Rosewood Mandarina

Well, that worked out. With a prior visit to Mandarina under our belts (you can read my review of the OO property on this site), we were excited to return to this extraordinary development to see how Rosewood’s beachfront interpretation would compare to our prior jungle experience. Let’s start there. We stayed in a Premier Beachfront Studio Suite, which means a ground level unit in the two-story buildings fronting the beach with walkout onto the sand. This is the best room category in the house and we strongly recommend it. Cliff units are pretty but a tad isolated and this is a definitely a beach property. The rooms are terrific. There is no need to leave them. Of course, we did. Walking one direction outside of our room down the beach we hit the core of the resort, La Cuchina, the resort’s four pools and its beach club. La Cuchina offers casual Mexican luxury; lunch and dinner here were strong. Senior staff were gracious and accommodating of specialty food needs. Heading the other way down the beach we hit Allora, a Mandarina Italian spot shared by both resorts. Dinner here was terrific and just a few steps from the breaking waves. It also is part of a beach club that is shared by both resorts with all day service; it was very quiet during our stay. All this said, we opted for tacos and white wine to our room most days, opting to stay in our incredibly comfortable and thoughtfully assembled suite. Two terrific bars are on property, Penasco, a treehouse overlooking the crashing waves below which became our daily stop for terrific, layered cocktails that rival the best bars we’ve been to. Toppu, a Japanese restaurant poised at the vertical peak of the property, has a beautiful urban-Japanese bar worth a stop (along with a slice of their light and airy cheesecake). The gym facility is small but, since it includes a full rack and joyfully eager trainer, is highly functional. We each enjoyed a high-quality massage at the (very pretty) spa by a therapist with a background in physical therapy and chiropractics. The spa also features cold plunge, sauna and steam. We did not see a hot tub on the property. We made use of the shared Mandarina facilities for daily hiking, long walks and several early morning tennis sessions with gracious pro Diego. Both turf and hard courts are onsite. On our prior visit we took advantage of polo, horseback and zip lines with the kids and they were great. We notably had zero issues with mosquitoes or small raccoon-type rodents that have been noted previously. Both appeared well under control. We are impressed that after just one year of operations, Rosewood has managed to craft a well-executed guest experience. We had three notable personal touchpoints. One in which our butler team arranged for a specially late-night dessert delivery from a closed restaurant, a second which was a July 4th custom cake sent to the room and, finally, an eager gym team set up a 3K run for all guests; several signed up and we were greeted with a framed photo of one of us on the run later that day. Taken together with the casual warmth and effortless luxury of the property, these touches made for an embracing experience, the best of Rosewood (see my review of Rosewood’s Las Ventanas for the best possible execution of this strategy). If this is where Rosewood Mandarina is at after just one year, it is poised to soar. We will let you know since we will most certainly be running back!

Excellent fusion Japanese restaurant. We are staying at the One&Only but came here for dinner and had a wonderful time. Excellent service and the food is incredible. Beautiful. Make sure to visit!

5 women friends enjoyed a delicious lunch at Bueno Onda with peaceful, artistic views of nature and design all within our surroundings. Truly kind staff on entire property. We shared paella, homemade sourdough with sauces, grilled shrimps, papas bravas, tuna tartar, cheesecake and coconut ice cream with espresso macchiatos and agua minerals. We love this place and the team there.

Rosewood Mandarina, I predict, will be a top world hotel as soon as they are fully discovered! Everything about it was perfect and it’s what makes me give other five star resorts only three or four stars. Ok, the arrival. Spectacular. Think lifestyles of the rich and famous and add extreme warmth and personalization. Rooms: beyond your wildest imagination. You won’t want to leave your room. But you will because there is the gorgeous beach. Beach and pool chairs are never crowded. You do not have to get to them at 6 am to secure your seats. Beach/ocean is perfect. There is a bit of a drop off which creates a danger point if it’s inclement weather. But once you are past that, it’s warm and wonderful and wavy. Beach service is great! Highly recommend shrimp cocktail or shrimp tacos. Food at the resort: you’re isolated. That said, it is sufficient. Once we got the hang of it, we loved it! The sushi restaurant is fantastic! Make time to go to Peñasco for a sunset drink! Wander over to the next door property for a meal if you have time but don’t skip any of the options at rosewood. Except the one at the polo field. It wasn’t good. I would like to thank everyone at Rosewood Mandarina for making us feel like we were the only ones there. We will return!! I just want to reiterate, if you are hesitating , go!

Had a really nice stay here in November. Did not expect perfection because this is a new resort but overall had a great experience. We stayed in a mountain room which was very beautiful. I think I would try a different area next visit because we were kind of on edge in the plunge pool -you are in nature so expect bugs/critters. I actually had a scorpion in the indoor shower with me which could have been awful, but someone came immediately to help. Did not have much issue with the buggy rides but it does kind of become a chore to constantly have to keep in contact to get rides to/from the main area. The buggy ride, however, is very scenic. The grounds are gorgeous here. Pool/beach area really, really nice. Service could have been a little more attentive over here but not a huge deal. Ocean is surprisingly strong, we got a little beat up out there but the water temperature was divine. Wish it was slightly calmer so I could enjoy it more. Food was mostly really good. Breakfasts & dinner at La Cocina were our favorites. We did not really love the Spanish grill (forgot the name) and wouldn't return. Same thing with Toppu - it came highly recommended but it just wasn't our taste. We dined once at the O&O at Carao ( I think that's the name) and that was a very good meal as well. Spa was pretty good,I'd give it 7.5/10. Airport transportation booked through the resort was seamless. We stayed during the week, and I did notice that when the weekend approached and more guests checked in, that service went downhill. Much less responsive and attentive, and getting someone to help us in one of the little boutiques was very difficult. We did end up being able to purchase what we wanted, but it just felt like a task. I chalk it up to just being understaffed. This resort has total potential to be one of the best in Mexico for sure!! I'd like to revisit in a few years to compare. Love the Rosewood brand.