Originally Posted by
jcherney
As an aside- we stayed at the FS next door 4 years ago. The service and facilities were top notch. I went back there during this trip to look at their new condos-and things have changed dramatically and not for the better. In the last 4 years they have added approx 65-70 rooms, multiple private residences, and 3 buildings full of fractional condos. And they have not significantly increased the pool areas near the beach. The crowding that I saw when we were there was shocking compared to our previous stay. Felt more like a mega resort than a FS property. I was NOT impressed in the least.
It's late, and I'm sure I'll have more to add later on.
P.S. For those of you not familiar with the area, it's about 45-60 minutes from Puerto Vallarta, and there are only 3 resorts/ hotels within this distance-in fact, all are within 3 miles from each other- The St Regis, The Four Seasons, and Hotel des Artiste (which doesn't compare to the other two). Trying to move during this holiday season was not an option for those wishing to do so-rooms simply didn't exist.
I spent New Year's at my family's villa in Punta Mita and noticed a lot of new construction since the last time I was there in April. The pool areas at the hotel may not have increased, but there have been significant increases to beach facilities over the past few years (including pools) and they will continue to grow. FS villa and time share owners have access to all of the private beach clubs in Punta Mita (there are currently four, including the FS hotel facilities). While most may prefer using the hotel's facilities, several use the other facilities. Some of the time shares are actually closer to the resident beach club than the hotel, anyway.
Personally, I don't think overcrowding is a recent issue - I spent a lot of time at the FS while the villa was being built and remember the pool area being crowded even four or five yeras ago. I actually felt like I saw many fewer people than usual at the beach facilities (both at the hotel and elsewhere) over the past week.
There is also a fourth hotel that recently opened on the road from La Paz to Punta Mita. It's called Los Veneros. Haven't been but they have taken out a lot of ads in the PV area.
As a final note, we were interested to observe that St. Regis guests do not receive the same reception as Four Season and resident guests at the golf and tennis clubs (they cannot charge fees to their rooms, etc.). Even though the clubs have been renamed "Club Punta Mita" instead of the "Four Seasons Golf Club", the change seems to have been in name only.