The Resort Report: Rosewood Mandarina in Mexico’s Riviera Nayarit

This travel journal is part of our TravelStore Passport Diaries Podcast. Watch the full episode below, and for more episodes, visit our Passport Diaries Podcast page or follow us on your favorite podcast platform.

You know the saying, “If you give a moose a muffin… he’ll want some jam to go with it?”

Well, turns out if you give a group of luxury travel advisors two days at Rosewood Mandarina… they’ll want two more weeks!

After spending a magical couple of days in Mexico’s westerly Riviera Nayarit at the splendid new Rosewood Mandarina resort, our advisors are completely captivated by this new destination. Between the luxuriously massive suites (with the deepest bathtubs you’ve ever seen) and the innumerable resort activities (including horseback riding, polo games, pickleball, and ziplining), it’s hard to find a reason to ever leave the property. Indeed, every kind of traveler – from multi-generational groups to honeymooning couples – would find more than enough to do during a full week at this gorgeous new property opened in early 2025.

Join us for our full Passport Diaries Podcast episode with luxury travel advisors Wendy Sandridge and Stacey Batt to hear about their first-hand experience on the property in May of 2026. We highly recommend watching the episode on YouTube to see the beautiful videos we captured during our stay, including feeding carrots to the Equestrian Center horses, touring a Flatland Suite, taking the beachfront Tortilla and Salsa making class at La Cocina, and plenty more!

Where to Find Rosewood Mandarina

Rosewood Mandarina is located in Riviera Nayarit just north of Punta Mita on Mexico’s Pacific coast. The nearest airport is Puerto Vallarta. A breezy 45-60 minute drive along the highway brings guests to the private reserve of Rosewood Mandarina. The property is expansive and broken into three ecosystems: The beach, the flatlands, and the mountains. Guests can easily get around the property on foot, by complimentary beach cruiser, or by calling for a golf cart to take them anywhere they’d like to go.

The Sweetest Suite: The Flatland Suite

Our advisors each stayed in their own private Flatlands Suite during their two-night adventure at Rosewood Mandarina. If one word could describe the suites, it would be: massive. Each room came equipped with a large outdoor lounge area and the biggest plunge pool mankind has ever seen. The rooms are airy and light with décor perfectly in tune with the nature and art of the region. Every detail is well-designed and immaculate. Our advisors especially could not say enough about the bathroom! The tub was enormous and equipped with all the essentials for a perfectly relaxing soak after a day reveling in the resort’s activities. The rooms also had ample space for luggage storage, as well as a beautiful desk and sitting area.

Happy Sighs at Asaya Spa

One of the definitive highlights from our advisors’ Rosewood Mandarina experience was the beautiful Asaya Spa. Wendy Sandridge and Stacey Batt each enjoyed customized spa treatments, which began with the host helping them test and select a massage oil for their treatment.

The design of the spa is rooted in the local indigenous culture’s spiritualism. The experience begins with a walk around the central sacred trees where spa guests are welcomed to greet and offer an intention for their day of treatment and relaxation. As both Stacey and Wendy agree, the spa is a place where someone could easily spend a whole day melting into the beauty of the natural surrounding landscape.

Activities Galore: Stables, Golf, Pickleball, Polo, Ziplines, and beyond

Above all, Rosewood Mandarina staggered us with the sheer number of activities available for guests to enjoy. During our property tour, we visited the stables, pickleball courts, tennis courts, golf course, restaurants, beach clubs, infinity pools, zipline course, kids club… and more!

One of the highlights was certainly the Equestrian Center and polo fields. Guests can go for a horseback ride on the beach or even take a Polo lesson with one of the experienced guides. On Fridays and Saturdays from October through May, guests can also take in a Polo match at the open air polo fields!

And let’s not forget about the dining experiences. La Cocina is a more casual dining experience situated right next to the beach. It was the location of not only our breakfasts, but also the site of our Tortilla & Salsa making class with the culinary team.

For a purely romantic evening with breathtaking views, head up to the property’s Mountain ecosystem to enjoy Japanese and Peruvian fusion cuising at Toppu. For our full report on our delicious experience at Toppu, check out our Travel Journal: “5 Things We Loved at Rosewood Mandarina’s Toppu Restaurant, Mexico”

Who Would Love Rosewood Mandarina

We are hard pressed to find a type of traveler who wouldn’t enjoy the bounty of beauty to be found at Rosewood Mandarina. It truly is like a private nature reserve set outside the city of Puerto Vallarta. Couples looking for a romantic beach and jungle escape would absolutely enjoy a stay at Rosewood Mandarina. We recommend starting with a day at the spa, followed by dinner at Toppu and a sunset swim in the infinity pools. Families will also find a home here as the property is well-suited to multi-generational groups. Take the kids to see the horses at the stable, enjoy the Tortilla Making class at La Cocina, and let the little ones learn about the natural environment from the resident Biologist at the Explorers Club.

There is so much to enjoy at this gorgeous property and any Mandarina vacation can be custom tailored to your preferences by our highly experienced travel advisors and their long-time relationships with Rosewood properties. As we like to say at TravelStore: “We’ve been where you want to go” and most recently, that destination is Rosewood Mandarina in Mexico’s Riviera Nayarit.

Curious about Rosewood Mandarina? Contact Wendy Sandrige and Stacey Batt to hear more about the property and how they an make your trip there the best it can be.

Passport Diaries is a travel podcast by TravelStore and takes you to off-the-beaten-path places all around the world. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you like to listen, or watch our video podcast episodes on YouTube. Make sure to subscribe to our channels to you never miss a stamp in your podcast passport. Let us know: Where next do you want to go?