Mazatlan is on a roll. A double-digit roll, actually.

That’s amazing, because just a few years ago, this veteran Mexican vacationland was in a slump.

Too many beds, for instance, were going guest-less in the  tropical palaces lining the city’s Pacific beaches. Bars and restaurants were feeling the pinch, too, as fewer and fewer jets were delivering passengers to Mazatlan’s international airport. Even worse, the only people on the city’s cruise docks were dockworkers, there being no cruise ships – that’s right, none – docking there.

So what happened to turn Mazatlan’s tourism business around? Like close to a 20 percent upturn in airport passenger arrivals. And a jump in hotel occupancy rates of better than 17 percent. What’s more, a whopping 110 cruise stops are on the books for the winter of 2015/2016, each expected to put an average of 3,400 shore-going passengers in Mazatlan’s shops, bars and restaurants for a day.

“We didn’t just sit around hoping business would get better,” said the state’s Secretary of Tourism Frank Cordova. “We made a lot of changes to upgrade security and to dramatically improve the visitor experience.”

Officials have pumped more than US$50 million into tourism-related projects around Mazatlan over the past few years. You’ll see the results just as soon as you step off the plane at the city’s spruced up international airport – they spent US$8 million there alone — or off the gangplanks on its renovated cruise docks.

Later, as you check out the 180 blocks of the town’s Historic District, you’ll see more of the investment at work as you mosey around hundreds of facelifted mansions, art galleries, sidewalk cafes, museums, jazz clubs, boutique hotels and even a restored neo-classical opera house.

Chances are you’ll wind up at the historic area’s crown jewel, the painstakingly restored Plaza Machado. Lined by trees and iron benches and on three sides by outdoor restaurants, the block-long plaza is the cultural center of the town, enjoyed by Mazatlecos and tourists alike – as it’s been for close to 200 years.

Hotel developers have been busy, too. Overnight visitors can now bunk down in some 13,000 rooms around town, just a shade less than the inventory of Mexico’s super-resort at Los Cabos and nearly twice the count of the Riviera Nayarit in the next state down the coast. What’s more, there’s talk of six new hotel-resorts on Mazatlan’s drawing boards, expected to be announced shortly.

Cordova noted it’s now a lot easier to get to Mazatlan, whether on newly opened highways from other parts of the country or on increasing numbers of jetliners landing at the airport. And in yet another project, a new road from the airport will shortly make it much faster to get to the main hotel zone.

Among other jaw-droppers awaiting future tourists will be a US$9 million “Sports City” planned to feature a professional football stadium with bleachers for 8,000 fans, an Olympic-size swimming pool and a skating rink. Rounding out the sports attractions will be three volleyball courts, a racquetball court and four multipurpose courts.

Imagine a fabulous city built on an island in the middle of a lake, and edging the island a maze of floating gardens separated by canals.

The city was the ancient Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, and the gardens provided the local folks with fruits and vegetables for centuries – until the early 1500s, when the island was invaded by Spanish conquistadores. The area of the gardens and canals was called Xoximilco (pronounced sho-she-mill-ko).

The gardens were created in sections by first anchoring big frames made of cane on the lake floor, then filling them in with alternating layers of tree trunks, mud, roots and soil until the section stood about three feet above the lake. After that, different fruits and veggies were planted in the raised sections.

Fast-forward 500 years, and the lake is filled in, Mexico City stands on the ruins of Tenochtitlan, and brightly painted gondola-like barges glide along the old canals of Xoximilco. Steered by workers with long poles, the barges – called trajineras – are often packed with Mexican families who’ve rented them (and maybe a second barge filled with a Mariachi band) for picnics. They’ve long been a big hit with tourists, too.

Now you can enjoy another version of Xoximilco 1,000 or so miles east of Mexico City on the Yucatan Peninsula. You’ll find it a few miles away from Cancun International Airport, the busy terminal serving Cancun and the Riviera Maya on the powdery beaches of the Mexican Caribbean.

Called “Xoximilco Cancun” (www.xoximilco.com <http://www.xoximilco.com> ), the new attraction features nearly five miles of canals winding through 140acres of the Yucatan jungle. Workers pole the park’s 40 flat-bottomed trajineras from 7 p.m. to 12 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.

