An Ambiance Of Luxury And Comfort Await At Ceiba Del Mar Spa

CLUB MED CANCUN OFFERS
HOLIDAY FAMILY PLAN
This winter, Club Med offers families the
chance to enjoy the holiday season at the
newly renovated Club Med Cancun Yucatan
with the “Holiday Family Plan.” Families can
discover the Yucatan Region together, relax,
and experience the extensive list of activities
offered by Club Med. Parents can also enjoy
time alone as the children enjoy the Club
Med’s Kid’s Clubs.
After thirteen months and $20 million in renovations,
Club Med Cancun Yucatan emerged
as the latest addition to over 80 resorts worldwide.
During the resort’s closure, Club Med revitalized
not only the facilities, but also the
philosophy behind Club Med Cancun Yucatan’s
raison d’être.
No longer an adults-only resort, Club Med
Cancun Yucatan invites families to discover the
Yucatan Peninsula. With special facilities
dedicated to children and teens, families
may choose among a variety of excursions,
daily activities, and group lessons including
water-skiing, wakeboarding, windsurfing, and
tennis.
The Baby Welcome program provides amenities
for parents traveling with infants, including
cribs, bottle warmers, and dining area with
high chairs and baby foods. Club Med will
launch a mini-club at Cancun Yucatan during
the last week of December 2006. The miniclub
will cater to children ages 4-12, offering
top quality, trained staff that specializes in
C A R I B B E A N
making vacation fun and educational for children.
The Club Med concept exclusively for
teens and ‘tweens will launch November 18,
2006.
The Club Med Cancun Yucatan Holiday
Family Plan is a seven night vacation starting
from $3,000 per family of four.Departure dates
are November 18, 2006, December 16, 2006,
December 30, 2006, January 13, 2007, and
January 20, 2007.
Club Med Cancun Yucatan, 800-CLUBMED,
www.clubmed.us
SANDOS HOTELS TO INCREASE
PORTFOLIO TO FIVE PROPERTIES
BY 2008; JACQUES DE PAEP TO
HEAD SALES & MARKETING FOR
THE AMERICAS
Sandos Hotels is a
Spanish luxury
hotel and leisure
company that
launched two properties
in the
Mexican Caribbean
in 2005 and 2006,
respectively. These
all-inclusive hotels
JACQUES DE PAEP
are the five-star,
460-room Sandos Playacar Beach Resort (formerly
part of the Gala hotel chain) and the
996-room Sandos Caracol Beach Resort & Spa,
which has recently undergone extensive expansion
and renovations that transformed it
into a five-star property.
By 2008, the group plans to increase its holdings
by opening a third hotel along Mexico’s
Riviera Maya — the five-star Sandos Playacar
Resort & Spa, located in central Playacar.
Another addition will be the chain's first resort
in Benidorm (Spain) — the four-star Sandos
Monaco Hotel & Spa — which will round out
Sandos' portfolio to a total of five establishments
and approximately 2,500 guestrooms.
Sandos also owns and operates the four-star
Sandos Papagayo Hotel in Lanzarote (Canary
Islands).
As part of its expansion, Sandos recently
opened a sales office in Palma de Mallorca
(Spain), home base for their new Sales &
Marketing Director for the Caribbean region,
Neus Tarrés.
Sandos has also announced that Jacques De
Paep has joined their young hotel group with
overall responsibility for Sales & Marketing for
the Americas. He will be based at the office in
Houston Texas, where Sandos Hotels & Resorts
will now have representation in North
America.
From the U.S. office, in this newly-created
role, Jacques will manage and grow Sandos
Hotels & Resorts’ international sales network
and provide leadership for the sales professionals
within the hotels in Mexico and the
Caribbean, while strengthening the sales and
operations teams in all locations.
Until recently, Mr. De Paep performed similar
duties from the Pan American Resort offices
for major hotel companies such as Valentin
Hotels and Bahia Principe Clubs & Resorts. He
has a long standing reputation in the industry
and brings years of experience from his work
at these companies as well as at Sol Melia
Hotels and Sammons Travel & Resorts/Jack Tar
Villages and operational experience at Buena
Vista do Brasil Hoteis. Jacques spent the earlier
years of his career in the Americas at Sol
Melia Hotels, where he was the first Vice
President of Sales and Marketing for the
Mexico properties.
Sandos Hotels & Resorts, 866-856-1925,
reservations@sandoshotels.com.mx, sales@
sandoshotels.com.mx, www.sandoshotels.
com.mx
CEVICHE MADE PERSONAL AT
AZUL BLUE HOTEL + SPA
During lunchtime at View, the open-air
restaurant at the new Azul Blue Hotel + Spa, a
crew of talented Cevicheros (expert ceviche
chefs) prepare fish in frozen bowls on mobile,
granite stations. Instead of heat, ceviche is
“cooked” in citric juices, which have the same
effect as heat on seafood proteins, so it tastes
less like sashimi and more like a cooked dish.
Hotel guests can choose from fresh seafood
caught a few miles offshore each morning,and
personalize their ceviche with a variety of local
vegetables, tropical fruits, herbs and chilies.
The made-to-order ceviche is prepared tableside,
prompting interaction between guests
and Cevicheros. And, because the Azul Blue
room rate (from $720 to $1,300 per night, per
couple) is Gourmet Inclusive, guests are more
inclined to experiment with new flavors and
entrees.
Azul Blue Hotel + Spa, 866-KARISMA,
www.karismahotels.com/ azul_blue
6 • TRAVEL WORLD NEWS • DECEMBER 2006