Review: Conrad Punta de Mita | Hilton Honors
- Beach
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Booking
The cost to stay at the Conrad Punta de Mita was $3,811 USD for 4 nights including taxes (about $5,250 CAD) or 95,000 Hilton points per night.
Fortunately, we had four Hilton Free Night Award certificates which we were able to use which we had received from the US-issued Hilton American Express cards, such as the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card. We used these to pay for our entire stay so we didn’t need to use any points or money. If you were going to use points, it’s best to stay five nights so you can get the fifth night free.
Location
The Conrad Punta de Mita is located on a beautiful west-facing stretch of beach. It’s about a 50-minute drive to the airport in Puerto Vallarta. Resorts in this area are fairly secluded so you’ll want to rent a car if you want to explore the area much. Ubers can be difficult to acquire, and the taxis booked through the hotels are very expensively priced.
Arrival & Check-In
The hotel main building is actually of quite an ordinary design. Fortunately everything on the inside and the grounds are quite beautiful.
The reception and lobby area are downright gorgeous with many comfortable seating areas, an in-lobby bar, multiple reception desks, and Mexican artwork on display.
Since we were using Hilton Free Night Awards, we had booked the base room of a Partial Ocean View King. This also had a pullout bed which our kids could use. But due to my Hilton Diamond status, we were given a massive upgrade to an Ocean View Superior Suite King. As a family with young kids this extra space is always hugely appreciated.
Ocean View Superior Suite King
Our room was simply massive at 1735 square feet, or 160 square meters. The entryway consisted of a closet with mini-bar fridge, complimentary bottled water and glassware, along with a dining table for 4 people. The rest of the room had an L-shaped couch which doubled as a queen pull-out bed, TV, coffee table, and an additional chair and storage drawers. There was a coffee/tea setup with Nespresso coffee, and a welcome cake for my daughter and I who were both celebrating our birthday around this time.
Just off the entryway was a half bath featuring one sink and toilet.
The bedroom was tastefully decorated and featured an extremely comfortable king-size bed, a sitting area with chairs and small table, another large TV, plenty of drawers for storage, and a massive walk-in closet which also had an ironing board, in-room safe, and bathrobes & slippers.
The bathroom was large and luxurious with double sinks, a bathtub, a separate small room for the toilet, toiletries from Byredo, and the largest all-marble hotel shower I have ever been in! This had not just one, but two rainfall shower heads.
Both the main room and bedroom opened up through glass sliding doors onto a huge and well-furnished balcony overlooking the resort and ocean.
Overall we were thrilled with our suite. It was beautiful, spacious, very comfortable, and such a tremendous value considering this was all thanks to simply using free night certificates from a credit card. Our only regret starting out was not having booked for a longer stay!
Grounds and pools
The resort is spread over a huge property and is pretty stunning. From the palm-tree studded walkways, to manicured flower beds, to the white sand beach, and the endless pools and hot tubs, you can spend a lot of time here if you’re looking for some high quality chillout time. The pools themselves are separated into an adult-only area and a family area, complete with kids splash pad, toddler shallow-water pool, and a full waterslide! There is a huge amount of very comfortable seating, and some cabanas you can also rent. I’m not sure why you’d want to though, since the complimentary seating is plentiful, have umbrellas, and very prompt service for food and drinks both around the pool and on the beach.
Dining
The hotel has multiple options for restaurants. The main restaurant, and the one where breakfast is served, is called Arbol. The breakfast here just knocks it out of the ballpark. There is beautiful inside and outside seating, and an incredible buffet. There’s a pretty standard buffet inside, but outside on the terrace there are multiple stations with some Mexican themes which have delicious options and some of which are cooked to order. There’s a station for chilaquiles, quesadillas (these were my favourite), Mexican stews, seasonal fresh fruit and yogurt, and even a kids station with cereal, crepes, and other assorted treats for children. We loved coming here every morning! Since my wife and I are both Diamond members, we received $19 USD credit for each of us every day towards our food bill.
Mezquite was another family favourite where we ate supper twice. It specializes in grilled food, especially seafood, and is served outside with some tables being right on the beach so you can eat with your toes in the sand and watch the sunset over the Pacific ocean.
