Expansion Plans for Secret Chic Matlali in La Cruz Meagan Drillinger - Travel Weekly
go to original July 22, 2015

The Ocean View Master Suite terrace at Matlali Hotel in Riviera Nayarit

For the past three years, the Riviera Nayarit's Matlali Hotel has been a secret luxury enclave, tucked away on a hillside overlooking Puerto Vallarta's Banderas Bay. But as the hotel is laying out robust expansion plans for the coming year, it appears the secret is out.

The Matlali Hotel is a 40-villa resort in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, one of the many quaint bayside towns along Mexico's Pacific coast on the way up from Puerto Vallarta to the established luxury hotspot Punta de Mita. As part of the Puerto Bahia gated community, guests of the property will find all-suite accommodations, a full-service Makawe Spa, a restaurant, infinity pool and private beach club. Guests also have access to the resort's private catamaran for day sails, diving, snorkeling and fishing in Banderas Bay and out to the protected wildlife sanctuary, Islas Marietas.

Still, despite the resort's discreet and intimate luxury offerings, it is competing in a market with heavy hitters like St. Regis Punta Mita and Four Seasons Punta Mita, which have dominated the five-star scene for years.

With that in mind, Matlali has aggressive expansion plans slated for the end of 2015 through 2017 with investments of approximately $30 million. The expansion, scheduled to kick off at the end of this year, will include the addition of jungle villas behind the existing hotel development.

While the original hotel development is tucked back up in the hills overlooking the bay with shuttle service to and from the Eva Mandarina Beach Club, the new development will be built on the beachfront land where the current club now exists.

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