Boutique Hotels of Los Cabos, Baja California Sur
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Boutique hotels in Los Cabos are a great option for those travelers that prefer to avoid the larger more impersonal hotels but many of these still have great amenities, locations and options for a great vacation in Baja California Sur.
Some folks find larger resort hotels about as comfy and personal as Grand Central Station at rush hour. People will go to great lengths to avoid being compartmentalized in rabbit warren-like rooms on their precious vacation. The truly desperate will pay a king’s ransom for personal attention and exclusivity as found in some luxury hotels that can cost from $600 to $4,500 per night. Only the rich and foolish with their pesos can afford that.
A boutique hotel can offer its guests a sense of privacy and care which larger institutional hotels like a Hilton or the One and Only Palmilla cannot due to their sheer scale. Given a choice- would you rather be 1 out of 800 guests in a hotel, or 1 out of 30?
Boutique hotels are generally close to civilization but apart from the roar of the maddening crowd. If you’re looking for Shangri-la by the Sea of Cortez you can find it in Los Cabos. But be forewarned, boutique hotels can be highly personal often reflecting the owners tastes, and ones man’s pleasure may be another’s trip into schizophrenia.
The Blarney Castle Inn is an All-Suites boutique hotel on a mountainside overlooking downtown Cabo. Blending Irish whimsy with desert-by-sea – is no easy trick. But this place pulls it off. Surrealistic murals, an outside shower with water spouting out of a ceramic pot, a cannon protruding from a parapet and more – adds fun to your stay here.
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You will enjoy dining on the terrace overlooking the pool with great views of downtown Cabo (especially the lights at night), the marina and the Sea of Cortez beyond. This hotel features 9 units including a 2 bedroom 3.5 bath penthouse that sleeps 8. All units have full kitchens. A favorite hang for fishermen – this cozy place is great for those wishing to cook their own catch-of-the-day on the hotels outdoor barbeque.
Marbella Suites is another great option in the Los Cabos corridor which was originally built in 1958, making it one of the oldest of the hotels in Baja Sur region. Marbella Suites is a quaint 40 suite boutique hotel that has been recently been remodeled with more to come.
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While there are no in room televisions or in room phones they will make local calls for you at the desk, along with concierge services and offer unlimited calls to the U.S. and Canada, as well a multimedia room with a large screen television with satellite reception, Fitness center as well as in room spa service just to name a few of the amenities.
Located right on the beach with a large lagoon style pool and poolside bar, terrace restaurant and conference facilities. The Marbella suites include patio areas, kitchenettes, refrigerators, microwaves, coffee makers, in room safes and air conditioners.
Marbella Suites has a real old hacienda feel while still being very modern and comfortable. The restaurant could use a little larger selection but they do offer separate breakfast, lunch and dinner menus. I only had the opportunity to try the lunch and while I felt the options a little limited, the food was very good with awesome views of the ocean whether you are eating in or out on the terrace.
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The Bungalows Hotel is just 3 blocks out of downtown Cabo. This quaint 16-unit hotel is buried in a lush tropical garden overlooking a swimming pool. Offering breakfast served “fountain side,” massage services, peace and tranquility in the city. Suites are air conditioned, and kitchenettes are available. A traditional Mexican palapa comfy stay – it’s perfect for fishermen and honeymooners who wish to avoid the time-share scene found in the larger hotels. Guests have been known to get lost in a book by the pool – never to return home. And there’s a free video library (one more reason to stay).
The Cabo Surf Hotel located in San Jose, is hidden in a seaside cove between the One and Only Palmilla resort development and the famous Costa Azul surf break.
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This waterfront boutique hotel takes one back to a time before Cabo was overbuilt with mega hotels. Here serenity by the sea prevails. Ancient palms touch the sky surrounding the view of Acapulquitos beach and Palmilla bay beyond. Surfing legend and surf movie star Mike Doyle runs a surf school on the beach where kids from 8 to 80 are guaranteed to stand up on a board and rip. Marriage ceremonies are often held on the green lawns adjacent to an infinity swimming pool that blends into the seas horizon. Magnificent wedding photos and memories come easy here.
Film directors, stars and surfer families who have arrived in life, have kept this Spanish hacienda styled hotel a secret for years. A penthouse sleeps 8-10. The villas have Jacuzzis and all 22 rooms have ocean views – which is what most of us came to Cabo for.
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The hotel's 7 Seas Restaurant located on a palapa covered terrace also overlooks the beach and sea. It features a gallery of original art and an affordable upscale international menu including Kobe beef, scallops in cilantro sauce, fresh lobster, and desserts that can cause serious addiction. You can watch the sunrise and surfers over breakfast, the whales and dolphins over lunch, and experience a moonrise over the Sea of Cortez.
A new Sea Spa and salon features facials and massages including hot rocks, herbal, seaweed wraps and beauty treatments. Newlyweds and others - whose romance candles are still burning, will appreciate the special hydro-whirlpool massage treatment designed for couples. The Palmilla and Querencia golf courses are just across the road. Cabo’s just 20 minutes up the road, and San Jose del Cabo five minutes down the road in the other direction. Far enough from the maddening crowd.
