Review: Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita for Families

Two months shy of her fourth birthday, my daughter is squarely in her “why” phase.

“Why is it called a ‘lazy river?’” she inquired, tucked into her pool float at Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita.

I tried to explain: “See how we’ve traveled from our lounge chairs all the way to where the fat iguana stands watch, and you haven’t had to do anything?”

I could have continued: “And how, when we arrived at the lazy river, a staffer set up your chair with towels and swiftly delivered a cooler filled with four ice-cold waters? And how, when you were hungry, he delivered cheese pizza, and later, a smoothie from the brand-new Drift Bar, located steps away?”

For parents of little ones traveling without childcare, it is truly hard to relax — let alone be lazy. But Four Seasons ensures that kids are continuously being wowed instead of waiting, and that parents are also indulged for a change.

At check-in, for example, my daughter and 1-year-old son were presented with an assortment of homemade popsicles. After deliberating — coconut, tamarind, hibiscus or mango — they quietly focused on the art of devouring said treats before they melted. My husband and I also received popsicles, except ours were dunked in just the right amount of hibiscus and mezcal to take the edge off.

Then, we were whisked away to our one-bedroom Garden Plunge Pool Suite by golf cart, where we were welcomed with chic nautical baby toys and toiletries, colorful sponges spelling out our daughter’s name and two shortbread cookies shaped like iguanas, resting in a bed of graham cracker sand. And once again, Mom and Dad were not forgotten: Awaiting us was a shaker, paired with ice, juice, tequila and liqueur — plus tostadas and guacamole to share.

With 1,625 square feet of space and a door separating our living room from the primary bedroom — plus a comfortable sofa bed — our suite perfectly suited our needs. When my baby stirred early, I was able to order room service in bed before we took a dip in our plunge pool.

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By the time my husband and daughter woke up, four members of the room service team had appeared in unison to quietly and quickly transform our outdoor dining table into a makeshift restaurant — complete with table runners, flowers, juices, a pitcher of coffee and plates upon plates of food.

Our location in the Iguana room block may have lacked ocean views (unless I peeked over our privacy screen of tropical palms), but it was super convenient for its quick access to the lazy river and Kids for All Seasons kids’ club.

The club is a highlight for children under 12, with a packed schedule of Mexican-themed arts and crafts and other activities, some requiring advance reservations and an additional fee. And when my daughter asked if there are parks in Mexico, I was happy to point her to the jungle gym and swings at the kids’ club, complete with tables and chairs for guardians. (The answer, at the Four Seasons, is always “yes.”)

My daughter constructed a paper mache balero, and even learned how chocolate comes from a bean, before making her own set of Mexican chocolate bars, individually placing gummy bears, candy balls and rainbow sprinkles into a cocoa mixture that would be frozen and later delivered to our guestroom.

Of course, this culinary excellence extends to the restaurants. At Dos Catrinas, the beachfront, all-day Mexican eatery, a man with extreme willpower oversees the churro cart, ready to slather the fried dough in cinnamon sugar just moments before they are eaten.

We began our dinner here with spicy margaritas while taking in the sunset, followed by a flight of five salsas, tableside guacamole, a trio of tacos, vegan enchiladas and even a kids’ portion of the day’s fresh seafood catch. And the night before at Bahia, chef Richard Sandoval’s steak and seafood restaurant with tables on the sand, we indulged in steak with parmesan truffle French fries, avocado flatbread, fried tahini cauliflower, gnocchi di ricotta and saffron risotto.

When my kids got squirmy, we walked the few steps to the game room, which houses a range of video games, from Pacman and Guitar Hero to a motion-activated table that delighted my son, and a version of Whac-A-Mole that was fun for my daughter.

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The only disappointment was that two nights were not enough time to spend here. We could have easy whiled away five nights, trying the newly renovated Aramara Asian restaurant for dinner and the Salad Shack, where guests can create custom salad bowls for lunch. We would have had to tear ourselves away from the kids’ club and lazy river to spend the day at ease at the expansive, infinity-edge family pool, which looks out to the crashing waves.

Perhaps I would have tried out a signature massage at the spa, practiced cliffside yoga or boarded a kayak for a guided float around the rocky coast. And maybe my husband would have visited the basketball courts, blended his own tequila or practiced his swing at the nearby golf courses.

As for my daughter, she wanted more time at the private beach. So, on our last morning, we walked the soft white sand in search of seashells. As we decorated her sandcastle, we were only interrupted by an employee offering us a complimentary smoothie.

We took a break from our “work,” and sipped our drinks on our perfectly set up chaise loungers, happy to enjoy yet another delightful surprise —requiring no effort on our part — together.