Review: W Punta de Mita
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Booking
The cost to stay at the W Punta de Mita was $2,420 USD including tax or 164,000 Bonvoy points for 3 nights .
We opted for the points rate. The value was not only good for using points, but I was actually able to offset most of the cost of this using free night certificates. For two of the nights I used 35,000 points certificates + 15,000 points top-up. These certificates I got from holding the Marriott Bonvoy® American Express®* Card and the Marriott Bonvoy® American Express®* Business Card. The third night was 64,000 points which I paid for with an 85,000 points certificate which I had for holding the US-issued Bonvoy Brilliant American Express card .
| Credit card | Annual fee | Welcome offer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| $150 | |||
| $120 |
Get Marriott Bonvoy Points
The best way to earn Marriott Bonvoy points for free stays at more than 7,000 hotels around the world is with the Marriott Bonvoy® American Express®* Card (and/or the Marriott Bonvoy® Business American Express®* Card).
In addition to the great welcome bonus on both cards, you’ll earn 2 points per dollar on all purchases and 5 points per dollar at Marriott locations. And each year, you’ll earn a certificate for one free hotel stay (35,000 point value) and 15 Elite nights toward your Marriott Bonvoy status.
| Credit card | Annual fee | Welcome offer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| $150 |
Location
The W Punta de Mita is located right on a semi-private white sand beach about 45 minutes west of Puerto Vallarta. There isn’t a whole lot else in the immediate vicinity, so if you’ll be wanting to explore the area it would be best to rent a car. Ubers are difficult to get here, and the taxis offered through the hotel are very expensively priced.
Arrival & Check-In
The hotel lobby and Living Room have a definite “avant garde” style typical to W hotels. I found it tastefully done though here, with the main feature being a gorgeous bright blue and green mosaic “Camino Huichol” walkway which extends through it all the way to the beach.
We had booked the base Wonderful Escape Jungle View room, but were upgraded for free to a Spectacular Escape Ocean View room due to my Platinum Elite status. A majority of the accommodations at the hotel have only one king bed. Since we were a family of four we would need two queens which severely limited our options for suite upgrades. So that wasn’t possible on this occasion.
Once we were checked in, a valet drove us to our room in a golf cart which we would use frequently during our stay to get around the large resort.
Spectacular Escape Ocean View Room
Even though they are called “rooms”, they are more like small villas with your own private entrance, small courtyard with a colorful swing, bedroom and bathroom, and terrace with views of the resort and ocean. The decor looks tacky in pictures, but once you’re there, it actually works well given the style of the place. Mexico is a colorful country, and that is on full display in more areas of the hotel!
Our view of the resort and ocean was great from our balcony.
The bathroom featured 2 sinks and the toilet and bath in separate rooms. The latter was a shower/bath combo overlooking the ocean. The soap amenities were by Momo.
Overall I liked the room. While a similar room with 1 king bed would have been great for a couple, ours with 2 doubles wasn’t really well suited to a family.
- I have to admit I missed the normal North American standard of 2 queens which definitively is more comfortable to sleep in with another person compared with a double.
- The room had barely any storage. There was a fair amount of closet space to hang things up, but only 2 small drawers.
- There was only one small night table for 4 people. This left me using my luggage as a night table by standing it up next to the bed at night, and also as storage due to the lack of drawers.
These are shortcomings, but hey, it’s a W hotel. The rooms are mostly known to be funky rather than really practical, so we knew this going in. I was fine with this for our 3-night stay. I probably wouldn’t recommend doing a full week here with a whole family though as the shortage of space might become a bit frustrating. And we enjoyed the “villa” feel of it and the balcony quite a bit.
Pools & Grounds
The resort is very beautiful to walk around as it blends different themes of a jungle, a lake, bright Mexican colours, beautiful pools, and beachside resort all together.
There are 2 pools. The first is the main pool which has very reflective blue tiles at the bottom which really makes it shine in the sunlight. It’s super warm, there are two hot tubs attached to it, private cabanas to use, and lots of towels, games, beach toys, sunscreen, and aloe vera available. There’s a thatch-roofed pool bar, poolside food and drink service, and even quite stylish washrooms to use nearby. It’s very easy to pass a day just enjoying the atmosphere here!
