I bit into a slice of charred watermelon—the sweet fruit extinguishing the heat from the jalapeños and zesty leche de tigre topping of my sea bass ceviche. I was sitting at my eight-seat teakwood dining table, steps away from the Pacific Ocean, burrowing my feet deeper and deeper into the sand. As I leaned back in my chair, I peeked my face out from under the shade of the table’s umbrella, and let the bright sun warm my face.

I’d arrived at the new Rosewood Mandarina, in Mexico’s Riviera Nayarit, 40 minutes before, but I had already soaked in my beach suite’s polished black Ekol plunge pool and finished a phenomenal lunch. Seated at the beachside dining table, I let the afternoon heat melt away the water droplets dotting my shoulders and the tension underneath.

Real life—and real responsibility—already felt far away. Even the resort felt far away; A bridge over an estuary (home to my snappy crocodile neighbors) separated my room from the resort’s main gathering areas. Rosewood Mandarina had opened only a few days prior, on May 15, and as the first journalist to see it, I had the nearly mile-long beach to myself.

I have reported on almost 20 luxury resorts in Mexico—10 in Los Cabos, a handful on the Riviera Maya, and two just south of Mandarina in Punta Mita—and covered four Rosewood hotels, including the openings of Rosewood Vienna and Kona Village, a Rosewood Resort on the Island of Hawaii. I can honestly say the brand-new Rosewood Mandarina is at the top of my list of Mexican resorts to return to. It is a flawlessly executed, effortless resort vacation: an hour from the Puerto Vallarta airport via a new highway to a 565-acre resort complex that puts you within a four-minute golf cart ride of high-adrenaline adventures, such as zip lining and vertical hikes. What really puts it over the top for me is the stunning architecture by designer Caroline Meersseman of Bando x Seidel Meersseman and two exceptional restaurants helmed by a veteran Rosewood executive chef.

On my first morning, I rode four zip lines across the Mexican jungle, before returning to my suite for a tall iced coffee and poolside chilaquiles with savory red sauce and a hefty sprinkling of cotija cheese. The next morning, I took a long walk on the beach, in the 6:30 a.m. haze, from my suite to the heart of the resort: La Cocina restaurant. I showed up with bare, sandy feet and sat in the open-air restaurant with a double espresso and a just-pressed green juice of spinach, pineapple, and ginger. Then, I dusted off my feet, put on my sneakers, and followed my guide into the jungle for a steep hike to an imposing, 500-year-old tree that Riviera Nayarit’s Indigenous nations call the abuela (grandmother) tree.

Each time I returned to the resort, I was tempted by the sprawling pool area, which has no fewer than four jade-colored Sukabumi stone pools with the front two sitting directly on the beach. But I always chose to return to my suite—the pull of the beachfront private plunge pool, perfectly heated to a walk-right-in temperature, was too strong.

Rosewood Mandarina isn’t groundbreaking—major luxury developments with top hotels are popping up all over Central America, including in Baja California’s Cabo del Sol, where a Four Seasons just opened, and Costa Palmas, which is slated to welcome an Aman this year; Costa Rica’s Peninsula Papagayo, which just got a Ritz-Carlton Reserve; and the Riviera Maya’s Kanai, with a new St. Regis and The Edition. But the execution of this resort—the service, the food, the striking design, with suites on the beach, flora-surrounded flatland rooms, and still-to-come mountain accommodations on a peak overlooking the crescent-shaped beach—is near perfect.

“There are three eco-systems within the resort: the beach, the flatlands, which feels like a jungle, and the mountain. It’s like three boutique hotels instead of one big resort,” Juan Carlos Cardona Aquino, Rosewood Mandarina’s managing director, tells me.

And certainly, of all the luxury resorts in Mexico, this is one that travelers could come back to and have a different experience every time. This visit, I came by myself and spent my days zip lining, plunge pooling, and trying every local catch La Cocina and Spanish beach club Buena Onda restaurant could butterfly and grill or cube and serve up as ceviche. When I return, I’ll bring my son and husband to stay at the mountain suites overlooking the coast. We’ll come during polo season—yes, there’s a polo club at the Mandarina complex that you may recognize from a certain Kendall Jenner photoshoot—and watch a match before dining at the alfresco Argentinian grill, Chukker, and making our way back to Rosewood’s forthcoming mountaintop speakeasy.

