The successful winner of our exciting “Name the Suite” contest and beneficiary of a 4-day and 3-night stay at our All-Inclusive Hacienda Tres Ríos Resort, Spa & Nature Park in the Riviera Maya is Stephanie Diehl, (@TravelDesigned), respected travel agent from Freeport, Illinois.

“The contest was fun, and exhausting! I couldn’t believe I won! I was on the phone making wedding arrangements in Mexico when I found out!” Stephanie declared.

In the last 20 years, spas in the Riviera Maya have been given a whole new meaning. The ancient Mexican Temazcal bath ritual, Aztec for “steam bath” has become increasingly popular in the Yucatan Peninsula.

Although sweat baths are renowned in various cultures around the world, the traditional Mexican sweat bath differs in several ways.

Temazcal bath rituals take place inside round mud structures that resemble large bee hives, specifically designed to prevent heat from escaping . Their center is slightly elevated for participants to move around and the entranceway is low and small for the symbolic role that it represents, the re-entry into the womb.

Temazcal Philosophy

According to this ancient Aztec doctrine,when entering a Temazcal we return to our mother’s womb, presided over by the goddess Temazcaltoci, the great mother of both gods and humans. She aims to cure physical and spiritual ills by separating us from the outside world so we can reconnect with our inner self.

Physical Benefits

In addition to spiritual healing, Temazcal baths offer great physical benefits: they cleanse the body from toxins and protect against most skin infections. The vapor of the bath purifies your respiratory system through the inhalation of aromatic vapors from curative plants. Temazcal baths heal headaches and their soothing effect may alleviate conditions of the nervous system.

While most sweat baths may generate these results, the Temazcal ritual is more effective due to the regulated precision by which the healer guides the ritual bath. Its fundamental method consists in the way heat and humidity are combined. The sauna, for example, reaches higher temperatures but since it is a drier process, its curative capabilities are lower. Other types of steam bath procedures combine heat and humidity as well, but the Temazcal is more efficient for two reasons: the healer in charge of the bath adjusts heat and humidity to meet the patients’ specific needs, and the herbal teas used for vapor are carefully selected for their effect on each individual patient.

After Temazcal

Traditionally, one leaves a Temazcal by crawling out backwards and is led to a resting place. At Hacienda Tres Ríos, we provide you with an added benefit once the session is over; a refreshing dive into our cenote to cool down. Herbal tea and fresh fruit are also served to replenish and rehydrate the fluids that were lost during the session.

The length of time spent inside the Temazcal will depend on the heat of the bath, the constitution of the individual and the condition that is being treated.

“It is an honor for us to receive this award. It shows that we are doing things right! We will continue to improve our standards of quality for the benefit of our guests and all tourists that visit the Mexican Caribbean,” stated CEO Orlando Arroyo Marroquín.

RCI also presented Top Seller Recognition for the best sales representatives in the sales room and the most productive promoters of this proudly-Mexican tourism consortium, awards that have been achieved for over 10 years for the high number of vacation ownership sales.

Hacienda Tres Ríos is thrilled to host the appearance of two talented music artists together on stage —Latin American Idol Samantha Rae and Canadian Idol Ryan Malcolm— in a live acoustic concert on March 18th, 2010.

This will be the first time that two icon artists participate in the same venue together. Both artists will demonstrate their talent by performing together and individually in both English and Spanish.

The international music idols will be staying at our All-inclusive Endless Luxury resort during their visit in Mexico’s Riviera Maya. The concert will be exclusively for guests of the luxurious resort.

Meet the Idols:

-Latin American Idol Samantha Rae was born and raised in Berkeley, California, and moved to the Mexican State of La Paz, Baja California Sur at age 11. She began to take guitar and piano lessons at age 7, and joined her first band at 15 playing mostly cover songs. During her music career, Samantha has toured the world as a back-up singer with Mexican stars Yahir and Alejandra Guzman.

Samantha is currently wrapping up recording in Monterrey on her Jazz album and on her first original music solo debut CD.

Rae says she’s never wanted to do anything but be a music artist. “Making a living as an artist has never let me down,” she says. – and the fans have always been such a big part of it all for me.”
Rae’s music is warm and inviting. Her upcoming debut solo album offers a powerful mix of Latin-flavored pop, acoustic beauty and soulful ballads.

-Canadian Idol Ryan Malcom is a singer-guitarist born in Kingston, Ontario. He started singing in a band at age 11, alongside his brother and father, who opened a dining restaurant that had entertainment three nights a week. At 16, Ryan started writing songs and produced his first demo at age 17.

In 2003, he tried out for the Canadian Idol auditions in Toronto and eventually won the title. His debut full-length, Home, went platinum in Canada , was nominated for a Juno Pop Album of the Year and spawned the number one single “Something More.”

Ryan then started a rock band of his own. “Something I always wanted was a feeling of control over the music, the direction of the band, and my career.” He is now piloting his own career, writing his own songs and guiding his own band, Low Level Flight, comprised of 5 talented artists.
Low Level Flight’s debut album, Urgency, kicked off with a soaring 80’s-style keyboard and a vocal effect on the upbeat rocker “Change For Me.”

Looking forward to having them among us!

Hacienda Tres Ríos is looking to name its new suite (two connecting Junior Ceiba Suites), and we need your vote!

We have selected six Twitter travel specialists as contestants to represent, promote, and defend the suite name which they each have been assigned.

