Luxury Travel can be "Green" too - La Cocotera Eco Resort

Green is the new black...even in the world of travel! Luxury eco resorts are popping up all over the place and the morphing of "environmentally-friendly" and "luxury travel" couldn't have come at a better time.

Our featured resort this week is La Cocotera Resort, an all-inclusive luxury eco resort in El Salvador.



Located on the beautiful shores of La Barra de Santiago in El Salvador, La Cocotera Resort aims to support the local people and environment while offering visitors picturesque accomodations, fresh food and lots of relaxation. One big plus of the resort is that it is far away from big crowds or touristy areas. A main focus of eco travel is educating visitors about the importance of our environment and how beautiful nature can be. By experiencing nature in such a positive way, eco resorts such as La Cocotera hope to inspire and encourage travelers to do their part in saving the environment.

Besides many nature tours, birdwatching, kayaking and other adventurous activities, the resort offers visitors the unique opportunity to release baby Olive Ridley turtles in to the ocean as part of a special turtle release program.



According to the website, La Cocotera eco resort was built by locals using local natural materials such as palm fronds, sustainable teak wood, plant vines, natural stone and hand woven fabrics. The resort also utilizes solar energy for all hot water and has its own state-of-the-art waste water recycling system. Everything is environmentally safe down to the soaps, shampoos and cleaning products. Visit www.lacocoteraresort.com for more information and for reservations.

Luxury Mexico Resort Reviews

One thing all luxury travelers must do is read lots of reviews of the hotels they intend to book. What's even better than finding a decent review? Writing your own amazing review and - hold up - getting PAID to do it. Well if that interests you then check out sarasmexico.com. Unfortunately, the site focuses exclusively on luxury resort vacations in Mexico, but if that's where the wind is taking you, these reviews are actually quite good. They are descriptive, straightforward and tell you all the details you want to know from whether the rooms have WiFi to what the best nearby restaurants are. It's pretty nifty.

The site includes such luxury fare as Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach reviews, Grand Mayan Acapulco reviews, and reviews of the top all-inclusive Omni Cancun.

Did I mention you can get paid for submitting a good review?

Celebrity Travel Style - What to Wear

There are 2 things you really must have to travel in celebrity style this winter: A trench coat and boots. Pair those with ANYTHING that matches and a pair of huge dark sunglasses and you'll have paparazzi all over you.


Okay I guess there's bit more to it than that. Especially if you plan to travel not in the winter. Who does that? Here are a few fab things that can make you the pinnacle of fashion on your luxury vacation:

1. A Chic Carryall
A definite must. Designer brand is best. Louis Vuitton, Prada, Marc Jacobs, Chanel, etc. Make sure the label shows. See my other post on Designer Luggage for some cute luggage pics.

Chloe Andy Canvas Tote

2. Sarong
Wear it over your suit as a skirt or a dress and you'll be sexy and stylin'. If you're going on a beach-y vacation pick bright tropical colors like hot pink, yellow or a bright teal.

3. Long Comfy Dress
A "maxi-dress", as they call it, is a great great thing. These dresses are trendy, comfortable, and you can work it from the airport to shopping to dinner. Try pairing it with a cute cardigan, and of course a cute bag and a pillow with an LV pillow case (do they make those?).

Eva knows what's up.

4. A Hat
Straw fedora hats are all the rage. Little slouchy knit berets are great for that hip casual look. Or go with your own signature style a la Gwen Stefani. Just wear a hat okay?


5. Mix and match stuff
"You only need a few key items to mix and match the entire trip," says Nicolette Prpa, world traveler and owner of chic Chicago boutique SHE. Try choosing a color theme for all of your vacation clothes. Neutral tones or simple black and white are always smart, sophisticated and goooood lookin'. Layer your pieces and add some cool accessories and you're as fab as Fergie. You know, if you want to be.

6. Designer Sunglasses.
Or ones that look designer. This one is really a no-brainer. Go big, go dark or go home. Brown sunglasses are cool too. Do NOT get this "creative" with your look:



But we love your sunglasses, Victoria!

