Our trip was originally planned for Saturday September 16, 2006 through Saturday September 23, 2006, but a hurricane came through and all flights into Cabo were cancelled. Instead our stay was moved to Tuesday September 19, 2006 through Tuesday September 26, 2006.

We arrived at the airport in Cabo at about 12:15 local time. Going through immigration was a joke. They never looked at our passport photos or the names on the passports. Waiting for our baggage took about 20 minutes. Customs was also quick. Like other places in the Mexico you push a button to see if you are selected for a random search of the your bags. Our bags were searched, but they look half-heartedly through the bags

We rented a car through Avis. The counter is right outside Customs and they immediately told us to go outside and catch the bus. It is the walk from the rental car counter to the outside that you have to make it through a gauntlet of 30+ time share salespeople. The rental agency is located outside the airport area and once we arrived there is when the initial shock of what was to come on our trip set in. The car rental quote we had was for $77USD and with tax it came to about $95USD. But many reports I read advised strongly to get Mexican insurance. What a mistake!!! We took liability and collision. Liability was $12USD/day and collision was $25USD/day. This pushed our rental up to $400USD for the week. A for this low low price we got a Dodge Neon.

The highway to the hotel was right outside the rental agency. When driving in Cabo, get use to performing U-Turns as that is how you get anywhere. The drive to the hotel was easy and took about 30 minutes. Finding the hotel was we were on-site was not too easy. The way to the hotel was not marked clearly, but if you just keep driving you will hit the hotel when you cant go any further.

You will arrive in a courtyard where you will be greeted by several people. One will take your keys and park the car, another takes your bags and yet another will take you to your room. The individual taking you to your room will take you on a brief tour of the hotel property prior to escorting you to your room. The baggage handler will be waiting for you at your room. You are then given a tour of the room and the key to your room.

We had booked a Palapa Casita. The tub was filled with water with rose petals floating in the water. The room was nice and very comfortable, but other than the palapa roof, there was not much of a wow factor. When you enter the room there is a bed, desk and sitting area. The bed faces a large double sliding glass door to a balcony that runs the length of the room. The balcony has a built-in couch and an infinity hot tub over looking the central property area. From the balcony you can see the pools and a great view of the sea.

The closet was lacking a sufficient number of hangers for individuals who may bring many dress clothes. Also, the only drawers for clothes were in the nightstands. The room has wireless internet access, so bring your computer. The room also includes a DVD player, stereo with IPod docking station, iron, hair dryer and coffee maker. The toilet is in a separate room from the main bathroom. The main bathroom has his and hers sinks and showers The showers are set up in an open area in the main bathroom with no privacy. It is pretty much like a locker room shower setup.

Within 5 minutes of settling into the room, an individual arrived and made us complimentary margaritas. The spa also called and offered us complimentary 15-min neck massages. I regret not taking them up on their offer.

We went down to the bar area and had lunch in an area that overlooks the ocean. The lunch was good, but I can't remember what we had. When we returned to the room there was a belated birthday dessert waiting. Due to the delay caused by the hurricane we didn't spend my birthday in Cabo, but the hotel remembered it. It was a very nice touch.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing in a cabana on the beach. We had dinner in the Palapa restaurant. As we were warned it was outrageously expensive. My wife had a small shrimp dish for $29USD and I had a small chicken/potatoe/carrot dish for $26USD. Once you add on the mandatory 15% gratuity and 10% tax the meal was $95USD. We each had a drink too.

Wednesday: September 20, 2006

A brief version of the NY Times is delivered to your room each day. We had breakfast at the hotel. The omelette was very good and my wife loved the shrimp burrito. Breakfast each morning comes with a complimentary smoothie. This morning we had a cucumber/mint smoothie. They also bring 3 flavors of mini-muffins to the table each morning.

We used a complimentary laptop from the hotel to send email to family back home. The laptop is obtained from the concierge. We booked a sunset cruise on the Tropicat 65' catamaran to Los Arcos. This cost $49USD/person. The cruise is 2 hours long and you get finger food, beer, wine and liquor. The cruise was beautiful, but due to the rough seas several people got seasick. The rough seas were due to the hurricanes and other storms. On whim we decided to have dinner at Cabo Wabo since it was on the way back from the marina. It took us a long time to find parking, but we eventually found a nice parking garage on a side street which cost 15MXP an hour. Cabo Wabo was small and stuffy. It is upstairs from the main bar area. It is an open-air venue and it was very hot that night. I had a fillet mignon with chipotle butter which was excellent and only 220MXP. My wife had the coconut shrimp which was huge and delicious. This was only 250MXP. I recommend Cabo Wabo for the food.

