--- title: "Best Luxury Resorts in Cabo San Lucas: 10 Ranked" description: "The ten best luxury resorts in Cabo ranked, including which beaches you can actually swim at, what a night costs, and the months worth avoiding." lang: en json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/#organization", "name": "Luxury Hotel Compare", "alternateName": "Jack Williamson", "url": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com", "description": "Independent luxury hotel comparison and travel guide covering the world's top luxury destinations.", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/og/lhc-logo.png" }, "sameAs": [] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/#website", "name": "Luxury Hotel Compare", "url": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com", "description": "Independent luxury hotel comparisons and travel guides for the world's top destinations.", "publisher": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/#organization" }, "potentialAction": { "@type": "SearchAction", "target": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/?search={search_term_string}", "query-input": "required name=search_term_string" } } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Article", "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#article", "name": "Best Luxury Resorts in Cabo San Lucas: 10 Ranked", "headline": "Best Luxury Resorts in Cabo San Lucas: 10 Ranked", "description": "The ten best luxury resorts in Cabo ranked, including which beaches you can actually swim at, what a night costs, and the months worth avoiding.", "url": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas", "image": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/images/guides/cabo/montage-los-cabos-1200w.webp", "inLanguage": "en", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/#website" }, "publisher": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/#organization" }, "abstract": "This ranking compares Los Cabos resorts using live rates, verified guest scores, property research and each resort's published guidance on swimmable water.", "backstory": "This ranking compares Los Cabos resorts using live rates, verified guest scores, property research and each resort's published guidance on swimmable water.", "disambiguatingDescription": "Rates, swimmable water and Booking.com scores last verified 12 July 2026. Research methods and funding are published at /methodology.", "author": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/about#jack-williamson" }, "datePublished": "2026-09-18", "dateModified": "2026-07-12", "speakable": { "@type": "SpeakableSpecification", "cssSelector": [ "h1", ".lhc-hero-subhead", "#overview", "#verdict-section" ] } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Travel Guides", "item": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Best Luxury Resorts in Cabo San Lucas: 10 Ranked", "item": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas" } ] }, { "@type": "Hotel", "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-montage-los-cabos", "name": "Montage Los Cabos", "url": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-montage-los-cabos", "image": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/images/guides/cabo/2026/montage-los-cabos-aerial-1200w.webp", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "Santa Maria Bay" }, "aggregateRating": { "@type": "AggregateRating", "ratingValue": 4.8, "bestRating": 10, "worstRating": 1, "ratingCount": 1 } }, { "@type": "Hotel", "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-chileno-bay", "name": "Chileno Bay Resort & Residences, Auberge Resorts Collection", "url": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-chileno-bay", "image": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/images/guides/cabo/2026/chileno-bay-pool-1200w.webp", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "Chileno Bay" }, "aggregateRating": { "@type": "AggregateRating", "ratingValue": 4.9, "bestRating": 10, "worstRating": 1, "ratingCount": 1 } }, { "@type": "Hotel", "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-one-only-palmilla", "name": "One&Only Palmilla", "url": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-one-only-palmilla", "image": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/images/guides/cabo/2026/one-only-palmilla-aerial-1200w.webp", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "Palmilla" }, "aggregateRating": { "@type": "AggregateRating", "ratingValue": 4.7, "bestRating": 10, "worstRating": 1, "ratingCount": 1 } }, { "@type": "Hotel", "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-waldorf-pedregal", "name": "Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal", "url": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-waldorf-pedregal", "image": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/images/guides/cabo/2026/waldorf-pedregal-aerial-1200w.webp", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "Cabo San Lucas" }, "aggregateRating": { "@type": "AggregateRating", "ratingValue": 4.9, "bestRating": 10, "worstRating": 1, "ratingCount": 1 } }, { "@type": "Hotel", "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-four-seasons-costa-palmas", "name": "Four Seasons Resort Los Cabos at Costa Palmas", "url": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-four-seasons-costa-palmas", "image": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/images/guides/cabo/2026/four-seasons-costa-palmas-exterior-1200w.webp", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "East Cape" }, "aggregateRating": { "@type": "AggregateRating", "ratingValue": 4.5, "bestRating": 10, "worstRating": 1, "ratingCount": 1 } }, { "@type": "Hotel", "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-las-ventanas", "name": "Las Ventanas al Paraiso, A Rosewood Resort", "url": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-las-ventanas", "image": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/images/guides/cabo/2026/las-ventanas-exterior-1200w.webp", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "Tourist Corridor" }, "aggregateRating": { "@type": "AggregateRating", "ratingValue": 4.8, "bestRating": 10, "worstRating": 1, "ratingCount": 1 } }, { "@type": "Hotel", "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-esperanza", "name": "Esperanza, Auberge Resorts Collection", "url": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-esperanza", "image": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/images/guides/cabo/2026/esperanza-aerial-1200w.webp", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "Punta Ballena" }, "aggregateRating": { "@type": "AggregateRating", "ratingValue": 4.9, "bestRating": 10, "worstRating": 1, "ratingCount": 1 } }, { "@type": "Hotel", "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-grand-velas", "name": "Grand Velas Los Cabos", "url": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-grand-velas", "image": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/images/guides/cabo/2026/grand-velas-aerial-1200w.webp", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "Tourist Corridor" }, "aggregateRating": { "@type": "AggregateRating", "ratingValue": 5, "bestRating": 10, "worstRating": 1, "ratingCount": 1 } }, { "@type": "Hotel", "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-solaz", "name": "Solaz, a Luxury Collection Resort, Los Cabos", "url": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-solaz", "image": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/images/guides/cabo/2026/solaz-aerial-1200w.webp", "address": { "@type": 