forkknifespoon

Ah tough tough call! We are planning our honeymoon for mid December (checking out before xmas on 24th). Can get away for 5 nights but are in our late 20's and currently students so relying on points. We have done the SRPM 3 years ago for 2 nights.

We stayed in a base room last time so no butler, etc. Just remember it being awesome but the beach severely lacking. Remember the pools being nice and empty.

As a Platinum on a honeymoon trip, so confused on which one to book! We love the luxury service at SR but wan't to avoid kids. Also love new properties. Knowing the price point is double at SRPM makes it feel like its stupid to go to the W on points.

Any advice? The review above w/ the insane upgrade is so tempting but knowing my upgrade luck expecting basic rooms at both places. Have no SNAs. Also considering the SR Bahia or W Vieques in Puerto Rico since it's also close by. Might it be worth splitting the 5-6 nights at a STR and W vs taking the free 5th night?

jdrtravel

A few thoughts to consider:

1) all rooms at the SRPM include butler service, and AFAIK they always have.

2) The SRPM has an adults only pool & beach. We have been twice (once just last week) and were able to avoid kids the whole time.

3) The W is much farther away (not really even in Punta de Mita) from the restaurants & shops of Punta de Mita (Si Senor, etc.) and it may be more difficult to get to establishments within the gated area that are great (Sufi, Carolina).

forkknifespoon

Yeah the more I think about it, I do remember the butler. They were just not on their A game. We felt the butlers at SRDP were a lot more helpful. Have you completed your stay at the W yet? Saw you mentioned that you had it booked.

jdrtravel

We ended up switching to the STR and were very happy with our stay. I did not like that the W did not have an adults only pool, which was the big factor for me. But also the distance to the town. Our butlers were great, by the way.

boolean64

We loved both the St Regis in Punta Mita and the W Vieques. Very different vibes though. The St Regis is much more polished obviously. I thought the food and beverage options on the property were superior...full breakfast every morning for platinum vs a continental breakfast from the coffee shop at the W. Better main restaurant, and the beach restaurant that cooks fish tacos was my jam. That being said, it was also more expensive.

The W Vieques was, i thought, a smaller property and definitely very W-esque. The pool scene had a DJ all the time and the lobby/living room was a fun place to hang out and get a drink and a snack. My wife likened the living room to a "hostel for 1%-ers" since there were board games and such. The puddle jumper from SJU to Vieques is a bit of a pain but then again i guess so is the hour or so drive from PVR to punta mita.

There are great restaurants easily accessible to both properties (although the drive into town at the W is a bit longer but you can always get a taxi for i think $10 a person).

Both are gorgeous properties. Definitely can't go wrong. Overall, i would do the W for your honeymoon as it's a bit more age appropriate now (you can always go to the St Regis later. at some point you have to stop going to Ws) and since you're students i think it will be cheaper...at least the restaurants off property.

I would NOT go to the SR Bahia Beach. In the middle of nowhere and much much stuffier than the other two options.

forkknifespoon

This is really helpful! I think we are going with Punta Mita - the question now is the new W or the SRPM. Too bad we can't split the week while still taking advantage of the free 5th night Also, price matters much less since it's on points and the Plat brekkie at SRPM would cover two meals for us each day. We love new properties, but we love suite upgrades and free breakfast more.

PowayRecon

Wonder how SR Punta Mita is now that Carl (GM) went to Cancun. Was awesome when he was running the place.

jdrtravel

It is still very good, was just there last week. We did, however, have a couple of minor issues. I am working on a trip report that I will post in the SRPM thread in a day or two. Personally I am not a big fan of the W brand (feels a little too Las Vegas for me), and we were overall very happy with our stay (but there is some room for improvement).

JBauer

Just completed our second visit to this property -- we first went 6 months ago for New Years and were upgraded (with another family) from a basic room to the enormous Extreme Wow Suite. So however could we not come back?

This time around we visited with four families from LA -- all with kids. I booked two rooms on points and applied SNA for an upgrade from a basic room. Both rooms were upgraded several levels to an Ocean Front Haven Suite (one family paid $250 a night to upgrade, so nice SNA value here). They are fantastic rooms perched over the ocean with a private plunge pool that is very warm. Only one big room, but has a step-down living room. While you sleep you hear the waves crashing on the beach. The bathroom is also great. You shower in front of a huge one-way window looking out to the sea (or you better hope it's one way).

This is a great property and perfect for adults who want to have fun and are bringing little kids --- great and attentive Kids Club. The grounds are small and safe so your kids can run around while you keep watch. Our 7 year-old could even walk back to the room himself from the beach.