Thursday: September 21, 2006

Had breakfast again at the hotel since the food for breakfast is so good. It is definitely expensive. Breakfast was about $50USD each morning when both of us ate. We lounged at the pool all day. When you arrive at the pool the workers will set up your chair and bring you a bucket of water. We had lunch over at the Palapa grill which is part of residency section of the resort. They have pretty much the same food as the hotel. This area has a pool with a swim up bar. There is no swim up bar in the hotel pool.

We attended the Mexicanisimo on this night. It is a self-serve Mexican buffett with foods from different regions of Mexico. It is held in the Palapa grill and is $55USD/person. Drinks are not included. Overall the food was fair, the desserts were not very good, but the Mexican hot chocolate was excellent. There is also a section where several local vendors are brought in and they set up a small bazaar.

Friday: September 22, 2006

Today we traveled to Cerrito Beach. This is a popular beach for surfers due to the nice waves. The beach is located on the Pacific off of route 19. The beach is about 60km north of Cabo on the way to Todos Santos. It is right near km65 off of route 19. There is a small dirt turn-off on your left which will lead to the beach. This is not an easy drive. Route 19 is one lane in each direction that is very hilly and windy. The dirt road leading from Route 19 to the beach is an extremely rough road. The road is so rough that it took us several minutes to travel the 1 km. DO NOT EXCEED 20km/hr on this road.

The beach is very long and beautiful. There was only about 15 people at any one time at the beach. There are no services at the beach, so bring food, water and something for shade. The water was warm and safe.

After the beach we went back and cleaned up then headed into Cabo to meet some friends for drinks at Pancho's. This is a nice quiet bar/restaurant that boasts over 500 different tequilas. We only had beers (it was 2 for 1 happy hour on Pacifico) and quesadillas. The quesadillas were excellent. We had decided to have dinner elsewhere. We headed over to Mazatlan's which is a seafood restaurant. I don't like seafood, but my wife loves it. They served nothing but seafood, so there was nothing I could eat there so we left and headed back to Mi Casa. After walking around in the heat, the restaurant offered no respite. It is open air with no natural breeze. They had numerous fans in the dining area, but that didn't help too much. Reservations are recommended since our wait was over 20 minutes. This was the only crowded restaurant we had encountered. Mi Casa had excellent food. I had the Carne Asada and my wife had the shrimp. Her shrimp were huge.

We headed back to the hotel to see if we could get some dessert. The hotel had numerous desserts, but they were just too fancy. We just wanted simple dessert choices. Back in the room the hotel had left a complimentary bottle of champagne for our anniversary. Our anniversary wasn't for 2 weeks, but the hotel still left us a bottle. Yet another nice touch.

Saturday: September 23, 2006

On this day we had to move out of our Palapa Casita to a Terrace room. This was suppose to be our original checkout day, so our room was already re-booked. Due to changing rooms we decided to spend the day at the hotel. We decided to try out the Spa today. We had a couples pedicure which was excellent. It was my first pedicure and it definitely will not be my last. The spa is beautiful The mens area has a locker room and 2 nice showers. Outside is a steam room, hot tub and a natural shower. This whole section is outdoors with large trees and flagstone paths. You must try the spa.

That evening we drove to San Jose del Cabo for dinner at an Italian restaurant called La Dolce. The restaurant is located acrss from a beautiful Catholic Church in the town square. The food was excellent and very reasonably priced. I had homemade tortellini and my wife had penne al dolce. For dessert we had apple pie and vanilla ice cream. My wife had a coke and I had a glass of wine. The bill came to only 410MXP which was by far our cheapest dinner yet. As a bonus the town square was set up for a large concert. Here numerous local bands were performing rock and rap sets.

When we arrived back at our room we once again had a surprise awaiting. The hotel had left wine, cheese and crackers.

Sunday: September 24, 2006

We started the morning with full body massages at the spa. That is a wonderful way to start the day. We then laid by the pool and had lunch at the pool.

Dinner was had at the bar area where I had a delicious $48USD steak and my wife had a wonderful $15USD burger.

