The hotel has only been open since 2016 which means everything within still feels new and shiny. However what the hotel captures so perfectly is the colours and flavours of Mexico.
From the moment you arrive at the 119 room resort, guests are welcomed by a colourful tapestry of Huichol art - a bright blue and green tiled walkway that appears to lead all the way from the front door straight into the Pacific Ocean. The colors and scenes depicted within the design are inspired by the Huichol people who are indigenous to this area of Mexico.
Guests are greeted with whimsical scenes true to Mexican culture. Mexican wrestling masks (Lucha Libre); historical figures with surfboards; mariachi instruments; sayings such as “Mexico es Amor” and “Canta y No Lllores” translating to
Sing and Don’t Cry (a line from a famous local song which highlights the culture’s upbeat disposition) are artfully embedded into the hotel’s design.
The room is similarly decorated with a blast of Mexican colour from beautifully hand-stitch cushions and to stunning silver tin around the bed - giving the room a unique and charming local feel. The design is apparently inspired by that found in local churches
The walls are also quirky, decorated with the occasional figure from Mexico’s revolutionary war, although instead of carrying a rifle, they’re depicted carrying surfboards or boomboxes. The pictures are cleverly incorporated into the décor of each room repurposed vintage Mexican photographs of historical figures, such as Frida Kahlo, by Revolución Del Sueño. What a twist!
The resort has several different settings for its rooms of which I got to experience two types. The first is that of a jungle setting. Individual room are set among the foliage making for a very green and shady retreat. However, we found the room hard to reach with a small baby and so were moved to a more preferable location overlooking the ocean.
The room was differently again. Colourful and quirky only with an enormous terrace and private swimming pool. From the bed I could see the Pacific glistening away in the sunshine with a couple of palm trees swaying back and forth in the gentle breeze. Each morning I merely had to press a button to have the automatic curtains draw back to reveal the stunning vista.
The breakfast buffet is mere steps away with a superb array of offerings from fruit, meat and cheeses to other Mexican dishes such as chilaquiles (nacho chips cooked in red or green salsa) or even quesadillas (cheese and vegetables cooked in a tortilla).
Although the resort appears to vast in size, the rooms are situated around a lake or the beach. It means that the restaurant, pool and beach are all very close to one another.
During the day, I was able to pick between slumbering on my balcony with the plunge pool or sitting on a daybed by the long swimming pool. Just a few feet further and the soft sands of the beach were just moments away. The ease with which you can move between the beach and pool is definitely a plus.
On the weekend we were at the resort, it was a holiday weekend and there was a DJ by the pool on the Saturday day. It was clubby in its style, but yet there appeared to be hardly anyone in the pool enjoying the beats!
But worse was a ten-hour “rave” on the Sunday night. As the name suggests, this involved extremely loud music for hours on end. The music grew louder as it got later and we could ever hear it in our room some distance away. It made for a particularly loud few days - and there really was no way to avoid the music! In my view, this actually spoiled the ambiance of the place. The guests at the party had only come for that alone and were not staying at the hotel. I feel as though this should have been brought to our attention before coming to the hotel.
On the Monday, everything was calm again and there was just ambient music playing in the background. The difference was astonishing.
I realise that W appeals to a youthful and party-goer type of guest, but I also believe we should have been told before staying at the property, not so much about the Saturday event as this happens weekly, but certainly about the rave to which it was mainly out-of-hotel guests who were in attendance.
We were not the only people to complain. I heard dozens of guests with families moan about the loud music to which they were subjected to. Many received big discounts from their bill.
I’ve always enjoyed the W Brand of hotels, and although it is aimed at the younger end of the market, there were plenty of older people at the hotel (including those with families) who were not interested in this music. Ambient sound is one thing, but having it played all day long is exhausting!
Despite the incessant background accompaniment, it was still very relaxing to enjoy the beach, pool and perfect weather. For dinner, one night, we headed to Spice Market where the food was of an excellent quality with Asian and Indian influences. At one point there were outposts of the chain in London and New York, but now only Doha and this one remain.
One of the great benefits of staying at a resort like the W Punta de Mita is that there really is no explicit reason to have to leave the property for the entire duration of your stay. Everything is catered towards fulfilling guests needs. Room service runs 24hours if visitors don’t fancy the Asian or the Mexican restaurants on site.
Coupled with the idyllic year-round weather, it makes the transition back to reality when it is time to leave, all the more difficult - but I would definitely return, just not when it is time for an all-weekend rave!0
In terms of the food we thought Spice Market and the breakfast was exceptional… really well done. Lots of choice and beautifully set out.
Now some criticisms of the place....
What really DOES need work is the service around the pool area.
I really found this to be quite poor compared to other luxury properties in Mexico. Staff were not very attentive at all. It was hard to get their attention for drinks and food service and once food had been served, they wouldn’t come back for top ups of bottled water or to even check if we were enjoying everything. These are such simple things to correct.
I know this might sound surprising because there are a lot of staff situated around the pool area…. So you would think the entire area would be covered…. but trust me, it’s not.
It’s almost a situation where some of the staff seem to be on the lookout to help but in actual fact they are staring off into the distance and not noticing what needs to be done right in front of them.
I also found it quite nasty that empty drink cups and bottles would just be left for ages around the pool and Jacuzzi area. I know that they are plastic and not necessarily dangerous but it just looks untidy.
Some people would even eat ice cream, or whatever, and then leave the bowls at the side. It would be quite some time before they would be cleared away.
I just think the service needs to be slicker, sharper and more attentive in that regard.
The same is true at the main restaurant for dinner where we ate. The service was terribly slow and took ages for a simple tortilla soup to be delivered.
When the food did come, it arrived all at once! The staff brought a soup, fish and pizza all together! Totally ridiculous.
The fish was sent back but obviously by the time it was brought back, it was still warm but was dry. Very disappointing.
Also, we had some kind of creepy crawlies enter the room each night. About six centipedes/millipedes or caterpillars could be seen crawling around each night.
I think for a $300+/night room that there should be a greater effort made to combat such insects.
