Where To Stay: Paradisus in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
White sand beaches, desolate, desert landscape, and enormous mountain peaks. Desert foliage contrasted by the bluest of seas. This is Cabo San Lucas, part of Mexico’s Baja California Sur peninsula.
For the second year in a row, we stayed at the beautiful Paradisus Los Cabos, an all-inclusive resort owned and operated by Melía Hotels International. Paradisus lies conveniently halfway between the airport and the downtown of Cabo San Lucas. We spent our honeymoon here last August and returned to relax for an early first anniversary celebration.
Why I chose Paradisus
- Affordable yet elegant and recently remodeled
- All inclusive, including drinks
- Accessibility to a swimmable beach, maintained by the hotel
- The presence of a sushi restaurant on the premises and included in the package (we LOVE sushi!)
On our first visit, we went all out and stayed in the VIP wing of the hotel – “Royal Service”. The advantages to Royal Service were the access to the adults-only pool, restaurant, lounge, and bar, as well as more specialized turndown service. Some of the royal service rooms have swim up pools in them, though we opted for an ocean view on the top floor instead. Last but not least, royal service includes access to your own butler via a cell phone that is given to you at check in. The idea is that you would call the butler to schedule activities, make reservations, or find out more information about the resort. We did not end up using our butler, but it is certainly a fun concept! We enjoyed the more exclusive pool and restaurant which had delicious made-to-order breakfast, lunch, and dinner options.
For this most recent visit, we skipped royal service to save some money and instead booked a garden suite. However, we were pleasantly surprised by an upgrade to an ocean view room when we checked in! Paradisus was also super accommodating with us by allowing a late checkout on our last day to get the most out of our time in Cabo.
Cabo Itinerary
Step 1: Sleep in
Step 2: Enjoy a delicious breakfast buffet at the Naos restaurant
Step 3: Head to the pool or the beach, sip mojitos, mimosas, or Dos Equis, and get fish tacos or chips and guacamole delivered straight to the beach chair
Step 4: Grab lunch at Gabi Beach Cafe or the Market Grill
Step 5: Afternoon nap in the heat of the day – maybe enjoy some room service
Step 6: Head back to the beach for the late afternoon cooler temperatures
Step 7: Shower and change for dinner
Step 8: Enjoy one or more than one of the restaurants – sushi, hibachi, eclectic Mexican, grill, or buffet
Step 9: Check out an evening activity – salsa dancing, Michael Jackson impersonator show, local mariachi band or jazz.
Paradisus Los Cabo Hotel Information
The hotel actually runs a bunch of other activities throughout the day that you can partake in – one day we did an aqua workout class, another a sushi making class. They offer volleyball in the pool or on the beach and a bunch of activities for children (in general, the hotel is super family friendly, if that is something you are looking for).
The decor of the hotel is incredibly well curated. It is open air with nice breezes throughout, carefully designed lounge areas, and tasteful touches in the restaurants. Nothing was ever too crowded, despite the resort’s size – restaurants and poolside cabanas included. Additionally, all the restaurants were very accommodating and flexible with dietary restrictions – the host always asked about them before seating and the menus were clearly labeled.
The rooms were well laid out with an area for in room dining, couch and coffee table, and a television with tons of movie stations. Every room has a balcony with lounge chairs as well. The bathrooms have double rain showers and incredible smelling toiletries from Mugler. The beds were soft and there was turn down service each evening with chocolates, robes, and slippers laid out. The mini-bar was also inclusive and restocked daily. It’s the little things, you know?
Sites to vitis in Cabo San Lucas
On our first visit, we ventured into the city of Cabo San Lucas for the afternoon. The hotel arranged a shuttle (though there is a convenient bus line right outside the hotel), and we were able to book a boat ride out to the famous archway, and meander around downtown, checking out the local shops and restaurants. We grabbed incredible tacos at Tacos Guss, a small, local restaurant with yummy pickled vegetables, salsas, and other traditional Mexican dishes (but come for the tacos!).
The hotel could also help you arrange for other kinds of activities each day like rappelling, zip-lining, snorkeling, or other water-sports.
Though this kind of vacation is definitely not my usual trip, both experiences at Paradisus and in Cabo have been absolutely exactly what I needed. Yes, jam packing every day with activities and site-seeing can be great, but sometimes it is nice to be pampered and stay put, every once in awhile. Consider staying at Paradisus on your next trip to Mexico (they also have many other resorts throughout the country, like in Cancun and Playa del Carmen).
