Another news-maker this year was the opening of the Hard Rock Hotel Cancun (hardrockhotels.com), one of only three all-inclusive Hard Rock properties in the world (with a fourth on the way in 2013).

For over 50 years, Abercrombie & Kent (A&K) has been a pioneer in the development of luxury travel throughout the world, beginning with the concept of the first luxury safari product in the industry.

Travcoa—aside from its well-deserved reputation as a major and long-term player in luxury travel—has also been a pioneer in what is now known as experiential travel, an element that’s an intrinsic component of what the new luxury traveler is seeking today.

In Mexico, beauty, luxury and unforgettable high-end service are presented in one fabulous pair—there’s the formal, black tie elegance of the sophisticated St. Regis Mexico City mingling with the barefoot luxury of the AAA five-diamond beach property in Riviera Nayarit, The St. Regis Punta Mita Resort.

There’s no name more synonymous with family fun than the Disney brand, with its decades of cartoons, family-oriented feature films and, of course, the global amusement theme parks—they are the ultimate “storytellers,” as Disney describes itself. And, since 2005, Adventures by Disney has brought that classic formula for family fun and storytelling to travel.

Israel, the ancient crucible of the world’s major religions, the crossroads of virtually every important culture going back thousands of years, and an undisputed depository of history, has all the elements of the once-in-lifetime family vacation.

In this, the second of a two-part series on St. Regis properties in Mexico City and Punta Mita in the Riviera Nayarit, Recommend editor Rick Shively highlights the joys of a 2-day stay in the St. Regis Punta Mita.

Editor Rick Shively visited Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ most elegant properties in Mexico—The St. Regis Mexico City and the St. Regis Punta Mita. In this article, he covers the beautiful St. Regis Mexico City.

There’s still a place to find the “real africa,” and that’s at the Royal Chundu Luxury Zambezi Lodges.

Israel’s big tourism guns of the Israel Ministry of Tourism came to the United States last week on a multi-city tour to address the different markets, tour operators and other travel partners here in the States.