I've been to Cabo a few times before - usually away from the city, so this time we decided to stay somewhere that was an easy walk so we didn't have to rent a car. After much research, I decided on Casa Dorada.

I booked directly with the resort and got what I felt was a great deal for 5 nights for $1330, On their website you can purchase "enhancements" so I included breakfast ($144) and internet ($28.) We also set up a private transfer from the airport to the hotel via VIP Transportation for $90 (each way.) I've been on those shared transfers before and it's taken over an hour to get to my hotel and I didn't want to deal with that again - especially if we were only there for 5 nights! To us, it was worth the extra money. Total for everything for 5 nights, including taxes, was $1900.

Check in was very quick and we were in our room in under 10 minutes.

Our home for the next 6 days was room 526 - a 1 BR Ocean View suite that faced SW and we had a great view of the Arco. There are 3 (or 4?) buildings - ours was a little trek from check in, but we preferred that over having lots of people roaming around.

Huge room (1380 sq feet!) that definitely felt like home (it was bigger than the first townhome I owned!) Ammenities included:

- a lovely kitchen w/everything you need (including dishes)
- a dining room w/large table that seated 8 - 6 chairs and a bench.
- a nice sized living room that seated 6 - love seat/couch (hideabed), 2 chairs / 2 ottomans and a large Flat panel TV.
- a huge bedroom with a king bed, lots of closet space/drawers, though not many hangers in the closet. (I'm sure they'd bring more if requested.) There was also a great chaise lounger (which looks prettier than it is useful) and off the bedroom as a balcony w/ 2 chairs.

There's a large bathroom w/ 2 sinks, shower and toilet. The jacuzzi/soaking tub actually outside of bathroom in the bedroom - and next to that is a vanity/makeup area - which is nice for me to put all of my makeup and junk and not consume all of the space in the bathroom!

The main balcony off living room has 1 lounge chair and a table w/2 chairs. It's very large and we spent quite a bit of time out there.

Pool area is very nice with lots of chairs. We never had a problem getting two chairs, no matter what time you came down. There are 2 pools, a kiddie pool and a hot tub. The hot tubs got busy around 5:00 with the people coming off the beach - often people who had had several cocktails so they were usually loud/bordering on obnoxious, but by that time most of the people at the pool had cleared out.

This is a family-friendly resort, but it was by no means overrun with screaming children (which is always my fear when not staying at an adults-only property.)

There are several cozy sitting areas that have great views of the beach/ocean, some with fire pits, just off the pool / restaurant.

There are several chairs on the beach - do not have to reserve/pay for, but it's 1st come 1st served.

Must have your towel card to "check out" a towel - they will not give you one without the card!! We were told they will charge you if you don't return towel - which we often didn't do until the next day b/c we took them to our room...but we never had a problem.

Had the buffet breakfast at Maydan's every morning and it's pretty good. They have all the regular fare as well as made to order omelets/eggs. Servers were great and remembered what we drank every morning. We also had lunch there one day....ordered a quesadilla, chips & guacamole, and Mexican Cobb salad and it came to $28 US.

Maid service was good - usually came around 2:00. Turndown service came at different times...as early a 5:30 and then after we had left the room at 7:00. Standard stuff - turn the bedding down, towel animals and chocolates.

Food outside the hotel:
Mango bar next door has drinking games/sexiest dance/hottest guy, etc contests at 3:00 and 5:00 daily and it gets pretty loud at that time. Lasts about 45 mins to an hour and then it settles down. Busy/loud late evening, but with the doors and curtains shut and the AC on, it blocks out most of the sound.

The famous Office is next to Mango - they are supposed to have great breakfasts but b/c ours was included, we went there one day for lunch and another night for dinner and it was good. At night it got chilly and they have heaters and blankets if you request them. A lively place with good people watching.

ME hotel is next door - home of the hotspot Nikki Beach.

Edith's is less than a block away as well (I just posted a review) which we had to go to after having it recommended to us to many times. We thought it was fine, but not fantastic - then again we were sitting in the outdoor area and there were 20 mile an hour winds so crap was blowing all over the place...not the best first visit.

The Beach: if you are a beach walker - you can walk until you can't walk anymore. My boyfriend and I walked every morning and he often went for a run in the afternoon. Again, great people watching!

