Los Cabos SY Vacations-Maria

This was a great trip for me as having sold Los Cabos in the past I had never gotten the hang of the various areas along the coast so this trip was so beneficial to me. Everything was so clean and really no litter to speak and no “musty” resort smells.

Cabo san Lucas: More active with shopping, restaurants and nightlife located within walking distance. Famous Medano Beach, the only swimmable beach in this destination is located here.

The Corridor – area between Cabo san Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. Non swimmable beaches but the beaches are beautiful in this area. Still room for new resorts to be built in the area.

San Jose del Cabo is the original area of this Mexican destination. Smaller, quainter, quieter town compared to Cabo san Lucas with shops and restaurants close by. About 20 minutes from the SJD airport but no swimmable beaches in this area.

Puerto Los Cabos – A new area consisted of a gated, more upscale community. Resorts in this area consist of Secrets Los Cabos, JW Marriott, El Ganzo and soon to come, Ritz-Carlton Reserve (early 2017).

The following hotels are in the order we visited them.

Barceló Gran Faro, San Jose del Cabo: U shaped hotel with a tower by the front entrance with a sport bar on top with amazing views (no kids allowed up there). In April/May they change the Infinity pool by the beach to saltwater for the summer. Since this was my first Fam to Mexico in many years I was surprised to NOT have the musty smell in most properties on this fam. I remember a fam many years ago to Cancun/Riviera Maya and the musty smell is what I remembered but not hear. Great family resort with 5 pools, lots of activities for all ages and great wide beach for beach sports.  We had lunch at their restaurant Las Olas by the beach, great buffet food with a beautiful beach view. Keep in mind that if you have a family with younger children, next door is the Royal Solaris with a great kid’s club/mini water park area (photos below) and from the Barceló Gran Faro you see right into this kid’s play haven so younger children may not be happy with no access to this area J

Royal Solaris, San Jose del Cabo:

Great family resort and again, for families with younger children I don’t think you can go wrong with this resort as they have this mini water park/play area however hindsight you may not see the rest of the resort if you stay here as your children may never want to leave.

Rooms were basic however they also offer the Ocean View Premier room category which has 2 double beds or 1 King and a Murphy bed. Rooms can be connecting rooms as well for extra space.

Junior Club for teens and new for later this year was going to be an evening beach camp for ages 5 – 12 with fun activities on the beach evening time. 

Posada Real, San Jose del Cabo – small property with 150 rooms located between Barcelo Grand Faro and Hyatt Ziva. Perfectly fine for the budget minded client who doesn’t require a ton of restaurant choices and activities. 3 story buildings, rooms basic and clean and some rooms have access right to the beach, 2 restaurants and 1 lounge. I really enjoyed the variety of cacti on the resort grounds and the beach chairs for lounging on the gorgeous beach. 

Secrets Puerto Los Cabos, Puerto Los Cabos – our host resort for this 3 night Fam and a great all inclusive, adults only resort I may add. Located in the new area north of San Jose del Cabo called Puerto Los Cabos.

Larger property with about 300 rooms and while our building was almost the furthest away from main lobby, dining, pool area & beach I never felt that the walk between was a big deal or particularly long. Swim out rooms as well both garden and ocean view and preferred Club with extra amenities as well. Rooms were very big and spacious, dark wood, double sinks in the bathroom, separate shower with rain shower head and view to the outside (can be closed with wooden doors) as well as Jacuzzi tub. Electronic key pad to show room available to cleaners or not which was nice compared to the regular red/green door hangers. Secret compartment for room service as well with access from the outside as well as from the inside. I didn’t order room service but they had a great breakfast buffet. We had dinner the 1^st night at their Hibatchi grill and food, drinks and dessert as well as the chef show was great. 

Breathless, Cabo san Lucas (AM Resorts) – adults only resort located in downtown Cabo San Lucas and the 1^st property we saw on our 2^nd morning at destination. For the right client (chip, modern and hip) you cannot go wrong with this property and you can’t beat the location. Located right next to the marina in Cabo and right on the swimmable Medano Beach and with a great view out towards the Arch. I was “disappointed” as I never saw the Arch, the angle from all the resorts we saw was never right however the beach and the view is amazing in this area. Since we toured the resort in the morning it was pretty quiet as I am sure everyone was still sleeping or enjoying a quiet breakfast. White exterior and interior and wide hallways. Rooms were large and beds facing the outside, half wall behind the beds with a desk. Really no hotel grounds around the resort but no loss as all the “action” in either the pools (2 of them), one with activities/music and then a more quiet one on the side of the resort or of course on the beach. Xhale Club room categories receive additional amenities. Great view from the roof top bar.