Paleta is the poolside restaurant open during the day and is very family-friendly. Kids eat for free at the hotel when with an adult which can help out with your food budget with what is otherwise quite a hefty expense. They have little tables perfect for small children to sit at, but you can also order from their kitchen right by the pool or on the beach.
For cocktails, there is a swim-up bar in the adults pool open during the day, and the Tuki lounge in the lobby open all day and in the evening.
Since we had a large suite with dining table and full terrace, we also ordered room service a couple of times. Service came within 45 minutes of ordering.
On the lobby level, there is a coffee counter attached to the gift shop called Colibri. You can order coffee drinks here, in addition to picking up items like pastries & sweets, liquor, beer, coke, and various snacks.
There is also a high-end restaurant called Codex, agave tastings, and private dining options available. Since we had our kids with us we didn’t try these out.
Overall the food was simply outstanding. It was quite expensive as you’d expect in a 5-star resort, but delicious in every single outlet with terrific service along with it.
While the food was expensive, it wasn’t an outright terrible value considering its high quality along with great service. Also the fact that kids eat free and getting a $38 USD daily dining credit due to Diamond status does help out. What really is a stinger though is the price of the drinks. Margaritas aren’t expensive to make, especially in Mexico, and cocktail prices around $25 USD each are just way overpriced.
Facilities & Service
The resort has a terrific kids club which is complementary. Advance registration is required. After you arrive you can go visit them and see the schedule for the week. You can sign up your kids for whatever activities they’d be interested in doing. Our girls had a great time there, and was in fact the first time they ever felt really comfortable being away from their parents for a couple hours at a time and were excited to return again.
Next door there is a games room with activities like foosball, pool, video games, and table tennis. This would be a useful place on a rainy day.
There is a gym on site with a decent collection of equipment. Towels, yoga mats, water, and fruit are available inside.
Lastly, there is a gorgeous spa next to the gym. An entire range of services is on offer including hair and nail treatments in addition to body care and massages. But there’s a lot more to it than that – it’s a massive complex with hot tubs and saunas in the changing areas, and an entire pool and hot tub complex outside.
There’s even a Temazcal ceremony available. This is a description from the hotel’s website: “This is a sacred tradition for the Huichol people of Western Mexico — and a transformative wellness experience for you. A local healer guides you through this soulful journey, which takes place in a dome-shaped earthen chamber heated with stones. You’ll emerge stimulated, detoxified, and restored.”
Service was excellent the entire stay. Mexican hospitality is pretty great in general, and everyone we met was very friendly and helpful. Just look at this epic housekeeping: Every day they would perfectly make up our daughter’s pull-out couch, fold their pajamas, and even wrap/cover their dolls and stuffed animals!
The evening turndown service would even include little gifts reflecting either Mexican culture or something about the local area.
- Annual fee
- $120
- Our valuationMilesopedia first-year estimate First-year valueWelcome bonus$600Total$600Plus $100 of bonus paid after the first year, not counted in this total.Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.
- $600
- Welcome offerAfter $3,000 in 3 months
- Up to 70,000 points
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Hotel Fact Sheet
| Parking | Complimentary | Breakfast included with room | No |
| Pool | Yes | Rooms with balconies | Yes |
| Spa | Yes | Rooms with kitchenette | No |
| Gym | Yes | USB plugs in room | Yes |
| Restaurant | Yes | Smart TV | Yes |
| Accepts animals | Yes – $50 per pet, per stay | Shower/Bath | Depends on room type |
| Executive lounge | No |
Conclusion
The Conrad Punta de Mita was a resort that none of us wanted to leave. There are endless amenities here from the multiple restaurants and bars, to the various pools and hot tubs, gym, huge spa, game room and kids club, and the waterslide which my kids must have gone down 100 times a day.
The food is delicious. While it’s expensive, it’s on par with what you’d expect at a 5-star beachfront resort in Mexico, although the price of drinks was too high. The service was top-notch, the rooms are very comfortable, and we were very appreciative of our suite upgrade. The cash rates are very high here, but it’s a decent deal staying with points, and even better if you can use Hilton Free Night Awards. We will definitively be back!
Keep reading with our experience with our W Hotel Punta de Mita review:
