Bill Gates' Renovated Reclusive Mexican Resort Becomes Magnet for Top Tech Executives Dolia Estevez - Forbes
January 4, 2017

Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita, an ocean-front resort located on a private peninsula surrounded by white sand beaches in the Mexican state of Nayarit, is close to completing a multi-million dollar renovation that will turn the secluded property into one of Mexico's most exclusive beach destinations, the hotel said on December 15.

In 2014, in a vote of confidence for Mexico's buoyant tourist industry, Cascade Investment LLC, billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates’ private investment arm, purchased the 173-room Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita and adjacent land for $200 million in cash, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Ane Echeverria, a spokesperson for Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita, confirmed that the resort is owned by Gates' Cascade Investment and said the improvements "come from a plan of the ownership-resort management to enhance the property."

Echeverria said that part of the renovation is already completed. The Apuane Spa, with treatments and décor inspired by the Huichol indigenous people of the area,  opened last month after a $3.5 million makeover. While the Tamai Adult Pool, with a $650,000 restoration investment, reopened last Thanksgiving.

With an additional $3.6 million investment, the signature suites Sol and Luna are scheduled to open in March, in time for spring break. Echeverria said that the starting rates for the four-bedroom Luna suites will be $19,875 per night and for the five-bedroom bedroom Sol $23,875.

Gates is not the first billionaire to see Punta Mita's potential as a prime retreat for the well heeled. Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim Helú has been involved for some years in Punta Mita's real estate scene through Inbursa, Slim's banking and financial services company.

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