Casa Natalia - is an architect designed 16-room, boutique hotel on the plaza in downtown San Jose del Cabo about a mile from the beach. As 80% of
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the visitors who come to Los Cabos, come for a beach vacation, the distance from ones waterbed to saltwater requires mentioning. Tourist trinket traps, cigar shops, restaurants, realtor offices, and galleries abound within a three-block radius. Out front on the plaza, fiestas and photo ops of Mexican brides in frilly dresses, and munchkins on pink plastic trikes are a daily delight.
The international style building is graced with fountains, tall palms and bougainvilleas, and was designed for the sophisticated traveler more interested in staying in town than relaxing by a tropical beach in Baja. Imagine, who would want to do that? The architect did a terrific job working with a long narrow property adjacent to commercial buildings with a noisy boulevard behind. The result is a peaceful inner-city spa-like environment. But, there’s NO spa…. The hotel touts “In-room spa services” notwithstanding that nearly every hotel (and hooker) in the world can provide the same on request. The plush, bright color-washed 16 rooms have balconies facing the narrow courtyard and side of the adjacent commercial building.
Behind the hotel is a fresh water river that feeds an ocean estuary a mile away. Hundreds of species of migrating birds visit here on their annual southern migrations. A new boulevard (under construction) runs behind the hotel separating the downtown from the estuary. Loose cattle, burros and horses frequent the estuary and downtown San Jose often at night to dine on local gardens. Use caution when encountering toros (bulls). No children under 13 are permitted at the hotel.
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Casa Rafael in Cabo San Lucas is a small, wonderfully weird 10-room boutique hotel. Rumors abound regarding the true origins of this bordello (excuse me) boutique hotel. Flaunting a coat of Indian turquoise paint she sits on a dirt hilltop road one short block above Cabo’s raucous Medano Beach. Old timers claim she was a high-class cantina for Mexican politicos in the 60’s. Others insist Salvador Dali designed it after a mind-addling trip to Disneyland.
Bouffant haired creatures haunt the piano bar where mirrors run wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling. Christmas lights decorate the bar, the maze of rooms downstairs and outside year around, giving credence to the bordello story. There’s a sofa stuffed Cuban cigar smoking room, and a 3,000 gallon aquarium walled dining room right out of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The turquoise décor continues onto the dining patio where an 8’ tall day-glow orange seahorse guards the swimming pool. Giant Macaw parrots lurk in a jungle mural around the corner. A roving singing quartet belts out Italian opera classics while you dine on your arrachera (Mexican steak).
With semi-live entertainment in the Piano Bar and singing waiters on the psychedelic patio, you’ve never been more dazed and confused at dinnertime. Your entire gastronomic experience is thrown off-balance by the kitschy ambience. However, the seafood soup in faux lobster bisque was tantalizing and other items ordered from escargot to the duck in a raspberry chipotle sauce were equally aboveboard however overpriced. Dine with your eyes wide shut and imagine it’s all a dream.
Upstairs are ten tired guest rooms slept in by thousands of sports fishermen for the past fifty years. At $100 per night, they’re a better value than the dinner downstairs that may set you back double the room cost. The 2nd floor salon leading to the guest rooms is a trip into a Mexican version of Alice in Wonderland. There, hundreds of folk craft items float about the walls, ceiling and furniture. It’s all so strange…. It must be art.
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Vista Azul Suites and Spa – is a great concept – providing a healthy alternative for health conscious travelers with its Cascada restaurant featuring European, organic and vegetarian health foods and its “Temazcal” – a Mexican steam bath experience. Within this traditional outdoor clay structure, one can get herb steamed to perfection just like a Mayan. Also located nearby the pool is a palapa hut with massage beds that beckon the weary. Unfortunately, the entire hotel site is located just yards from the noisy highway greatly diminishing any chance of being relaxed, rejuvenated or energized as their promotional literature suggests
Dining under the palapa at the far end of the pool with the sound system drowning out the trucks passing by is doable. And the food is good – especially the seafood bisque. The hotel features 29 – 1 and 2 bedroom suites – full kitchens. Just outside of Cabo on the highway – a half mile to the beach.
Staying There:
The Blarney Castle Inn: Libertad s/n, Col. Lienzo Charro, Cabo San Lucas Rates: In season - $79 - $290usd plus 12% tax Tel (624) 143-2160
Cabo Surf Hotel: Acapulquitos Beach, Km. 28 Transp. Hwy. San Jose del Cabo. Major credit cards accepted. Rates: $250 to $550 plus 13% tax and $7 per night service charge. For reservations call: (From the USA) 858 964-5117 Local: (624) 142-2666 www.cabosurfhotel.com
Marbella Suites: Los Cabos corridor approx KM 5 , Major credit cards accepted. Rates: $135-$350.00 usd plus 12% tax, Special packages available as well; Phone, (52(624) 144-1060
The Bungalows Hotel: Blvd. Miguel Angel Herrera, Cabo San Lucas Rates: $79-$290 usd plus 12% tax Tel. (624) 143-0585 Casa Natalia: Boulevard Mijares No. 4, San Jose del Cabo. Major credit cards accepted. Rates: $285-$425US plus 12% tax and 15% service charge. Local: (624) 146-7100
Casa Rafael’s Hotel: One block from Medao beach in Cabo. Major credit cards accepted. Rates: $100 per night plus 12% tax Tel. (624) 143-0739
Vista Azul Suites and Spa Km. 3.5 Carret. Pransp., el Tezal, Cabo San Lucas Rates: $125-285 per night, 1 and 2 bedroom suites, outside pool and spa. Tel (624) 144-4727