Pueblo Bonito Sunset, Cabo san Lucas area – located on the Pacific Ocean side about a 15 minute ride by bus from Cabo san Lucas across the mountains up and down winding roads with breathtaking views. Huge hillside resort but golf carts with resort staff to take you around the resort. Resort shuttle between PB Sunset resort and PB Rose in Cabos san Lucas so your clients can get around without a car and spend a day on Medano Beach or enjoy the town and some shopping and clients can eat at the other PB resorts as well.  Time share – yes and the rooms we saw were on public display for all to see. Great pool area down by the beach (non-swimmable) as well as smaller pools around the resort, closer to various accommodations. A great “sky pool area” with pool and food/drinks is located high above the resort grounds (shuttle).  Great family resort with larger accommodations and plenty of activities. Private chapel on the grounds with  Catholic service each Sunday. Only this resort and one other in Los Cabos with their own chapel, the other resort is the One and Only Pamilla. Spa on site as well as a great little market for those in a time shares but of course for all guests.

Pueblo Bonito Pacifica (adults only) , Cabo san Lucas area - one of my favorites for those wanting a “romantic, spa like, quiet boutique resort”. Located “next door” to PB Sunset Beach however still a distance away all alone on the vast beach here. We enjoyed a fabulous lunch at this resort after our walk through. Beautiful and quiet resort with about 150 rooms however remember you can always use the shuttle to get in to town for some more lively activities and night life. Currently the small gym is underground as well as the spa however there will be a new rooftop gym in the new building when it opens as listed above. 4 poster beach beds located on the beach.

The resort is adding 47 rooms (to the left of the photo below) scheduled to be done Dec ‘16.

From their website: Introducing The Towers at Pacifica - welcoming guests in December 2016

With the debut of The Towers at Pacifica, the luxury resort within a resort at Pueblo Bonito Pacifica Golf & Spa Resort, our guests can experience an added layer of luxury and sophistication. Two new towers will feature 47 guest rooms and suites with private terraces, including six suites with private plunge pools and one magnificent, 3,200-square-foot Presidential Suite. All have enhanced room amenities and 24-hour butler service that has been certified by the British Butler Institute. A third tower, which can be reached by sky bridge, will feature an oceanfront VIP Lounge open exclusively to guests of The Towers at Pacifica, the new Baja Med restaurant and a state-of-the-art fitness center overlooking the ocean.

The new Jack Nicklaus’ Quivira Golf Club is close by and was created as an exclusive amenity for guests of the Quivira community and Pueblo Bonito Oceanfront Resorts and Spas. During the round, players can refresh themselves at four comfort stations interspersed throughout the all-inclusive facility. A halfway house situated near the eighth green, called the "Oasis," showcases the culinary talents of the resort's chefs, with regional cuisine and refreshments available.

No time share at this resort. 

ME Cabo, Cabo san Lucas  – My least favorite on this trip. EP hotel catering to “rich kids” wanting to have fun (hookah pipes, loud music by the pool and condoms and intimacy kits in the rooms) but say they also welcome families (no kids club). The pools beds closest to the pool required that you buy champagne.

Make sure you quality your clients if they are considering this hotel. Great location on Medano beach. Soon to come is a “vodka walk in freezer, I assume similar to Icebar in Stockholm or at the ICEHOTEL in Sweden or elsewhere.
ME+ has extra amenities and VIP service at the resort but no children allowed in ME+. 

Royal Decameron, San Jose del Cabo – mid range, 3 star resort with 153 rooms, nothing spectacular but decent. 1 king/2 double and same décor in all rooms only change is the view. Bracelet required (red= alcohol yellow = non-alcohol) and if you lose your bracelet there is a charge for a new one. Located 5 minutes from San Jose del Cabo and next to Hyatt Ziva. Nice large pool area and fun pool staff. Activities on the beach as well and gym with view of the beach and the ocean.  Beach chairs and 4 poster beds on the beds for use as well.

On top of the gym was a roof top quiet pool area. There was a swim up bar up here, however it was closed as it was supposed to be quiet up there and guests we talked to were not happy as no servers came up here either for drink/food orders. 

Hyatt Ziva All inclusive, San Jose del Cabo - another favorite of my in San Jose del Cabo, especially for families but really there is something for everyone. This resort used to be a Barceló resort and my only regret is that we toured this hotel at night. We had a great Mexican buffet dinner here at one of their 8 restaurants. Large property with over 600 rooms and we saw their standard rooms as well as their Club rooms. Nice, large and clean. Hotel also has swim up Master rooms which we toured as well. Nice lobby bar which was also used as a piano bar. Spirit of ’68 is their sport bar and sure looked like a fun place to hang out in. Kids Club for ages 4-12 as well as a fun waterpark as well as a large spa. We didn’t tour closer to the beach area as it was really dark.