# HCC Punta Mita



## vivalour (Jan 6, 2008)

We'll be heading for Punta Mita in March, and have no recent experience with travel in Mexico. Since HCC's Punta Mita property is about an hour's drive from PV, we thought it would be practical to rent a car and explore the area.

Has anyone done family-type activities between PV & PM -- e.g. marinas, cultural/historical sites, sailing day trips?  Any organized tours worth taking? Any safety concerns in the immediate area? (I've been following the "safety" thread in the Mexico forum, and getting a bit spooked by the idea of being stopped for fake traffic violations, etc.  )


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## NAL (Jan 7, 2008)

I was in Puerto Vallarta investigating real estate. I can't help you all that much on the activities for kids but I can tell you that within a half hour of arrival I got pulled over supposedly for running a stop light. I think it was pretty bogus although I couldn't be absolutely certain since the streets and lights can be a bit confusing at first. He said he was going to take my passport to the station which there was no way I was going to let him do. I asked him if I could pay for the ticket then and there. I think it cost me $20 although I can't remember if I suggested the price or if he did. 

I drove all over town and up to Punta Mita for the next few days without incidence.

Punta Mita is quite a ways North from PV, maybe 45 minutes at least. It is quite easy to get to and you don't ever have to go into PV if you don't want. We just went to have lunch at the Four Seasons and check out their fractionals so I can't comment on much else about the area other than they were pretty careful about letting us into the Punta Mita gates. Apparently Britney Spears was staying at the Four Seasons at the time.


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## Steamboat Bill (Jan 7, 2008)

NAL said:


> Apparently Britney Spears was staying at the Four Seasons at the time.



Apparently Britney is no longer welcomed at the Four Seasons in Los Angeles as she creates so much chaos that the other guests get annoyed.


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## TarheelTraveler (Jan 7, 2008)

We're in Punta Mita now.  The gated community is really quite impressive.  Reminds me a lot of Hawaii.  Incredible house and views.  The resident's beach club is absolutely beautiful.  We're doing the dolphin discovery activity later in the week.  It, along with the zip line tours, have garnered rave reviews according to the onsite and HQ concierges.


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## saluki (Jan 7, 2008)

TarheelTraveler said:


> We're in Punta Mita now.  The gated community is really quite impressive.  Reminds me a lot of Hawaii.  Incredible house and views.  The resident's beach club is absolutely beautiful.  We're doing the dolphin discovery activity later in the week.  It, along with the zip line tours, have garnered rave reviews according to the onsite and HQ concierges.



Tarheel-

Are you @ the HCC property? If so, I would love to see your review when you get time.


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## vivalour (Jan 7, 2008)

TarheelTraveler said:


> We're doing the dolphin discovery activity later in the week.  It, along with the zip line tours, have garnered rave reviews according to the onsite and HQ concierges.



Sounds great.  I didn't know that HCC had an on-site concierge -- or do you belong to another DC?  Anyway, have fun on the zip-line if you take it -- it's supposed to be quite spectacular.


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## TarheelTraveler (Jan 8, 2008)

I'm a Crescendo member.  I'll share some additional thoughts about Punta Mita every now and then.

Food so far has been great (from Sam's Club, in-house cook for breakfast and the resident's beach club).  We'll go into the village for dinner or lunch in the next few days and report back.

Just as an FYI, Puerto Vallarta has a wide-range of stores, including a Sam's Club, Super Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and very soon, a Costco.


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## TarheelTraveler (Jan 12, 2008)

The dolphin adventure was a lot of fun.  Our daughter (and the adults with us) loved it.  Nice facility.

Enjoyed Tino's in the village for dinner.  Pretty reasonable and good food.  Great location.


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## jasfan (Jan 15, 2008)

*Punta Mita info*

I went to the HCC property in Punta Mita the first week in December of 2007.  The house is quite large, and is very nice.  I beleive the original owner was the founder of Double Bubble bubble gum, as the stone at the front door has the logo in stone in front of the door as you enter.  I bit of trivia, yet have not verified with HCC.

To vivalour's original post, the drive from PVR airport to Punta Mita gets a bit sketchy in certain areas.  Being from Detroit, I think I know sketchy, and some of the areas are sketchy.  We didn't have any issues with being pulled over, yet went to PV daily and saw police cars with vehilces pulled over constantly during every trip.  I did not notice if they were rental cars or not.

I do not believe you would want to go without a rental car though.  The home is in a double gated subdivision, and you would have to travel some distance to get to a store.  HCC will have shopping done for you, and I would encourage you to take them up on that - it will make the trip that more enjoyable, rather than traveling to the grocery store.  We had some pre-shopping done, and did additional shopping once there.  As previously posted, the stores are familiar names and easily accessilbe off of the main road back to PV, yet 30 minutes or more by car.

The following was a summary I sent to a friend in an e-mail just after the trip, someone considering HCC:

_Mexico was interesting. I have not vacationed in Mexico before, as I have only traveled there for business. Staying away from drinking the water, and dealing with the third world poverty have always directed me to other destinations. I have been to other poor countries, just not Mexico.

The drive to the house was 45 minutes, and it took you through the varied areas. Not exactly what I normally like to drive through for a beach vacation, yet understandable.

The house itself is very nice - it is good size. A full 4 bedroom, 4 bath home. It is 1 1/2 blocks from the beach. It is in a more remote area. The backyard had a pool, a BBQ grille, and a woodstone grille. It was nice and private.

Off of the living room balcony, you could see the ocean over the treetops.

The home was great, and could accommodate a good size family or group. One great feature - it had two outside showers off of two of the baths - I have only experienced that on Safari in Africa. Nice feature._

For beach activities, the beach right at the complex was very nice, and not at all populated.  To get to more commercial areas and activities, we went to Neuvo V.  We went parasailing there, and it was great.  

