Virtuoso & Virtuoso Life Magazine Honor Grand Velas Riviera Maya with a 2010 Best of the Best Award

Grand Velas Riviera Maya Named Best Spa by Prestigious Travel Network

AS VEGAS (August 24, 2010) - Leading luxury travel network, Virtuoso®, along with its award-winning magazine VITUOSO LIFE, named Grand Velas Riviera Maya as the Best Spa within the prestigious ‘Best of the Best’ Awards for 2010.  Representing the finest in hospitality standards and amenities, the ‘Best of the Best’ awards were revealed on August 18, 2010, by VIRTUOSO CEO Matthew D. Upchurch, VIRTUOSO LIFE publisher Terrie Hansen and Virtuoso vice president destinations & tours Albert Herrera, during the Hotels & Resorts dinner at Virtuoso’s 22nd annual Travel Mart conference.

The "Best of the Best" award winners will be featured in the September / October 2010 issue of VIRTUOSO LIFE magazine (www.virtuosolife.com), reaching 250,000 upscale, world travelers.

“The ‘Best of the Best’ awards acknowledge those hotels and individuals that really go above and beyond the expected standards,” said Herrera. “As the recipient of the award for Best Spa, Grand Velas Riviera Maya has proved itself as a leader in the industry. The winners are characterized by the service they provide to guests, and these products represent the best experiences in luxury travel.”

“We are so proud to be recognized by Virtuoso as the hotel spa that offers the most alluring environment for rest and rejuvenation, creative and therapeutic treatments, and highly skilled and knowledgeable therapists,” said Fernando Garcia Rossette, managing director of Grand Velas Riviera Maya.

VIRTUOSO LIFE editors, in collaboration with Virtuoso’s member travel advisors, selected nominees in 10 categories representing the pinnacle of service, design and luxury in the industry.  Grand Velas Riviera Maya was selected above other nominees as the very best in its category demonstrating innovation, dedication, a heightened social conscience and even courage.  At 89,000 square feet, The Spa at Grand Velas Riviera Maya is built amid the lush jungle that hugs the resort and boasts an organic style reflective of its Mexican surroundings. A cavernous lower level takes its inspiration from the region’s underground water pools, or cenotes.  A hand-hewn rock wall emerges from a winding chlorine-free pool that’s outfitted with water-bubble beds, cascades and a gurgling volcanic geyser.

Other nominees in this category were Le Spa Metropole, Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, Vietnam; The Spa at La Reserve Ramatuelle, France; The Anantara Spa at Kempinski Ishtar Dead Sea, Jordan; and To B. Wellbeing & Spa, Grand Hotel Quellenhoff & Spa Suites, Bad Ragaz, Switzerland.

About Grand Velas Riviera Maya

Grand Velas Riviera Maya, an all-suites and spa resort located five minutes from Playa del Carmen, represents the latest and most sophisticated iteration of the ultra-luxury, all-inclusive resort experience.  Building on the success of its AAA 5-Diamond-ranked sister property in Nuevo Vallarta, this Leading Hotels of the World designated resort is the preeminent one of its class boasting 491 suites, each more than 1,000 square-feet, in three separate ambiances-- adult-only ocean-front and ocean-view Ambassador Grand Class Suites, family-friendly Ambassador Suites and Master Suites embraced by the flora and fauna of the Yucatan Peninsula’s jungle.  The resort presents a gastronomic tour of the Yucatan, Europe and Asia offering seven restaurants with world-class chefs from France, Spain and Mexico; dedicated butler service for each guest and a 91,457 square-foot convention center ideal for business and social gatherings of all sizes, including weddings.  The resort was designed by lauded Mexican architecture firm Elias and Elias and features the sleek and modish interiors that fuse the serenity of the Caribbean with the vibrancy of Yucatan cultures.

About Virtuoso

As the industry’s leading luxury travel network, Virtuoso® comprises over 300 agencies with more than 6,000 elite travel advisors in 22 countries in North and South America, the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand, as well as the world’s best travel providers and premier destinations.  The network’s member agencies generate over $5.1 billion annually in travel sales, making it the most powerful group in luxury travel.  Virtuoso is also the exclusive network of travel services and benefits provided by MasterCard® for participating World Elite MasterCard® programs. For more information, visit www.virtuoso.com.