My stay at the Finisterra was 04 - 09 Sept, 2005.

First, the bad:
I stayed in the original/older section, with a marina-side view, and the room and contents were well-worn. Frayed towels, stained and ripped upholstered furniture, loose and broken tiles on the semi-private balcony ledge, plenty of cigarette burns on both the indoor and balcony furniture... The A/C unit, while very efficiently cooling the room, also made a bit of a racket but as I'm the type to fall asleep to some sort of noise, it didn't bother me, though surely would bother some other folks. The cold water pressure was very low in the mornings from around 9am to 11am - guessing due to peak bathing time. The cold water went out completely one morning for a couple hours.

The indifferent:
A hotel room to me is a place to keep my things, take a shower, sleep overnight and maybe take an afternoon nap between outings, SO, the general condition was not a huge issue to me personally....

There are two construction sites very nearby. One, hotel construction/expansion next door; and two, the building of some structure down below the hotel near the marina. Neither was terribly loud or bothersome, to me, and with the A/C going and the balcony door closed, one couldn't hear much of the goings-on outdoors. They started about 8am and took an afternoon break, then began again and worked until 7 or 8pm. Sawing, jack-hammering, pounding, clanking - if you listened for it, otherwise it sort of faded into the background... Of note is that I'm quite sure you wouldn't be able to hear any of it on the other side of the hotel (rooms with views of the bay / ocean, on the beach side).

If you need a TV fix (I'm addicted to news), there are about ten TV channels in English, including Fox News and CNN, plus TNT, National Geographic Channel, two HBO's and a few others. Reception was grainy at best - they allegedly have satellite TV but with only 20 or so channels total, I'm not buying it. Not of huge importance to me, but may be to some...

The bed was hard, but I like a hard bed; others may not...

One of the pools was undergoing updating or repair of some sort; they did re-open it on my last day and were finishing up building a little hut structure of some sort, so I'm sure they'll be out of the way soon. The other pools were open and the repair work was not of consequence.

The senora who was doing the housekeeping on my room was somewhat inconsistent. Some days I'd have a washcloth, some days not. Some days a bath mat, some days not. Some days she'd leave hand towls by the sink, other days not. I'm not really sure why this was, and it was always a small adventure coming back to the room to see what I would, and would not have, for the coming day. At least the basic "necessities" were attended to and paper goods etc were not allowed to run out.

The hike up and down the driveway to/from the hotel isn't bad at all - maybe 50 yards and not too strenuous for average folks. If you're going to be coming & going a lot, then yes it might get to be a bit much, but once or twice a day made me feel like I was getting a little bit of much-needed exercise.

The good:
The hotel staff were very friendly, helpful, knowledgable and attentive, when approached. I cannot say that anyone went out of their way for me, but I was not left wanting when I needed something.

I ordered room service (dinner) a few times and really liked their Caesar salad and chicken quesadillas. I tried the cheesecake and it was quite terrible - one bite and everything was wrong about it - flavor & texture were like the steak sent through the chamber in that movie - The Fly - it was not even the idea of cheesecake; an old sponge would have been more appetizing. Everything else I tried, at the restaurants as well as room service, ranged from good to great.

I was not once presented with a time-share offer (at the hotel nor anyplace else in CSL) - perhaps because I was traveling solo?

In addition to the pool work, they were also in the midst of repainting various area, oiling the woodwork, building new huts on the beach, and some other activity. I assume all this activity was happening now as it's the hottest (and slowest) season, to be ready for the fall, winter and spring throngs - it will be that much nicer in the near future.

The pools and Palapas Club were great, with attentive staff who were generally there when you needed them but did not hover.

The beach was beautiful and typically un-used by anyone; half the time I went down, I was the only person there. Steer clear of the water, though - the undertow and sneaker waves pose a real threat; even wading can be surprising, as I found out first-hand. Sunset, leaning against the upper dune edge, hunting for sea-shells, is enjoyable enough.

To sum:
If you stay here, I highly recommend the new section of the hotel, with a beach-side view. I cannot recommend the old/original section at all.


While I am here, some additional perspectives...
August and September are the hottest months, and hence the slowest months for tourism. Rates are generally a bit lower and you're likely to be able to bargain on most things, ie: fishing charters, sight-seeing tours and anything else service-oriented, as well as many goods.
It also means the hotels will not be filled to capacity, and the Finisterra was nice enough to stagger occupancies so that the rooms on either side of me were empty.
There were relatively few tourists, so if you're looking for the party-hardy, El Squid Roe get drunk with the frat guys type of stay, the low season is definitely not the time of year to do so. Thankfully I encountered very few such types and was the better for it.

There is a large crafts market near the hotel (Marina Supermercado Crafts Market), catering to the folks who offload from cruise ships making a daylong call in the port. As a matter of fact, the ship passengers are shoved through this craft mart first before being allowed to go elsewhere in CSL. Thus, the prices there are somewhat higher than the smaller flea markets you'll find a few blocks north of the main drag, but there are more of them in a concentrated area so if time is of the essence, then a breeze thru this market will kill many birds with one stone.

The weather was very hot, for me - on arrival it was 95f with the humidity making it feel like 105f. It did cool down near the end of my stay, due to somewhat overcast/hazy skies, but drinking 3 to 4 liters of water per day should keep you in good nick, especially if you'll be outdoors and/or drinking alcohol or caffeinated drinks.

