Secrets Papagayo Costa Rica’s Preferred Club Presidential Suite offers a terrace with a hot tub and comes with Preferred Club Privileges.
From romantic dinners on the beach to intimate breakfasts with a dance session from SpongeBob Square Pants, Luxury Travel Advisor breaks down high-end, all-inclusives you can sell to couples and families looking for glamour with a twist.
Secrets Papagayo Costa Rica
Secrets Papagayo Costa Rica is located on the Papagayo Peninsula in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
For VIPs seeking a sanctuary for the senses, there is the Secrets Spa by Pevonia, which has 13 treatment rooms, a Swiss shower, sauna, steam room, private shower and a relaxing indoor lounge area.
The spa offers a range of services, including massages, body treatments, rejuvenating facials, manicures and pedicures, along with an array of spa packages and pampering for your hands, feet and nails. Nice Touch: The spa also comes with a full-service beauty salon, and includes three outdoor rooms, with one on the beach. Note: Remind your clients to book treatments at least two weeks in advance to ensure availability. For any other special spa requests, contact Martin Lopez ([email protected]), spa director.
The most high-end room available is the Preferred Club Presidential Suite, which has two bedrooms with king-size beds; a separate living area with bar and a terrace with a hot tub. Guests who book through the Preferred Club have access to the exclusive onsite Preferred Club lounge, an ideal place to unwind and enjoy light bites and beverages. Good to Know: Even though onsite accommodations do not offer personal butler service, concierge and room service are available 24 hours a day. Advisors with specific room requests for VIPs should reach out to Giancarlo Chang ([email protected]), sales manager.
Foodies can indulge in a selection of international cuisines at three à la carte restaurants, one buffet and a café. Guests can also sneak away for a romantic meal in their suite with that 24-hour room service. Note: There are no reservations at any of the restaurants. VIPs can walk in and dine whenever they please during the restaurant’s open hours. The onsite restaurants are reserved for resort guests only. As a plus, private on-beach dining can be organized for guests during their stay. The concierge can also arrange for bottles of in-room champagne and wine, or desserts.
Golf enthusiasts can hit the fairways at the Arnold Palmer-designed Peninsula Papagayo Golf Course, an 18-hole, par-72 championship course roughly 30 minutes from the resort. Golf can be scheduled at an additional cost.
Spread across an expanse of 6,788 yards, the course winds its way through 125 acres of undulating fairways and greens. A variety of shots challenge players of all skill levels. Dramatic changes in elevation stir the senses. Hint: Variegated terrain — ranging from forest to valley to sea cliffs — ensures every fairway provides a great Instagram photo opportunity.
The hotel is roughly 20 minutes away from Liberia Airport. Tip: The airport can accommodate private jets as well.
To further customize a stay, advisors should reach out to Shirley Isquevil ([email protected]), chief concierge.
20° 87° UNICO Hotel Riviera Maya
AIC Hotel Group recently announced the launch of UNICO Hotels, a new adults-only, luxury, all-inclusive hotel brand designed to reflect each property’s locale and
native culture.
Pictured: Unico Hotel Riviera Maya offers rooms with ocean views. Pictured below is one of the bedrooms, also known as an alcoba.
The nomenclature will play on the latitude and longitude of each location, with the first hotel, Unico Hotel Riviera Maya - 20ºN 87ºW located in Riviera Maya on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2017.
The hotel is expected to be popular among Millennials, especially couples. For couples traveling with couples, Luxury Travel Advisor was told to recommend Villa 20° 87°, a 2,357-square-foot hideaway with two bedrooms and a living room.
Hint: 90 percent of UNICO Hotel Riviera Maya’s accommodations have ocean views. All first-floor rooms have semi-private exterior pools, while rooms on second to fifth floors have a double hydro spa tub.
Nice Touch: The hotel has a unique twist on traditional butler service. All accommodations come with a personal host, “El Anfitrion,” for an added level of pampering and personalized service. The host will make sure A-listers are connected to the youthful pulse of the local culture and will help tailor each guest’s experience.
The spa will have 18 rooms, including two Couples Suites, six Couple Cabins and 10 Single Cabins. Guests looking for limited contact can either have their “host” book the spa treatment, or can book it through the UNICO Experience App.
The UNICO Experience Lab located in the spa will invite guests to select personalized luxury bath amenities and products made with local ingredients, allowing them to make a further connection with the region and its people. In terms of treatments, we were told the Ritual Sensation treatments are anticipated to be the most popular among guests. The 90-minute Volcanic Stones Ritual combines heated, smooth stones and a reconstructive relaxing massage that helps in getting rid of muscular pain, tension and accumulated fatigue. Healing properties of the heated stones will aim to balance the mind, body and soul.
Other signature guest experiences, consistent in each hotel throughout the UNICO Hotels brand, will include an in-room gallery with art to purchase from local artisans and an “Experience Room,” where guests select their own beach gear and personalized in-room amenities sourced from local craftsmen.
For golf aficionados, the hotel will provide access to the nearby golf course and club at the Hard Rock Golf Club Riviera Maya.
Food and beverage offerings will include onsite distillery or brewery incorporating flavors and ingredients from the region, as well as an annual rotating chef restaurant concept, with a focus on emerging talent and flavors.
