We just got back from Cabo and overall had a great time for first-timers in Cabo. HDM was very nice, a good location if you don't mind being outside of town. We traveled with children so this location we perfect. HDM's Tomatoes Restaurant was great, a different buffet feature each night. We stayed in a 2BR suite as part of our TS exchange with RCI. Our suite was very spacious and the beds were comfortable but it could have been cleaner. We had problems with ants the entire week. The staff is great and very responisve to our needs. If you can, pick up groceries at the MEGA in San Jose del Cabo on your way from the airport to the HDM. Be careful of the time share staff, they can lure very quickly and easily with hard to resist promotions and promises. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is! We also recommend the CaboMar Sunset and Salsa Cruise. I was well worth the money. Medena Beach is no place for young children and the beach vendors will make you crazy.

We just retuned from another great week at Hacienda Del Mar in Cabo. The resort was beautiful as before and the staff is on top of every need. We ate at several restaurants in Cabo including Villa Serena at the RV Park ( do not let that fool you), La Casa Country which is country western setting with a floor show by the waiters at around 8:00 PM, Hard Rock which is always good. Zipper's at Costa Azul in San Jose del Cabo was good food and you get to watch the surfers, also do not miss The Hangman in San Jose. We chartered a fishing boat through El Budster and had a great day. Captain Victor and first mate Ismael took us to the fish and we caught two nice size Dorado (Mahi Mahi). Ismael filet them for us and we took them directly to The Sleepless Lobster, where they were prepared three different ways at no charge. Just buy your sides and cervezas and margaritas from them...now that is fresh fish. We also drove to Cabo Pulmo to snorkel and saw a part of Baja untouched by modern technology. Great snorkeling and a beautiful 2 hour drive through the mountains.

We bought into a timeshare at Hacienda del Mar vacation club 5 years ago. LOVE THE GROUNDS, love the rooms, love the sea, love the weather...in Oct-Nov. In Feb. a whole different story-"old-timer" owners unfriendly and possessive of the beach and pool chairs-will race you like "poor white trash, as my grandmother used to say, then give you the evil eye if you manage to beat them the next day. It was a fairly closed group, the February Club. Staff is helpless in the face of the moneyed establishment and do nothing to discourage the behavior. We generally kept to ourselves and enjoyed our own company after enough unfriendliness. The much lauded Pitahayas Restaurant was tried three different years and dismayingly predictably terrible in service, with very funny tasting butter, wines not stored properly and overpriced, strangely combined food. We are excellent cooks and wine lovers so learned quickly where not to go. The staff we found to be courteous and helpful, but exhausted in Feb., and it seemed they had to put up with a lot of rude and demanding patrons. We did learn the painful but efficient reservation system. If an ocean front is desired, the request has to be in on the stroke of one year and one minute before the desired time-otherwise, just forget about it. The other units are very nice, but these are considered the primo and there is hot competition. We have given up going there and now use our weeks for trading opportunities in other resorts. This is essentially almost a souless resort with little going for it if you are not a golfer who likes to spend a great deal of money for the privilege.

This is a nice resort, but very pricey compared to other properties of comparable worth in Cabo. The Pithayas Restaurant in particular is exceedingly expensive for the quality of food and service. Our waiter recommended an appetizer sampler, then said we would need two for a party of six, and when the bill came, we were in for $88 worth of appetizers! This on top of six entrees that averaged $38 each. The food was ok... really not as good as some meals we had in Cabo for a fraction of the price. The restaurants at the Pueblo Bonito resorts are far better, even at a much lower price point. Also, Haciendas say they have a swimming beach, but a local fellow confided that they always fly the red flag so if someone drowns they can't be sued... and as a former lifeguard, I did not consider the surf on their beach safe. It was crazy rough, and even the experienced strong swimmers in our party felt it was too dangerous to venture into the water. If you want to swim, you are far better off at Pueblo Bonito Los Cabos or Pueblo Bonito Rose. Much more sheltered and calm, but still lots of good waves and fun.