Choosing a Place to Stay in Los Cabos

Whether you are a first-time or veteran Los Cabos [1] visitor, finding a place to stay involves an overwhelming variety of choices.

There are all-inclusive resorts, boutique hotels, basic motels, bed-and-breakfasts, condominiums, timeshares, and villas of all sizes. (And some resorts mix and match, to give even more choice.) You can be at the beach, on a golf course, or in town.

You can book directly with a resort or private owner or use a booking service or property management company. And you can spend US$50–950 a night, depending on your budget and the level of comfort you seek.

If you’d like a quieter location where you can look at the beach but swim in a pool, the Corridor [2] or hotel zone of San José [3] would be a good choice. If you want to surf, consider Playa Costa Azul, just outside San José. For swimming and nightlife within walking distance of your hotel, head to Cabo San Lucas [4].

High-end resorts feature a full list of amenities, usually including air-conditioning, direct-dial phones, satellite TV, multiple swimming pools, swim-up bars, tennis courts, hot tubs, fitness centers, kids’ club, and beach palapas, plus on-site restaurants and bars. Some resorts also have their own dive centers, spa services, horseback riding, and ATV rental services. High-speed wireless Internet, VoIP phones (free long distance), and flat-screen TVs are some of the newest amenities that hotels and condo owners are adding to differentiate themselves.

Vacation rental condos or villas, or condo-style hotels, afford the most flexibility, as you can cook some of your own meals and venture out for others. Many of the newest condo complexes are concentrated near Playa Costa Azul, between San José and the Corridor. Most are on or near the beach, and many have tennis courts, swimming pools, and laundry facilities; however, the persistent sound of traffic on Mexico 1 is a drawback to this location. You can rent units directly from private owners by searching for listings online (on www.craigslist.com [5] and www.vrbo.com [6], for example) or by contacting a property management service. (Many of these services also advertise on the private-owner sites.)

Planning Ahead

If you are thinking about a year-end holiday vacation, book as far in advance as possible. Repeat visitors reserve many of the most popular rooms and rentals as much as a year in advance for the weeks around Christmas and New Year’s Day. February and March are popular, too, and despite the number of choices for accommodations, there are a handful of resorts—including the One&Only Palmilla, Dreams, and Riu Palace—that seem to be full almost all the time. Flexible travelers need not plan so far ahead, and they are often rewarded with better deals.

Booking Services and Property Management Companies

If you haven’t yet decided on a specific location within Los Cabos [1], or you have a very specific set of criteria for choosing a place to stay, contact a booking service agent, who can give you an overview of several different properties that meet your criteria and your budget.

The following companies specialize in Los Cabos-area bookings:

Delfin Hotels & Resorts, also called Cabo Hotels (toll-free U.S. tel. 800/524-5104), lists a wide variety of villas, condos (Terrasol, Las Manañitas, Mira Vista, Mykonos) all-inclusive resorts, and bed-and-breakfasts. It also publishes several Cabo accommodations websites, including www.cabohotels.com [7], www.cabocondos.com [8], and www.allinclusivescabo.com [9].

Baja Properties (Doblado and Morelos, San José tel. 624/142-0988, Cabo San Lucas tel. 624/143-2560, toll-free U.S. tel. 877/464-2252, www.bajaproperties.com [10]) has 20 years of experience in Los Cabos real estate marketing, eight office locations, and a team of 25 agents.

Watsonville, California–based Earth, Sea & Sky Vacations (ESSV, toll-free U.S. tel. 800/745-2226, www.cabovillas.com [11]) specializes in luxury vacation packages to the Los Cabos area. It represents 90 villa rentals, ranging from two- to nine-bedroom units, starting at US$1,500 per night, as well as 30 resorts. For an extra fee, ESSV staff will stock your villa prior to your arrival with the foods and supplies you request. Guests can also opt for in-villa services, such as Pilates or yoga classes, spa treatments, and chef services (for one special meal or three meals daily). Since ESSV also handles activity bookings for whale-watching, fishing, and snorkeling, many travelers work with the company to coordinate group trips, such as large family vacations or small weddings.

Companies that focus exclusively on Cabo San Lucas or San José del Cabo (as opposed to the entire region) are listed in the accommodations sections for those towns—Hotels in San José del Cabo [3] and Hotels in Cabo San Lucas [12].