Grand Residences is finally here! Discover a vision of luxury living, a home like nowhere else in a magical beachfront setting. A place for reflection, relaxation and enjoyment as you embark on the next stage of your journey through life. After years of planning and input from thousands of members, Royal Resorts is proud to unveil its new whole ownership residence concept.
If you would like to find out how you can be part of this exciting opportunity, visit www.grandresidencesbyroyalresorts.com to register and a Grand Residences representative will contact you.

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Right on schedule, the third phase of The Royal Haciendas opened on June 21. The new wing has 55 additional villas, bringing the tally to 181 of the 252 planned for the resort.
There is another large pool with an area for laps, separate children’s pool, two whirlpools and three shaded hammock stands. A second Aqua Grill offers drinks, burgers, hot dogs, tacos and quesadillas.

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Royal Club Vacations has teamed up with Mexicana Airlines to bring Royal Resorts members exclusive fares on flights to Cancún from Miami, New York (JFK), Los Angeles and Chicago. Call today for great roundtrip savings and daily direct flights to the Mexican Caribbean and start planning your 2009 vacation. You must book now; this hot deal is proving very popular and won’t last long.

Click here for more details and fares
Book by October 31, 2008
Flights must be completed by September 6, 2008

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Right on schedule, our ocean-going summer visitors – endangered sea turtles - have begun to come ashore at night to lay their eggs. Our first arrival was a green turtle which laid 87 eggs on the beach at The Royal Sands & Spa on June 10. As of July 11, 63 turtles had been registered at The Royal Sands and 43 on the beach between The Royal Mayan, The Royal Caribbean and The Royal Islander, with a total of 6,810 and 5,281 eggs respectively, moved to the safety of the corrals.
Local biologists and volunteers report that the turtles are arriving in considerable numbers, particularly along the stretch of beach south from The Royal Islander to Punta Nizuc. To date, they have found 361 nests and moved 40,816 eggs to 20 corrals. Check future issues of this e-newsletter and the website for more turtle news.

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Save time and cut down on phone calls to Fort Lauderdale by paying your annual Club Service Fee / Annual Maintenance Fee online. Enter the Members Area on www.royalresorts.com and click on the Online payments link. You will be transferred to www.intervalservicing.com, the Interval Servicing Company (ISCO) website. Just click on the Online CSF/AMF payments section (in red) on the ISCO home page and select your resort from the list that appears on the next screen. To get started you need to type your Contract/Membership Number, your Villa Number, your e-mail address and a validation code that appears on the screen. Once you have accessed the protected online payments area, follow the instructions to make your payment or check your balance. It is as simple as that.
This convenient new service is available for all six Royal Resorts in the Mexican Caribbean, Hotel El Castellano in Mérida, The Pelican Resort Club and Pelican Marina Residences on St. Maarten and The Sea Aquarium Resort on Curaçao. Shortly after you have completed your online transaction, you will receive an email from ISCO confirming payment.

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It’s so easy to overdo it when basking in the Caribbean sun especially if you have come straight from a cool northern climate. If you invariably have red shoulders and a sore nose after your first day on the beach, The Mesos Center has the answer, the Gentle Waves skin treatment that brings you instant relief, soothing sunburn in less than two minutes. Appropriately named, this low intensity light therapy also rejuvenates your appearance by reducing wrinkles and smoothing your skin.

Mesos Summer in the Sun
Gentle Waves $49.99 US per session

Check Your Daily Calorie Intake with Mesos
Find out what your ideal daily calorie intake is with ReeVue Metabolic Testing. This innovative technique measures your resting metabolic rate, the oxygen the body consumes and the number of calories you burn during the day. The results show you how many calories you should be consuming to lose or maintain weight. Introductory offer: $59.99 US per session

Located in the Spa at The Royal Sands, Mesos is a US-based clinic offering the latest cosmetic laser and medical spa treatments. Find out how you can go home looking younger!

