This week, let us celebrate a very unique Mexican tradition which honors the cycle of life, and beloved family members who have passed to the next world. “El Día de los Muertos” with it’s colorful costumes and traditions, is both a somber and festive commemoration of the deceased. The masks, flower headdresses and colorful costumes should give you plenty of inspiration for the dress this week! Enjoy this video of the Día de los Muertos celebration at Zadún, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve.
As a special inspiration, our friends at the Dorado Beach, a Ritz Carlton Reserve in Puerto Rico, are going to provide a 2 night stay for the person they feel has gone “all in” to this special experience!
This week, the first five at 3:55 will receive special gifts from both of our host resorts!
As an added bonus, each week we’ll award a planner who goes “all in” a special gift from Kelly McAlister with Maui Jim.
Our Hosts
Heda Chehda
Sales and Marketing Director
Zadún, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve
Boulevard Mar de Cortez, Puerto Los Cabos
San José del Cabo, B.C.S., Mexico 23403
M: +52 1 (624) 191 0150
email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.zadunreserve.com
Connect on LinkedIn
Born and raised in Argentina, Heda has worked in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, and the last 16 years in Riviera Maya with Belmond Maroma Resort and Spa as Director of Sales and Marketing.
Since August 2019, she is privileged to be part on the first Reserve property in Mexico where she has been appointed DOSM for Zadún Reserve.
Heda’s main responsibilities include designing and implementing the Sales and Marketing plan for Zadún, A Ritx Carlton Reserve, highlighting it as the most exclusive and luxury property in San Jose Del Cabo.
Fabian Tejeda Pastrana
Group Sales Manager
Zadún, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve
Boulevard Mar de Cortez, Puerto Los Cabos
San José del Cabo, B.C.S., Mexico 23403
M: +52 (624) 157 8534
email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.zadunreserve.com
Connect on LinkedIn
From Mexico and by destiny (rejected 2 times from his local University to be an accountant), Fabian started a trip to study English traveling to Toronto, where (as a result of spending all his money partying), he was forced to find a job. Luckily, his journey put him in a job as a front desk agent where he finally found his career passion.
In 2009, an opportunity in Rosewood Mayakoba to be part of the sales team arrived and from that point, he decided his destiny was in luxury resorts!
In July 2020, he became part of the amazing re-opening team as a Group Sales Manager at the fourth Ritz-Carlton Reserve Resort in the world.
Isabel Gracia
Director of Sales and Marketing
Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve
email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.doradobeachreserve.com
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Travel is in my DNA – I was born in Costa Rica from a father from Barcelona, Spain and a Mother from Managua, Nicaragua. My Father was in Marketing and traveled all the time and that was the beginning of my enchantment with the flights and service provided by the airlines, experience and attention.
I love cooking for friends and family, enjoy making puzzles, painting, travel and one of my favorite places is Tuscany and south of Italy.
I opened our Reserve in Dorado in 2012 and love every minute of positioning this brand amongst many other luxury destinations. I am sure once you stay with us will fall in love with the beauty and tradition from this iconic place called Dorado Beach!
Zadún, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve
There is a Los Cabos you may not have experienced, one far from the busy streets and vivid nightlife of Cabo San Lucas. In San Jose Del Cabo, a quiet sophistication rings through the charming streets; architecture speaks to Spanish colonization; murals depict life of eras past.
Opened in late 2019, Zadún, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve lies outside of San Jose del Cabo at the tip of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, within the private sanctuary of Puerto Los Cabos, backed by 27 holes of golf and fronting the Sea of Cortez.
Zadún, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve was the #1 Resort in Western Mexico in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2020 Choice Awards.
ACCOMMODATIONS
“The Tosoani is a pillar of the Zadún experience, one in which genuine care during a guest’s stay means we remain with them even after they’ve returned home.”
Along gently sloping dunes overlooking the Sea of Cortez, luxury suites and villas reflect the land and those who sprung from it. Here, nature is invited within and guests encouraged to venture out: sliding glass doors replace traditional walls, terraces are an extension of home, plunge pools provide privacy and tranquility and the ritual of bathing is an opportunity to take in fresh air. Throughout, art, textiles and decorative objects from Mexican artists showcase the tradition and talent found across the country.