Neuvo V. seems newer, more upscale, and exclusive than PV.  NV is closer to Punta Mita as well.  So, a trip to NV is very different than the beach and streets of PV.  PV is more markets, stores, street vendors, crowds.  They were both great, just different.  For our diverse likings, we would visit PV and NV both if we went back.

Also, PV and Punta Mita are in different states, and actually in different time zones.  PV is like US central time zone, and PM is like US mountain time zone.  And not all PM areas recognize the time zone difference - the Four Seasons uses PV time zone rather than PM, where it geographically sits.  This is most important with flight times, in my opinion!!

I will gather restaurant info from the trip and post shortly, and if anyone has any questions or would like more details, just let me know and I will try and help.


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## jasfan (Jan 15, 2008)

Additional notes I sent in e-mail regarding HCC Punta Mita - 

_Regarding Punta Mita - the house is GREAT. It is large, so you can have fun. I would suggest sending a grocery list in advance, as the stores are far, and those closest are rather undesirable. We went into Puerto Vallarta to a store, which was great, except it is 40-plus minutes away.

A great restaurant about 20 minutes from the house is Mark's Bar and Grille in Bucerias. It is not really a bar, so bringing child(ren) is not an issue in my opinion. You can check it out at marksbucerias.com. It is an award winning restaurant. The neighborhood is grungy though - most are.

If you venture to a beach outside of Punta Mita, Neuvo Vallarta is more upscale than Puerto Vallarta. In contrast, Puerto V. is more crowded with more action everywhere. Neuvo V. is more resorts and such. And HCC has another place on the north side of NV - although it is for sale at this time. Looks like a nice complex._


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## TarheelTraveler (Jan 16, 2008)

I thought NV was nicer than PV.  NV reminded me of some nice neighborhoods in Florida.  I thought PV was just too touristy.

There is now a very nice grocery store that just opened up closer to Punta Mita (maybe 20 minutes away) - a Mega.  Very comparable to a good U.S. grocery store.  Great produce, breads, and meats.  A workable wine selection (better than the Sam's at least).  Will ring you up in dollars or pesos.  Next time, we'll skip the Sams and Wal-Mart and go to this grocery store for everything.


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## jasfan (Jan 16, 2008)

*Punta Mita Area*



TarheelTraveler said:


> I thought NV was nicer than PV.  NV reminded me of some nice neighborhoods in Florida.  I thought PV was just too touristy.
> 
> There is now a very nice grocery store that just opened up closer to Punta Mita (maybe 20 minutes away) - a Mega.  Very comparable to a good U.S. grocery store.  Great produce, breads, and meats.  A workable wine selection (better than the Sam's at least).  Will ring you up in dollars or pesos.  Next time, we'll skip the Sams and Wal-Mart and go to this grocery store for everything.



Tarheel - agreed about PV and NV.  Do you recall where the Mega grocery store location is?


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## TarheelTraveler (Jan 16, 2008)

I think it was near Bucerias


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## travelguy (Jan 17, 2008)

TarheelTraveler said:


> There is now a very nice grocery store that just opened up closer to Punta Mita (maybe 20 minutes away) - a Mega.  Very comparable to a good U.S. grocery store.  Great produce, breads, and meats.  A workable wine selection (better than the Sam's at least).  Will ring you up in dollars or pesos.  Next time, we'll skip the Sams and Wal-Mart and go to this grocery store for everything.




Good to know.  The PV Sams and Wal-Mart is an interesting experience that I'll gladly forgo.  Especially interesting (and annoying) are the timeshare salespeople that roam the aisles in the store uniforms!


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## Steamboat Bill (Jan 17, 2008)

travelguy said:


> Good to know.  The PV Sams and Wal-Mart is an interesting experience that I'll gladly forgo.  Especially interesting (and annoying) are the timeshare salespeople that roam the aisles in the store uniforms!



That is very aggressive and I have never experienced that. Next time I go to Mexico I will wear a "no timeshare" button or shirt.


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## 3DH (Jan 17, 2008)

...better get that translated, first, Bill! When we were there last Dec., the Wal Mart wasn't bad... maybe it was due to the fact that I was "riding" in the main section of the cart?  :whoopie: (No, no alcohol involved... :ignore: )


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## GregGH (Jan 26, 2008)

*maps and pictures*

Hello

Bring thread back to life -  questions

Yahoo and google don't seem to have detailed maps for Punta Mita - any suggestions?

Photo's .... anyone?

Where is HCC relative to Four Seasons?   How do you get to the beach ( is there a beach? ).  

Did anyone check out the fractionals at 4S?

Greg


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## TarheelTraveler (Jan 26, 2008)

My impression is that the HCC property is in the village of Punta Mita rather than the resort with the FS.  If that is the case, it's not that far, but the community is gated (actually two gates to get to the FS).  If at all possible though, you should try to check out the community.  The Punta Mita development has some incredible scenery (the best scenery that I've seen outside of Kauai, Hawaii).  Both the FS and St. Regis (to be completed) sit on some prime property within the resort with great beaches and rocks/small rock islands.  You might want to talk to the Real Estate folks at the Discovery Center to get you in, have drinks at the Lobby Bar at the FS or visit the boutiques at the FS.  They're quite strict about letting people in.  Definitely worth a visit.  Only saw the fractionals at FS from the outside.


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## saluki (Jan 27, 2008)

Here is the HCC property address & a Punta Mita map link. I do not know where the property is on the map, though. Maybe someone else can clarify.

La Playa Estates
Condominios La Playa Estates
Calle Gaviotas No: 11
Costa Banderas, Nayarit, MEX 63732

http://www.punta-mitaproperties.com/map_location.htm


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