Here, my full review of the newest resort in Mexico, and the 33rd hotel in the Rosewood portfolio.

The Rooms

Each of the Rosewood Mandarina’s 134 guest rooms has a private plunge pool. Every piece of furniture, every light fixture, and every decor piece is custom made for the resort, with a lot of the wood accents and objets d’art (like the gorgeous tornillo wood dining tables and the beaded jewelry holders, made by the local Indigenous Wixárika, or Huichol, nation) crafted in Latin America.

My beachfront premiere suite was right on the shore (a rarity on Mexico’s Pacific Coast, where rooms are often set away from any beach with rougher water), with an outdoor lounge area that had a couch on one side and poolside loungers on the other. The bedroom felt enormous, with nearly 1,100 square feet, including 300 square feet of outdoor space. To get to my room, I would either walk along the beach from the main area of the resort or take the bridge over a scenic estuary that feeds into the Pacific Ocean. Currently, the beach and flatland suites—surrounded by lush native plants and blooming flowers and a short walk to the main pool area and two restaurants—are open. The 64 Mountain rooms, on a 400-foot peak gazing over the resort and mile-long beach, will debut in September.

Food and Drink

Rosewood knows great food, and Mandarina delivers fantastic Mexican food at all-day dining restaurant La Cocina and Spanish lunches and dinners at Buena Onda. La Cocina feels like a Mexican art gallery, with wooden shelving units displaying ceramics and beaded Wixárika-made figurines, light fixtures made of fine strands of rope, black-and-white woven side tables, and whimsical cushioned swings in the open-air dining room. I chose one of the beach tables for a dinner of charred shrimp aguachile and lobster tacos served with tortillas freshly pressed on the comal in the open kitchen. I finished it off with a carajillo cocktail, which I took with me as I walked down to the water, letting the ocean nip at my toes as the sun sank into the Pacific.

On my first night, I had the Nawa mocktail with tamarind and pineapple, and a platter of grilled seafood at Buena Onda. The Spanish-inspired restaurant, perched on the rocks on the far northern edge of the resort’s elongated crescent–shaped beach, served up the famed Joselito jamon, imported from Jabugo, Spain, as an appetizer. It was the grilled prawns, octopus, and lobster, caught in the cool waters of the Pacific, brushed with olive oil and parsley, and served with a whole head of roasted garlic, that had me going in for seconds.

Still to come: Toppu, a Nikkei restaurant, which is a Peruvian-Japanese fusion cuisine, and a speakeasy on the mountain. There are also restaurants within the 565-acre Mandarina complex, for guests of Rosewood, One&Only Mandarina, Mandarina residents, and the public, including Chukker, the Argentinian grill right alongside the polo field, where the kitchen is six grills under a tarp and the bar is built into a string light-heavy tree. It’s exceedingly charming, as is the shared Mandarina beach club with Italian restaurant Allora.

Activities and Experiences 

The main pool area is made up of four pools, surrounded by gorgeous open-air wooden pavilions, and set along the mile-long beach with covered lounge chairs. Guests can surf and paddleboard at Rosewood’s beach or take advantage of the myriad activities offered within the Mandarina complex, which includes the four-zip line course over the jungle that I loved.

There are also tennis and pickleball courts, guided hikes, and a pristine nine-hole golf course. I toured the polo field and horse stables, visited the 54 horses that call Mandarina home, and was fully overcome meeting three newborn kittens who have set up shop in the stables. Horseback riding lessons, (seasonal) polo lessons, and horseback rides on the beach are all on offer. When polo season, which runs from November through May, ramps up, pros play matches most weekends. Gustavo Mejia, the Mandarina experiences manager who runs the operation, played 53 matches last year and hosted professional players as well as beginners keen to learn. 