A Cancun spokeswoman said the new Xochimilco (a project of Experiencias Xcaret)  “offers tourists a fun and unique way to hang out with friends and family, enjoy delicious local food and listen to live mariachi music for an authentic Mexican fiesta on the water.”

Like the trajineras in the Mexico City canals, the ones in Xoximilco Cancun are colorfully decorated (except the ones here are named for Mexican states vs. the names of women on the Mexico City barges). The barges each seat up to 20 passengers.

Among 20 items on the dinner menu are the likes of huitlacoche corn,squash blossoms, Mayan pumpkin seeds, tamales, Oaxaca cheese balls, pork ingreen salsa, chicken mole, steamed fish, milk caramel, Oaxaca milled chocolate and (of course) flan.

The tab: The rack rate for a tour package is about US$107 per person including transportation from your hotel, admittance to Xoximilco, dinner with an open bar, a three-hour cruise on the canals, and entertainment by bands playing mariachi music, boleros, jorochos and the like. Various discounts are offered for early online bookings. There is a lower tab for children 5 to 11 years old and no charge for toddlers under 5.

Xoximilco Cancun  is just five minutes from the airport, 15 minutes from hotels around Puerto Morelos, 20 minutes from the Cancun hotel zone and 35 minutes from Playa del Carmen.

Aboard horses, the Governor of Sinaloa, Mario López Valdez, and the Secretary of Tourism for the region, Frank Cordova, were accompanied by a mariachi band, youth dance groups wearing traditional costumes from different parts of Mexico and a Mazatlan-decorated float.

Mazatlan Stampede Fiesta

On Saturday, July 5 Mazatlan hosted a Stampede Fiesta in Calgary, showcasing the destination’s culture, unique colonial history and world-glass gastronomy.

At the event, the Governor of Sinaloa, Mario López Valdez, the Mayor of Mazatlan, Carlos González Felton, and the Secretary of Tourism for the region, Frank Cordova, were awarded the distinctive White Hat as a symbol of friendship between the cities of Calgary and Mazatlan.

The Mayor of Calgary was also awarded with a symbolic gourd, painted with the images of different agricultural products grown throughout Sinaloa by artists from Mazatlan.

California Seminar Series — July 8-10, 2014

Following Secretary Cordova’s trip to Calgary Stampede, he traveled to California for a seminar series in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and Orange County. Meeting with wholesalers, travel agents and members of the media to discuss general updates in Mazatlan, Secretary Cordova shared why the Colonial City on the Beach has become an increasingly popular destination for California travelers.

Overall, with more than 300,000 travelers from the United States and Canada visiting Mazatlan in 2013, which was the most since 2007, the destination is expected to see upwards of 550,000 visitors from those key markets in 2014.

This sustained momentum is largely due to increased accessibility through new flights and cruise line returns, key infrastructure developments and a booming Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions (MICE) industry.

For example, in April 2014 it was announced that Delta Air Lines will add nonstop service between Los Angeles and Mazatlan beginning in December 2014. In May 2014, it was announced that Carnival Cruise Lines will resume service to Mazatlan with year-round cruises departing out of Los Angeles beginning in April 2015. Now, five major cruise lines either currently service or plan to service the destination, including Carnival Cruise Lines, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line and Azamara Club Cruises.

Photos by Mary J. Andrade

Los Cabos, Mexico (July 22, 2014) – A top-tier selection of the culinary world’s finest chefs will gather in Los Cabos from November 30 – December 6

in celebration of the destination’s 9th Annual  “Sabor a Cabo” (The Flavors of Cabo) food & wine festival. This highly anticipated gastronomic event is expected to be the largest since the festival’s debut in 2005 and for the first time in its history, will include a weeklong series of ticketed events highlighting the renowned regional cuisine of Baja California Sur and the wines of Mexico’s celebrated Baja wine region.

The delicious weeklong festivities include a Country Side Taste Event on November 30 incorporating the local flavors of Baja; a Sunset Gourmet Gala served aboard a luxurious yacht on December 2 featuring a gourmet dinner prepared by Michelin Star Chefs; an Oktobeer Fest showcasing artisanal beer, local cuisine and music on December 3; a Wine & Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo on December 4 with 16 wineries, art galleries and restaurants participating for a family outing; and a Star Chef Dine-Around on December 5 featuring course meals prepared by celebrated chefs.

