We arrived on a busy Saturday - it took us an hour to get through customs. Luckily we reserved a private Suburban to take us to the resort, with a stop at the Mega Store for shopping. It was $175RT, including the stop at the Mega - it was a great deal as many companies won't allow stops at grocery stores anymore and depending upon where you are staying, they won't allow roundtrips either (something having to do with the taxis).
Upon arrival at the resort we received cold towels to cool off, apples and our choice of water/pop. Check in was a breeze. We had two units - a junior suite and 3 bedroom penthouse. We did sit down with the 'timeshare lady,' Maria, who was very nice and let us go after giving her short speel. No one gave us directions to our rooms, so we wandered for a bit. At check in I asked for a top floor room and was assured we were on the top floor, imagine our disappointment when we found out we were on the middle floor. I called and complained about the lie (I think it might have been due to a language barrier?). I was told perhaps we could move a few days later, and they didn't give me a top floor because those are ocean views. The rooms themselves were nice, although the building (#37) was older. The walls are very thick, but the floors are thin, we could hear the people above us, especially flushing the toilets (VERY high powered flushers!) and we could hear the people below us as well. The bathrooms were very nice, not a sign of mold at all, which is hard to do in tropical locations. The showers were great - very high powered (I was afraid to put my four year-old in there for fear she would be blown away), and the hot water was almost instant. I loved it! The master bedroom was large and the bed was firm, but comfortable. The Jacuzzi out on the balcony was used only by our daughter for her nightly baths. The other two bedrooms were smaller, each with their own bathrooms. The kitchen was a little small, only one person could cook at a time. The four burner stove was nice and worked well, as did the blender and (noisy) electric juicer! The fridge was full-sized with a water/ice dispenser on the door. The living area was small and not enough furniture for our party of five, even though the room max capacity is 12.
The resort itself was wonderful, very beautiful and lush and the staff was constantly working on it, keeping it clean. The first night there there was a beautiful fireworks display over the beach. It lasted about five minutes and was quite a show. We spent most of our time at the Delfines pool, which was close to our rooms, and there was hardly anyone there. It has the only swim-up bar at the resort and it was great for our small daughter. We never had a problem finding seven chairs together, even at 2pm, whereas the pools on the oceanfront were full by 9am. We walked along the beach a couple times, but the waves were too large. Two men fishing from the shore were actually caught off guard by a large wave and killed while we were there. Each day there were different free activities to attend including cooking classes, bartending classes, bingo, blackjack, spanish classes, tie-dye workshops (those you have to pay $10 for the shirt). We were also invited to a free cocktail party on Tuesday night. Free margaritas and mango punch w/rum, soft drinks, chips and salsa, chicken wings and pork ribs.
We did rent a car for a day from the National desk at the resort. We received a nice Suburban for $135 for 24hrs. We drove to Todos Santos, which was a nice drive and the town was alright. We were told to stop at Art and Bear for lunch - drinks good, food bad. I thought they had tacos, but no luck. They had tostadas with ceviche, the majority of our party thought they were gross. I ordered the breaded shrimp and they were dripping in oil, literally. Yuck. The drinks though were very good, made with fresh ingredients, nothing from a mix. Met the owner, who looked like Santa Claus! Nice man.
Really enjoyed our evening in San Jose. Thursday nights are art nights, where the galleries stay open late. There was something happening in the plaza, but not sure what. Had dinner at Baja Brewery - loved the beer and pizza, all freshly made daily. The pizza crust was outstanding and made in the stone oven.
Not overly excited about Cabo itself - too touristy. We did spend a morning touring around though. My daughter did the kid encounter with the dolphins and loved it. We then had breakfast and gelato at Senor Sweets in the mall (Puerto Parisio). YUMMY, highly recommend.
Overall the resort was a dream. There has been talk in our family of buying a unit. Looking forward to going back!
