Latest news with #Mandarina
Travel Weekly
15-05-2025
- Business
- Travel Weekly
Rosewood opens hotel in Mexico's Riviera Nayarit
Rosewood Hotels & Resorts has officially opened the Rosewood Mandarina in Riviera Nayarit, the luxury brand's fourth property in Mexico. Approximately a 45-minute drive from Puerto Vallarta International Airport, the 134-room hotel is part of the Mandarina luxury resort and residential complex. The development is also home to the Mandarina Polo & Equestrian Club and Greg Norman-designed Mandarina Golf Club, as well as the One&Only Mandarina, which opened in 2020. All accommodations at the Rosewood Mandarina feature private plunge pools and terraces. The property offers multiple dining venues, including La Cocina, which serves traditional Mexican cuisine, and Buena Onda, specializing in coastal Spanish fare. Two additional venues -- a Japanese fine-dining concept called Toppu and a cliffside cocktail bar known as Barra Penasco -- are scheduled to open later this year. Other highlights include the resort's Asaya Spa, which draws inspiration from indigenous healing rituals, and the Explorers Club children's program, which offers activities like nature hikes and sustainability workshops. Rosewood plans to open its fifth property in Mexico, the Rosewood Mexico City, next year.
Forbes
12-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Founder Juan Bremer Builds Sustainable Mexican Resort Community Of Childhood Dreams
Juan Bremer wants to protect the coastline of Mexico from overdevelopment by developing it himself — responsibly. Juan Bremer didn't set out to become a real estate developer. He wanted to make movies. But childhood memories of exploring Mexico's unspoiled beaches stayed with him. 'There was a peaceful energy there,' he says. 'I always thought they were going to be over—like, how many virgin beaches are left in the world? It felt like a disappearing asset.' Now, Bremer is the visionary behind Xala, a 3,000-acre sustainable development along the Costalegre coastline in Jalisco, Mexico. The project blends ultra-low-density luxury with reforestation, regenerative agriculture, and community enterprise. It's a model for how high-end hospitality might evolve when the goal is to protect land instead of merely building on it. A drone shot of the coastline off of Xala in Costalegre, Mexico. From Filmmaking to Fundraising Before Xala — and before his high-profile success with Mandarina — Bremer studied film in Los Angeles and worked in the industry for several years. But it was while poring over government maps in the early 2000s, trying to locate promising coastal land, that his career pivoted. 'This was pre-Google Earth,' he recalls. 'I was doing it Indiana Jones-style.' While scouting land in Costalegre, Bremer had a chance encounter with another developer, Ricardo Santa Cruz. 'We were both going after the same land,' Bremer says. Santa Cruz warned him about a few 'complications' that needed addressing, yet Bremer's lawyers urged him not to trust the other party. Bremer followed his instincts. 'I looked Ricardo in the eye and said, 'Fuck it. I trust you,' he laughs, recalling the moment he committed to the partnership that would shape Xala. He canceled his scheduled pitch to 300 local farmers and decided to work with Santa Cruz instead. Soon after, Bremer raised $150 million in early capital—with institutional backing from Goldman Sachs and TPG-Axon—and brought in his brother Jeronimo Bremer to help shape a new development company. He went on to co-found RLH Properties, which developed some of Mexico's top luxury hotels, including the Four Seasons Mexico City and One&Only Mandarina. Xala would come later, representing an evolution of the model. Miles of coastline and jungle will remain preserevd. The USDA-certified organic Xala farm will provide mangoes and other produce to the hotel and residences. The Jungle-Inspired Blueprint Started at Mandarina At Mandarina, Bremer reimagined what luxury on the Mexican coast could look like. While the resort had beach access, it was the jungle that truly defined the site. 'We didn't have a great beach,' he says, 'but we had incredible jungle. That was our real asset.' Preserving the forest became a design imperative. To avoid clearing trees, the team broke the guest experience into zones: a beach club, cliffside dining, and a jungle retreat. 'To give people that Bali or Thailand feeling — without a 17-hour flight — we needed to protect the jungle,' he says. 'And that meant more land and higher costs.' The hotel's build cost reached $1.5 million per key — double the norm in Mexico — and yet, homes sell for upwards of $35 million. 'Everyone told me to price at five,' Bremer says. 