The main event will take place on December 6 from 5pm – 11pm and held at one of the destination’s most spectacular areas, the Sculpture Garden in Puerto Los Cabos. The event will consist of 50 participating restaurants and is expected to attract over 2,000 attendees, as guests from around the world are invited to dine beneath the stars and enjoy the “best-of-the-best” of international cuisine and wine.

“We are looking forward to welcoming the world’s best chefs to Los Cabos for the 9th Annual Sabor a Cabo event,” said Eduardo Segura, Managing Director of the Los Cabos Tourism Board. “Our destination has a rich and booming culinary scene that many people are still discovering. Events such as Sabor a Cabo highlight these offerings and provide us with a platform to position the unique products, sustainable brands and delicious flavors available in this particular region of Mexico.”

Confirmed to attend Sabor a Cabo are several world-renowned chefs including Federico Zanellato, Chef and Partner of NOMA Restaurant in Denmark (Ranked No. 1 among the World’s 50 Best Restaurants) Richard Sandoval, Chef and Restaurateur of over 35 restaurants world-wide, including Pampano and Zengo in New York City (James Beard nominated restaurateur and participant in Bravo’s reality competition “Top Chef Masters”), and Dieter Koshina, Owner of Portugal’s Vilajoya Restaurant (Ranked No. 22 among the World’s 50 Best Restaurants).

Also on the roster is Roberto Alcocer, Chef/owner of Malva Restaurant in Ensenada, Mexico; Najat Kaanache, Chef/owner of Souk Restaurant in Dallas, US and former chef of Spain’s El Bulli Restaurant; Thierry Blouet, Chef/owner of Restaurant de Los Artistas in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; and Eduardo Osuna, founder of non-profit organization Chef to the Rescue in Mexico.

Additional participants and chefs are to be confirmed in upcoming weeks. Furthermore, the destination’s tantalizing culinary scene will be highlighted through participation of Los Cabos’ top Executive Chefs from two of the most luxurious hotels in the region, Las Ventanas al Paraiso and One&Only Palmilla.

Travelers interested in attending Sabor a Cabo can purchase festival tickets by visiting  http://saboracabo.mx/. General admission tickets are $100 if purchased prior to September 30 and $125 if purchased after. For special lounge area access tickets are $150 and for a seat at one of the events VIP tables tickets are $1,000 per person.  All the money raised during the Sabor a Cabo event on Saturday December 6 will be donated to the Fire Department, the Red Cross and Children Foundation of Los Cabos.

For more information on Los Cabos, please visit: http://visitloscabos.travel.

Los Cabos, located at the tip of the 1,000-mile long Baja Peninsula, is home to award-winning hotels, resorts, championship golf courses, rejuvenating spas, world-class sport fishing, and was the host city for the G20 Summit of global leaders in 2012. With a unique landscape of dramatic desert and white sand beaches, Los Cabos is an exotic escape within easy reach of most U.S. and Canadian cities. For more information, images and videos from Los Cabos, please visit www.visitloscabos.travel, follow us on Twitter @LOSCABOSTOURISM and visit us on Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram.

Next time you’re on a jet landing at Mexico City, try to imagine what happened here five centuries ago when Hernan Cortes and his 500 conquistadores marched into the capital city of the Aztecs – while their emperor and a quarter-million warriors stood by. This is the story of how an odd coincidence paved the way for Cortes’ victory.

For centuries, Aztec emperors got worried when the year 1-Reed rolled around in each “sheaf” of 52 years. 1-Reed, legends had it, would be the year of the return of the god-king Quetzalcoatl – a flying serpent – who’d left the country to do penance for, well, an unspeakable act he’d committed when he ruled the empire. When he got back, the stories said, the ruling powers at the time would (at best) find themselves jobless.

Quetzalcoatl was said to have sailed away across the eastern sea (the Atlantic) to atone. When he returned someday, it would be on “a large raft manned by fair-skinned, bearded sailors.”

The god-king didn’t say when he’d be back, but the emperors assumed it would be in the year of his birth, 1-Reed.

During the watch of Emperor Moctezuma II, that year corresponded to the Christian year 1519. And guess who showed up on April 11, 1519 (with fair-skinned, bearded sailors, no less) at a city now known as Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico?

Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes had no idea there was anything special about that year, much less his bearded sailors, when his army of 500 soldiers  came charging ashore from their 11 galleons yelling “por Santiago” (for St. James, the patron saint of Spain).

Moctezuma wasn’t sure all this marked the return of Quetzalcoatl, but he wasn’t taking any chances. Spies brought him daily messages of the invaders’ progress and the battles they fought with local tribes on the 200-mile trek from the coast to the capital, Tenochtitlan, a city in the middle of a huge lake.

On Nov. 11, 1519, when Cortes and his troops showed up at Tenochtitlan, the emperor welcomed them into the city and treated them like gods. He even put them up in the luxurious palace of his father.

Big mistake. After awhile Cortes put Moctezuma behind bars, and the emperor was later killed.

Historical notes: There’s a lot more to the story of the conquest, of course. For instance, after their emperor’s death in mid-1520, the Aztecs booted the invaders out of Tenochtitlan. A little over a year later the city was recaptured by Cortes, aided by thousands of Indian allies. With the Aztec capital in the hands of the conquistadors, the empire collapsed and became “New Spain.”

The Spaniards built their capital on the ruins of Tenochtitlan, which had been linked to the mainland by a number of causeways. The lake filled in as the centuries rolled by, leaving Mexico City and the 9 million or so folks who live there today on dry land.

The super-god Quetzalcuatl was a diety of not only the Aztecs but also the Mayans, who called him Kukulkan. The latter version pops up all over eastern Mexico, such as the Pyramid of Kukulkan in the ruins of Chichen Itza and Kukulkan Boulevard in Cancun.

More info on Mexico:  Visit the Mexico Tourism Board (www.visitmexico.com).

Los Cabos, Mexico (October 22, 2013) – The Los Cabos Tourism Board announced today that from November 13 – 16, the destination will be hosting the 2nd Annual Baja International Film Festival, bringing celebrated artists and A-list personalities from around the world to the tip of the Baja Peninsula for the second consecutive year to celebrate the art of film.

The Baja International Film Festival offers audiences an opportunity to experience bold, reflective and inspiring international films from acclaimed producers. The festival also provides the unique opportunity for attendees to interact with decision makers from the film industry and actors in discussion pannels and workshops, providing useful tools for filmmakers and film enthusiasts.

The 2012 edition of the Baja International Film Festival was attended by renowned actors and filmmakers such as Edward Norton, Melissa Leo, Diego Luna, Gael Garcia Bernal, Josh Lucas, Virginia Madsen and Matt Dilon among many others. Many more Hollywood A-listers are expected to attend this year’s festival and galas.

“We are very excited to host for the second consecutive year the Baja International Film Festival in Los Cabos,” said Eduardo Segura, Managing Director of the Los Cabos Tourism Board. “We look forward to welcoming independent filmmakers and visionaries to our destination and inspire them to create new projects from their experiences here in Cabo.”

Under the slogan “Meet you Neighbors, this year’s festival invites filmmakers from United States, Canada and Mexico to submit entries and compete for a chance to win $170,000 in awards. Additionally, the Baja International Film Festival announced the creation of the Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund to support projects in their early stages of development. The Baja International Film Festival will also feature the premiere of the Argentinian movie “Metegol” from Oscar-winning director Juan José Campanella.
For more information on the Baja International Film Festival please visit: http://bajafilmfest.com.mx/en/

Los Cabos, located at the tip of the 1,000-mile long Baja Peninsula, is home to award-winning hotels, resorts, championship golf courses, rejuvenating spas, world-class sport fishing, and was the host city for the G20 Summit of global leaders in 2012. With a unique landscape of dramatic desert and white sand beaches, Los Cabos is an exotic escape within easy reach of most U.S. and Canadian cities. For more information, images and videos from Los Cabos, please visit www.visitloscabos.travel, follow us on Twitter @LOSCABOSTOURISM and visit us on Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram.

A long time ago, before the Spanish conquest, the lush uninhabited valley of Cuetlaxcoapan blossomed in the shadow of a volcano in what’s now southeast Mexico.

It was a gorgeous spot, full of woods and meadows and three rivers. One reason no one lived there is that armies of scary guys in war paint from neighboring Itzocan, Huejotzingo and Tlaxcala went there from time to time to chop away at each other with razor sharp obsidian-tipped clubs.

