Recs for road warriors: 5 meeting destinations in Mexico

Meet and greet: the Riu Plaza Guadalajara opened this year in Mexico’s second-largest city.

By Mark Chesnut

As colder weather descends upon much of the United States and Canada, many business and leisure travelers look south for an escape. Whether you’re planning a Mexico vacation or an all-important business meeting or incentive trip, here are five destinations that should be on your wish list.

Cancun hotels & Riviera Maya hotels
With more flights than any other Mexican destination from the United States and Canada, Cancun and the Riviera Maya — two distinct destinations grouped together because of their proximity and shared airport — have lots to offer business travelers for meetings and incentives. Among the newest hotels in the area is the Iberostar Cancun, a refurbished all-inclusive hotel (formerly the Hilton Cancun) with 49,000 square feet of meeting space as well as an 18-hole golf course and spa. Larger meetings-oriented hotels in the Riviera Maya include the Barcelo Riviera Maya all-inclusive complex, which accommodates up to 1,400 people.

Guadalajara hotels
As Mexico’s second city for business, Guadalajara recently welcomed two new luxury hotels that are ideal for business travelers: The 550-room Riu Plaza Guadalajara, a hotel set in a 40-story tower with meeting facilities for 1,700 people, and the 221-room Westin Guadalajara, located adjacent to Expo Guadalajara, one of the city’s main event spaces.

<atitle=”Los Cabos hotels” href=”https://www.orbitz.com/Destinations-In-Mexico.d117.Hotel-DestinationsLos_Cabos/” target=”_self”>Los Cabos hotels
One of Mexico’s best-selling vacation destinations, Los Cabos is also among the best equipped to handle upscale incentive groups and meetings of just about any size. One of the newest hotels here is the 619-room Barcelo Los Cabos Palace Deluxe, which has 35,000 square feet of meeting space as well as a 556-seat theater. Travelers seeking luxury will do well at the One & Only Palmilla and <atitle=”Las Ventanas al Paraiso, A Rosewood Resort” href=”http://www.orbitz.com/hotel/Mexico/Los_Cabos/Las_Ventanas_al_Paraiso,_A_Rosewood_Resort.h338582/” target=”_self”>Las Ventanas al Paraiso, A Rosewood Resort.

Mexico City hotels
The nation’s capital for both government and business, Mexico City also scores big when it comes to style and luxury. The St. Regis Mexico City is one of the newest large-scale hotel choices here, with more than 13,000 square feet of meeting space, a spa and children’s club. In the fast-growing, business-oriented neighborhood called Santa Fe, style-conscious travelers check in atthe chic Distrito Capital.

Related resources

• Cheap Cancun flights
• Cheap Los Cabos flights
• Cozumel hotels

Mark Chesnut is a travel writer, editor and publisher of LatinFlyer.com, which focuses on travel to Latin America.

Tagged: Mexico