'But I knew what it was worth.' Mandarina proved the model could work. Xala, says Bremer, takes it a step further by blending an elevated model of agrarian luxury with environmental protection and community partnership. For Xala, Bremer eschewed the usual luxury resort trappings like golf courses and opted for a mango farm instead. The team planted 440 acres of mango trees, with more fruits and vegetables in the farm's pipeline to provide certified USDA organic produce for the residences and hotel. 'You can't fake authenticity,' he says. 'This is a real agrarian place in Mexico. It needs to feel like it.' Renderings of a rancho property. From Macro to Micro, Designing the Guest Experience The development will ultimately include a Six Senses resort (opening in 2027), 200 homes, an outpost of Basil's Bar from Mustique, and a wine bar stocked with blue chip labels. The production of mezcal and tequila and a community market are also in the works. At Xala, Bremer's vision of hospitality extends well beyond architecture. The daily rhythm of the property will be anchored by two experiential hubs. The Surf Club will function as the project's social hub in the mornings. The barefoot, open-air venue will offer everything from eggs Benedict and waffles to top-tier coffee and traditional Mexican dishes, all served steps from the sand. A wide range of activities will radiate from the hub, including surfing, paddleboarding, mountain biking along five kilometers of trails, tennis, soccer, and horseback riding through jungle and coastal terrain. Bremer also emphasizes the importance of 'soft experiences' like impromptu barefoot dinners beneath the trees lit by real candles or surprise meals drawn entirely from the farm. 'We're going to have someone just dedicated to candles,' he says. 'Who else goes to that level of detail?' The property will offer horseback riding among other activities. In the afternoons and evenings, attention shifts to the Hacienda, or Resident's Club, which will house the wine club, a speakeasy-style bar, and a Michelin-star-caliber restaurant. The Hacienda will be separate from the hotel but available to residents with a Xala Membership, including branded residence owners. The culinary direction is being shaped by two internationally renowned chefs: Mikel Alonso, co-founder of Biko in Mexico City and the contemporary Mexican restaurant Mexta in Austin, and Jonatan Gómez Luna Torres, known for his experimental, high-concept work at Le Chique in Cancún and also a partner at Mexta. Together, they're building a dining program focused on technique, seasonality, and regional storytelling. Renderings for a rancho property. At the Center: Nature and Community Bremer describes Xala's philosophy as having three pillars: nature, community, and profitability. 'If it doesn't work as a business, it doesn't work,' he says. 'But the profit can't come at the expense of our core values.' The development prioritizes ultra-low-density building — nearly 3000 acres will hold just 140 homes, of which 40 will be branded Six Senses Residences that can circulate in the rental pool. No buildings will be constructed within 100 meters of the shoreline, which hosts nesting turtles. Instead, Bremer has designated those beachfront areas as protected natural zones. 'The beach can't be touched,' he says, adding, 'When we came to Xala, people would find 300 nests of turtles. Now they find 3,000.' Community is an important component of the project, and not just the community of homeowners and guests, but area residents, business owners, and their families. To that end, the Xala Foundation was created around 3 pillars: economic resilience, health and lifestyle, and education and culture. The first empowers local entrepreneurship, the second supports goal-setting and self-esteem building, and the third improves education and rural life through investment in infrastructure and cultural projects. For example, local families are being trained and supported to run their own small enterprises, supplying the development with eggs, sustainably caught fish and shrimp, salt, produce, and more. 'We don't just want people to be gardeners and waiters,' he says. 'We want them to be providers and owners.' Easy days and nights at Xala are ahead for those lucky enough to visit or stay. Why It Works As the visionary, Bremer balances inspiration with Excel sheets. He oversees everything from the overall creative vision to the granular budgeting. 'I can get really into the waterproofing specs of a roof,' he laughs. 'But if I don't, who will?' Asked to sum up his philosophy, Bremer offers three words: 'Love, passion, reality.' The third may be the most important. 'I'm not a dreamer,' he says. 'You have to have a vision, yes. But you also need a plan to make it real.'