Reservations: Toll free
from the United States & Canada: 888 870-4956
From Mexico: 01-9988-810100 Ext: 65905, 65906 & 65994
Email: mesos@medspacancun.com

*Mesos Center is operated in Cancun by MED-SPA de Cancún, S.A. de C.V., through a Franchise Agreement.
You should consult your doctor before carrying out any medical spa treatment or embarking on any dietary, drug, exercise or lifestyle change intended to prevent or treat a medical condition.
Royal Resorts is not responsible for Mesos therapies, products or information.

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Save time when you arrive at your resort and head straight for the beach instead of standing in line as you wait to check in. Use the online pre-registration service in the Members Room on www.royalresorts.com and your villa key cards will be waiting for you when you arrive.

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Whether you choose a sports massage to tone tired muscles, a beach massage with a serenade of waves to soothe you or a massage in the privacy of your villa, the Spa has a therapy for you. Leave stress behind and start your next Royal Resorts vacation with a massage.
Reservations: spa@royalresorts.com

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We know that you love Royal Resorts but why not share the experience with your family and friends? Introduce them to our brand of Royal Hospitality. We have great rental rates for them and you'll receive 2,500 Royal Resorts Points for every rental that your friends make through your referral. You can use Royal Resorts Points to pay your Club Service Fee or your Club bill during your next stay.
Click here to start referring

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Lady golfers took to the greens and fairways at Playa Mujeres Golf Club from June 9 to 11 for the annual Elizabeth Norman Sutton Charity Golf Tournament. Played in cool and cloudy conditions, this tenth anniversary event lived up to the organizers’ expectations, attracting a record 107 players from the United States, South Korea and different parts of Mexico. At the end of the final day’s play, the winners were as follows:

Overall winner
Sophia Chung - 239 strokes

Category A
First place - Sophia Chung - 112 points
Second place - Mary Ann Emerson - 112 points
Third place - Ana Laura Azcárraga - 108 points

Category B
First place - Elvia Mgehee - 115 points
Second place - Linda Hudson - 108 points
Third place - Sue Rowe - 105 points

Category C
First place - Guillermina Vales - 105 points
Second place - Jackeline Rosado - 104 points
Third place - Guadalupe Córdova - 103 points

Category D
First place - Diana Jimenez - 122 points
Second place - Alicia Nachon - 114 points
Third place - Jill Korowing - 112 points

Click here for the full list of winners.

At the Awards Ceremony lunch, checks for $20,000 US were donated to Grupo Desafio de Quintana Roo (Cancer Awareness Program) and the Cancun General Hospital.
Congratulations to the winners and to all our players and our warmest thanks to the event sponsors for their generosity and tireless support.

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The three-day tournament will be played at Playa Mujeres Golf Club and the inscription is $325 US per player. Sign up soon as numbers are limited and request your accommodation.
Call 1-800-930-5050 Ext. 2504 (US & Canada), please ask for Mr. Gene Magliocco or
01-800-712-0544 (Mexico) and ask for Elizabeth Montuy.

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On the subject of winners, Lorenzo Rovere is the winner of the 2007 Royal Resorts Photo Contest. His photo of The Royal Sands titled Royal Sunrise came out tops in our online Members poll, Timothy Plemmons was a close second with Pelican buffet line at The Royal Sea Aquarium Resort and third place went to Chris Raffle for a photo of The Royal Haciendas.

Click here to see the winning photo and all our finalists in the 2007 Royal Resorts Photo Contest.
Mr. Rovere won a week’s stay at Club Internacional de Cancun; the prize for runner up was a dinner certificate for two at Hacienda Sisal and third place received a certificate for an 80-minute massage and a one-week Gym pass at The Spa. The other seven finalists were awarded a certificate for a 50-minute massage at the Spa.

We would like to thank everyone who took part and take this opportunity to remind you that we are accepting photos for this year’s contest. Send us your snapshots and you could win a prize and see your photo published in the Royal Resorts magazines.

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We have a new venue for the Royal Resorts weekly golf tournament, Playa Mujeres Golf Club, a Greg Norman-designed golf course located 20 minutes to the north of Cancun. Why not include this fun contest in your plans for your next vacation? It is now staged on Tuesdays at 1:30 p.m. and costs $99 US per person, transport to the course included.