The contestants will be allowed to write on our Facebook wall and use whatever means they deem necessary (Twitter, Facebook, blog posts, etc.) to get people to vote for them!

Note: Votes should be based on contestants’ creativity and promotional skills.

• The contest will begin on Monday, February 22nd, 2010 and end February 28th, 2010.
• A tab has been set up on our Facebook fan page wall entitled “Suite Contest.” On the wall, each contestant will have a photo with their name, the proposed name of their suite, and a link to the photo so people can vote by clicking “like.”
• The contestants’ goal is to get the most people to vote for their photo. The person who gets the most “likes” for their suite name will win this amazing exclusive VIP prize!

-A 4-day, 3-night, all-inclusive stay for two people at our endless luxury Hacienda Tres Ríos resort.

-A one-hour Swedish massage for each person.

-Transportation to-and-from the airport.

-Plane ticket included (must depart from major cities in the US or Canada)

-Admiral’s Yacht Club VIP yacht tour around spectacular Isla Mujeres off the shore of Cancun.

-VIP tour and horseback ride at our nearby equestrian center, Hacienda Andalucía (Hacienda Nights equestrian show, polo riding, horseback riding in the jungle, etc.)

Meet our six selected contestants:

1-@GotSaga: GotSaga is a worldwide social networking company focusing on the travel industry. Launched in 2008 by Patricia Vance, the GotSaga team works to create an entertaining and vibrant online community by sharing people’s travel tips and destinations from around the world. GotSaga’s popularity continues to grow on a daily basis.

2-@LocoGringoCom: Kay Walten is an American entrepreneur and explorer who has been living in the Riviera Maya since 1992. She began the LocoGringo online reservation service in 1996 before telephones were available. She loves working, diving, tacos from street vendors and tequila, and has been known to skinny dip on occasion.

3-@StayAdventurous: Craig Zabransky is an American freelance writer since 2005, having backpacked across 40 states and 30 countries as a global management consultant. Still traveling, he loves to share his stories on how to enjoy the journey and stay adventurous. He is fascinated by all things Mexican but writes about travels from all over the world.

4-@TravelDesigned: Stephanie Diehl has been an expert travel agent and passionate traveler for over 15 years. Her travel website provides her vacation experiences, tips, and information to help others create their own travel experiences. Stephanie loves gardening and photography, and is a social media guru!

5-@IsabellesTravel: Isabelle Kenis is a travel connoisseur living in Belgium, whose biggest passion in life is traveling. Her adventures have brought so many experiences into her life that she decided to share her travel expertise and inspire others in their search for the perfect getaway. Her website combines easy-to-use and accessible travel information.

6-@EliteTravelGal: Stacy Small is the launch editorial director of Elite Traveler Magazine and founder of Elite Travel International, a luxury travel firm based in California. She has spent 18 years traveling worldwide uncovering the greatest trends in luxury travel, and has written for several renowned travel magazines. She also enjoys yoga, spending time with her dogs, and working with charitable organizations.

The best way to have people engage with you is by making them feel like they are part of your family.

That’s what Hacienda Tres Ríos did on Friday, February 11th, 2010, when their social media team organized its first Facebook contest since the creation of their fan page in May 2009.

As a celebration for reaching 1,500 fans on Facebook, the team organized a contest for their respective fans to thank them for being active supporters of our eco-friendly luxury resort; for recommending the page to family and friends; and for sharing their pictures and experiences with us.

The “How Big a Fan Are You?” contest involved answering 15 live trivia questions about the resort on our Facebook wall. The contest began at 11:00 a.m. and while most people were at work during that time, we were surprised to see over 50 fans participating in the live contest!

The first person to answer the question correctly was automatically entered in a raffle for a chance to win a stay at Hacienda Tres Ríos Resort. Once all the questions were answered, the raffle began with a total of 21 entered fans.

The raffle winner was Kelly Lewis from Ohio in the United States. Kelly had just returned from a visit to our resort the previous week and was extremely surprised to hear her name declared as the winner. “I couldn’t believe I actually won, since I had just returned one week ago from the beautiful resort!” said Kelly.

Announcing the winner was done live via Ustream so viewers could get to know our team on a more personal level. The winning prize included a 3-day, 2-night, all-inclusive stay for two people at our endless luxury Hacienda Tres Ríos Resort in the Riviera Maya, México.

“We are currently under more than a foot of snow — with our two children. We were at the resort (without the kids!) for the first time from Jan. 30 – Feb. 6th. It’s a beautiful, relaxing place. We’ve never been so pampered! My favorite spot was in a bed on the beach. We were coming purely for relaxation and that goal was surely met!”

The contest turned out to be a great success, and Hacienda Tres Ríos is planning to increase its number of contests in the future. When asked for the opinions of others, most agreed: “We love trivia contests, so participating on Facebook was fun, and using Ustream was a fun way to reveal the winner!”

Congratulations again, Kelly!

To view pictures of Kelly’s vacation experience with us, please visit our Flickr page.

The Chief Environmental Officer at Tres Ríos, Gabriel Santoyo, stated that the donated mangroves were approximately one year old and were produced in the Tres Ríos nursery as part of the reforestation program authorized by SEMARNAT.

According to the Environmental Education and Diffusion Committee, they expect to plant 700 red mangroves (Rhizophora mangle) throughout the Nichupte Lagoon. The reforestation will continue over the next few days with a total of 3,150 trees being planted.

Tres Ríos Commemorates World Wetlands Day from HaciendaTresRios on Vimeo.