Previous complaint stands -- for those enjoying the Platinum breakfast, this is very unwieldy and confusing. You get only breakfast for 2 -- so you have to pay for kids. But one day my wife didn't eat and at first they refused to allow one of my kids to have one of the adult platinum breakfasts. That was sorted. Other days we got charged randomly for coffee, French Toast etc...Let's just say we were there four days and have four different amounts charged to us for breakfast (some in our favor). Just confusing.

bhrubin

We will be staying at the StR while friends are here at the W. We plan to spend one day here at the W with them, hopefully in a cabana.

Are there any special cabana locations that people recommend? I assume there is an adults only pool with cabanas.

Is Spice Market restaurant viewed favorably as a good fine dining venue?

How's the beach here? I've read mixed things. The beach at the StR is nice at high tide but quite rocky (yet very scenic) at low tide.

Regardless, I can't wait to see this property. I love the SPG combo.

EuropeanPete

I spent last weekend at the W Punto de Mita as hotel #2 on my mini W tour. In short, I really liked this resort and would probably say of all the W's it's my favourite I've been to (I've been to almost every contender with the exception of the Maldives and Bali resorts).

The resort itself is somewhat in the middle of nowhere, so the W makes most sense if you intend to spend a lot of time on site. There are three main types of building arranged in a triangle around the resort. In ascending attractiveness these are: Jungle Escape (at the back-side of the resort), Ocean view escape (on a line of hills facing the water), Oceanfront havens (right by the ocean - possibly with a few Spectacular Ocean View Escapes next to them).

I booked a Jungle Escape and as a Plat Ambassador got an upgrade to a Wonderful Ocean View Escape. I was hoping for a grander upgrade, but I didn't try to use SNAs and I've always believed in booking the room that you want, so it was enough. The room is nice enough, with a toilet room, sink in the main room and separate shower and double bath feature overlooking the ocean (definitely the highlight of the room). There was also a day bed facing the ocean and a small outside area at the back with a couple of chairs. As someone else has noticed, only the compound main door is lockable rather than your room itself, so anyone who wanted to could just hop over the wall and get in your room. I didn't like that, but I got the impression the entire area was quite secure.

F&B was solid, with good service by the pool and some great food in the beachside ceviche place. Service was great, with a couple small issues (including me leaving my sunglasses lying around) rapidly and professionally dealt with by friendly staff who seem to make extensive use of in-ear communications so that you're often expected and greeted by name whenever you go somewhere else in the resort.

Not having been to the St Regis Punto de Mita I can't directly make a comparison, but I will say that the W really lives up to the W's "fun" values rather than trying to mix with luxury. There's a bubble machine generating bubbles on Saturday's champagne pool afternoon and every hour or so one of the pool attendants fills up a fake weed killer machine with dodgy shots and goes around offering people them. If you are hoping for a more traditional luxury resort experience, the W might not hit the spot for you.

Overall, I really liked this resort and hope to go back around soon. There is the caveat that the hotel obviously caters to exactly my demographic and interests, but otherwise I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is thinking of giving it a try.

EuropeanPete

There is one pool which does mean you have kids around. There are some double day beds which AFAIK aren't bookable and no real cabanas (like you'd get in Vegas or Miami Beach).

I ate at Spice Market because I'm currently spending my weekdays somewhere without any Asian food. It was good as far as pan-Asian cuisine goes, but I don't think that pan-Asian is ever especially worthwhile.

I'd say it's suitable for an evening when you want to eat somewhere pleasant with table service, but I would not personally categorize it as a fine dining venue. I hear that Mexicans rate the F&B on the Four Seasons quite highly, so that could be an option if you want to leave the St Regis for dinner.

The W beach has a full on surfer vibe and had a lot of surfers staying at the hotel when I was there. The waves were a bit rough for me to want to go in the water given the choice of that or the pool. The beach was attractive enough with sand and some daybeds and chairs facing the ocean, but it's not something that will leave you with memories compared to destinations marketing themselves as beach holidays.

UKTraveller4Fun

Just wondering as the place sounds quite isolated how far is the nearest supermarket or shop if your wanting to stock up on water / coke etc? Guessing not walking distance!

jdrtravel

You'd have to drive into Punta de Mita, about 20 min, which is worth doing to go out to dinner, etc, but not worth it for coke IMO. I've not stayed at the property but I assume water is complimentary like it is at the St. Regis?

UKTraveller4Fun

I am heading here soon and have read there is no currency exchange at the hotel.

I was wondering how it works on tipping and if they include it on the bill or am I going to need quite a bit of USD or possibly Peso while here for restaurants / pool service etc!

Any thoughts would be appreciated.