The latest results of Travel & Leisure’s annual reader’s poll are out and incredibly, there are only three hotels on there not already reviewed in detail in Luxury Latin America. One is a mystery that must be a ballot-stuffing anomoly (Le Meridien Cancun), another is a business hotel that gets so-so ratings from our correspondents (Hyatt Santiago). The other is the Four Seasons in Mexico City, which we were slated to have a review of up six months ago until our correspondent there fell ill. She’s back in action and it’s coming soon–I mean it this time–along with a batch of other fine hotels in that city.

There have been some shifts in the rankings this year though and it looks like a lot more readers have had Mexico on their itinerary (12 of the 25 entries) and Belize got nudged out entirely this time. The Bristol Hotel in Panama snuck in at number 24 though, just ahead of the Fairmont Acapulco Princess.

The interesting move this year was the Tides Zihuatanejo (pictured here) popping into the top-5 soon after its makeover from the already nice Villa del Sol. Peru also made a nice showing this time. Inkaterra Machu Picchu Hotel, formerly known as Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, came out of nowhere into the top-10 and Miraflores Park Hotel popped in at 15. See our detailed reviews by following any of the links above, or see the full rundown here on the survey.

If you’ve traveled a lot in this region, give us your take on the results!

After lots of delays and a soft opening where travel writers practically had to don a disguise and sneak in to get a look, Mexico’s first Mandarin Oriental hotel is really truly open. Our correspondent was one of the first to get a good look at the place after all the construction was done and the whole place was open to guests, so go here to see her review of the Riviera Maya Mandarin Oriental.

So what’s the verdict? Like the other Mayakoba properties, this one sits on a section of land that is perpendicular to the water, so only five casitas are actually beachfront and the rest are in the mangroves. There is more land here though so the rooms feel very private and secluded. There’s an obvious Asian influence, both in the minimalist style of the furniture and bedding and the superior service that the Mandarin Oriental chain is known for.

If you’re the type that values a view of the sea from your room above all, this resort is probably not your best choice. If you want to enjoy pampering from an attentive staff and have ample privacy, you won’t be disappointed. Just get ready for some frequent golf cart rides.

See other reviews of the best hotels in Mexico.

I’ve gotten some e-mail comments now and then that we seem to favor small and intimate hotels over the big and brash ones when it comes to which ones we cover in the Luxury Latin America hotel reviews. In a sense, this is a fair observation, because to us the main thing that differentiates a true luxury hotel from one that just claims to be is not how long the amenity list is, but how the staff and management goes about anticipating and meeting the needs of well-heeled, experienced travelers. The smaller hotels tend to focus intensely on service, while the largest ones focus on making it easy for business travelers and conventioneers to get work done.

There are plenty of exceptions, of course, which brings me to a hotel that has nothing to do with Latin America, the Fairmont Banff Springs in Alberta, Canada. I spent a night there recently and came away wishing it could have been three or four nights instead. The place is a maze that takes a day to figure out, but once you get beyond that they really do get almost everything right. Sure, it’s huge and there was a convention going on while I was there, but the staff did an impeccable job throughout my stay, the facilities are really well maintained despite the age, and it’s hard to beat this view out the window, which a majority of the rooms have.

I stayed at two other Fairmonts as well recently and while the others can’t match the Banff Springs one for the wow factor, the chain has a solid operation that’s a clear notch above the far and wide business hotel chains like Marriott and Sheraton. Back in Latin America, the company does have a few resorts in Mexico that we have reviewed:

Fairmont Acapulco Princess review

Fairmont Pierre Marques review

Fairmont Mayakoba review

In the June ‘08 issue of Conde Nast Traveler there’s a rundown of the best golf resorts in the world, as chosen by subscribers. The very top spot goes to one in Mexico: Four Seasons Punta Mita.

In all fairness though, If you’ve ever actually taken one of those Conde Nast Traveler reader surveys, you must be someone with a lot of time and patience. Last time I tried it—in the interest of professional research even—I gave up halfway through. I had already spent 17 minutes on it, was 29 screens in, and looked like I was still only halfway done. (Who knows, there’s no indicator to tell you.)

So I’m always a bit skeptical of the results, since people who really travel a lot and get paid the big bucks aren’t usually very willing to give up an hour of their well-paid time to fill out a survey. That leaves the people who have nothing better to and the ones who are forced to do it by their employers. (Hey, get subscriptions for all your staffers, have them each go in and do the survey, and voila–you have a close to perfect score!)

But back to the results. Let’s assume anyone could argue about any of these since very few people have played and stayed are more than a handful, but here are the ones in Mexico that scored highly in addition to the Four Seasons near Puerto Vallarta.

Westin Resort and Spa - Los Cabos, Mexico
One & Only Palmilla - Los Cabos, Mexico

You can read about both these in our article on Golfing in Los Cabos.

That leaves out a lot of stunning places, like the Tamarindo golf resort between Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo and a few others at Los Cabos, not to mention Llao Llao in Patagonia or, say, half of Scotland. But naturally, the problem with reader surveys is that places that draw the biggest crowds are going to get more votes. (Most of the resorts were in the U.S.)

I got back from Honduras recently and have posted some new reviews of some of the best hotels on Roatan Island and one new one for Copan.

All our Honduras hotels come with a caveat or two I must admit. There is not one hotel in the whole country that is on par with the high-end resorts in Mexico or Argentina, but things are improving all the time as more tourists (and more demanding tourists) join the scuba divers that have been the mainstay there. So don’t expect any of these places to blow you away with their opulence or dazzling amenities, but each is special in its own way. Where would I go back to tomorrow if I could? The Lodge at Pico Bonito. I can’t remember the time I last felt that relaxed and at one with the natural world.

Here are the new Honduras hotel reviews:

Hotel Marina Copán — Copán Ruinas, Honduras

Barefoot Cay — Roatan, Honduras

Infinity Bay Spa & Beach Resort — Roatan, Honduras

Palmetto Bay Plantation — Roatan, Honduras