Walking into the historic Recoleta cemetery in Buenos Aires is like staring at faces of the past. During my most recent visit to Argentina’s capital, I made yet another visit to this massive resting place for the nation’s wealthy and famous (including Evita Perón, the legendary first lady).The elaborate marble mausoleums that line the narrow…
Author: Mark Chesnut
VIDEO SLIDESHOW: Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires
Walking into the historic Recoleta cemetery in Buenos Aires is like staring at faces of the past. During my most recent visit to Argentina’s capital, I made yet another visit to this massive resting place for the nation’s wealthy and famous (including Evita Perón, the legendary first lady). The elaborate marble mausoleums that line the…
My Experience with Safety in Acapulco, Mexico
If you’ve been following my blog posts from Acapulco last week, you may have noticed I didn’t pay much attention to recent reports about drug cartel-related crime here in the state of Guerrero. There’s a reason for my keeping mum. I haven’t been reporting the news; I’ve been reporting my own personal experiences as a…
Beach Day in Acapulco, Mexico
A Bali-style day bed at Playita Santa Lucía, the new beach club. It’s Saturday afternoon, and a group of five Djs, most from Mexico City, are huddled over their shared table on the beach, as well-oiled vacationers sip micheladas on white-curtained Bali day beds. I’m in the adjacent open-air restaurant, slicing up a fresh whitefish…
3 Things I Love to Eat in Acapulco (and a couple drinks to wash it all down with)
I’ve been visiting Acapulco annually for years, thanks to the Tianguis Turistico, Mexico’s annual tourism conference (and I’ve come here a few additional times when the conference wasn’t taking placeas). So over time, I’ve discovered plenty of interesting and tasty local food that I always try to incorporate into my menu while in town. I’ve…
HOTEL REVIEW: Relaxed Retro Chic at Boca Chica, Acapulco
Yesterday afternoon, I checked into a hotel where several decades earlier a Hollywood starlet named Rita Hayworth slept. That was back when Acapulco was becoming Mexico’s first jet-set resort destination, and celebrities were flocking to small, independently owned hotels in the hills by the bay. Today, Hotel Boca Chica — which opened in March 2010…
HOTEL REVIEW: El Encanto, Acapulco
After some nine years with no new openings, the city of Acapulco has welcomed no less than three new upscale properties within less than a year’s time: The villa-style Banyan Tree Cabo Marques, the retro-chic Boca Chica (which is where I’m staying now — more on that later) and El Encanto. So even as Acapulco has…
Group Splurge: Villa Sábalo, Acapulco
Last night, I sipped tamarind-infused cocktails and gazed at the sunset from the glamorous hills of an Acapulco neighborhood called Las Brisas. It was a cocktail party hosted by the Los Cabos Convention & Visitors Bureau (during Tianguis Turístico, Mexico’s annual tourism conference), but it was a classic Acapulco experience. The locale is called Villa Sábalo,…
Travel in Chile, After the Earthquake: My Final Summary
Following the major earthquake in Chile, what can you expect as a traveler? Here’s a sample.
5 Hot Hotels in the Atacama Desert, San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
The craggy bluffs, dusty trails and sandy terrain of the desert aren’t usually associated with luxury hotels. But in Chile’s Atacama Desert — by some accounts the driest desert on earth — a remarkable thing has sprouted in the past few years: An oasis of upscale desert lodges that combine amenities and style with a…
Sun and Sand Take on New Meanings in Chile’s Atacama Desert
The Atacama Desert in Chile offers postcard-perfect photo opportunities. On Wednesday, I flew from Santiago de Chile to Calama, the main airport serving the most tourism-friendly region of Chile’s northern deserts. After the two-hour flight, we took a one-hour van ride to San Pedro de Atacama, where a growing number of luxury desert resorts have been…
HOTEL REVIEW: W Santiago
It’s late night at the rooftop bar at the W Santiago, and a woman who claims to be a baroness is tugging on my hair, telling me that it was destiny that she would meet my colleagues and me tonight. “No really,” she says when I laugh. “It was destiny, and I am so happy…
Diverse Traditions, Diverse Costumes in Chile
Chile culture is on view in these photos of beautiful traditional costumes, from Easter Island to the Atacama Desert.
HOTEL REVIEW: Grand Hyatt Santiago
Walking into my guestroom at at the Grand Hyatt Santiago was a rather impressive experience. The gently curved windows provide a wide-open, sky-high view of the soaring modern towers that populate the upscale Las Condes district in Santiago de Chile. The Grand Hyatt Santiago is, in fact, one of the areas most recognizable modern towers…