Iberostar Selection Playa Mita — Hotel in Nayarit

My partner and I spent ten days at this resort in the middle of August. For the first eight and a half days, our experience was PHENOMENAL! The landscape around the resort is stunning, the beach is as clean as an ocean beach could possibly be, with amazing fishing and beautiful coves. There was some construction going on in the building next to the resort, but they were super respectful and just trying to do their jobs which anyone who gets mad about that should try and come in the winter since that’s tourist season. We met so many fantastic staff (huge shout outs to Luis, Carlos, Juan, Jesus, and of course Gustavo, along with a handful of others whose names I didn’t get) who truly made this stay worth it! Their customer service was welcoming and it felt like they genuinely wanted to be at work every day. That being said, I saw several staff who looked miserable, were rude, and generally weren’t on the same page as other members of their team. Now, our last full day at the resort started on a great note. We popped by the cafe, had a lovely breakfast snack and coffee, before heading to the pool to enjoy the cabana we rented for the day. The smaller (lower level) pool is great, however due to the large pool having a waterfall ledge into it, it frequently has sticks, scum and limes floating on the top. For the amount of staff present during what we were told is the slow season, we were a little surprised it wasn’t skimmed more frequently, especially because it was rarely busy. While playing in this pool, my husband and stepped on a razor sharp piece of tile grout and sliced the hell out of his foot. The lifeguard who tended to him was fantastic, however another worker was more focused on making sure I filled in the paperwork that moment instead of focusing on my husband’s heavily bleeding foot. Once the paperwork was completed, she walked off without saying anything else. The lifeguard immediately flagged down another worker who was replacing tiles, and the two of them checked over the spot my husband was cut on, and took the matter very seriously which we thought was great to see that they care highly for the safety of their guests. Now we had 180 iberocash (which is “exclusive” resort money equivalent to $180USD) which, is wildly hard to spend if you have no interest in the spa. We finally managed to spend it all by getting snacks at the convenience shop, and had all the charges attached to our room so we could just pay at checkout. As I hand the receptionist the iberocash, as well as some American dollars as we spent over 180, she informed us that she couldn’t accept the iberocash for the convenience and that we would have had to have used it when we purchased the items. Let me make it very clear that that was NEVER mentioned to us, and that when we received the cash and asked an ungodly amount of questions about it, that we’d been told it was no different than real money and could be used in any situation. I was holding firm on they were going to take it back, because they also won’t exchange it to real currency, meaning if you don’t spend it all, you lose all that money. Ten minutes later, she informed us that she spoke with the store and that they were going to accept it, and handed us back what we’d need to give them. Another ten minutes later and my husband returned from the store, where the poor worker was PISSED the front desk didn’t just accept it, and told us there was no reason we were sent to him to deal with this. The worker also informed us that there was nothing passed along to him about us coming over to him, which when you’re exhausted, overheating and already annoyed, really shortened my fuse that much more. While we loved our initial experience, we’ve decided that we have no interest in returning to an Iberostar resort for the next while as the end experience was frustrating for everyone involved, because no one was on the same page. Thank you to the people who made this stay worth the money, because otherwise, it’s not worth the price...

I will be the first to admit I was hesitant about this resort after reading a few of the “bad reviews” - to the extent at which I looked at other available properties the day before our flight. BUT, I was pleasantly impressed and would give the 5/5 stars for the price. Overall, resort was beautiful - the grounds were very well kept, restaurants well organized, and nice detailed decor. There are a few things in the cons list - needs some paint touch ups on door frames, tiles in the bottom of the pool chipping away, and gym needs some extra cleaning. That being said, our room was cleaned daily. Gym: My husband and I are active gym but the gym wasn’t quite ideal. Small for size of the resort, could use extra cleaning for dust bunnies and dead bugs. Pool: All the chairs are under shade most of the day so if you want full sun, you’ll have to move around a bit. There are chairs constantly in direct sun over on the deck looking the ocean but warning that deck is HOT. The pool temp would be bath water by the end of the day. The pool bar was surprisingly rowdy-ish afternoon too, but usually by the newly drinking 18 year olds. The kids always looked like they were having a blast in the shallow end. Beach: It is a lil hike to the beach - combo of stairs/ramp very hot/slow elevator down. Sand is hot but beach is clean, water is clear and walkable both ways. Be mindful, some locals may approach you trying to sell anything from sunglasses to not so family friendly things. Restaurants: The (breakfast/dinner buffet) El Nopal - is ALWAYS a favorite of mine. We ate the first night there when it was “Mexican” themed - everything was delicious. The hot items were hot and cold items were cold. I have the added fun of being required gluten free (celiac level) and had SO many option. When I had a question, a chef happily came to chat about contamination, cooking methods, etc. We ate there every morning for breakfast and I was able to request GF pancakes! The lunch buffet (La Bahia) is out by the pool, was equally up to standards of the lobby buffet. Fresh ceviche, guacamole, fruit, veggies every day (great GF options). The hubs loved the occasional wings, pizza, pasta and endless tostadas. La Bahia (steakhouse): this was okay, probably my least favorite since I don’t eat beef. I ordered pork ribs first but were told they are not GF (I assume some kind of soy sauce?) so I got chicken skewers which were tasty but I would have loved more seafood options. There was a salmon option but I can have that back home any time. There were no GF dessert options so we went back to the buffet restaurant for a second dinner :) Japanese, hibachi style - sitting with other hotel guests around the big flat top grill with a chef throwing shrimp, or in our case rice (my husband is allergic to all seafood/shellfish/fish fish). The chef was so kind that he sectioned off a portion of the grill for GF soy sauce to be put on rice/veg/meat. And then for my hubs accommodations, the chef waited to sear the shrimp last so no risk of contamination for the hubs. Only 1 dessert option and we were told by guests it was not worth it, so again we went back for second dinner buffet desserts! Mexican restaurant - El Cuate Pancho. And I’d say this was the best non-buffet dinner spot. In the center is all you can eat appetizers including delicious/fresh ceviche. Plus for the gluten eaters, taquitos/fried things. The mains were formally ordered. The chef came out to personally check what I would want to be made GF. The fish was delicious! My husband was satisfied with the short rib nachos For dessert, the chef brought out cheesecake (which is usually GF resort wide but careful some have crust)… About a week prior the hotel sent out the “what can we do to make your stay special email” plus all the extra options to pay for. I mentioned we were celebrating our anniversary. I had forgotten about it until our final night - the dessert plate was decorated with “Happy Anniversary.” It was such a sweet ;) way to end...

