The results are in from the Travel & Leisure Reader poll and, once again, Esperanza has scored very well.

Esperanza came in #2 on the list of best resorts in Mexico Read More.

Esperanza also showed up in the top 100 Hotels (Resorts and urban) in the world Read More

Source: OPP.org.uk

Shared ownership properties are going to “rebound more quickly and strongly than whole-ownership second homes as the economy recovers,” according to data released this week by fractional industry research firm Ragatz Associates.

Timeshares, vacation and destination clubs as well as other “fractional” private residence clubs are all being tipped as good bets to recover quickly says Ragatz.
Shared ownership vacation properties offer an increasingly attractive alternative to second home ownership says Oregon-based Ragatz.

The firm recently canvassed nearly 300 worldwide projects offering some form of shared ownership and found that the affordability and the way in which shared ownership property satisfies consumer demand for vacation convenience and flexibility make the fractional sector a perfect opportunity.
“We anticipate shared ownership to experience significant growth as the national economy recovers,” Michael G. Burns, President and CEO of Private Residence Resorts of Seattle told OPP.

His firm specializes in development and marketing of fractional ownership resorts and is currently selling a development in South Carolina called The Sanctuary located “close to two major vacation destinations … Hilton Head Island and historic Savannah, Georgia.” Read more…

By: Julie Benjamin, The Esperanza Real Estate Company

To anyone interested in Esperanza ownership but waiting for the ‘right’ timing, you might agree with the other gaggle of new 2011 buyers that the time is NOW. The month of May witnessed five sales in one week of the 1/8th interests in our 2/3 bedroom ownerships. Moreover, 2011 year to date has 17 new buyers calling Esperanza home for various types of Esperanza ownership! Compare this great news to 2009, whereby 13 sales were made all year!

Without question, the time to buy Esperanza is now! Take advantage, as only owners can, of the 2×1 spa treatments at the highly acclaimed, world class Esperanza spa that is consistently ranked by Conde Nast and Travel & Leisure as the #1 Spa in all of Mexico and Latin America! My personal favorite is the quarto mano (four hand massage) which can be only explained as synchronized swimming on your body.

Or, have you tried the new restaurant menus and creations by our new chef, Gonzalo Corda. You will find me there most Friday nights enjoying the Fish Market, where I can choose my favorite fish filet and have them prepare it to my liking, served with all the accoutrements and as much as your heart’s content. I am excited to try the new Argentine night with prime rib, chicken, short ribs, new york strip, etc prepared on the open grill and also all you can eat. Perhaps the best part is the price tag. Great value, great food in an unbelievable setting, cliff side at Esperanza. Seriously, why wouldn’t you?! Oh, and the band ‘Los Pulpos en su Tinta’ creating the mood every Thurs-Sat night (along with the lit tiki torches and fire pits) leaves you clapping after every song and wishing the night would never end.

But, it doesn’t have to end, because you as an Esperanza owner can enjoy this setting as much as you like, night after night, year after year. There is something to be said about pride of ownership, and it isn’t said enough.

By Christine Delsol – San Francisco Chronicle

The last Mexico Mix column looked at why Mexico’s drug-related violence has recently spilled into tourist destinations. This time, we’ll look at why that shouldn’t stop you from traveling to Mexico.

No, we’re not recommending a holiday in beautiful downtown Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, or a romantic getaway in Tecalitlán, Jalisco. Even I admit that when I had to fly into Acapulco and drive across the city on my last trip to Mexico, I was just as happy not to be lingering there.

But it’s still true that drug gangs are not targeting tourists now any more than they ever were. And even if the barrage of headlines makes it sound as if the entire country were in flames, the violence that feeds Mexico’s death toll takes place primarily in just nine of 31 states — mainly along the U.S. border where the smuggling takes place and in places where marijuana and heroin are produced.

The concept hasn’t changed: Stay away from the trouble spots and exhibit some common sense, and you’re more likely to perish in a tequila-fueled Jet Ski mishap than at a homicidal drug trafficker’s hands. What makes this concept more complicated today is that you can no longer rely on the common wisdom about sticking with established tourist destinations.

Until this year, the public had to rely on media tallies of drug-related killings or on sporadic and often confusing numbers compiled by various government agencies. In January, the Mexican government made the task easier by releasing a comprehensive official database of drug-related deaths — including gang members, police, soldiers and bystanders — each year from the beginning of Calderón’s term in December 2006 through the end of 2010. In addition to the alarming numbers in those nine states — ranging from 40 (in Michoacán) to 297.5 (in Chihuahua) deaths per 100,000 people — it shows that modest homicide rates prevail in much of the country.
Read more…

Mexico is in a unique position to reap many of the benefits of the decline of the US economy. In order to not violate NAFTA and other agreements the U.S.A. cannot use direct protectionism, so it is content to allow the media to play this protectionist role. The U.S. media – over the last year – has portrayed Mexico as being on the brink of economic collapse and civil war. The Mexican people are either beheaded, kidnapped, poor, corrupt, or narco-traffickers. The American news media was particularly aggressive in the weeks leading up to spring break. The main reason for this is money. During that two-week period, over 120,000 young American citizens poured into Mexico and left behind hundreds of millions of dollars.
Read more…