Services range from arriving in a custom-scented lobby, where guests are introduced to the Guest Experience App featuring information on each week’s activities, to gastronomy and libation mixology that fosters a sense of regional celebration.
Tip: For a real taste of Mexico, guests should visit the Mexican restaurant — an annual rotating chef restaurant — that will incorporate native dishes and ingredients from the Yucatan. Entry to most of the restaurants will be by reservation only, but they will also welcome walk-in guests depending on the night. Again, guests can make their reservations via the UNICO Experience App.
Although UNICO is still in the process of hiring personnel for its top positions, advisors with inquiries can reach out to Yesenia Diaz ([email protected]), UNICO’s sales specialist.
BRGRS.PH at Nickelodeon Hotel lets guests choose from a wide selection of toppings, sauces and buns to make artisan burgers.
Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts Punta Cana
For a fun take on traditional family luxury hotels, tell VIPs about the new Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts Punta Cana. This is a Karisma Hotels & Resorts brand, so tell travelers who love the company’s El Dorado and Azul properties that this hotel offers similar service and top-notch cuisine with a G-rated twist.
Luxury Travel Advisor recently returned from the 208-suite hotel and thought the best aspect was that the Nickelodeon- theme of the hotel can be as big or as little as a guest wants.
Nickelodeon is not thrown in your face. There was no Sponge Bob Square Pants wallpaper or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pillows. Instead, there are just subtle reminders. In fact, there are hardly any Nickelodeon logos here. The Nickelodeon touches are basically subliminal.
Nickelodeon’s colors of green and orange can be found sprinkled everywhere in the resort. Perhaps the biggest Nickelodeon feature of the rooms are the replicas of the signature orange blimp placed in front of the beds, but even those do not say Nickelodeon on them. Note: This hotel actually shares the same grounds as its sister property, Sensatori, which caters primarily to the European market.
The property’s four Pool Super Villas, which includes the popular Pineapple Villa, are the best rooms in this hotel.
The Pool Super Villas are basically private homes that come with a butler. Hint: The butler can also book A-listers in this room a Bailey Bed on the beach. There are roughly 10 of them and the first one to reserve it gets it for the rest of the day.
The Pineapple Villa is shaped like an actual pineapple and is supposed to serve as a replica of SpongeBob’s home. The two-bedroom / three-bath playful presidential suite allows VIPs to step inside SpongeBob’s world. It has 2,292 square feet of indoor and outdoor living area, including a garden, patio, signature infinity pool and private butlers.
One of the best rooms we saw was Room No. 1106, a Swim-Up Flat Suite room. It comes with a pool, a 48-inch Samsung flat-screen TV in the living room, and another TV in the bedroom.
There is also a Swank Swim-Up Suite category. Those rooms are located on the second and third floors and come with private plunge pools, king-size beds and a living room with a pull-out sofa.
Advisors with special room requests should contact Alexandra Rodriguez ([email protected]), reservations manager.
While the room décor has very subtle Nickelodeon touches, the “Character Breakfast” is where all that pent-up Nickelodeon love comes pouring out. The Character Breakfast was by far the most interactive Nickelodeon activity that we saw during our visit. Now, this is not a subtle theme. This is all the Nickelodeon you can handle and will most likely be one of your children’s favorite parts of the experience.
Tip: Character Breakfasts will be held on Thursdays and Sundays. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles breakfast takes place on Thursdays at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. The “Pajama Jam Breakfast” with Dora the Explorer, Boots, SpongeBob Square Pants, Patrick, Chase, Marshall, Cosmo and Wanda will take place at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Best part? There is no need for clients to rush for a photo as the hotel’s Nickelodeon team members will take each character to every table, one at a time. We were told to book breakfast at least 24 hours in advance.
For the adults, the hotel’s Vassa Spa includes an herbal steam room, a dry sauna, chromo therapy showers, bubble beds, a whirlpool and arctic and warm water pools. There are five treatment suites, a couple’s suite, a luxurious bridal suite and five “al fresco” outdoor treatment areas for those craving a little sand with their spa. Vassa Spa’s “perfectly pink” treatment will be available for young visitors.
For specific spa needs, advisors should contact Vanessa Disla ([email protected]), chief concierge.
At the heart of the resort is the “Nickelodeon Place.” This is also a place where children can expect full-blown Nickelodeon love. Areas here include the “Aqua Nick”; “Plaza Orange” showcase for entertainment and events; “Character Central”, where guests can meet their favorite characters throughout the day; “Just Kiddin’” hang out zone for do-it-yourself fun that includes daily supervised activities and programs for children four to 12 years old, plus meet-and-greets with Nickelodeon characters; “kNick kNack” retail shop; and a Sports & Entertainment Center for teens. The center includes basketball courts, tennis courts and even archery. Nickelodeon Place is also home to an exciting water park with slides.
There are 10 restaurants at the resort, with Kitchen 23 and Vino Vino being adults only. Kitchen 23 is also the only restaurant that has additional fees. Depending on the menu guests choose, prices here range from about $35 to $65 per person. There are also wine pairing options at an additional cost. Verdello was perhaps our favorite restaurant on property. Note: This Italian restaurant has both family and adults-only sections. Advisors looking to further customize a VIP’s stay at this hotel should contact Maritza Cadenas ([email protected]), sales manager.