DINING
“To know a culture, you have to understand what feeds them…In a Mexican house, the kitchen is the center; everything revolves around it.”
In Mexico, food is an expression of love, a connection to community, the heart of a family. Dishes are infused with indigenous spices and childhood memories, both passed on from generation to generation. At Zadún, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, dining journeys to the past, bringing back traditions from throughout the regions like San Jose del Cabo to create new chapters in Mexican cuisine.
Make the Perfect
Fresh Margarita
Ingredients
- 2 parts Milagro Silver Tequila
- 1 part fresh squeezed lime juice
- ¾ part agave nectar
Instructions
- Put tequila, lime juice and agave nectar in shaker with no ice
- Shake until well-blended
- Add ice to shaker and shake vigorously
- Salt rim of rocks glass (optional)
- Fill glass with ice, pour liquid to top
- Garnish with a lime wedge
Make the Perfect
Fresh Paloma
Ingredients
- 2 parts Herradura Reposado Tequila
- 2 parts red ruby grapefruit juice
- Grapefruit soda
- ½ part fresh lime juice
- ½ part agave nectar
- 1 pinch of salt
Instructions
- Put tequila, grapefruit juice, lime juice and agave nectar in shaker with no ice
- Shake until well-blended
- Add ice to shaker and shake vigorously
- Salt rim of glass (optional)
- Place lime wedge on bottom of glass
- Add pinch of salt
- Fill glass with ice, pour liquid 3/4 to the top
- Add grapefruit soda to top of glass
- Garnish with a grapefruit wedge
MEETINGS & INCENTIVES
At Zadún, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, the view from the office is replaced with that of the sea, lunch at your desk is now enjoyed with your feet in the pool and after-work drinks are a history lesson in mezcal and tequila. Business at Zadún is anything but usual with indoor-outdoor meeting venues, cuisine that tells the story of the people and activities that encourage connection between colleagues and the land.
The resort’s event planner and conference concierge provide a seamless meeting experience from start to finish. Services include catering and mixology, transportation, entertainment, photography and group tours.
Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve
When developer Laurance Rockefeller opened his resort in the 1950’s, he took care to preserve what made the former plantation, and Puerto Rico, special. Buildings were no taller than palm trees. Nature was left to unfurl beautifully. Access to the ocean remained unobstructed. Over the years, the 50-acre retreat has carried on Rockefeller’s legacy of catering to those who value discretion, human connection, and tailored luxury.
MEETINGS & INCENTIVES
For a meeting to be successful, guests must leave inspired. At Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, inspiration comes naturally and from nature. Gatherings are hosted in spaces facing the ocean, and hard work is rewarded with jungle adventures, exquisite meals and relaxing spa treatments.
ACCOMMODATIONS
“I want guests to have a connection with the property, whether a spiritual one of their own or that human connection with their Embajador.”
Suites and Residences feature signatures tied to Puerto Rico: the ocean just outside your door; the personal attention of an Embajador; outdoor living space; an open-air shower and artwork capturing the colors of nature. The newly transformed Su Casa, built in the 1920s, offers a two-story, five-bedroom villa along the coastline.
AWARDS GALORE
CONDE NAST TRAVELER
- Conde Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards (2019)
- #1 Top 50 Resorts in The Caribbean
- #14 The Best Resorts in the World
- Conde Nast Traveler “Gold List” (2019)
- Conde Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards (2016)
- Conde Nast Traveler “Gold List” (2016)
AAA
- AAA Five Diamond Award (2016, 2017, 2019)
- AAA Four Diamond Award – Positivo Sand Bar (2019)
GOOD VIBES
“We’ve created the ambience to facilitate happiness, peace and love. Those things, in the end, are the reason for life.”
THESE PLACES ARE TO DIE FOR...
Join us as we celebrate Mexican and Puerto Rican cultures:
Good info on the Day of the Dead
Delicioso: 19 Puerto Rican foods you must try before you die
Kelly McAlister, Maui Jim
Kelly McAlister of Maui Jim will be with us on the calls each week as judge and jury to see which planner really goes all-in with the theme. So engage, be creative, and have fun... and you may be the winner!
She’ll be doing some gifting that will surely lift your shelter-in-place spirits!
Carol Owen: (919) 259-9051
Whitney Bradley: (864) 420-5986
