My boyfriend and I took a extended weekend to stay for the first time in Cabo. After reading lots of reviews, I decided on the Finisterra because they had the "stay three nights get one free" deal. We ended up paying about $200 a night with taxes, which didn't seem too bad. I read a lot of reviews about the hotel and decided that the main complaints about the thin walls and construction next door wouldn't be too big of a deal. We're heavy sleepers and neither of those issues bothered us too much. Although the construction is a MAJOR eye sore. So ugly in contrast to the beautiful ocean view. Like another reviewer, I had called in advance to request a higher up Palapa ocean view room. Well, when we checked in around 4pm, we were told the hotel was completely booked and we were put on a first floor room. Right off the main ramp leading to the pool area. Not private at all, very limited view of the ocean, and not at all what I expected. The room, however, was quite big and had a little step down to the sitting area which separated it nicely from the bed area. The rooms are not super updated, but still clean and fine for what we needed. The tv was tiny and most of the channels had very poor reception and buzzed all the time, so you could hardly stand to watch anything.
My most disappointing experience with the Finisterra was the whole attitude of the employees working there. My boyfriend and I often referred to them as "robots" because they showed very little personality or friendliness. It was like they totally did not appreciate having to serve tourists. Totally not what I was expecting at a resort hotel like this. I was really disappointed in how unfreindly and uninviting they were. Not at all like they were there to make sure the guests had a good time. I found this to be true all around... from the reception, the gift shop, the Palapa bar, the Whale Watcher and even housekeeping. NOBODY was friendly! It made us feel very unwelcome.
On the third night of our stay we were able to be moved into a fourth floor room which had a slightly better view. When I had asked to be switched I made sure to ask if the room would be exactly the same. I was told it was exactly the same but with a better view. Not true. This one was much smaller.
Overall, the Finisterra was fine. Nice pool area and the beach is just AMAZING. You can't swim but it's so quiet and peaceful, unlike Medando beach. If I go to Cabo again, I won't stay at the Finisterra but definitely at one of the hotels next to it on the Pacific side. The Solmar Suites looked like a great location. And no ugly construction to take away from the view.

In need of kind of a last minute get away, my husband and I booked a first time trip to Cabo at the Finisterra. After reading the reviews and forums, and learning about the construction next door we paid to stay in an ocean view room in the newer Palapa section. The upgrade was well worth is as the older part of the hotel really does look shoddy. We were however dissappointed when after requesting a high ocean view room we were placed on the second floor literally 3 rooms aways from the new construction. Though we technically had an ocean view room, we had a better view of the kitchen and HVAC chillers below. But, at least they had the consideration to "decorate" the roof and surrounding area below.

I have to say that as close as we were, we were not affected by any construction noise. The guys where clearly working but I'm not sure what they were doing because we never heard much of anything. Maybe we were lucky.

The rooms were clean and well appointed, though pillows were clumpy and walls thin. We could easily hear the white noise of the HVAC chillers outside, doors closing and the murmur of our neighbors conversations and morning passion sessions.

SERVICE WAS SPOTTY. While I realized that we were in Mexcio (meaning things are some times a little more relaxed), I was dissappointed with the service at the Finisterra. It's true that room service trays some times lay in the hallway for 2 days. On our first night we waited more than 30 minutes for tortilla soup at the Marlin resturaunt and only received when got up to ask for our check to leave. Another time down at the Palapa bar I had to listen to (in spanish) a lot of profanity and derogative comments about customers from the bar staff. I was very surpised that #1 they would talk so loudly and brazenly about how much they disliked the people they served and #2 that neither seemed to wonder or care if I understood thier conversations 3 feet away from me. After enduring the waitstaff's discussions about how much they hated the "[--] gringos" (sorry for the language) I was very much insulted by the bar tender who after taking my order in English turned around, made a face and muttered in spanish "the princess that wants the best in the house." (which is not even what I said!) Well, after that, the bar staff found out the hard way that I did in fact understand them, when I retorted in spanish and asked whether or not he had a problem with what I ordered and I told all of them that they should be more carefult about what they say around people, especially when it affects thier livelihood. After that, the bartender dissappeared (more like ran out!), I never saw him again and the tone of service quickly changed. I never tipped that crew. I only regret that after my husband's insistence that I didn't go tell the manager. I was really (and maybe still am) worked up about it.

In fairness we had one really good experience at the Marlin bar and we also found the bell man to be very friendly and informative.

THE FOOD was standard hotel quality. I liked it, but my husband, a San Francisco foodie, didn't care for it at all. He'd rather go to Macambo or Nik San in town. I liked the hotel's American Breakfast, tortilla soup and enchilladas (the sauce was almost mole like and sooo delicious!).

ALL IN ALL I thought we got about what we paid for, but I walked away dissappointed. The Finisterra has such a superb location (The Whale Watchers Bar view is spectacular, and yes you really can see the whales), and is generally well maintained. It was good but has the potential to be great.

We were aware that construction was going on next to the hotel when we booked, so we requested a room as far from the construction as possible. When we checked in on a Saturday, we were given a room uncomfortably close to the construction. Though we registered our discomfort, we were told that the major construction was over and the only work going on presently was painting and plastering. This was a lie.

As it was Saturday, we didn't become aware of the noise level until Monday when work resumed. Since we only had two days left to our stay, We decided to bite the bullet and stick it out.

The situation really deteriorated on Monday and Tuesday when we could hear constant banging that sounded alot closer than the neighboring construction site. We were assured that there was no construction going on at the Finisterra itself, and that they had no control over the neighboring site. This was another lie.

By Tuesday PM we were at our wits end and insisted someone come up and investigate the room next to ours which seemed to be the source of the noise. I followed the Concierge as she looked into the matter. On the floor above us she discovered workmen renovating a suite right over our room. They were knocking out bathroom tile with a hammer and chisel as well as breaking down drywall.

To her credit, the noise stopped immediately. As we were leaving the next morning, there was no point in changing the room. She apologized and assured us she would speak to management about some compensation for our discomfort. This was the final lie. We received nothing.

Were it not for the noise and the lies, our stay would have been quite pleasant.

I've stayed in Cabo several times and while this was my first time at Hotel Finisterra, I will absolutely stay here again. We stayed in a palapa suite and had views of the pools and ocean. The rooms were nice and had plenty of space. The hotel was quiet, we never had an issue with construction or other noices. The food and service was outstanding. The pools were great and we never had an issue finding a place to sit. The only downside is that you can't swim in the ocean but it is like this in most of Cabo. The beach was wide and offered great views with plenty of places to sit or walk. We watched the boats and whales pass by all week. The hotel is conveniently located about 5 minutes (walking) from the marina and a 10 minute walk to downtown Cabo. We also booked an ATV trip through the hotel and had a great time. Look forward to coming back.

A few other recommendations, we found a dive shop across the street called amigos del mar. They were professional and we had a blast. I took an introductory lesson and they were very patient. Dove 4 tanks with them and each one was better then the last. Also went sport fishing with Minervas, also had an excellent experience with them. They worked with us to get us what we wanted, took good care of us and made recommendations to have our catch cooked for dinner.