Retreat! Retreat! When it comes time for corporate getaways, vacations and work go hand-in-hand.

For companies holding retreats and the travel agencies that take them there, off-the-beaten-track locations are fast becoming the more popular destinations than traditional stops like Cancun or Miami. Perhaps the reason why demand has been so heavy is that resorts are catering to a new breed of business traveler: those who come early and leave late in order to siphon a few vacation days out of a business trip. "We have noticed they arrive one or two nights before and two nights after and at the lowest package" says Carlos Baruki, director for sales and marketing for Latin America at the InterContinental resort and hotel chain.

Take Panama. Today the Central American country is branding itself as a hub of the Americas and business travelers are taking note, says Baruki. The company invested an estimated US$45 million on the Playa Bonita resort in Panama. It opened in December--and immediately sold out for days, according to Baruki--and is Inter-Continental's third investment in the country after a Crowne Plaza and InterContinental, both business hotels. To the corporate-travel circuit, the resort has become the belie of the ball. Meeting planners have been booking corporate retreats there as far as 24 months in advance, says Baruki. "To us, this premature booking is a good symptom that the destination is a hot spot," he says.

This trend isn't limited to corporate retreats. Many business travelers attending broader conventions such as professional associations do so and even bring their spouses, Baruki says. Both business and tourist travel at InterContinental's properties across the Americas are enjoying a windfall due to uncertainty in the Northern Hemisphere. Over the past couple of years, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Iraq war and the risk of global infectious disease outbreaks, particularly from Asia, have made Central and South America an apparently less risky venue than North American destinations, Baruki says.

While the news is often bad on the U.S. economic front, there's good news in Central America, which opened its economy and borders along with the Dominican Republic in a free trade deal with the United States known as DR-Cafta. Furthermore, the Panama Canal is reporting that the time it takes for ships to pass through is falling rapidly while the amount of cargo coming in and out is on the rise. Copa, Panama's main airline, has said it will spend hundreds of millions of dollars on new Boeing and Embraer aircraft to cater to business travelers. Already, Copa manages more international frequencies and nonstop flights among Latin American destinations than any other airline. Panama's gross domestic product is forecast to grow 4% in 2006. All Central American countries are expected to grow as well.

That's why many companies should consider Central America as a destination for regional meetings due to its proximity to North and South America, says Gerardo Hernandez, a country manager at EDT Nicaragua, a food and beverage distributor with headquarters in Guatemala. While the Caribbean is a nice place for a corporate getaway, the proximity of Central American countries to one another makes it easier to get people together as opposed to Cuba, where EDT staged a corporate retreat in the past. Like their counterparts at the Playa Bonita in Panama, EDT executives relax for a while as tourists once meetings adjourn.

And even though some executives from the Caribbean may claim their countries are more visible on the resort and tourism map, they're taking vacations in Central America. "We've brought in executives from the Dominican Republic, too," Hernandez says.

Even the big multinationals are whisking their executives away to venues in the Caribbean and Central America. U.S. fast food giant Burger King's Latin American division has hosted corporate retreats in Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic, the San Jose Marriott in Costa Rica, the Westin Bio Mar and the Conquistador, both in Puerto Rico. Burger King tends to hold such meetings in countries where the company has a presence via franchisees.

Travel agents, too, say Central America, especially Panama, is the place to be. Valorem markets services for 85 hotels in Latin America. It just signed on with InterContinental's Playa Bonita. "It's been the hottest hotel that we've been selling" says Michelle Anseeuw, vice president of global sales at Valorem. "It's Panama for some reason. Demand has been astonishing."

Demand for particular business-travel locales, especially for corporate retreats, often rises and fails. Destinations become trends, and then they quickly lose their cool, only to become trends again, Anseeuw says. Puerta Vallarta in Mexico is one such destination, which has become hot again. But even once barren-but-beautiful strips of rock and ocean that were never traditional getaways can grow into flourishing business destinations, such as the Baja peninsula along Mexico's Pacific coast, including the resort area of Cabo San Lucas. Today, the area is booming, says Anseeuw.

On the flip side, countries facing political instability are not doing as well, Anseeuw says. Venezuela is home to thousands of miles of Caribbean coast, and Margarita Island, located in the eastern Caribbean. The Andes Mountains chain begins in Venezuela. Yet President Hugo Chavez's firebrand populism and controversial politics has steered companies far and away from the so-called best kept secret of the Caribbean. "Venezuela is quiet. I'll say that," Anseeuw says.

Conventional wisdom. Hotels on beaches are fine, but they aren't the only places for a corporate getaway. Convention centers can work just fine. In Santiago, the CasaPiedra convention center has proven to be popular. Complete with 10 meeting rooms, views of the Chilean Andes, a nearby polo grounds, gardens and 1,500 parking spaces, companies use the space to offer five-star hotel services to their employees during day events.

"They don't offer lodging, although they have agreements with hotels," says Carlos P. Orlandi, head of technology and development at Enaex, a Chilean company that provides explosives service for mining and other industries. Orlandi manages corporate getaways for both his company as well as for industry conferences, and has brought in technicians from across Latin America as well as from Australia, France and the United States. Most of the time, Santiago is a natural choice. It's smack dab in the middle of the long, skinny nation and the bulk of the country's business and cultural activities are found there. But don't count out the rest of Chile, Orlandi says.

"We've had conferences in Iquique, Antofagasta, La Serena, Santiago and Vina del Mar," Orlandi says, referring to coastal Chilean cities that are hours apart by airplane. Many hotels in those cities offer incentives such as free conference rooms for entities that bring enough guests. Plus a wide variety of airline companies in Chile makes travel rather cheap and easy, says Orlandi.

