St. Regis Punta Mita Review: Riviera Nayarit, Mexico

The St. Regis Punta Mita
Lote H-4, Carretera Federal 200, km 19.5
Punta de Mita, Nayarit Mexico
Tel: (52)(329)291 5800

Book Direct: Marriott
Check Other Rates: Booking.com, Orbitz, Priceline
Read More Reviews: TripAdvisor
Award Category for Using Points: Marriott Category 7

St Regis Punta Mita Review

Our journey to the St. Regis Punta Mita began with a connecting flight into Puerto Vallarta, a battle to get through the timeshare sales mob outside of customs, and then a short  bus ride to get the rental car.   With that, the tough part was now behind us.  We had our rental car and were now on our way to Punta de Mita for a four day getaway.

The drive began on a congested and not so scenic stretch of road outside the Puerto Vallarta Airport, but then transformed after about 15 minutes into a beautiful winding stretch of road through tunnels of trees with panaramic views of the Pacific Ocean, until we arrived 45 minutes later at the small fishing village of Punta de Mita.

My wife and I had been looking forward to this trip for quite some time.  Nothing on the agenda, just rest and relaxation!   As soon as we set foot on the St. Regis property, we knew this trip would not disappoint.

The Location:

Punta de Mita is located in Riveria Nayarit, a 200 mile stretch of Pacific Ocean Coastline just 25 miles north of Puerto Vallarta.

The town is quite nice, but there is not a whole lot to it.  Just a couple of boutiques, some great restaurants, a handful of shops and a bunch of fisherman.

The St. Regis resort is located inside a gated development of Punta Mita, on the tip of a peninsula, overlooking Banderas Bay.   Within the private development is a golf course, several restaurants, private homes and another resort,  The Four Seasons Punta Mita.

The Rooms:

The hotel has a total of 120 rooms and suites – 81 guest rooms and 10 junior suites, 16 deluxe suites and a couple of one and two bedroom suites. Most rooms and suites are part of four unit Casitas, which are spread throughout the resort property.

The property was laid out perfectly.  The Casitas, Restaurants and walkways were spread across the resort in a way that made us feel like we had the whole place to ourselves.  Having all the amenities of a large resort with a total sense of privacy at the same time, is very unique and was just what we were looking for.

We stayed in a room 4101, a Junior Suite, just a short walk away from the lobby, which was great for going to get my morning coffee service.

The rooms are all quite large and decorated with rustic Mediterranean and Mexican accents, including polished clay floors, handcrafted tiles and natural wood furnishings.

The Bathrooms had a large soaking tub and open shower.  But the best and most unique feature was definitely the outdoor shower, which is standard in all rooms and suites.

Amenities:

The hotel has a three main restaurants: Las Marietas for breakfast and lunch, Sea Breeze for lunch and dinner and Carolina, the St Regis signature restaurant for dinner.   There is also the Mita Mary on the beach which is a little oceanfront boat bistro with the freshest local seafood and catch of the day.

There are three infinity pools (one for adults and two for families) overlooking the beach with “Pool Butlers” there to serve your every need.   Complimentary buckets of bottled water are constantly filled throughout the day and various levels of sunscreen are provided so you don't have to worry about a sunburn.

Beach activities include Standup Paddle Boarding, Surfing, Snorkeling, Kayaking and Volleyball.

Or you can just kick back in a beach chair and read or watch the waves.  The view from the beach is tough to beat…  Here is a little video to give you a feel for the sounds and sights from a beach chair

There is a large Fitness Center, Spa, Tennis Courts, Golf Course, Walking and Biking trails, and a great list of complimentary daily activities such as Guacamole Classes, Spanish Lessons, Cocktail Classes and Dance Lessons.

I took the Guacamole, Bloody Mary and Margarita classes.  Each one was about 30 minutes – I loved them!

Points and Elite Status:

The St Regis Punta Mita is a Marriott category 7 hotel, which requires 60,000 Marriott Rewards points per night for a room (depending on season). If you are going to be staying for a little while, there is a fifth night free option, which provides a fifth night free when you use points for four nights.

My wife and I stayed at The St Regis Punta Mita in early October, which is their shoulder season, so I “paid” 60,000 points for a standard room – a 4 night total of 240,000.  We had the option for the fifth free night, but had to get back to the kids, so we did not take advantage of that bonus.

Upon arrival, we were upgraded to a Deluxe Suite because of my elite status.   However, I did make one mistake that potentially cost us an even better upgrade.  At the time I booked the room I had Gold Status, but earned Platinum status a couple of months before our trip.  The St Regis still had me listed as a Gold Member upon my arrival.  They quickly updated my profile and gave me the associated amenities (free breakfast for two daily, etc…) but the room had already been planned and they were sold out that night so no changes could be made.   I am not sure if it would have made a difference or not, and we had a fantastic deluxe suite, so no complaints, but I would recommend making sure the hotel has your proper status about 1 week before you arrive, just in case.

How to Stay Here with Points:

At a range of 60,000 – 70,000 points per night, there are a couple of ways you can stay at this hotel for free. The first is via staying at Marriott properties and earning points through stays. If you are going to try to earn free nights this way, make sure to check out the Milepro Marriott Promotion Page – here you will find a variety of ways to earn Marriott points and any promotions that are currently being offered to accelerate your earning power. This method will take some time, but if you are a frequent business traveler, it absolutely can be done.

The fastest way to earn free nights at this hotel is to apply for a credit card with a solid bonus offer such as the Starwood American Express Card (Read review of this card here…). I have both the Starwood personal card and Starwood business card, so I was able to get double the bonus and double the spending to earn Starpoints much faster.

The St. Regis Punta Mita
Lote H-4, Carretera Federal 200, km 19.5
Punta de Mita, Nayarit Mexico
Tel: (52)(329)291 5800

Book Direct: Marriott
Check Other Rates: Booking.com, Orbitz, Priceline
Read More Reviews: TripAdvisor
Award Category for Using Points: Marriott Category 7