Inside Naviva, A Four Seasons Resort, Where Your Every Wish Is Their Command

Stay Here For

A convenient, all-inclusive stay that feels custom-built for you.

At a hotel, are you the kind of person who always requests the pillow menu? The type who customizes every food order or needs a room with both a rainfall shower and a deep soaking tub? Then you’ll want to consider Naviva, A Four Seasons Resort. Whether it’s extra towels or a particular view, the team here will never be fazed by your requests.

Personalization and hospitality are hallmarks of this intimate, adults-only resort. At the 30-person-max, beachfront enclave in Mexico (a five-minute drive from its sister property, Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita), the nightly rate covers all meals and drinks plus several activities. But that’s where Naviva’s resemblance to the all-inclusive resort you’re probably imagining ends.

The hotel’s flexible interpretation of the concept means that when you book Naviva, someone on the team immediately schedules a call to learn about your preferences, so they can start programming a completely bespoke stay. The call covers not just what you’d like to do (or not) but also gets down to the nitty-gritty: How should your minibar be stocked? What’s your preferred level of firmness for your mattress?

When you meet the resort staff for the first time, it might seem as if they know you—because, in many ways, they do.

You’ll feel equally at home when you’re received not at the front desk but at Capullo Landing, a bamboo lattice-shaded living room furnished with comfy sofas and a rope swing. With no credit card handover or forms to complete (instead, you’ll be offered a refreshing cold towel and a welcome drink served in a petite gourd), arrivals here feel less transactional and more like genuine welcomes. There’s even a policy to call guests by their first names—a small gesture that goes a long way. At Naviva, familiarity trumps formality every time.

At Copal Cocina, request a table in view of the stunning fabric art installation suspended from the ceiling.

The restaurant (officially Copal Cocina) is usually just called “the kitchen”—and there’s no menu. Daily specials are verbally presented, but they’re just the jumping-off point for a culinary adventure. Modify your meal as you’d like (make all the substitutions!) or request something completely different. As long as the ingredients (locally sourced and organic whenever possible) are on hand, the chef will make anything you like.

The Room

They’re called Ocean-View Bungalows and Ocean-View Grand Bungalows, but a more fitting description would be ocean-view cottages with canvas roofs. Glamping this is not! The walls are concrete, and the space includes an air-conditioned bedroom and bathroom with earth-toned decor that reads as “Mexican safari chic.”

Also included is a tented living room space; there’s no AC here, but there is a ceiling fan, and screen doors leading to the deck welcome the breeze while keeping insects out. Each tent ­has a plunge pool, both an indoor and outdoor shower, and a stand-alone bath framed by a picture window with a Pacific view. Grand Bungalows have the same layout, just with larger bedrooms and decks big enough for firepits.

Most of the amenities and accent items—ceramic coffee cups, woven wall hangings, the coffee in the minibar, the pair of straw hats—are proudly “hecho en México.” There’s no gift shop, but much of what you see can be purchased and taken home with you. So if the calabash candleholder on the dinner table strikes your fancy, the staff will happily sell you one from their stock and reorder from the local maker.

The Features

Private decks overlook the ocean and make for a dreamy spot for your morning coffee.

Don’t miss: The two spa pods (one facing east, the other west) in a private garden. These tiny oases have an outdoor shower, Japanese-style wood hot tub and canopied daybeds. One 60-minute treatment is included in your stay, along with 30 minutes in the spa pod, but as long as there’s no one waiting, you can linger here as long as you like.

Standout features: Naviva’s outdoor Mar Gym doesn’t have electronic equipment. Instead, there’s a set of dumbbells and barbell weight plates fashioned from stones mined on the property, and a jungle-gym frame with a bench, punching bag and TRX straps.

Can’t stop thinking about: A steaming cup of the resort’s coffee—made with beans from a former employee’s farm and roasted daily in-house—is the best part of waking up.

The Vibe

Relax at the Selva Pool, surrounded by thick tropical foliage.

What are you packing? Not much. This is a barefoot-casual resort, where swimwear, a few shorts, T-shirts and a pair of flip-flops will do.

The design detail you won’t stop coveting: The simple yet stunning fabric art installation suspended from Copal Cocina’s ceiling is mesmerizing (but, unfortunately, too big to take home).

Are guests staying in or going out? In theory, you could go to Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita for dinner or play a round on one of its two golf courses. But in reality, most guests are perfectly happy to chill right here.

The dish you’re re-creating at home: In the complimentary, hands-on Seacuterie class, you’ll learn how citrus juices cure the seafood in Mexican specialties like ceviche and aguachile. By the end of the session, you’ll feel confident enough to whip them up in your own kitchen.

Catch the sunset from a cliff-edge perch around the firepit.

Everything Else

• Number of rooms: 15
• Number of pools: 1
• Fitness center? Yes
• Spa? Yes
• Salon? No
• Number of bars/restaurants: 1 bar, 1 restaurant
• 24-hour room service? Yes
• Childcare and kids club? No