We stayed at Esperanza from 23-27Mar09. We were booked under the Paradise package, which included 20% off room rates, breakfast for two daily, and upgrade to Ocean View Casita. When we checked in they put us in a ground floor Casita, which was nice but being on the first floor did not offer much of a view of the ocean. We inquired about the upgrade and were told they would check to see if we could move into an upgrade room the next day. The next morning after breakfast we asked again about the upgrade and our concierge, Miguel, did arrange to move us to a second floor Casita. We hung out at the pool until the room was ready - about 1pm. It was a bit of a hassle to pack clothes and move but it was well worth it for the second floor ocean view.
We used Arturo of TransLobo for the airport pick-up and return. He was on time, accommodated our request to stop at a liquor store for wine, and provided a comfortable ride to the hotel. The return trip went off just as planned. Arturro charges $150 round trip and it was well worth the convenience and comfort to use this service. He is very polite, well spoken, and friendly. I highly recommend his service.
We ate at the hotel's restaurant for breakfast each morning. It includes the tower (fruit, pastries, cheese, and smoked salmon) and entree of choice plus coffee and juice. Each morning they have a small sample smoothie they serve after you're seated. It was a different variety each day and these were outstanding. They also had a different fresh juice each day (beyond the standard ones), like raspberry, plum/mint, etc. These were delicious. Breakfast entrees were okay, nothing special.
We ate most dinners at the hotel as we were so relaxed we didn't feel like leaving the property. Food is expensive here, but from what I've read from others who've visited Cabo, this is consistent across most restaurants. Our first night we ate at the outdoor restaurant by the pool. It's a great atmosphere with soft lighting, the flicker of flames from the fire pit, and ocean waves in the background. We ordered potato leek soup and tomato mozzarella salad to start. The soup bowl is brought to the table empty except for a small piece of lobster and some garnishes and then they pour the soup over this at the table. It was delicious. The salad was cherry tomatoes, different varieties/colors of heirloom tomatoes, slices of fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. All were very fresh and delicious. We also ordered the scallop appetizer to share as our entree. It was a very small portion, with only two small scallops. They were also good. The wine list by the glass is very limited. I had a decent sauvignon blanc for about $10/glass.
The second night we ventured into Cabo San Lucas to Edith's Restaurant. I don't recommend this restaurant - it is definitely a tourist place and the food is very average. It has a lively atmosphere, including lots of large parties with kids. We both ordered fish - my date ordered the catch of the day, sea bass, grilled and served with a garlic & olive oil sauce. I ordered grilled fish with mango sauce and thought I was also getting the sea bass but instead received some other fish that had been broiled. I did ask our server about it and he said the menu doesn't say it's grilled, which is not true. He offered to bring me grilled fish and what he brought back was the same fish originally served to me that they had thrown on the grill for a few minutes to put some grill marks on it. Needless to say, by this point the fish was overcooked. My date's fish was much better. Wine list by the glass was also very limited here as well. Didn't think to get a margarita, which probably would have been a better choice. We did have a nice salad to start - this was the highlight of the entire meal. It was mixed greens with some fresh papaya and mango, garnished with fresh nasturium flowers. It came with a poppyseed vinaigrette. It was very good. Service was attentive, but the mix-up on my fish and the food quality being just average brought down my overall impression of Edith's. If visiting again, I would not go back here. One thing to note - the street in front of Edith's is closed and seems to be under construction - there's no pavement, just sand, and you have to walk through this to get to the restaurant. Kind of difficult in nice high-heeled sandals.
Another night we ordered room service. We were lazy after hanging out at the pool all day and didn't feel like going out for dinner. We wanted to have a nice meal on our balcony by candlelight. Room service food was not good at all. It's as though the food came from another kitchen, or maybe it is the travel time from the kitchen to the room that hurt the quality. We ordered the same tomato mozzarella salad and it had only cherry tomatoes (no nice heirloom varieties), some which tasted like they were not fully ripe. Not nearly as good as the one we had at the restaurant. We also ordered pasta with eggplant and roasted tomato sauce and instead they brought us fettucine noodles with some chucks of stewed tomatoes. No eggplant. It clearly seemed to be a different pasta from the menu. Not sure what hapened because the room service attendant restated our order back to me on the phone correctly. We did not bother to send it back. The pasta was nearly cold by the time we got it and did not have much sauce. We also ordered coffee and mango sorbet for dessert. The sorbets here are house made and delicious. This was the highlight of our room service meal.
The pool area is beautiful. We went to the hotel pool, which is adults only. No problem getting lounge chairs. Service was attentive - when you arrive at the pool the attendant asks you where you want to sit and covers the lounge chair with a towl and provides a neck pillow. He then brings you an ice bucket with several chilled waters. This was the routine each day and service was consistent. Everyone at the pool pretty much kept to themselves and it was quiet and relaxing. The beach area just below the pool is ok; the sand is very course and contains small rocks - not something you want to go barefoot on. There were some big rock formations in the shallow part of the water and we noticed a lot of crabs nestled among the rocks. Fun to see.
We did not use the spa while there. The prices were probably triple what I pay at home and felt relaxed enough without using the services. On two occasions there were spa staff at the pool offering complimentary foot massage and neck/shoulder massage. I took advantage of both and they were very enjoyable. Staff seem to be well trained.
Overall, our entire trip was extremely relaxing, service was excellent at Esperanza, the dinners in the restaurant were very good, and our room was very clean and comfortable. I would highly recommend this hotel and we will definitely be back.