The Area: We also walked to the new marina area - holy cow has that changed since we were there last! Tons of restaurants, shops and even a luxury shopping complex. We walked over several times for dinner - it's about a 10 minute walk from the hotel. We always felt safe even though sometimes the streets were not lit that well, but my guess is they'll be improving the surrounding area the more hotels/stores they add.

There is a Costco/Sam's Club-like place that's about a 20 minute walk from the resort. We walked down there and picked up a case of water, fruit/veggies and snack items for our room. If we were to do it all again I would definitely get a cab and have them wait. We are pretty fit people, but a case of water gets VERY heavy after 5 minutes! We were talking to one of the worker guys later that day and told him we had walked and he thought we were crazy. So cab it!

Through the resort you could get discounts on golf at local courses (25-30% off) and we thought about playing, but it still would have been between $250-350 for golf, cart and club rental so we decided to pass.

We had our personal concierge who mentioned vacation ownership to us, but was not in the least pushy about it. We said we travel a lot and like to go to different places so that's not really something we were interested in and she never brought it up again. We talked to several owners that have been coming since the resort opened and they still love it, which is great to hear. I read a few reviews and some people commented that it wasn't as luxurious as they expected. To that I would reply....whaaaat?? If you are looking for luxury similar to Esperanza, One and Only Pamilla, Las Ventanas or Capella....then you're right - this isn't that type of resort. But I got my room for $260/night as opposed to $700-1500/night for the places I just mentioned.
I was just as pleased with my stay at Casa Dorada as I've been at any several luxury resorts, but thrilled with the value. I definitely recommend this property and I look forward to returning in the not so distant future!

We had the pleasure of escaping the winter weather of California and taking my family to this lovely resort for Thanksgiving week. After looking at all our booking options, we ended up booking through an owner on Redweek.com. We were able to book a two bedroom penthouse. WOW! We certainly felt spoiled by the unit we booked. It was on the top floor of the main building, front and center over the pool. We didn't know until a few days in that the entire glass wall was a nano-door...we came home and the sitter had opened it up....AMAZING! We had an enormous outdoor patio area with hot tub, lounge chairs and a table and chairs. The ocean was right in front of us! Past the edge of the Casa Dorada is the Mango Deck...fun place...but we arrived on a Friday and the music (bass) was pumping well past midnight Friday and Saturday nights. No one warned us of this...thank goodness it was only the first two nights of our 7 night vacation. Property was nice and quiet the rest of the evenings.

Our penthouse was lovely. One of the selling points of the PH was that is had a stacked washer/dryer. We have come to really appreciate having a W/D when we travel. Having two kids under age 11, makes for lots of dirty clothes. I was told ONLY PH units have the W/D. We had a two bedroom unit and friends we were traveling with had a one bedroom PH on the same floor. They had an end unit which is always nice.

We shopped at Soriana, a locals grocery store (12 min cab ride) from the hotel. It was fabulous! Their bakery was amazing! Fresh, hot tortillas to be had right from the cooler in the bakery. Their display of bakery products is worth the ride. They had everything you could find in a US grocery store. The store is laid out the same and things are easy to find. They also have a nice hot food counter where you can buy pollo rotisado (rotisserie chicken), rice, beans and fresh salsa....and other items as well. We like to get the pollo rotisado and keep it in the condo for easy chicken soft tacos or to add to scrambles in the morning. They have a nice liquor department with many choices. I happen to be a fan of Don Julio silver...it was my lucky day....they were having a sale, buy two, get one free! The three bottles ended up costing me less than the cost of one bottle at home in CA.

The location of the hotel is perfect. Most nights we walked to dinner. Edith's is right around the corner! It's also a quick 5 min taxi ride to WalMart. Felt like I was back in CA shopping at Wal Mart...more American than locals. WalMart also has an extensive liquor department with reasonable prices. WalMart has everything the US stores carry plus some local items.

Hotel security was appreciated and visible. Each time we walked out the front door, they asked our room number and the same upon our return. It was nice to know someone was paying attention. : ) Also, as an added bonus, the head bellman had lived in CA in a neighborhood right next to mine! He and I had fun comparing notes. He was always happy to answer my questions about where to go for this or that...always with a smile.