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Royal Resorts and Thomas More Travel recently supported a reforestation campaign on the shores of the Nichupte Lagoon. Biologists working for the Mexican environmental agency Semarnat, Conafor (Forestry Commission) and City Hall joined forces with volunteers from the NGOs Flora, Fauna y Cultura de Mexico, Amigos de Sian Ka’an, local schools and members of the public to plant 12,000 mangrove saplings on stretches of shoreline and islets which have been hard hit in recent years by development and storm damage.

In other green news, The Royal Market will shortly be switching to environmentally friendly bags. As in other cities around the world, the ubiquitous plastic bag is an ecological nightmare for Cancun and Royal Resorts is doing what it can to nurture the recycling culture among its employees.

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We would like to remind you that Club Internacional de Cancun will be closed for renovation from Week 33 (August 16) to Week 51 (December 20). Club Internacional de Cancun members who normally take their vacation during this period were offered the opportunity to reschedule their time this year or in 2009. All services and activities at the resort will be unavailable until this important maintenance project is completed.
Click here to read the Club Internacional de Cancun Update

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If you are here in the summer, you may be lucky enough to meet some gentle giants. The Mexican Caribbean is one of the few places in the world visited by whale sharks, the world’s largest living fish. From May to the end of August, the deep waters off the islands of Holbox and Contoy and Cabo Catoche, the northernmost tip of the Yucatán Peninsula, play host to one of the ocean’s most extraordinary gatherings of whale sharks, and with Thomas Moore Travel you have the opportunity to witness them.
Read more about whale sharks

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More Canadian Charters
WestJet has announced that it will be offering more flights to Cancun and other Mexican resort destinations as part of its expansion program.

TEQUILA!
The popular Expo Tequila will be held in Playa del Carmen August 16 – 19. This is a great opportunity to learn more about Mexico’s national drink, taste different tequilas and enjoy the Quinta Avenida ambiance.

Rio Secreto
The Riviera Maya has a new attraction, Rio Secreto is a jungle park 15 minutes to the south of Playa del Carmen where natural beauty is more than just skin deep. Twelve meters below the surface lies a chain of partially flooded caves with incredible stalactite and stalagmite formations. Expert guides offer nature walks, snorkeling in cenotes and cave diving trips for certified cave divers. Contact Thomas More for more information on trips to Rio Secreto.

Placido Domingo in Chichen Itza
In 1997, the late Luciano Pavarotti gave a concert in Chichen Itza and now it is the turn of one of the other Three Tenors, Placido Domingo. Maestro Domingo is set to perform on October 4, 2008 in the courtyard of the Temple of a Thousand Columns, a magical setting. The line up is also set to include the Yucatan Philharmonic Orchestra, the Mayab Choir, Yucatecan singer songwriter Armando Manzanero and the soprano Ana Maria Martinez and the concert will commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the UNESCO decree that gave the ancient city World Heritage Site status.

All that Jazz
Growing in popularity with the years, the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival will take place on November 27 -29 at Playa Mamitas in Playa del Carmen. Performers who have confirmed to date include Iraida Noriega, Earl Klugh, David Sanborn and Fourplay.

Pretty in Pink
San Felipe, the sleepy fishing village in Ria Lagartos Biosphere Reserve, is gearing up for a unique annual festival which will take place from July 28 to August 1. Organized by local people, the state environmental agency, reserve wardens and the Merida-based conservation NGO Niños y Crias, the Flamingo Festival celebrates the reserve’s most famous resident, the Caribbean flamingo and draws attention to the threats that it faces. Biologists and volunteers return to the reserve from August 15 to 16 to ring the young birds and carry out a census. There are thought to be over 30,000 birds in the reserve.

Merida, a Venue for Wildlife Events
Merida and Uxmal will be hosting this year’s Yucatan Bird Festival scheduled to take place from November 13 to 16. Furthermore, November 6 to 13, 2009, the state capital will also welcome scientists and conservationists from all over the world for the Ninth World Wilderness Congress (WILD 9).

