The St. Regis Punta Mita Resort

“Once again....simply divine!”

I believe this resort has become my husband and myself's "Go-To" place for RnR, pampering and zen. This is our second time at this resort and better than our last visit in November 2022. I will also preface to say, that I am familiar with this area, having stayed at the Four Seasons (1X) and Hacie… more

I believe this resort has become my husband and myself's "Go-To" place for RnR, pampering and zen. This is our second time at this resort and better than our last visit in November 2022. I will also preface to say, that I am familiar with this area, having stayed at the Four Seasons (1X) and Hacienda de Mita (several times.)I should also mention that I used to frequent Hawaii every year, but the longer flights from western Canada vs. a shorter direct flight has helped to make this locale our new favourite. ARRIVAL: Wonderful front entry greeting with some very gracious staff. We were escorted to the new lobby (was still under construction when we were last there.) We were escorted to a lobby table overlooking the incredible view of the waterway, adult pool and ocean where our front end associate sat down with us to check us in while we were served the most delicious non-alcoholic cocktail. What a lovely refresher......I wish I had the recipe! After the formalities and the credit card being run through for approval, we were escorted to a golf cart with our luggage to begin our little journey to our casita. I will also preface, that I am a Platinum Elite Bonvoy member and thank you, we did receive an upgrade from garden view to ocean view room. CASITA: We were in room 4201, the same room as our last stay! I had requested it for this vacay as we found the location to the adult pool, the lobby, the spa, Mariettas for breakfast, to be a great location for us. Since we last visited, the room has been refreshed. I like it but with some reservations. Positives: new head board, sideboard for TV and bar, clean and new outdoor furniture, better outdoor shower floor tiling, and thank you for keeping the terra cotta tiles (LOVE..do not ever remove.) I also really appreciated the addition of a Nespresso machine in the room. We are early risers, and on our last stay, we had to wait forever to have the butler deliver the coffee. This was definitely a welcome addition. Negatives: the desk has been removed and replaced with chair and a chaise lounge, inside shower with marble floor is still so slippery when wet....again, an accident waiting to happen....just bypass and use the outdoor shower with better traction on floor. Our bellman delivered our luggage to our room and we were ready to unpack and start our vacation. I do have to mention that the steps that lead up and down to Casitas are very narrow without handrails and definitely caution is needed to navigate especially in the evening. I think ST. Regis should step up and install some handrails. (Check older review where a guest broke both of her ankles!) Caution is certainly advised! RESTAURANTS (ON AND OFF SITE): Mita Mary (onsite) OK! YAY! our first evening at our little piece of heaven! I had made a reservation at Mita Mary's. YAY! we loved this restaurant on our last visit and dined there for many dinners and many lunches. It was a little "real" but luxury authentic Mexican that we both adored as did many guests. In 2022, there was the "boat" bar and food preparation with the open air grill right there on the beach. AMAZING! NOW GONE!!!!!!!! Whaaaaaaaaaaat?????? I had been so looking forward to enjoying their amazing fish tacos with a skinny margherita while wiggling my toes in the sand and watching the amazing sunset. Yeup, sadly no more. Sure, we could sit at a table with our feet in the sand, but the atmosphere had disappeared. A New Mita Mary's restaurant, that I believe was trying to set itself as nore upscale and has failed miserably. Do not get me wrong, the staff was amazing and the open air restaurant looked beautiful. HOWEVER! THERE WAS NOT ANY KIND OF TACO ON THE MENU, NO OPEN AIR GRILL! Yes, so the waiter realized that my aghast expression, was not one of pleasure. I am not that Karen, but St. Regis just lost my future $$ at this restaurant. To be fair, the manager did come over and offered to have the chef make my favourite shrimp or fish tacos on another evening with some notice. Thank you and no thank you. While I appreciated the offer, the magic of our amazing Mexican dinners at the St. Regis was lost. We never returned during our 10 day stay. So very very sad to take away this wonderful experience from guests. Tuna Blanc: (in town) Amazing as always! The Caeser salad, the tuna tostada (SOOOOOOOO good!) and shrimp prepared tableside were worth a repeat visit. The view is fantastic, the staff is very attentive with the combination of great food make this restaurant a continuing favourite. ( We made sure to do a repeat during our 10 day visit.) Sufi: (Within gates of Punta Mita) We love, love, love this restaurant! It is located at a condo complex within the gate of Punta Mita. The shrimp tagliatelle is so good. The view and waitstaff are amazing. We had a second visit........ :) Minas: (in town) A fun large Mexican restaurant that occupies a wide expanse of beach! Waitstaff is great and fun, food is fresh and amazing, and margheritas are delish. We dined here for dinner and for lunch (after returning from a Marietas Islands snorkeling tour.) Definitely, this place is a high recommend! Lobster Paradise: (in town) JUST DO NOT GO!! AWFUL. Please see my separate review under restaurants. Las Marietas Restaurant: (on site) We enjoyed a lovely breakfast here every morning. Everything from fresh fruit and juices, pastries, salads, cold cuts, eggs, bacon etc to the station that prepared made to order omelettes. Very good and enjoyable. We also had a dinner here, and it was good but not outstanding. Zicatelas: (off site) OK, nothing amazing. This restaurant was a bit of a drive from our resort. Really, not worth it. Pass. Sakana: (on site) $$ but excellent sushi. This restaurant is also the bar for adult pool service. I cannot say enough about the amazing waiters and barkeeps at this establishment! While we were at the adult pool (upstairs area-my zen space overlooking the ocean ....sigh) , the gracious waiters, never failed to check in with us to move our umbrellas, bring more water bottles in fresh ice, offer light refreshing bites, and kept our bevvies refreshed. THIS IS THE REASON WE WILL RETURN! I love this pool area! DEPARTURE AND FINAL THOUGHTS: A final check of our bill was viewed online in pesos. No problem with the conversion. However, we did notice a small charge from our in room bar. We knew that this was not possible, as we had the butler remove everything from the fridge so that we could put our own items in it. No problem, it was corrected. We found the butler service to be much improved compared to our last visit in November 2022. They were very attentive and punctual and very easy to reach by text. Kudos to the butler team! Suggestions to St. Regis Management ( if they are reading) -Alert your guests prior to arriving and making final payment, that renovations are occuring in certain areas. For example, on our previous stay, we were aware (ON THE WEBSITE) that the lobby and Las Marietas Pool area and some casitas were undergoing renovation. Ok, fair. We were aware while we were making our reservation that this would be happening. No problem. We made the decision to come. HOWEVER, there was certainly not a notice on their website or when we arrived that the gym was undergoing renovations. The resort moved the gym to a conference room with equipment piled in a windowless room! WHaat? Note: Before it is an explanation, after it is an excuse. Guests of St. Regis caliber appreciate transparency. VERY DISAPPOINTING. -HANDRAILS ON OUTSIDE STAIRS, PLEASE! -BRING BACK SOME SEMBLANCE OF THE OLD MITA MARY WITH THE FISH TRUCK COMING IN BEFORE LUNCH! SOOOOOOOOO SAD........... -APPLY SOME SORT TO NON-SLIP FLOOR APPLICATION TO INSIDE MARBLE SHOWERS. CONCLUSION: Will I return? Absolutely! It is the wonderful staff in the staff and all around Mexico that help to make the St. Regis such a special place to visit. We really enjoyed our vacation and appreciated the new lobby and the new pool. I have definitely changed my holiday plans from Hawaii to Mexico because of the wonderful Mexican people. We will definitely return (maybe in April.) Happy and Safe Travels.

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