We had a great spring break stay at the resort! It was our first time staying, so adding some extra detail I wish I knew for others thinking about a stay!

For Kids: there are activities all day ranging from crafts to obstacle courses and pool games. Once our kids (6 and 8) warmed up to star camp they did not want to leave -you can hand your kids off and they have plenty to do. They went to the pool, did crafts, cooked, and went around the resort, all supervised. We also took advantage of one of the evening parties for a fee. The kids ate pizza, painted, saw a show and watched a movie all while we were able to eat dinner and take a night walk on the beach. We forgot to pick up our girls' paintings and the staff saved them for us to get the next day. We were so happy with the star camp staff!!

The pool: Swim-up pool bar and activities in the pool. Dancing, shots, water aerobics, volleyball - so much to do! We went in late March with highs in the upper 70s and to me the pool was a good temperature. There were tiles floating around in the bottom of the pool, and some guests let some mint or other things from their drinks drop in the pool. I was un-bothered by this and the kids had fun diving for the tiles. The staff put so much effort into the entertainment, fun, and service at the bar that to me it would feel odd being upset by those things. (There is someone working on the tiles on the less busy days, there are just a lot of them) Go early if you want to get a chair by the water.

Food: The hibachi dinner was fun we were catching rice being tossed by the chef and cheering. Some of the best food to me were the Mexican options + pop-up fish tacos. I've had better fine dining, but pretty much anything you want is available. If you go to the steakhouse I'd recommend just going for the filet or ribs those seemed to be the best quality among what we ordered. In addition to the restaurants, there are hot dogs and burgers by the pool to grab whenever during the middle of the day - great to just throw some hot dogs and fries at the kids while they wanted to stay at the pool.

The beach: Red flag every day, but our kids had a blast and were excited for an ocean with "real waves". The water was strong coming in and out and I personally wouldn't actually go swim where I couldn't touch. Since I kept my 6 year old (who can swim) within a couple of steps of me, we never felt unsafe. She did get pushed over by a wave and washed about 15 feet away from me, but it's the ocean not a pool so just do what you are comfortable with and you will have a fine time. We were comfortable going about waste deep and had some waves go above our heads. The sand on the beach goes out quite a ways in the water so there is plenty of space to play. There are some rocks but we were bare foot the whole time. Recommend asking for an umbrella from staff. Great scenery!

The room: We got a premium sunset room on the top floor with a pool and ocean view. Maybe only ocean-front on a high floor would have been better than this option. Everything was clean and comfortable. We did have some marks on our curtains to our balcony, but it just looked like they simply got closed in the door. There were some dings in the walls and it was a little humid. There was construction next door and some noise, but we were never in the room during the day to the point where I could even say whether or not it was loud. I could not hear the construction from the pool and it was quiet at night.

Everything else: Scenery is great with beautiful sunsets every night we were there. While the shows that happen each night are listed in the app I would recommend asking concierge or the folks outside the main buffet promoting the entertainment to see what they are about. The air rifle shooting took like 15 mins or so and was fun. Recommend bringing insulated tumblers for the pool and beach drinks, you can get anything made in them!

Lastly thanks to all of the staff that made our stay easy, fun...