KINGS OF THE HILLS

A perfect getaway for athletic executives might be the Hotel Barcelo Colon Miramar on Ecuador's coast. Activities there include water-skiing, parasailing, jet skiing, scuba diving, tennis, volleyball, badminton and beach soccer. If that's not enough, then hit the hotel's gym and spa. All 90 rooms come complete with minibars, sitting rooms and balconies with views of either the ocean or the city of Salinas, located 144 kilometers west of Guayaquil. Watch the whales swim near the beach from July to September. There are five meeting halls that can host between 15 and 200 people. There are also playgrounds set aside for the kids. Once the meeting is over, the Hotel Barcelo Colon Miramar is a great place, too, for a retreat from the corporate retreat. Did we mention there was a casino?

Just minutes away from Guayaquil's Simon Bolivar International Airport, the Four Points by Sheraton Guayaquil overlooks the E1 Mall Del Sol, one of the country's most modern shopping centers. The hotel has 144 guest rooms that include amenities such as a complimentary daily newspaper, a hair dryer and a minibar. Choose from seven meeting rooms that can hold up to 600 people. With an outdoor pool, fitness facilities, 24-hour room service and three restaurants to choose from, the hotel offers a wide variety for both restless and weary executives to wind down from their hectic days.

--Forrest Jones</p> <pre> BEST HOTELS ANDEAN REGION Barcelo Colon Miramar (Ecuador) 9.53 Four Points by Sheraton Guayaquil (Ecuador) 9.46 JW Marriott Hotel Quito (Ecuador) 9.46 Hilton Colon Guayaquil (Ecuador)

9.30 JW Marriott Hotel & Stellaris Casino Lima (Peru)

9.20 Swissotel Quito (Ecuador)

9.06 Radisson Royal Bogota Hotel (Colombia)

8.91 Swissotel Lima (Peru)

8.83 Gran Melia Caracas (Venezuela)

8.64 Miraflores Park Hotel (Peru) 8.34 </pre> <p>LOCAL LEGENDS

Just north of Guayaquil, in Urdesa, the ocean gives way to many restaurants that open their doors daffy to those looking for something good. The choices may seem endless, but one, Restaurante Anderson, has been serving up fine poultry, fish and meat dishes for 27 years. One of Chef Carlos Andrade's specialties there is the Lagosta Enamorada, a lobster covered in shrimp sauce accompanied with French fries. If you're not a huge seafood person, then order the Lomo Anderson, a steak covered in mushroom sauce and bacon in a red wine sauce. You might want to consider beef medallions cooked in caviar sauce.

For the more adventurous, we recommend the Pangora Crepes au gratin, an appetizer that really jumps out from the menu. When it comes to wine, there are plenty of Chilean, Argentine and European varietals. For dessert, crepes suzette, ice creams and the traditional coconut ran are sure-fire choices. Owner Elizabeth Jacome Lopez de Andrade has drawn up a world-class menu at reasonable prices. Appetizers cost only US$7 while main courses tend to go for around $14. The most expensive dish on the menu costs $33.

In a rustic colonial ranch house nested in the heart of Lima, Jose Antonio has served time-honored Peruvian classics since 1972. Now with two locations, there are more than 80 dishes on the menu, so it can be tough to know where to begin. Lunches provide the best opportunity to try the authentic offerings as business menus are lighter; on weekdays and leisurely lunches, one can indulge in more adventurous experimentation.

An excellent introduction to Peruvian cuisine is the piqueo Jose Antonio, a gargantuan platter consisting of succulent skewered beef heart, deep-fried pork, stuffed potato, tamales made of garbanzo beans and seasoned with cilantro, and fried yucca and sweet potatoes. It can easily be shared by two or three people. Complement any meal with the ubiquitous pisco sour, a pisco grape liqueur tempered with lemon juice and egg whites, dabbed with bitters.

The restaurant's entrees are Peruvian classics, served as they have been for decades, free of modern embellishments. Try the apanado, a dish consisting of breaded steak accompanied with tacu-tacu, fried banana, fried egg, and spicy onion. Lomo saltado is an all-around favorite, consisting of strips of beef stir-fried with tomatoes, chiles and onions served with crispy French fries and rice.

Those seeking lighter meals should sample the ceviche, fish marinated in lime juice, onions and peppers served with sweet potatoes and corn. The crab causa, a layered mashed-potato dish filled with avocado, crab and mayonnaise is also very satisfying. Usually ordered as appetizers and split between guests, these staple dishes make perfect light meals.

No true Peruvian meal would be complete without desserts. Try the Jose Antonio favorite, the suspiro limeno, a creamy condensed milk custard topped with meringue, or the picarrones, deep-fried sweet potato doughnuts served with sweet spiced syrup. Average price per person is $25 to $30.

--Diana de Ycaza, Margaree Bigler

BEST RESTAURANTS ANDEAN REGION

Restaurante Anderson (Guayaquil)             9.66
Jose Antonio (Lima)                          9.62
Bankers Club (Guayaquil)                     9.45
Costa Verde (Lima)                           9.40
La Trattoria de Enrico (Guayaquil)           9.34
El Club de Pesca (Cartagena)                 9.33
Astrid y Gaston (Lima)                       9.18
Lee Hamilton Steak House (Caracas)           9.08
Portofino (Guayaquil)                        8.89
La Rosa Nautica (Lima)                       8.78