to operate without interruption.

Tags: mexicana, Mexico, Mexico City

Tequila Avion, New for the Private Jet Set

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Ken Austin, Executive Vice Chairman of Marquis Jet, is launching a new ultra premium spirit called Tequila Avion for the private jet set. Austin attracted several million dollars in funding from investors including notables from the worlds of art and culture, business, technology, sports, lifestyle and luxury goods to get the new venture off the ground. Produced by fifth generation agave growers from among the finest Blue Weber agave found in the highest regions of Jalisco, Mexico, the tequila's distinct flavors are achieved through a combination of slow-roasting at lower temperatures to protect the natural flavors of the agave and an ultra-slow filtration process which creates an ultra-smooth taste profile. It's available in Silver, Reposado and Anejo varietals.

"I've always experimented and searched for a tequila that is smooth and has great character, whether I drink it neat or in a cocktail," Austin notes. "Over the years, close friends and business associates who were also passionate about tequila have joined me in this pursuit. We came to realize that if we wanted the ideal tequila – balancing exceptional taste, character and smoothness - we would have to create it ourselves. With the help of experts that understood our quest, that is exactly what we have achieved in Tequila Avion, a distinctive and defining new standard of quality and taste in tequila, or 'Taste Elevated' as we refer to it." Tequila Avion is now available at select locations including New York's Park Avenue Liquor Shop.

Tags: agave, Marquis Jet, Mexico, Park Avenue Liquor Shop, private aviation, private jet, spirits, tequila, Tequila Avion

World's Richest Man Buys Duke-Semans Mansion for $44 Million

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Wealth

Mexican telecommunications mogul Carlos Slim, who beat out Warren Buffet and Bill Gates to capture the title of World's Richest Man earlier this year with an astonishing net worth of $53.5 billion, has purchased the stunning Duke-Semans Mansion in New York for a cool $44 million. As we reported back in January, cab driver-turned-fertilizer king Tamir Sapir had listed the palatial townhouse, said to be the only private mansion left on Fifth Avenue, for $50 million. According to the Wall St. Journal, Slim cut the deal to snag it for $6 million less with Sapir directly. Sapir bought the historic seven-story Beaux Arts mansion located across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art from relatives of Doris Duke for $40 million in 2006. The 20,000-square-foot mansion, built in 1901, currently has a doctor's office in the basement, a five-story main residence, a penthouse duplex on top, 12 bedrooms, 14 bathrooms, and 11 wood-burning fireplaces.

Gallery: Duke Semans Mansion

Tags: billionaire, Carlos Slim, celebrity real estate, Doris Duke, Duke Semans Mansion, Duke-Semans Mansion, Fifth Avenue, mansion, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Mexico, New York, New York City, real estate, Tamir Sapir, worlds richest man

Pueblo Bonito's Annual PacifiCooks Culinary Event Coming in July

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels

What if you could be on Top Chef, but instead of cooking your job was to eat what was cooked – taking your time, savoring flavors, with a bottle of wine perhaps and maybe even an ocean view? Baja's Pueblo Bonito has put together the closest thing to that scenario with its 2010 PacifiCooks week, happening July 18-25.

The oceanfront spa's own award-winning chef Antonio de Livier will host the event, which gathers Mexico's top chefs at the resort's four locations. Each evening will feature five-course, all-star menus designed by the two different chefs every evening, along with cocktail receptions and cooking seminars. In case you're worried about pedigree – because we know you take your savoring seriously – the Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach Resort & Spa has already been on Condé Nast Traveler's Gold List for "The Best Food in the Americas."

The dish pictured is La Boquita de Frida. If you attend the event, please let us know how if it's as delish as it looks...

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Tags: cooking, food festivals, mexico, pacificooks, pueblo bonito, pueblo bonito sunset beach

Five Cigar Recommendations for Father's Day

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Cigars

I'm about to celebrate my first Father's Day, so when I heard that the Beverly Hills Cigar Club had a few cigar suggestions for the occasion, I opened the e-mail immediately. In past years, I would have written the blog post for everyone else ... this year, I have something at stake!

Vin Lee, CEO of the Beverly Hills Cigar Club, has put together an interesting menu of cigars for Father's Day this year. From this list, I'd go with the Oliva Serie V, though my personal favorite these days is the 601 Trabuco (hint, hint).