Transportation to the hotel: I had done my fair share of research on this ahead of time. I booked a roundtrip ride with Nice Ride Cabo. They were a pleasure to deal with...always by email which worked perfectly for me. You pay for the roundtrip when they deliver you to your hotel. Seems odd, but they always come for you on your departure day. I highly recommend Nice Ride Cabo.

We also used Cabo Babysitters 3 times on our trip. Again, a pleasure to deal with. The gal that owns the business is from the US. She had only 8 sitters working for her at the time. I was shocked that she only had 8. Through our numerous phone calls, I came to learn that she is VERY particular about who she hires. They all CPR trained and have to meet her standards. We had two gal most of the time as there were three families total with a total of 6 children. We had the same girls each time which the kids loved. I'm blanking on their names...but would certainly request them on our next trip. It's a cash only transaction, very professionally handled...you needn't worry.

Favorite restaurant....Cocina Y Cantina at the Hacienda Hotel.

All in all....a great trip!

My advice if you have children: bring your own Children's Tylenol or Motrin and if you can, bring antibiotic ear drops. 4 of the 6 children on our trip ended up getting swimmers ear prior to the end of our stay.

Hotel also had a kids club....it's more of a drop in type of place. There was only one woman on duty each time we were there. Our kids ranged in age from 7 to 10 so they were fine with it.

I love love love Cabo for a great, relaxing, fun vacation with great food options and great activities at your fingertips. Whenever I'm in Cabo I feel like there are "no rules" - I can't remember the last time I asked anyone in Cabo for something and they said no! It's truly a hedonistic experience at a very affordable price.

I've stayed in a couple of different places in Cabo, and the Casa Dorada was no doubt a pleasant stay. The only thing I hesitate about with this property is the very high price. What you get here is location if you're into hanging out at the Mango Deck and The Office during the day and night. I didn't find the food exceptionally great, nor the service. It's kind of a do-as-you-please kind of place and you don't get bothered much (not complaining). We were about a 15 minute walk (a kind of seedy walk at that) to Squid Roe, and then another 5 or so to Nowhere Bar and Cabo Wabo, etc.

For all of the resorts in Cabo competing for business, there has to be a major differentiator - i.e., Nikki Beach next door at the Me, the serenity and breathtaking views from the Pueblo Bonito properties up the way, certain resorts that are smack dab in downtown (if that's what you're into). Aside from being steps away from Mango Deck and the Office, I felt you could get the same experience elsewhere, and possibly at a lower rate or with added perks/benefits. I would add, to be fair, right outside of the hotel on the beach you can catch a 7 minute taxi boat ride to Los Arcos, which is beautiful - isolated white sand beach - was tons of fun. Also, the banana boat ride was hysterically fun, and we took advantage of our location to grab that right outside our hotel as well.

Not saying it was bad or that I had a negative experience, I would just probably try out someplace different next time.

Casa Dorada had me at the front doors, when I walked in and got a thru view past their immense triple-story lobby, past their pool, all the way to the ocean. Wow! But then the real fun began. Wonderful service got us to our hotel room, but I almost fell over when I walked into our room. We had an executive suite, with a full kitchen a dining area for 8, full living room, separate master bedroom, amazing 2-person jetted tub, and beautiful master bathroom. Plus patios overlooking the beach (all rooms face the beach). This IS a time-share, so you need to either tell them a clear "no" when they offer up the time share presentation, or just sit through it to get your free gifts. I will tell you now that although we had no intention of getting a time share, our experience at Casa Dorada changed our minds. We could easily see ourselves coming here for years to come. So after a few days, we changed our no to a yes, listened to the presentation, negotiated a good deal (thanks to my hubby, pro negotiator), and have been going back here for the last 3 years. Nothing's changed, it's still as great as ever. If you are definitely not into time shares, just tell them firmly no after you check in, they will leave you alone and you can enjoy your stay at this AMAZING hotel. I highly recommend the spa, and it's also very kid friendly with a kid pool, day care, and nighttime babysitting if you want to go out for a special night. It also has their cordoned off area on the beach. And easy walk to town. We love everything about this place.