The Tamesis
In paradise, the bread basket at breakfast is filled with hot banana bread and fresh fruit spread, and the water is always heated to within a few degrees of body temperature. I know this to be true because I saw and experienced it last summer at the Rosewood Mandarina, which opened to tourists in Riviera Nayarit, Mexico.
The hotel features panoramic water views, oceanfront restaurants and a relaxing spa for vacation photos. The ocean is just so blue. The horizon is so vast and mesmerizing. Even the crocodiles swimming in the mouth of the Mandarina (enclosed – don’t worry) river seemed to be smiling. It’s a cliche to call it a holiday haven, but there’s something sacred about the new development – like the Garden of Eden before autumn. It’s a place that drives people to make decisions and bargain. “I’ll be fine!” I thought as I checked in. “Let me come back here.”
defaultPhoto: Courtesy of Rosewood Mandarina
Arriving at the site after a multi-leg journey from New York via Houston (tourists land at Puerto Vallarta Airport and the Rosewood Hotel an hour north), it was the opposite of ethereal, feeling utterly fallible and error-prone as I fumbled for passports, tickets, and assorted wrapping paper in the indoor and outdoor reception areas. A team of staff liberated me from it all, showed me the way, and handed me a welcome drink that was as cold as space and mysterious as hell. I taste the pineapple. I taste…corn? I drank it in two sips. This exchange will be repeated multiple times over the next 72 hours. Here, the welcome drink is not limited to the reception area. The welcome is constant and the constant hospitality and courtesies make one feel not only welcomed but embraced. As I wandered the grounds, I drank a variety of citrus drinks served in small earthenware vessels. My smile matches that of the crocodile.