More Discoveries in Riviera Maya Cenotes
A fourth skeleton dating from the Pleistocene Ice Age has been found in a flooded cave by the team of archaeologists, biologists and cave divers who have been exploring the underground rivers and cenotes of the Riviera Maya for more than a decade.
Before attempting to move the extremely fragile bones – a complicated and risky process that will take more than a year – the team will study them in situ. From the site of the find and the stance of the skeleton, it is clear that it is a burial placed in the cave by other members of the tribe. The presence of ten teeth in the jawbone makes it possible to use Carbon 13 dating to not only calculate the age of the bones – the three skeletons found earlier date from between 13,000 and 14,500 B.C. – but also analyze the possible diet of the individual, whether he/she consumed fish and shellfish or preyed on mammals such as camels or mastodons.
Thirteen thousand years ago, the Yucatan landscape was an arid steppe inhabited by giant sloths, horses, elephants and saber-toothed tigers. Early man used would have used area caves as refuges and burial grounds. As the Ice Age drew to a close, sea levels began to rise and the caves of the Riviera Maya were gradually flooded.
Such discoveries place Mexico at the forefront of research into the origin of Early Man in the Americas.

Ancient City Discovered in Southern Yucatan
A team of archaeologists working for the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) recently announced the discovery of an ancient city in an area of southern Yucatán called San Diego Buenavista. The site is thought to be at least 2,300 years old, predating the regional powers of Uxmal and Chichen Itza, and is believed to have had close ties with Edzna in Campeche and with cities far to the south in Guatemala.
The monuments studied to date are built in the Chenes architectural style typical of many sites in Campeche and a ball court has also been identified at the site.
The archaeologists in charge of the dig Thelma Sierra Sosa and Agustin Peña Castillo have unearthed a hoard of pottery, principally water urns and pitchers painted red, black, yellow and white, colors associated with the Underworld. Yet their most important find is a circular vase showing the chief Mayan god Itzamna. He is depicted sitting in the lotus position on a throne covered in a jaguar pelt. Glyphs on the vase are thought to refer to the name of its owner and include the word “Balam” or jaguar or “lord of the night.”
It is to be hoped that the team can obtain the funding they so desperately need to be able to continue their research at San Diego Buenavista.

More World Heritage Sites for Mexico
The colonial city of San Miguel de Allende and the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, an area of pine forests and mountains straddling the Michoacan and Mexico state border, are Mexico’s latest World Heritage Sites.

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More villas at Pelican Marina Residences
This July, 28 additional villas will be ready for occupancy at Pelican Marina Residences.

Winter Season Flights to St Maarten
American Airlines announced this week that it will be scheduling two new direct flights to St. Maarten from New York and Miami in the winter season. A twice-weekly flight from New York will be inaugurated in December and will increase to five flights a week in January. For more information on flights to the Caribbean and to Mexico contact Royal Club Vacations.

Curacao Tourist Open International Golf Tournament
If you are a keen golfer and are due to travel to Curacao at the end of July, you may be interested in competing in the Curacao Tourist Open Golf Tournament. This sporting event is sponsored by MCB Platinum Card and will take place on July 26 at the Blue Bay Golf Course.

Curacao Culture, Cuisine & Heritage Experience 2008
From August 15 – November 15, visitors to Curaçao will be immersed in a celebration of island culture. The Curacao Culture, Cuisine & Heritage Experience 2008 features discounted admission fees for local museums, art galleries and some of the landhuizen, walking tours of Willemstad, visits to historic mansions and Den Paradera Herb Garden, music, dance and a gastronomic festival. Don’t miss it. For more information ask the Concierge at The Sea Aquarium Resort or check the Curacao Tourist Board website www.curacao.com

Island Music
Aruba also plays host to several music festivals later this year. The program kicks off in September with the Caribbean Sea Jazz Festival (September 5 – 6) and the Third Annual Aruba Piano Festival (September 22 – 28). In October, the Aruba Entertainment Center five minutes from Oranjestad is the venue for the Aruba Music Festival (October 10 – 11) featuring Gloria Estefan and REO Speedwagon. For more information on these events you can visit the Aruba Tourism Board website, www.aruba.com

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