Think ahead to the 2006 Olympics

Think ahead to the 2006 Olympics

Hoping to go to the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, in 2006? Now is the time to think about tickets for the Feb. 10-26 Games.

Order them from CoSport, the authorized U.S. vendor in Far Hills, N.J.

You can buy packages of three to six tickets now. If you want to get a jump on individual tickets, request them by Dec. 22; these will be allocated by Jan. 30. (Requesting an individual ticket does not guarantee you’ll get it if orders exceed supply.) Live sales of individual tickets will start Feb. 1.

Tickets for the opening ceremony, traditionally the most in demand, start at $420. Some preliminary events start at $34.

Starting Feb. 1, CoSport plans to offer packages that combine lodging and tickets. For details, call (877) 457-4647 or visit https://www.cosport.com .

Cartan Tours Inc. of Manhattan Beach, which has marketed Olympic event tickets in the past, will not be selling them for Turin. But it will offer tours and reservations for rooms and transportation.

Call (800) 818-1998 or visit https://www.cartan.com .

Lap up the luxury in Cancún

Cancún’s newest resort promises plenty of luxury, with eight swimming pools, suites with butler service and a restaurant by Mexican culinary doyenne Patricia Quintana.

All 371 rooms at Fiesta Americana Grand’s beachfront Aqua hotel in Mexico’s popular resort, which was scheduled to open last week, face the Caribbean and have balconies. Guests can choose from a “menu” of pillows, aromatherapy oils and candles.

Twenty-nine Grand Club rooms have their own registration desk, butler, continental breakfast and lounge with hors d’oeuvres and honor bar.

The 16,145-square-foot spa offers outdoor Pilates classes, yoga and a steam room modeled after ancient Mexican sweat lodges.

One of the four restaurants, Siete, is the first to be opened outside Mexico City by Quintana, whose Izote eatery draws fans of contemporary Latin cuisine. Another restaurant, MB, headed by Michelle Bernstein, former chef at Miami’s well-regarded Azul at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, is expected to open Dec. 18.

Introductory room rates, through Dec. 23, start at $199. Regular rates start at $395 or $549, depending on the season. (800) 343-7821, https://www.fiestaamericana.com .

Enterprise pulls ahead in renter poll

Enterprise led the pack in the latest customer ratings of airport car-rental outlets, reclaiming the top spot it yielded last year to Avis and Hertz, which tied in 2003.

The study rated customer satisfaction based on surveys of nearly 5,000 car renters at nine major companies. The annual survey is conducted by J.D. Power and Associates, a marketing information firm with headquarters in Westlake Village.

Although the overall rate of complaints, at 6%, was the lowest in five years, wait times were up.

More than 40% of customers said they waited an average of 19 minutes for a shuttle bus to take them to pick up their car, the survey found, an increase from 11 minutes last year.

— Compiled by

Jane Engle