For the most part, these were “flower wars” in which the opposing armies weren’t mad at each other. The warriors didn’t fight for new lands or riches or even women to sell in the slave market. What they wanted was, prisoners to sacrifice to their gods.

Fast-forward to 1531, a decade after the conquest, and the Dominican bishop of the local diocese wants to build a cathedral. In a dream, angels show him a great spot for it – in the valley of the flower wars – and he sets out to build his cathedral there (and while he’s at it, a whole new city).

Legend has it the angels not only brought holy inspiration to the project, but the latest surveying techniques as well. It’s said they used string lines to lay out a grid of streets accented by parks and fountains, all surrounding blocks where the cathedral would be built. But as things turned out, it took 44 years to wade through the red tape to get the green light to build the cathedral.

Actual construction took quite awhile, too. Finally, much of the cathedral’s interior was completed and its two 200-foot-high towers were ready to welcome the masses. One problem remained: how to get an 18,000-pound bell up to the top of one of the towers (the other was bell-less).

Sure enough, the angels showed up again and raised the bell.

As a way of saying thanks to their cherubic helpers, the city was named Puebla de los Angeles (“City of the Angels”).

Fast forward again, this time to 1862, and an invading French army on its way from the eastern port of Veracruz to Mexico City halts just outside the angelic city, about 135 miles inland. It’s a glorious day, and the French dress up in their most colorful uniforms. Bugles blast out l’attaque – the signal to attack the twin forts guarding the city – and thousands of chasseurs, zouaves and other troops charge up the hill under guidons and pennants dancing at the end of their officers’ lances.

They end up getting clobbered by the greatly outnumbered rag-tag Mexican peasant brigades defending the city under the command of General Ignacio Zaragoza.

President Benito Juarez honored the victory by changing the name of the city to Puebla de Zaragoza. Years later the name was shortened to just Puebla (www.turismopuebla.gob.mx), but the city is still known among the 5 million people living there today by its original nickname, Angelopolis.

Outside Mexico, Puebla may be best known for the battle in 1862. It was on the 5th of May that year – giving rise to today’s annual Cinco de Mayo celebrations.

Staying there: Visitors to Puebla have a choice of dozens of tourist-class hotels ranging from internationally known properties such as the Marriott Real to boutique inns such as the upscale Casona de la China Poblana.

Getting there: Nonstop or connecting flights to Puebla’s international airport are scheduled from Houston, Dallas/Ft. Worth and other U.S. gateways.

“Know, that on the right hand of the Indies there is an island called California…

and it is peopled by black women, without any man among them, for they live in the manner of Amazons.”

So wrote Spanish author Garci Rodriguez de Montalvo of a fictional paradise ruled by a black super-woman he called Queen Calafia in his 1510 novel, Adventures of Esplandian. Among the book’s fans was the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes, who after invading the Mexican mainland in the 1520s sailed west to what he’d heard was an island loaded with gold.

Like Christopher Columbus, Cortes thought the lands of the “New World” were part of the eastern side of the Indies, and that the island could have been de Montalvo’s California.

Cortes landed in what was to become the Spanish region of Las Californias in 1535, but after striking out in his search for gold soon went back to the mainland.

Another expedition in 1539 found the “island” was actually an 800-mile-long peninsula (today’s Baja California) edging the Pacific on one side and what Cortes named the Sea of Cortes on the side facing the mainland.

After a long string of failed attempts to colonize Las Californias, a veteran Jesuit missionary was able to talk the local folks into letting him set up a mission there in 1697. He named it Loreto, after his patron saint Our Lady of Loreto.

Fast-forward to today, and Loreto (www.loreto.com) is one of Mexico’s 65 or so pueblos magicos (magic cities), so-designated in recognition of their heritage, culture and colonial ambiance. What’s more, the city edges the spectacular Loreto Bay National Marine Park, which runs along 50 miles of shoreline and zig-zags out as far as 25 miles into the Sea of Cortes.

Easily seen from the shores of the park are five large, volcanically formed islands on which sea lions go about sunning themselves while sea gulls, pelicans, terns and blue-footed booby birds dart around above. Below, sea turtles glide through the cobalt-blue waters as do dolphins and big gamefish along with hundreds of other species of marine life.