There is also an adult pool. It’s smaller and overall I found not quite as nice. But there is a large social area around it and beachfront views, so I imagine on weekends it turns into quite a party area.
Dining
The hotel has a few dining options. The first is their main restaurant VENAZÚ which is where we had breakfast every morning. This was complimentary due to my Platinum Elite status. This was delicious and featured both Mexican and American food. On a couple of our mornings there was a quesadilla station with a cook preparing those fresh for guests. There was a mimosa station also available which was an additional cost. The wait staff were super friendly and we looked forward to our time here each day.
Chevycheria is located on the beach. This is a beachfront, thatch-roofed, chevy truck-themed bar (once again….avant garde!!) which served drinks and seafood-based food. You can eat the food from here anywhere on the beach or have it served to you around the pool.
The Spice Market is a more adult-themed restaurant and patio which specializes in food from Southeast Asia.
There are bars next to the swimming pool and the Living Room. A margarita is never too far away!
Other than breakfast we ate the majority of our food around the pool. It was pricey but extremely delicious, very fresh-tasting, with top-notch poolside service.
Facilities & Service
The resort has a gym with a good selection of equipment and jungle views out of large windows which allow for a good amount of natural light. Towels, water, and fruit are available.
There is also the Away Spa where many kinds of personal treatments are available. A full spa menu is available online here. A nice thing about the spa here is that in addition to the treatment rooms there is a beautiful series of pools outside which are fed by a natural spring and are surrounded by the foliage of the jungle all around.
The service was excellent at all times during our stay. The true Mexican charm and hospitality were on full display with very friendly people giving prompt, professional (but not stuffy) service.
I’m a bit torn if I would recommend this as a great family resort or not. Unless you stay in a huge suite, the rooms aren’t very well designed for families as I mentioned before, there is no kids club, nor are there a lot of activities specifically designed for kids. But having said that, there are loads of toys and games for children available at the pool and beach. The family pool itself is spectacular and kept my kids entertained a lot of the time. And the hotel did setup an entire showing of the movie Frozen on a big screen outside on the sand one evening, complete with delicious complimentary smores we could prepare ourselves over a bonfire. So while the area might have some hotels that do cater more specifically for families, it was never an issue for our kids being bored over our three nights here. We all had a great time!
- Annual fee
- $120
- Our valuationMilesopedia first-year estimate First-year valueWelcome bonus$600Total$600$100 deferred bonus, excluded from the first-year estimate and 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
Apply Now
on American Express's website
Apply with confidenceCheck whether your application will be approved before you submit it, with no impact on your credit score*When you apply for a personal American Express Credit Card, we will tell you whether you are eligible without affecting your credit score. So you can apply with confidence.*Instant decisions are only available for consumer Card applications (also called “personal Cards”).
Hotel Fact Sheet
| Parking | Complimentary | Breakfast included with room | No |
| Pool | Yes (exterior) | Rooms with balconies | No |
| Spa | Yes | Rooms with kitchenette | No |
| Gym | Yes | USB plugs in room | Yes |
| Restaurant | Yes | Smart TV | Yes |
| Accepts animals | Yes for an extra fee | Shower/Bath | Both |
| Executive lounge | No |
Conclusion
The W Punta de Mita was a wonderful place to spend 3 nights. The rooms are colorful and comfortable, despite a few drawbacks in functionality. The beach is beautiful, the pools are spectacular, and the combination of jungle, lake, and ocean themes of the resort make it a pleasure to just to roam around in.
Food is very expensive but high quality, with top-notch service to match. While it’s not a perfect family-friendly resort, it would still be very fun to spend time here with or without children. If you’re looking for a luxurious and chilled out vibe right on the ocean, then the W is a great choice.
- Annual fee
- $120
- Our valuationMilesopedia first-year estimate First-year valueWelcome bonus$600Total$600$100 deferred bonus, excluded from the first-year estimate and 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
Apply Now
on American Express's website
Apply with confidenceCheck whether your application will be approved before you submit it, with no impact on your credit score*When you apply for a personal American Express Credit Card, we will tell you whether you are eligible without affecting your credit score. So you can apply with confidence.*Instant decisions are only available for consumer Card applications (also called “personal Cards”).
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