Let me start off by saying that the total cost of our flights, hotel and transportation to and from the Cabo San Lucas airport was $2,900 CAD total for 2 people for 5 nights. This is for a 5 star, all inclusive hotel in Cabo San Lucas with an ocean view. I would say that is a darn good deal!
Lets break it down (assumption)
$500 flight x 2 = $1,000
Airport Transportation= $100
Hotel = $180 per person, per night for 5 nights
I don’t even know a 3 star hotel these days that offers hotels for $180 a night, not all inclusive. So with that in mind, it is pretty hard to complain. However, if you don’t find this wicked deal, you may start to pick it apart.
The first day we flew in from Calgary to Cabo and were on time. We flew Westjet through Westjet vacations and have been very loyal to them. With platinum status, we receive 3 free checked bags each, allowing us to bring our golf clubs at no additional cost. This saves us $50+ CAD a person for baggage and another $65+ CAD if we decide to golf in Cabo.
**Tip: If you are a wine snob like me, purchase some wine in Canada at Duty Free and bring it to Mexico if you don’t plan on traveling outside of your resort.
We arrived and got our luggage. From there, we were greeted by or driver. They allowed us to hang out for 15 minutes or so and grab a beer. Now remember, when you are in touristy locations, such as the airport, you pay a premium. We paid 10 USD a beer.
From there, we directly to the airport. No stops at any other hotels.
We checked in and they greeted us with Champagne. Ok – so this is where it gets a bit messy.
- The champagne is probably $5 a bottle. It is not good at all. If you want to buy a bottle of prosecco, you are minimum $100 CAD a bottle. If you want good wine (usually $100 a bottle back home in Canada, such as Caymus), you will pay $450 CAD for a bottle. CRAZY! However, they have to make their money somewhere right?
- Next – you may have already guessed it – time share greeters! So if you are looking for luxury but also like a discount like us, you may want to attend this meeting. If you attend the 1.5 hour long meeting, you can get specials, such as 2 for 1 golf (savings of $250 USD) or savings at the spa. We thought it was worth it. However, if you have a hard time saying no, you may be convinced into a minimum $30,000 USD “membership” which is a lot more expensive than your $250 USD savings. We met quite a few people who had the time share (although they claim it is not a time share) and were excited. We are sceptics and did not know what to believe based on past experiences. When looking up the reviews, they were not great however I will let you make this call.
- From there, we went to the room. The room is spacious. The bathroom as a bath tub and they provide candles and a lighter to have a romantic night. There is a his and her sink, opposite sides of the bathroom. The balcony is nice with 2 basic chairs. There is also a mini fridge that is stocked daily and a desk, if you need to work. Overall, we were happy with it.
*Recommendation: If we were to redo, we would get a swim out pool. We got an ocean view which was worth it but the swim out pool would have been convenient as it was 28c every day there.
- Lastly, on this day, we went to Oceana. This is where we went from “this hotel is incredible” to “this hotel is good for the price but the food sucks.” My biggest recommendation, DO NOT have the seafood at the restaurants. It is bland, dirty and very fishy. Once we caught on to this, we had better experiences elsewhere when we did not choose seafood. We did not return back to this restaurant.
The hotel has 4 restaurants. It is kind of odd that they do not allow reservations. It is first come first serve. This made it difficult to plan. We found that it was fairly easy to get in around 6pm. However, if you are looking to have a siesta before supper and go at 7pm, you may wait an hour or two.
Restaurants
Ocean/Seafood: Don’t do it. Do not eat the seafood here. The view and set up of the restaurant is beautiful though.
Italian: It was better! The bread is good. The pear salad was good too. I had the Bolognese which I thought tasted good (again- not 5 star food but WAY better than seafood) and my fiancé had the steak. He thought it was very fatty but ok wit hit.
Mexican: BY FAR our favorite. Who would have thought right? Mexico making good Mexican food. We had the fajitas both nights and would have them every night. We did the chicken and beef combo. The tacos come with rice, beans, guacamole, salsa and stir fried veggies. DECILIOUS!