Enjoying all this are some 35,000 annual tourists plus a hefty number of expats (as many as 7,000, mainly from the U.S. and Canada) living in the area along with 13,000 or so choyeros (natives of the Loreto region).

Most of the populated area is along a 25-mile coastal strip starting at the town of Loreto and running south to a Danzante Bay. Along the way is the popular harbor of Puerto Escondido and the residential and resort community of Nopolo.

Vacationers today can either stay in their own campers or boats or in a number of small hotels and boutique inns dotting the region, mostly in Loreto and Nopolo. Only four local hotels have more than 100 rooms, two of which are owned by Mexico’s Villa Group Resorts chain: the 118-room Hotel Santa Fe in the town of Loreto, and the 181-room Villa del Palmar Loreto (www.villadelpalmarloreto.com), opened two years ago on Danzante Bay.

Nestled between a secluded beach and the Sierra de la Giganta mountain range, the Villa del Palmar Loreto features five swimming pools, two tennis courts, three restaurants, a big outdoor Jacuzzi and a spa and fitness center.

Flying there: Alaska Airlines and Aeromexico offer two-hour nonstop hops from Los Angeles to Loreto International Airport on various days of the week.≤≥

In 1948, entrepreneur Salvador Gonzalez built a 12-room hotel in what was then the tiny Mexican beach town of Puerto Vallarta.

He named it the Hotel Rosita, after his oldest daughter.

The hotel is still open – it’s now the booming city’s oldest resort hotel – and you can see what Puerto Vallarta looked like 65 years ago in a mural in the Rosita’s lobby. There wasn’t much there, mainly a church, some homes scattered on hillsides above the village, the Rosita, and a short cobblestone walkway from the hotel to a waterfront plaza.

According to local chronista (historian) Manuel Encarnación, about 7,000 people lived around the city in the late 40s, mostly fishing families. “The town,” he said, “stretched out for about 12 blocks, looking much like it did when the whole world saw it in John Huston’s 1963 film, Night of the Iguana.”

It turned out to be much more than a movie. Besides featuring a cast of superstars, among them Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, Deborah Kerr and Sue Lyon, the filming was spiced by an off-screen romance between Burton and  Elizabeth Taylor, who’d followed him to Mexico. When word of this got out – both were married to other people at the time – the scandal made headlines around the globe.

Soon, hundreds of reporters were on the scene, straining to catch a glimpse of the couple cavorting between their secluded villas in an area of town known as “Gringo Gulch.” Between snippets of Dick and Liz, the media sweetened its coverage with shots of the city’s sundrenched beaches and the old-world charm of its cobbled lanes and colonial architecture.

Puerto Vallarta got millions of dollars worth of free publicity, and it hasn’t been the same since.

As more and more tourists began showing up at “PV” (as the locals call it), developers began building posh hotels around the city and along the beaches edging its immense, crescent-shaped bay.

Fast-forward to today, and PV is one of Mexico’s most popular resorts hosting millions of tourists a year. Lining miles of beaches are some 300 high-rise hotels and boutique inns, all told offering close to 23,000 rooms. The city is now home to more than a quarter-million people.

And what had once been a little waterfront plaza has been transformed into PV’s crown jewel: the Malecon, a mile-long beachfront promenade packed with wall-to-wall art galleries, upscale jewelry and leather shops, tony restaurants, outdoor cafes and quirky bars.

Visitors wandering around the shops are treated to dozens of whimsical artworks peppering the beach side of the promenade. Popping up from the sands are everything from Star Wars “Wookiee” characters to statues of giant seahorses, mermaids, jumbo-sized seashells, dancing dolphins and surrealistic high-backed chairs with sea critters sitting in them.

So where is the Rosita? It grew to 112 rooms over the years, but it’s right where it’s always been – except today that spot anchors the main entrance to the later built Malecon.

“Little did (the builder) know that the Rosita would some day have such a wonderful location,” said Marcelo Alcaraz, the hotel’s general manager.

Staying there: Among PV’s 300 hotels are recommended high-end properties such as AMResorts’ 271-suite Secrets and its adjacent 327-suite Now Amber.

More info: Visit the Rosita’s website at www.hotelrosita.com and the PV Visitors and Convention Bureau at visitpuertovallarta.com.