I forgot to mention that my wife began feeling very sick Saturday which is why we did not do too much. The only thing we can think of that she had that got her sick was the guacomole or salsa at Pancho's on Friday night. I never felt sick, but my friends I met at Pancho's also got sick on Saturday. My wife did not feel better until about 2 weeks after we got back from Cabo.

Monday: September 25, 2006

Took it easy again today. I had bacon and eggs for breakfast and my wife opted out of food. We then headed into town for Pepto and souveneirs. Spent the rest of the day relaxing at the pool.

We decided to try dinner at the Signature Room at the hotel. It was definitely worth the price. Dinner was $158USD and all we had was a small dish of lamb, a small lobster, a miniscule piece of cake, 1 beer, 1 coke and 1 water. When I say miniscule piece of cake, this piece was literally only about 2 inches by 2 inches by 1 inch high. Definitely not worth $14USD. The service was pathetically slow. It took them over 10 minutes to get me my beer and over 15 minutes to bring out the cake with another 15 minutes to get the check. I can understand not being rushed, but that was ridiculous. DO NOT GO TO THE SIGNATURE ROOM unless you like to throw away money.

Overall the resort is beautiful, the staff is very friendly and the service is excellent. The rooms are nice and the beds are very comfortable. I highly recommend this resort but be prepared to drop money for food and drinks. If you eat all your meals at the resort expect to spend about $300USD/day for a couple on food and drinks.

As others have said, the resort is beautiful and the photos make the buildings look plain but it is much more spectacular in person. The resort is divided into the residence part and the hotel part. The residence part has 2, 3 and 4 bedroom units. They are spacious and luxurious. They all have hot tubs and the first floor units have private pools. The fourth floor units have better views. There are four common pools in the resort with several hot tubs. There is also a playroom with a pool table, air hockey etc. and this portion is geared more for families. The hotel portion has hotel rooms (very spacious) and an adult only pool. The previous complaint of noise is not valid for the adult only portion of the resort. The adults from the residence section can go to the hotel section. To have a family portion of the resort without a few kids running around is not normal and should be expected. The food throughout Cabo is terrible and absurdly overpriced in my opinion. I have dined at many places but have yet to find a restaurant I would go back to. The signature restaurant at the Esperanza is no different. The pool bar/grill, however is reasonable compared to other hotels. I compare prices based on what a hamburger costs. It is $15 at the Esperanza which is reasonable when you know that it is $18 at the Sheraton in Cabo and $25 at the Ritz Carlton at Grand Cayman. Yes, the upscale hotels in Cabo are very expensive, but it is $900 per night at the Esperanza compared to $600 per night at the Hilton over Christmas. Some of the residences are privately owned and deals can be had, and there are some deals at the hotel if searched for. But most people who come here do not seem to be disturbed by the prices. The weather and the views cannot be beat. The beach is not swimable and your best bet is to go to Medano beach if you want to swim. There you will find the typical crowded noisy beach and then you can come back to your more tranquil room at the Esperanza.

We stayed in a room below the palapa level room but had the most incredible views. I agree that you should not pay for the ocean front rooms....totally unnecessary. I would recommend going to the other pool that is a one minute walk from the hotel rooms. This pool has a swim up bar and a larger, nicer pool. We ate at all of the restaurants and really enjoyed the fireworks on Thursday night! The service could not be better. Small size of the resort makes the experience more special. Very expensive, but we found it to be an amazing place that we are already planning our next trip to in January!

This hotel is set on a beautiful, scenic, but treacherous stretch of coastline. We recently stayed in one of the 4 bedroom residential villas and enjoyed a beautiful view, lovely villa and the fantastic spa but felt the poolside and restaurant service to be quite slow and inattentive at times. There was a lack of consistency throughout the course of every meal with the service starting off pleasant enough but everything slowing down after that. The restaurant food was okay but disappointing considering the prices. The prices in general were significantly higher than at a Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton but the service didn't measure up at all. We had to flag down the pool attendants for any service even though they weren't that busy. The clientele also seemed to be made up of more than a few obnoxious, loud groups and families with wild, screaming unsupervised children. The pool areas were not very relaxing at all. You really needed to go down to the beach for some privacy, peace and quiet. The spa is one of the best I've been to in terms of the services and packages offered and the nice treatment rooms. Concierge service was very good.