Asian: We thought this one was ok too. We tried to avoid the seafood which was a good decision. The rolls were ok (mixed opinion when asking people in the resort as well). The Mongolian beef was fantastic. Tons of veggies, a good sauce and good beef.
Now onto drinks…
Wine: As mentioned before, the wine was VERY expensive, unless you had the house wine. The house wine was ok. We drank it and didn’t’ die. However, if you are a wine connoisseur, prepare for a hefty bill. We do not know if this is possible but if you are able to, I would get wine prior and bring it to the restaurant.
Cocktails: We were actually pleasantly surprised that they had every cocktail that you could imagine. The passionfruit and spicy margaritas were popular in the pool. The espresso martinis were popular in the night. All cocktails were included so you do get good bang for your buck there.
Non-Alcoholic: For those who do not like or can not drink alcohol, there are still plenty of options. I did see someone with a non-alcoholic beer however I am not sure if he brought or if it was served by the resort. At breakfast, there were great juice options and a smoothie station. There was also a Café bar that made lattes – hot and cold, and mostly every other espresso drink. They even offered dairy free options.
Activities:
There are lots of activities at the resort. We felt like we had something to do every day.
Gym: The gym was nice with new equipment. I would say it is a bit on the small side however it had everything you needed. There are 3-4 treadmills. While those were busy, I walked a loop within the hotel complex that was easy. The gym and hotel rooms have great AC.
Pool: The pool had a lot going on, especially in the mid-day. After 2pm though, it surprisingly got quiet. We thought it was funny that the DJ was only on for water aerobics and volleyball. Water aerobics always started at noon and volleyball was always at 1pm. From there, they would have a singing group (not great but hey, its entertaining) sing in the pool. After that, it was just people drinking.
The pool was also VERY warm (almost too warm that I wonder if it was pee or heated.) It was easy to get into though as it was probably 90 degrees. They also had hot tubs which is nice, as sometimes warm climate hotels only have warm tubs.
There were 2 pools – both with a swim up bar.
Court Yard: The court yard was just off the pool and could also keep you entertained. They had mini putt, ping pong, chess (big pieces), corn hole and a big fire pit for the evening. They also had competitions every day in the court yard.
Biking: This is one thing we did not do but wish we did. We saw the bike tour leave and come back when we were getting ready to depart from the resort. We assume it is about 2 hours long. There were about 15 people on the tour. We do not know where it went.
Golf: If you are an avid golfer, I would HIGHLY recommend the golf course. We golfed Mission / Ocean which was perfect. I think we preferred Mission as the views were incredible. Golf is very expensive – about $350 USD a round per person. This is where the time share presentation comes in handy. If you listen, we got 2 people for $250 USD after 1:30pm. We lucked out and had no one before us or after us so we got done the round in 3.5 hours. The golf includes all drinks, snacks and tacos/bigger meals. It DOES NOT include drinks or food at the club house though. The drinks were great (better than the resort), the food was fantastic and there were lots of options. The pace was good. The views were incredible. We would give the course a 10/10. If you do not listen to the presentation but still want to save a few dollars, you may book through the resort and save about $40 USD a person.
Ocean: The ocean was incredible. The resort is right on the water (although the rooms are back quite a bit for the most part). There is a bar at the ocean and chairs to relax. The tide is so strong that you can not swim in the ocean however the sand is beautiful and the view is incredible.
Evening: Lastly, every night they had entertainment (quite typical for Mexico). Our absolute favorite was the circus. Arrive early as there are only about 100 seats and they got filed up quickly. Each evening show is about 45 minutes. We attended every one and liked them.
Overall, I think the rating of the resort is a factor on price. I would rate it a 4/5 to 4.5/5. If the food was a bit better, and there was the option to reserve, I would have rated in 5/5. Again, this is comparing to other hotels for a similar price and what is included.
Lastly, DO NOT eat at STK in the airport. It cost me and my fiancé $150 USD for 2 burgers (nothing special) and 2 waters. Yes, this includes tip.
If this blog interested you, or if you have any questions, please drop your comments below.
Talk to you next trip!