The Finisterra is a bit isolated - no shops or stores nearby aside from what is on the property. It's about a 30 minute leisurely walk along the marina into town center proper, and then a bit more to find a store to stock up on what you might like to have on hand vs. paying the hotel prices (soda, water, beer, something to nibble on). You might do well hiring a taxi one day to take you shopping if you intend to stay for more than a few days. If you're just going to need a few Pepsi's or whatnot, then you should be fine - just get them from the lobby gift shop for $1 apiece (as opposed to $2.50 apiece via room service).
If you do the all-inclusive route, then no worries at all. Same for if you plan to be more or less self-sufficient and take your meals etc in town and just bring back what you'll need until the next day.

A mini-fridge would have been a god-send in my room; if the new rooms all have mini-fridges, that alone might be worth the extra price...

You can get pretty much anything at the local mall, Puerto Paraiso, including a new Harley-Davidson motorcycle (or just rent one), but the prices are for the most part a bit steep. However, a few deals can actually be found, although you won't know them until you've already comparision shopped elsewhere. If you want convenience and A/C, then the mall is the way to go - if you want to spend a couple hours trying to save nine bucks on a bottle of Cabo Wabo, then hit the smaller shops on the side streets north of the marina.

I have to recommend one little burger and beer joint: Cheezburger del Cabo (not to be confused with Cheezburger Cheezburger, right next door). It's run by an old salt named Tony who is quick with a story and generous with his portions. The place is on the marina, tucked between two larger and more tourist-oriented places, and easy to miss. The blue and white decor melts right in with the marina, so keep your eyes peeled.
Anyhoo, yes, he serves a variety of burgers, but Tony also serves a mean Dorado sandwich, either grilled with butter and lime squeezed on top, served on a bun, or chopped with onion and some sort of secret sauce (kinda tuna-salad style), served on toasted bread. It's very very good. A cold Pacifico on the side, and you're in business. If you're lucky, you'll get to meet Herbie and Raymond, a couple of grizzled American ex-pats who are regulars at this place and somehow make a living here and are a real hoot. Chill reggae music floats in from the place next door, and there are perches to people-watch while you kill a couple more Pacifico's before ambling along. Tony will even "talk to the chef" and generally get his way, if you want to order the dinner special a little early, or the lunch special a little late (he has twice-daily specials that change every day).

The preaching:
I was rather taken aback when, in the transport van from the airport to the hotel, an American gentleman in his 60's asked the driver questions like "Is that the Gulf of Mexico?" (when we passed some water) and "Why is it called Baja California, when California is in the USA?". I'm no Jeopardy champion, but seriously, a peek at a map and some light reading on the history and culture is in order at the very least. It should not be up to a 20-something local to teach you about the geography and history of the continent you live on.

Finally, I implore my fellow travelers to be good ambassadors of their country of origin. I saw more than a couple yokels ordering drinks from every man named "Pedro" and food from every woman named "Consuelo" (perhaps obvious to state that these were not their names); please don't make me embarassed to be an American, I try hard enough to make up for your transgressions as it is. The vast majority of foreigners were polite and had brushed up on their Spanish and knowledge of customs, but the old adage of "a few bad apples..." holds very true.

Thank you.

I just returned from a week at the Finisterra and am so ready to go back! The Finiserra offers a completely "laid back" atmosphere instead of some of the more "uptight and stuffy" (Pueblo Bonita Rose) resorts in the area. As it sits on the Pacific side it always offers a gentle breeze and is tremendously more comfortable and cooler than it is on the Sea of Cortez side. (We went to The Office on Medano Beach and just BAKED!) We stayed in a 1 bedroom suite in the new Palapa Beach Club section and it was immaculately kept the entire stay. The ocean view from the balcony was breathtaking. I found the staff to be completely courteous the entire time we were there. Upon arrival we were greeted by a person offering free drinks. Since I've been reading tons of reviews on TripAdvisor we were well aware that it was a time share ploy. We explained that we already owned a timeshare property and weren't interested in listening to a sales pitch for another one. This took less than 30 seconds and we weren't approached at the resort again. The pool area was wonderful. Although the upper pool was under repair (as mentioned by the two previous reviews) we weren't bothered by jackhammers or any other repair noises. The two other pools are HUGE and immaculate. The grounds never had a single fallen leaf on the walkways, the groundskeepers even "raked" the beach free of footprints for wedding photos that were being taken on the property. The property does sit at the top of a hill but the hotel has a free shuttle that will take you up and down at your request. All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better time.

We stayed at the Finisterra Aug. 23-27th and had the most amazing time. We had a very different experience than the last reviewer. We found the service to be fantastic, friendly and helpful. The hotel itself is gorgeous and the location perfect. Yes, we did hear the jackhammer as they were working on one of the pools but it didn't bother us at all. Our rooms were clean and anytime we needed more towels or pillows they were brought to us promptly. Like other reviewers mentioned, the beds are hard but we didn't mind. We brought our 3 year old with us and she cried when we left! The Whale Watcher's Bar is a must and the Finisterra nachos at the Palapa bar are heavenly. We can't wait to go back!

This hotel is absolutely atrocious. It was filthy, the staff was rude, the service was terrible. Need I say more? There was dried blood all over the bedding which just threw me over the edge and no one cared. All they did was try to sell us time shares. The unfreindly staff made it even worse. Then they started ripping out one of the pools (which is the onkly activity at the hotel). I have know idea when this hotel was considered 4 star, but I would rate it as moderate at best, and that's giving them the benefit of the doubt that they were perhaps having a bad week. There are many other nicer places to stay in Cabo, don't waste your time trying this one.