Taking glamping and the idea of pop ups to a new level is the innovative hotel group Design Hotels with the launch yesterday of the Papaya Playa Project, a temporary “pop up” camp with 99 rustic cabanas on a 900-meter stretch of Caribbean coastline in Tulum, Mexico.
Starting at just $25 a night for what amounts to a cot on the beach to $675 a night for one of the more luxe accommodations, the rooms will be a mix of private cabanas and casitas and shared, dormitory-style accommodations featuring shared baths and bunk beds.
Lest you wonder about whether or not building such a project wreaked havoc on the area’s natural surroundings – it isn’t. It’s “a spiffed-up campus of cabanas once belonging to three now-shuttered resorts,” according to The New York Times, but it’s the first such large-scale hotel pop up we’ve seen. The only other that exists? Hotels offering limited term “glamping” excursions and a British company called “The Pop Up Hotel” which really specializes in crafting limited-term spaces for events and retreats.
Barring some traveler’s unwillingness to visit Mexico due to continued violence in the country, Papaya Playa seems an easy fit for those looking for alternative travel experiences – a true “glamping” trip that integrates local materials and nature with luxe elements like high thread count sheets and private cabanas, plus amenities like food from KaterHolzig of Berlin’s Bar 25 fame and a spa incorporating Mayan shamanism.
Design Hotels founder and now Tulum resident Claus Sendlinger plans to bring in famous DJs and musicians to perform on the beach’s “natural ampitheater” as well as perks for the luxe seeker including local and sustainable foods plus organic “nutrient-rich food-on-the-go,” plus an on-site boutique with local and international designers.
The only thing we can’t figure out? What Design Hotels plans to do with the space when it closes in May of 2012.
Tori-Tori, a new Japanese restaurant located in Polanco in Mexico City, Mexico, has recently finished completion. The project began in 2009 as a joint venture between the Mexico-based firm rojkind arquitectos and the design company Esrawe Studio, with the aim to create a unique contemporary space.
While the restaurant serves Japanese cuisine, the ambiance is more cosmopolitan than many other Japanese restaurants on the market. Imagine an interior full of open spaces, a bar, and terraces that always keep the guest close to natural vegetation.
The inside is actually an extension of the outside, where the facade seems to grow organically from the ground in a mass of steel ivy. You can see through to the restaurant and vice versa, and the pattern on Tori-Tori’s outside controls the ambiance on the inside by filtering light, shadows, and views.
As for the food, guests can expect an array of options, including salads, curries, pastas, fish dishes, beef, chicken, sushi, sashimi, nigri, and more. For more information, click here. Or, to get a better idea of the design of Tori-Tori, check out the gallery below. All photos are courtesy of photographer Paúl Rivera.
Before sampling Mexican food on a recent trip to Mazatlan, Mexico, we shared some of the misconceptions commonly held by others who have not been there. Don’t drink the water. Mexican food is not healthy. All Mexican food is spicy and all about tacos, burritos and enchiladas. What we found blew away pretty much all of that.
Mazatlan sits on the west coast of Mexico and boasts an abundance of seafood. Running the largest fleet of shrimp boats in the world, shrimp is on nearly every menu, prepared a number of ways. We ranked local eatery Al Agua as tops for shrimp and especially for it’s Coconut Shrimp. There’s really something to be said for sitting at the shoreside restaurant and watching as shrimpers off the coast catch what you are about to eat. It does not get any fresher than that.
Shrimp is a big export here too but not the only game in town. Marlin, Grouper, Octopus and clams are also used extensively on restaurant menus and “fresh” is what its all about. Combined with locally-sourced ingredients, we quickly forgot the “Mexican food is not healthy” misnomer and focused on unique combinations of vegetables, rice, beans and spices.
“The staples of Mexican cuisine do include corn and beans – which are full of fiber – but also vitamin-rich peppers, tomatoes and fruit” says Chef David Suarez, busting myths about Mexico for CNN. “Authentic Mexican food incorporates seasonal produce, fresh cheeses, seafood, herbs and meats, as well as complex carbohydrates.”Locally grown herbs and spices like chiles, cilantro, epazote, cinnamon, and cocoa are expertly used and for those who like it hot, this is the place to get it. Still, fire-hot spicy is not the standard but is available and offered as a preparation option in the kitchen (“make it hot for me”) or through a variety of sauces and additions tableside (“let me make it hot”). Chipotle, a smoke-dried jalapeño chilli, is also common in Mexican cuisine as are garlic and onions but not to overpower the fresh seafood star of the show.
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“People tend to think of Mexican food as just tacos, burritos and enchiladas – lots of cheddar cheese, sour cream and jalapeños” Chef Julieta Ballesteros told CNN. “Although some of these dishes do exist in traditional cuisine, that’s definitely not all there is.”
In fact, we had a hard time finding the cheesy, gooey and fat-filled entrees commonly tagged as “Mexican food” in the U.S. They were most commonly found on a children’s menu, blowing away the notion that frozen taquitos, canned refried beans, Taco Bell, Doritos and other processed foods are authentic in any way. Initially, that was kind of disappointing and it took a while to get the hang of associating “healthy” and “Mexican”.
But thinking differently about food in Mexico was typical of other misconceptions that failed to pass the reality test. We also never found anyone even remotely resembling a drug lord or the Frito Bandito. A visit to the all-but-abandoned Port of Mazatlan revealed a safe and desirable place to park a cruise ship.
Even the whole “don’t drink the water” thing that dogged Mexico for decades has been rendered a non-issue. Every Mazatlan restaurant we tried served bottled water and purified ice as standard fare. Not once did we see glasses served with iced tap water as we might commonly see in the U.S.