Rich? Flipper Will Be Your Friend

Okay, I confess - the reason I'm writing this post is because I've always wanted to swim with dolphins. You don't have to be a super duper luxury traveler to enjoy some quality time with a fun-loving dolphin, but it is definitely not for the shoestring traveler. Heck, if you want to enjoy a group session with dolphins at The Atlantis Hotel in Dubai you have to shell out 230 big ones...per person.

Be prepared to hand over and arm and a leg if you want individual or small group dolphin interaction (why would you want anything else?). If you're a celebrity, it's probably free though. Take Mischa Barton for example:



After partying with a host of celebrities at the opening extravaganza of the Atlantis Hotel in Dubai back in November, she took some time out to play with a dolphin in the resort's Aquaventure water park. Looks like she got a professional photographer to play too!

Fabulous Photo: The Giant Windsail Hotel

What? This is crazy looking. This is the W Barcelona, scheduled to open October 1, 2009. According to the W Hotel website, it's "nothing but sweet dreams in 473 inviting rooms."

I don't think anything else about the hotel can top its exterior, but the interior is sure going to try. The giant wind sail hotel will feature world-class gourmet restaurants, "sensual rooftop bar" (not sure how they are going to accomplish that), a decadent spa and state-of-the-art meeting spaces.

(Image: www.ricardobofill.com)

Luxury Travel Must-Have: Cabo Beach Beds

Being in bed is a great place to be, especially if you're trying to relax. But being in bed on a beautiful white sand beach in Cabo takes the luxury travel cake.

Before this year, I thought beach beds only existed in music videos but now I know that I, too, can be fabulous and lay in bed on the beach. Luxury resorts in legendary beach hot spots like Cabo, Hawaii and Thailand offer this amazing opportunity that everyone seems to want to know more about and I am no exception.

One of my favorite Cabo hotels, Pueblo Bonito Pacifica, offers what they call the "Beach Royalty Packages":



I'm sold.

The Couples Royalty Day Package includes:

• Your own curtained bed on the hotel's beautiful private beach
• Two iPods
• Two cocktails
• Two bottles of Voss water
• Your choice of a snack or lunch from a special menu

OR, if you want to spend a romantic evening, you can enjoy a delicious three-course meal, complete with Voss water and a domestic drink. "Dinner begins at 6pm, the rest is up to you." Oh RLY?

Sounds like heaven to me, and the perfect way to spend time with your significant other. Even if it's your dog.

Celebs Invade Cabo for the New Year

If you haven't heard, celebrities are flocking to Cabo resorts. The list of big timers who visited Cabo to ring in the New Year include: Cindy Crawford, Kid Rock, Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer, Courtney Cox and fam, Ben Harper and fam and George Clooney. Phew!

Luxury Camping is In-Tents

Luxury camping is all the rage for FabTravelers. Who knew that camping doesn't have to be all about dirt and roughing it? Places like Mauritius, Thailand and Australia all have luxurious tent resorts that just may be the unique high-end experience you've been looking for. If you cringe at the thought of dirty feet and infrequent showering but love the romance of star gazing and being one with nature then luxury camping is for you.

Le Martis Camp - Kenya. Experience Africa - with style. The camp is beautifully designed by camp owner Lemarti's wife, Anna Trzebinski, but its intention is to immerse you in an authentic and awe-inspiring African environment.

Greystoke Mahale, Tanzania. Located on the Beach at the edge of Lake Tanganyika, in the Mahale Mountains National Park; it doesn't get more remote than this. This luxury camping ground (with running water, no less) can only be accessed by charter flight and is home to the world's largest known population of chimpanzees. Every day you can venture out into the forest to observe them. Oh, and you can't book with them directly, you need to find a reputable Tour Operator who specializes in African travel. Yeah.

Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle, Thailand. You need a river boat to get to this "camp ground" that features only 15 luxury tented accommodations. Take a bath in your hand-hammered copper tub on your all-inclusive three- or four-night stay, then train a few elephants and embark on an excursion through the exotic bamboo jungle.

Banjaar Tola Kahna National Park, India. A jungle safari lodge fit for the movies. Situated along the banks of the Banjaar River, Banjaar Tola is actually the third safari lodge in the Taj Resorts family. It is set to open in early 2009. Did I mention that Kahna National Park is also a tiger reserve? Rawr.