We were looking for a resort type place with rooms that provided a kitchen and living space. Villa La Estancia was perfect for our family of four (two younger kids). Besides the penthouse three+ bedroom units, most of the units offered a gated entrance to either a standard hotel type room (i.e. beds and bathroom ) or a 1-bedroom + kitchen/living room. We had booked the latter. It had a beautiful kitchen, washer/dryer, dining area and living room (w/pull out couch). The bedroom was gigantic with a king size bed, and enormous bathroom that included a jacuzzi tub. I think every place is slightly different as I peeked into other units where their decorations were slightly different (e.g. tile counter tops vs marble). I think it depends on how the owner decorates it. So if I stayed here next time, I might end up with a unit that isn't as nicely decorated?? We had L'Occitane amenities in all of the bathrooms, and two nice Villa La Estancia bathrooms. The kitchen was well stocked with utensils, pots and pans, and dishware.
This unit had LARGE balcony that contained a patio table, and two lounge chairs. From the balcony you had a beautiful view into the pool and of the Sea of Cortez. You could also Lands End as well.
Guests at VLE were allowed to also use the pool next door at Villa del Palmar, which had a slide in their swimming pool. The resort also had a private beach area. I was able to sit in a nice chair under the umbrella while my 7 and 8 year olds body surfed in the water and played in the sand. There is jet skiing nearby and it seems they have tried to cordoned off the area in the water with rope and buoys for swimming and for traffic flow of the jet skis. You will get the vendors walking by to sell you their "stuff", but they sort of knew not to bother you as the chairs for the property were behind a roped off area.
Going in mid-June is starting to hit their "low season". We didn't experience the scramble for chairs at the pool like some of the other reviews I read. There were lots of people there, but we found chairs, even under umbrellas, at various times of the day. There was plenty of staff for the number of guests that were there. Everyone was courteous and very friendly to everyone I saw that they interacted with. The bellman were very friendly, helpful and courteous, and always had a smile on their faces.
Note that when you "check-in", it's not your typical hotel check-in. Because the property is private ownership of the units, the lobby consists of a few desks/tables with chairs. You don't have the "hub bub" of commotion in the lobby like "hotels".
VLE is definitely a "quieter" property. At the pool, there's a swim up bar at the pool, but I didn't experience any "party-going" scenes during our stay (again, probably because we went in June and not Nov-Apr).
The property is VERY CLEAN. I saw staff cleaning EVERYTHING in sight. Again, I don't know if it's like this all year round, or just on the tail ends of the busy season and they have more time to clean. But the rooms and grounds were immaculate.
We did not eat at any of the restaurants on the property as we typically don't do that at any hotel we stay at. We prefer to eat in the town for most of our dinners. We had gone to Wal-mart (a short cab ride) to stock up on breakfast and lunch during our stay.
We took in a lot of adventures/tours while here, and we probably won't come back for a few years since we "saw" most of Cabo while here for the week. But if we do, I would definitely consider Villa La Estancia again as my home away from home in Cabo.