Family-friendly Offerings

I stepped into the kids’ club and was immediately greeted by a bevy of hanging wooden toys—rings, a rope swing—plus a small stage, a surplus of interactive and colorful toys, and a spacious yard area outside. Even more charming was the narrative throughline of the kids’ club, which follows a deer from the Mexican fairytale “The Journey of Tunuri and the Blue Deer.” It tells the Indigenous Wixárika story of the blue deer in the Riviera Nayarit’s Sierra Madre Mountains, who helps a little boy, Tunuri, who is lost in the woods. The magical blue deer is a messenger between the dream world—a recurring theme in Wixárika culture and artwork—and the real world, and introduces Tunuri to Mother Earth and Father Sun, all in service of getting him back home to his family. Painted scenes within the kids’ club depict this tale, featuring vibrant beading, rainbow-colored ropes, and a big blue deer in the yard.

The Spa

When I arrived in my Asaya Spa treatment room, my massage therapist asked me to close my eyes and smell three essential oils. She promised my body would intuitively choose the oil I needed, based on which smelled the best to me. I wound up with a eucalyptus and lemongrass blend to promote physical healing (I gave birth 10 months ago, so, seems right), which she kneaded into my back and down my legs for an hour that passed by all too quickly. I chose to forgo the steam room, sauna, and cold plunge circuit in favor of an hour-long soak back in my private plunge pool. The spa, built around a beautiful higuera (fig tree), has Japanese-French skin care brand EviDens for luxe facials that I would definitely come back for.

Accessibility and Sustainability

Rosewood Mandarina has three accessible rooms—one in each of the eco-systems. La Cocina restaurant is accessible, but the beach and any sand walkways leading up to other gathering places are not.

On the sustainability front, Rosewood cares for the on-site estuary and works with local biologists to tag and care for the crocodiles, as well as other wildlife. The resort team has planted only native flora on the premises and is working on a larger replanting effort, creating a wild garden near Asaya Spa. Much of the art and materials throughout the hotel are sourced from Mexico and Mexican artists; and I encountered very few single-use plastics during my stay.

Location

As Riviera Nayarit—the 192-mile stretch between the Sierra Madre Mountains and the Pacific Ocean—expands as a resort destination, the area’s resort communities, including Mandarina and Punta de Mita, become more accessible. That’s largely thanks to a brand-new section of the Puerto Vallarta-Guadalajara highway. The expanded highway—a much-anticipated multimillion-dollar Mexican infrastructure project—got me from Puerto Vallarta International Airport (PVR) to Rosewood Mandarina in less than an hour, and it was a very smooth ride. Travelers heading to Rosewood Mandarina should fly into PVR; it’s a 2.5-hour flight from Los Angeles International Airport and a nonstop hop from a few other West Coast hubs. Those flying from the East Coast of the U.S. will need to connect, typically in Atlanta (for the Delta loyalists) or Dallas (for the Oneworld crowd).

How to Get the Most Value Out of Your Stay

The hotel is an American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts member, which means Amex Platinum cardholders get a host of perks, including a $100 resort credit and complimentary daily breakfast for two. The Amex website also notes that cardholders can book 30-percent-off stays through December 15, 2025, and the Rosewood Mandarina website touts the 30-percent-off opening offer for those booking directly through the hotel. Rosewood does not have a loyalty program.

Nightly rates at Rosewood Mandarina start at $1,200.

Every T+L hotel review is written by an editor or reporter who has stayed at the property, and each hotel selected aligns with our core values.

Travelers may want to pack their patience ahead of the busy Memorial Day travel weekend.

With 45.1 million Americans expected to travel over the five-day stretch from May 22 through May 26, the volume will be an increase of 1.4 million people and set a new record-high for travel over the holiday, according to AAA data shared with Travel + Leisure. 

For road warriors or airplane passengers venturing for a Memorial Day getaway, T+L has you covered with everything you need to know before you go. 

Traveling by Airplane

United Airlines anticipates it will fly 3.8 million people this weekend, a 300,000 increase over last year, in a statement shared with T+L. The top destinations include Orlando, Florida; Las Vegas; and Boston.

The airline also provided tech tips, such as using the United app for bag drops and utilizing TSA PreCheck Touchless ID when available at major airports such as Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

For passengers concerned about potential travel trouble at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), United Airlines has extended its flexibility waiver for EWR flights through May 23. 

