Stayed for seven nights on the (not currently available) stay 3, pay 2 offer.

Tents: 9/10. The hard product here is just outstanding. At less than a year old, I expected everything to be very new and no issues with wear and tear, and there were (almost) none. I would say that the stain on the wooden decking was suffering a bit (not sure if there is any solution in the high sun/salt environment they are in). Overall, the "tents" are incredibly spacious, with indoor and outdoor showers, a nice plunge pool -- with grand tents having a larger plunge pool, and an outdoor fire pit. The bathroom is enormous, there is lots of storage space in the wardrobe and the bed is typical 4S super comfortable. The screened in living room space was somewhat less useful. I can see the point in rainy season, but it was otherwise useless as far as we were concerned. The grand tent really only gives you a bigger plunge pool, and the outdoor fire area with seating, as well as a bit more space inside in the bedroom and bathroom areas. Overall they are awesome. Comfortable, quiet (as is the whole resort). My one wish is that there was a bit more of a sense of place. It is pretty standard 4S decor (high end 4S, but nevertheless). If you couldn't see outside you wouldn't know you are in Mexico. That is a negative for me. But I would say that about just about every 4S. It is my biggest gripe with the chain: they are a bit generic, and tend to lack local identity.

Privacy: 10/10. Privacy overall is amazing. Short of renting your own villa at the adjacent 4S Punta Mita, and never going outside, you aren't going to get better privacy than this. Most days we were the only people using the beach (which is, barely, swimmable). Likewise, whenever we were at the pool, there was never more than one other couple there. And even if the hotel was at full occupancy, there is enough long space for all. The villas are very private. It isn't fair to say you can never see another villa, but with the exception of #5 (which is oddly exposed to the pool area) I don't think anybody would hesitate to wander around dishabille if that is your thing. The restaurant was the only place we ever saw more than one other couple. Yes the resort seemed to be less than 50% occupancy while we were there, but privacy is exceptionally good.

Food: 10/10. F&B was one of the big highlights for me. The food was stellar, and there was no menu (which meant they served a "special" which was 4 courses at dinner, or you could substitute, or order whatever you want). We just let Chef Sophia and her team do their thing except for one night, and didn't regret it at all. For breakfast and lunch, the approach is the same: there is a special, or you can order whatever you want. Everything was fantastic. The beverage selection was good. (They are trying hard to lean into Mexican wines for dinner, and... well, I am not sure if they really live up to my expectations of a wine for fine dining. A few of them did, more of them did not. But you can order from their wine list, which is very reasonable.) Champagne was included, think Taittinger rather than Bollinger Grand Annee. Tequiqulas and mezcals were very well represented, with some really impressive bottles being on offer. And anything we requested was delicious and made right. A couple of dishes (pork belly with 3 pepper sauce) were absolutely incredible.

Service: 9/10. Overall service as fantastic. Some employees are absolutely exceptional. It was always attentive, always friendly, never slow. For those that might worry, service is really of a high North American standard, not a high island time standard. The only gap here for me was the butler/guide. As with many places, they seemed to struggle with finding value for this role. I would also say it was maybe less well executed than some other places we have been (they didn't check in every afternoon or dinner for 2 minutes to confirm the next day's activities, for instance). It was also like pulling teeth to get the daily activity schedule out of them (for no reason I could see or understand). And the 4S communication/chat app is a bit weird in that it really only allows one name/device to chat in a reservation with the hotel. For general requests and what not, I can see why many places with butlers use WhatsApp... it just works better. Also housekeeping was excellent at everything but being invisible. I will say we had one hiccup which lead to the best service recovery I have ever had at any hotel, ever. It was flawless, immediate, and required no prompting or complaining on our part. It was just taken care of, and handled perfectly.

Overall: 9.5/10. This is a bit of a tough one to score for me. I found the resort was maybe struggling to find their identity a bit. Is it a wellness resort? (They have lots of great wellness activities, but not every day.) And if they are it is odd the menu or specials don't have a "wellness" or "healthy" choice or alternative. There definitely isn't much of a Mexican character or identity outside of F&B and the Tezmazcal offering. Which is too bad. It is really a case of the whole being just the sum of the parts. I was hoping that at some point it would become more than the sum of the parts, or that I would start to get it. But I don't think there is any "it" to get. It is a really great small hotel. But I think it is reasonable at this price point to expect an "it". Even some local/cultural gifts at night for instance (they way Amans used to do). Something that elevates the property from "merely" doing everything right, to be something really special and unique. Even some live music would have gone a long way here (a solo Spanish guitarist would have been so nice, instead of the generic pop played in the restaurant.) I am also happy to relax on a beach and read and spend time with my partner; but if you need to be active all the time you might struggle to do that, on property, for more than 3 or 4 days.

Value: This one is tough. I debated even discussing value here. It is relative. I imagine there are lots of potential customers for whom the price is no more significant than that of a coffee. However, the flip side of that is that I don't know too many people who are willing to pay more than they need to (for anything). Naviva is about as expensive as it gets for a non-villa hotel in Mexico, or a non-city property in North America for that matter. So is it worth it? Here is where I landed: it is (probably/mostly) worth it relative to the prices at the 4S and the Auberge and others nearby. You could easily spend 75% (give or take) of the price of Naviva and end up with a lot less at the 4S a mile away. So if it was a choice between a suite at the 4S and Naviva, I would pick Naviva every time. And it is a short flight and more or less the same time zone as a huge number of potential customers. For me, that is also a huge plus. The older I get, the less I want to fly to the Maldives or Amanpulo or Fiji just to get away and relax. I will, gladly, but the threshold for taking the trip is higher. So in that context the prices are, probably, barely justifiable. But if you don't find the travel to a more distant location a negative, I have to say I think you can do better (maybe not a lot better, but better): The Brando, or Laucala, or like properties. If you don't need a beach, Nimmo Bay looks like a steal relatively speaking. (I don't, so I think Nimmo is *much* better value). So while we would go back, we would probably be reluctant to commit at their current rates (bearing in mind you have to add 28% give or take to the published rate, 13% of which is a staff "tip" which is... what it is) for anything more than a long weekend.

If anybody has any questions, I will do my best to answer them if I can.