Let's take a look at the five cigars Lee offers up as Father's Day suggestions:

1. CAO America Monument Pinstripe Torpedo
The wrapper on this cigar consists of two leaves arranged to deliver a pinstriping effect. One is a golden brown Connecticut Shade, and the other is a chocolate brown Connecticut Broadleaf. The filler comes from Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and the United States. Notes Lee, "Warm summer nights this Father's Day, heat up the Kalamazoo 900 Grill and let Dad light up America while he slow grills his special burgers. No, he still won't tell you what's in the sauce though."

Tags: beverly hills, cigar, cigar club, cigar lounge, cigars, colombia, costa rica, dominican republic, fathers day, fathers-day, FathersDay, honduras, Mexico, nicaragua, NicaraguanCigars

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Hublot Big Bang Watch For 200th Anniversary Of Mexican Independence

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Hublot takes no efforts to mask the aim of their anti-Audemars rockets. While bit money is at stake, I find it amusing to see how the brands bicker back and forth and how Hublot is playing the "if Audemars Piguet can do it, so can we game." In the latest act of the game, Hublot matches Audemars Piguet in Mexico, with their own limited edition watch to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of Mexican independence. Actually, Audemars Piguet an Hublot aren't likely to be the only watch brands that make watches to help remind Mexicans of their victory over the Spanish 200 years ago - but given the recent history of the two brands, I can't imagine that Hublot could have passed up the opportunity to make such a watch. I previously wrote about Audemars Piguet's timepiece for this occasion here.

The limited edition of 200 pieces will be divided up into 50 pieces in 18k "King gold" and 150 pieces in black ceramic. The watch is based on the brand's King Power chronograph timepiece, that is 48mm wide with Hublot's HUB4201 automatic movement inside. Anyone can see the obvious use of colors from the Mexican flag on the dials of the watches, and the gold version gets a pretty cool green and black toned, alligator and rubber strap. On the back of the watch is an engraving of the Bell of Dolores. The Bell which when rang, was said to be the start of the Mexican revolution against the Spanish in 1810.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Hublot Big Bang Watch back For 200th Anniversary Of Mexican Independence

Tags: 710.CI.1130.GR.MEX10, 710.OX.0130.GR.MEX10, Hublot, mexican, Mexico, watch

Getaway Review: Dreams Villamagna Nuevo Vallarta

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

When a country's government actually warns foreigners against traveling there, you know things have been getting bad. Recent news covering Mexico has been less than flattering when it comes to tourist safety. Either the drugs wars or corruption is out of control, but there are certainly places in Mexico you don't want to be. On the other hand, the country has been long known for its hot vacation and resort spots. A comfortable jaunt for most American, you can really get away in Mexico without going all that far – especially from American conveniences. While traveling to Mexico right now might be a bit of a gamble, the downturn in the tourist market has allowed for some incredible deals for those interested in a great getaway for cheap.

Aiming at the traditional (and far from the dangerous border) vacation spot of Puerto Vallarta, I stay at the Dreams Villamagna All-Inclusive resort in Nuevo Vallarta – a newer area just north of Puerto Vallarta. The resort is part of the Dreams family of properties that even has another location in Puerto Vallarta. Right on the beach, the comfortable property has picturesque views, a smooth stretch of beach, and enough things to do when you aren't resting under a palapa drinking a fruit filled mixed drink.

A high-end luxury locale Dreams Villamagna is not. Though for young couples and working class families the resort has a lot to offer and certainly will be luxurious in their book. Those who frequent five star luxury resorts around the world will find the place a bit too much on the family-friendly side, without some of the higher-end amenities they might expect, as well as a lack of exclusivity common in shelled-off luxe resort locations.

Tags: all inclusive, Dreams, mexico, nuevo vallarta, puerto vallarta, resort, review, Villamagna

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Unusual Shopping: Fabrica La Aurora in San Miguel de Allende

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Luxury Travel & Hotels, Art, Books

When you're visiting San Miguel de Allende in Mexico, it's hard to tear yourself away from its colorful, cobblestoned city center even briefly -- but if you're looking to do a little shopping, particularly for antiques, unusual housewares and art, take a short walk to Fabrica La Aurora.

La Aurora was a textile factory which opened its doors in 1902, and was once one of the largest employers in the area. It specialized in cotton, for everything from textiles to tennis shoes. Anyone who thinks that Mexico reaped all the benefit of free trade agreements should take the history of this factory under advisement: the company closed its doors in 1991, due to increasing global competition.