Road Trips and Rental Cars

Americans are hitting the road more than any other Memorial Day Weekend: 39.4 million will travel by car, a 1 million increase over last year. 

The biggest surge in road traffic will occur in Los Angeles along the I-5 North on May 23 at 5:00 p.m., with an 83 percent surge in traffic, according to AAA data. Other popular routes include Houston’s I-45 South to Galveston and Denver’s I-25 South from Fort Collins to the Mile High City. 

Long weekend gas prices will be $3.02 a gallon, which will be the lowest level over the last four years. Gas prices spiked in 2022 when they were a whopping $4.60 a gallon, according to a GasBuddy analysis. 

“While we’re forecasting the lowest summer gas prices in years, economic jitters are slightly dampening optimism, but we still expect a robust travel season, with millions of Americans hitting the road, many for extended trips,” Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy’s Head of Petroleum Analysis, said in the report. 

Travelers hitting the road may also be navigating highways in rental cars, as Hertz told T+L it has seen high demand for advance bookings in popular markets like Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Seattle. The car rental company has also debuted a new fleet of Jeep Wrangler 4xE and is celebrating with a special 10 percent discount on Jeep rentals. 

Setting Sail on Cruise Ships

The summer travel season also kicks off with cruise passengers voyaging throughout different parts of the United States. AAA data revealed that Alaska ports including Fairbanks, Anchorage, and Juneau will be the most popular destinations for domestic cruises. 

“Cruising’s growing popularity is highlighted by the strong demand for Alaska cruises this season,” AAA shared in its Memorial Day Weekend release. 

The Memorial Day Weekend is also a popular time to book a new vacation. For example, Royal Caribbean shared with T+L that it is running a promotion with over $800 in instant savings for bookings on its ships Icon of the Seas and Star of the Seas, with additional promotions for second guests and children.

If you’re feeling anxious, you might also consider choosing a seat with a view into the galley, where flight attendants are often working. When hitting rough air, it can be comforting to see the cabin crew smiling, talking, and going about their business. You can also let the flight attendants know you’re a nervous flier. They’ll likely come and check on you through the flight or during turbulence to reassure you, in which case an aisle seat might make those interactions easier.

Parents flying with an infant

If you’re flying with a baby, it could be a good idea to target the first row of seats in the plane cabin, directly behind the wall separating business class or premium economy from coach. It’s also called the bulkhead row, and comes with perks for parents: many airlines offer to attach an infant bassinet to the bulkhead wall for free.

“The bulkhead, which can have a bassinet attached, is an ideal place for parents with infants, allowing hands [to be] free for eating, and if you hit the sleep jackpot, then maybe even time to watch a movie,” says Carrie Bradley, a former flight attendant and editor of the blog Flying With a Baby. The perk is usually available on long-haul flights, but some airlines also offer the bassinets on short-haul routes, too.

There’s only a limited amount of bassinets available per flight, and bulkhead seats usually go quickly because they also offer extra legroom. So be sure to book early to secure your spot. “Some airlines will allow everyone on the same booking to select their seat for free immediately after booking the flight—if flying with an infant,” Bradley says.

If bulkhead seats aren’t available, there are other spots in the cabin to help flying with an infant go smoothly. “Parents can opt to purchase a seat for their infant and bring an airline-approved car seat,” Bradley says. “These normally need to be fitted next to a window.”

Window seats could also be a good idea if you decide to fly with a lap baby, according to Bradely. “Just being able to rest an elbow on the window seat armrest whilst feeding can make you feel more comfortable and avoid being bumped in the aisle,” she says.

Travelers needing sleep on long-haul or red-eye flights

On some popular long-haul planes, like the Airbus A330, there are rows of just two seats in the main cabin, which would feel a lot less cramped than the row of four seats across in the center of the cabin. Plus, these two-seaters tend to be next to the windows. “Window seats tend to be better for those wanting to sleep,” Bradley says.

Avoid the last row of economy seats on any flight you plan to sleep on. These spots usually don’t recline and are located right in front of the galley and lavatories, making them loud and uncomfortable.