We did, however, see a whole lot of tequila “influence” in Mexico. And by “influence” I mean they hung shot glasses around our necks and started pouring shots as we got off the plane, much like a flower lei is given to those visiting Hawaii.
For those who associate Mexico with tequila, you will not be disappointed. There are some tequila-infused sauces and menu items but we got the impression that those were silly things designed mainly for tourists.
Mazatlan Mexico’s food is bold, fresh, safe and interesting not to mention tasty, especially alongside a frosty Pacifico beer and a shot or six of a locally distilled tequila.
On a recent visit to a Mexican distillery, we learned a few things about tequila but a lot more about the people of Mexico who have done remarkably well considering the natural resources they have to work with.
Mazatlán is located on Mexico’s Pacific Coast at the foot of the Sierra Madre Mountains. Not far from there is pretty much the perfect place on the planet to cultivate the blue agave plant, which makes into some of the finest tequilas known to man.
The 130-year-old Vinata de Los Osuna Plantation and Distillery today stands as the only surviving agave plantation, located on the outskirts of the town of La Noria, not far from Mazatlan.
We passed through what might commonly be mistaken as desert wasteland, dotted by blue agave plants mixed in with huge cactus but not a lot of anything else. It was a typical scene from any number of old western films where cowboys came in off the trail full of dust and stories of banditos.
While the distillery itself now utilizes modern technology in the production of the agave spirit, the original distillation process and its antiquated tools are still maintained and on display.
Still, the process is the same today as it was 100 years ago and not unlike what it takes to make a variety of spirits. The Blue Agave plants are roasted, sugar is extracted, there’s a fermentation process then distilling and finally aging.
%Gallery-140143%That someone would even think to use these plants for anything is remarkable. They look like weeds. That they built a name in the world of spirits and created an income source from the agave plant is even more amazing but typical of Mexican ingenuity.
The tourism industry is big in Mexico too and host to some amazing places like the Vinata de Los Osuna Plantation and Distillery where visitors can tour daily.
Top Misconceptions About Tequila learned in Mexico from people that make it:
Tequila comes from a cactus. No, tequila comes from the agave plant.
Tequila is best consumed via shot glass with lime and salt. Nope. Good tequila is best done in a snifter-like glass, no salt or lime needed to hide the taste.
Good Tequila contains a worm in the bottle. No, Tequila never comes with a worm in the bottle. Some mezcals, cheap imitations of tequila, do.
Gold Tequila is the best tequila. Wrong again, clear, white is best. Sorry Jose Cuervo and everyone I ever told gold was “the good stuff”.
Tequila is high-octane alcohol. No, tequila is nearly always sold at 40% alcohol in the US, much like any other liquor.
Bonus tequila tip: There is no good brand of tequila that comes in a plastic bottle.
Crime in Mexico has had a big impact on tourism, causing everything from a US Department of State travel warning to major cruise lines canceling calls at Mexican ports. Gadling has been covering the story all along and readers have been quick to respond both for and against travel to Mexico. To make sense of it all, we went to Mazatlan, once a bustling Mexican cruise port, to see for ourselves.
The occasion was last week’s Fiesta Amigos, an annual four-day event that invites people in the travel business to experience all Mazatlan has to offer.
“What better way for visitors to experience the vibrant spirit of our beautiful city than during this lively fiesta,” says Carlos Berdegué, vice president, Mazatlán Hotel Association and Tourism Board. “Mazatlán presents a truly unique travel destination, with a charming, historic core alongside premier resorts, international sporting events, gourmet cuisine, year-round events and much more – all at great value. We invite Fiesta Amigos guests to immerse themselves in all that Mazatlán has to offer.”
OK, sure, but is it safe?
That was the big question so we jumped right in, sampling a number of local restaurants, walking the streets both day and night and engaging in activities common to tourists.
Everyone lived to tell about it.What we found was a safe, friendly community, steeped with tradition and geared to handle massive crowds of tourists. Yes, drug trade and gang-related crime problems are still very present in Mexico but happen in the northern part of the country, far away from Mazatlan.
In a test of safety, we walked the streets of Mazatlan on November 2nd during the Day of the Dead stroll and festivities. Held in Mazatlan’s old historic district, the centuries-old tradition, also called All Souls Day, honors those who have died with a walking procession through town in a Mardi Gras sort of way, celebrating life.
During the day, a visit to Mazatlan’s cruise port revealed a modern facility prepped and ready to go when cruise lines return.
“We highly value our long-standing relationships within the cruise industry, and are dedicated to ensuring that Mazatlan remains among the top cruise destinations on Mexico’s Pacific Coast. Mazatlan has hosted nearly 1.5 million cruise passengers since 2008 and is widely regarded as one of the safest destinations in Mexico.” said Julio Birrueta, spokesperson for the Mazatlan Tourism Trust last February.
Mazatlan is in it for the long-run and has taken steps to insure the safety of cruise passengers too. A 20-foot security wall supplemented by a guard tower overlooking operations insures passenger safety but a new 1300 foot pier that can accommodate up to four ships sits empty. When we visited the port, a lone cargo ship occupied the facility while workers continued an ongoing remodeling and construction project nearby.
The port boasted over 200 ship visits last year which quickly went down to about 30 this year after highly-publicized crime events chased cruise lines away. The port authority anticipates about a dozen calls next year.
But things are looking up for Mazatlan with Princess Cruises recently announcing a return in 2012 and other lines expected to follow. That’s good news to local merchants and service providers who rely heavily on tourism income and look forward to sharing a year-round calendar of events that includes international sporting tournaments, culinary fairs, eclectic cultural festivals and holiday celebrations.
Mazatlan has a lot to offer visitors coming by land, sea or air. Surely, travelers looking for trouble can find it anyplace on the planet. But in Mazatlan, they’re going to have to look pretty hard.