The factory is now home to antique shops, local artist studios and galleries, all amid the old machine works and photos of the factory the way that it once was. The factory was sprawling, and its maze-like space is fun to explore, even if you've got firm intentions to keep your suitcase light. (Although note bene, La Aurora has three jewelry shops and an excellent art and design bookstore if you'll make exceptions for the light in weight or light in wallet.)

Check out a directory of shops and studios here, and browse the gallery to take a tour of this most unusual shopping venue.

Gallery: La Fabrica Aurora in San Miguel de Allende

Fine Art Intermingles with Factory Machinery

Tags: antiques, art, factories, galleries, Mexico, SanMiguelDeAllende, Studios

Hotel Design: Comfort versus Boredom at Grupo Habita Hotels

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Would you rather be entirely bored but very comfortable in a luxury hotel, or slightly less comfortable while having a unique hotel experience?

To me, this is the central question that Grupo Habita's hotels raise, and it's a good one.

Habita is a Mexico-based boutique hotel company owns nine properties in Mexico, from its namesake Habita in Mexico City, to the ultra-sceney Condesa df, also in Mexico City, to its latest hotel, Boca Chica, in Acapulco. Its Monterrey Hotel, Habita MTY won a 2010 *Wallpaper Design award, which you don't get for being fusty or forgettable.

None of these adjectives can be used in connection with Habita's properties. In an interview on Hotel Management Network, co-owners Carlos Couturier and Moises Micha said "Our mission is to impose a certain philosophy on society. We are not here only to create hotels, we are here to make people understand that creativity is good for society. We don't only build hotels. We build experiences."

I've stayed at Habita's property in Puebla, La Purificadora, and I also stayed at Condesa df, and I'm glad I read that interview, because I can now evaluate the properties on their own terms. Condesa is a fun, trendy neighborhood in D.F., and the hotel is just that -- the qualities that I'd count as strikes against in a traditional hotel -- smallish rooms, slightly noisy -- are actually part of the experience of being in that neighborhood. You don't go there for a retreat, you go there to be in the middle of things. As I mentioned in my review of La Purificadora, I thought that form sometimes trumped function, but I never once forgot that I was in a hotel that was making use of its space in a former water purification factory.

Gallery: Condesa DF and Boca Chica

Condesa df Rooftop Bar, Around the Corner

Tags: acapulco, boutique hotel, grupo habita hotels, habita hotel, mexican hotels, Mexico, Mexico City, mexico hotels, monterrey

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Pueblo Bonito Pacifica Offering Mother & Daughter Get-Together Getaway

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Spas

True, Mother's Day 2010 is somewhere in your calendar's rear-view mirror. However, that doesn't mean mother stops being mother, nor does she have anything against you treating her to something really special on some other day of the year. To assist you with this new approach to rewarding your maternal side, Pueblo Bonita Pacifica Resort & Spa is offering a four-day Mother & Daughter Get-Together package.

A bottle of wine will welcome you to your deluxe ocean view suite. Then you have three choices to make, all of them beginning with the word "When": the package includes a day's access to one of the resort's beachside daybeds where you might actually end up honing your cocktails-in-bed skills, a massages "tailored to your individual needs" at the Armonia Spa, and a five-course meal paired with the appropriate five wines. If that's just too much to consider, don't worry, you'll have mom there – and she's helped you through those kinds of difficult choices before...

Gallery: Pueblo Bonito Pacifica Mother & Daughter Get-Together Getaway

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Tags: baja, mexico, pueblo bonito pacifica, spa, travel

Diamond-Studded Guns Part of Mexican Drug Lord's Haul

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Police in Mexico's Jalisco state got quite a surprise when they raided a hideout that they believe belongs to Valencia drug cartel boss Oscar Nava Valencia, they found 31 diamond-studded handguns. The gold and silver plated handguns were studded with diamonds and ornately engraved. Some bore the word lobo (Spanish for wolf) and others are decorated with wolf pictures. One gun bears a Ferrari logo. The federal authorities found a total of 38 guns, 75 magazines, several hundred cartridges, Rolex and Cartier watches, a Cadillac pickup truck, marijuana and some cash. Valencia (sometimes called "El Lobo") is the presumed operating chief of the Milenio Cartel. He is currently being held at the Altiplano prison, Mexico's highest security federal penitentiary.

Tags: diamond-studded guns, gold-plated guns, Mexico, Oscar Nava Valencia, silver-plated guns

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