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"https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-las-ventanas" } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-esperanza" } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-grand-velas" } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-solaz" } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-nobu-los-cabos" } } ] }, { "@type": "Review", "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#review-montage-los-cabos", "itemReviewed": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-montage-los-cabos" }, "author": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/about#jack-williamson" }, "publisher": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/#organization" }, "reviewBody": "Beautiful property, incredible service, great food, and one of the best beaches in Cabo.", "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": 4.8, "bestRating": 10, "worstRating": 1 } }, { "@type": "Review", "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#review-chileno-bay", "itemReviewed": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-chileno-bay" }, "author": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/about#jack-williamson" }, "publisher": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/#organization" }, "reviewBody": "The service was excellent, but what really stood out was how genuinely kind and helpful everyone was throughout the resort.", "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": 4.9, "bestRating": 10, "worstRating": 1 } }, { "@type": "Review", "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#review-one-only-palmilla", "itemReviewed": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-one-only-palmilla" }, "author": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/about#jack-williamson" }, "publisher": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/#organization" }, "reviewBody": "Beautiful view of the golf course and sea. The food is delicious!", "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": 4.7, "bestRating": 10, "worstRating": 1 } }, { "@type": "Review", "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#review-waldorf-pedregal", "itemReviewed": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-waldorf-pedregal" }, "author": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/about#jack-williamson" }, "publisher": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/#organization" }, "reviewBody": "Driving through the mountainside to arrive on the other side with a free margarita and an unobstructed view of the Pacific was quite the introduction.", "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": 4.9, "bestRating": 10, "worstRating": 1 } }, { "@type": "Review", "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#review-four-seasons-costa-palmas", "itemReviewed": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-four-seasons-costa-palmas" }, "author": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/about#jack-williamson" }, "publisher": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/#organization" }, "reviewBody": "We chose Four Seasons Resort and Residences Los Cabos at Costa Palmas for my birthday, and it turned into one of the most memorable family trips we've taken.", "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": 4.5, "bestRating": 10, "worstRating": 1 } }, { "@type": "Review", "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#review-las-ventanas", "itemReviewed": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-las-ventanas" }, "author": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/about#jack-williamson" }, "publisher": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/#organization" }, "reviewBody": "The property is spotless but the staff makes the resort.", "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": 4.8, "bestRating": 10, "worstRating": 1 } }, { "@type": "Review", "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#review-esperanza", "itemReviewed": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-esperanza" }, "author": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/about#jack-williamson" }, "publisher": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/#organization" }, "reviewBody": "The resort itself is gorgeous, and the food and drinks are excellent.", "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": 4.9, "bestRating": 10, "worstRating": 1 } }, { "@type": "Review", "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#review-grand-velas", "itemReviewed": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-grand-velas" }, "author": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/about#jack-williamson" }, "publisher": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/#organization" }, "reviewBody": "We had an amazing experience at Grand Velas Los Cabos while traveling with our 6-month-old baby.", "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": 5, "bestRating": 10, "worstRating": 1 } }, { "@type": "Review", "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#review-solaz", "itemReviewed": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-solaz" }, "author": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/about#jack-williamson" }, "publisher": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/#organization" }, "reviewBody": "We had a wonderful stay at Solaz. This is a gorgeous beach resort in a perfect location", "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": 4.5, "bestRating": 10, "worstRating": 1 } }, { "@type": "Review", "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#review-nobu-los-cabos", "itemReviewed": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#hotel-nobu-los-cabos" }, "author": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/about#jack-williamson" }, "publisher": { "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/#organization" }, "reviewBody": "Beautiful property, great food, amazing views, and even better service.", "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": 4.8, "bestRating": 10, "worstRating": 1 } }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#faq", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can you swim in the ocean in Cabo San Lucas?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Mostly no. Medano Beach inside the bay is the one genuinely swimmable town beach in Cabo San Lucas, and everything west of the Arch faces the open Pacific with a strong undertow and heavy shore break. Of the ten luxury resorts in this guide, four sit on water you can swim in, five do not, and one is unclear. Several of the resorts state the problem themselves rather than leave you to find out." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Which Los Cabos resorts have a beach you can swim from?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Four in this guide. Chileno Bay and Montage sit on Chileno and Santa Maria, two Blue Flag horseshoe coves with headlands at either end. One&Only Palmilla has its own sheltered peninsula bay, also Blue Flag certified. Four Seasons at Costa Palmas on the East Cape has about two miles of calm Sea of Cortez, the longest safe stretch in the region, but it is 60 to 70 minutes from the airport." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Why are so many Cabo beaches unsafe for swimming?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Geography. The Pacific side and the long unprotected stretches of the Tourist Corridor take open ocean swell directly, which produces a steep shore break and strong undertows close in. Only the coves with rock headlands at both ends, principally Chileno, Santa Maria and Palmilla, are shielded enough for the water to settle. Several corridor beaches also carry rock in the shallows, including Playa El Tule in front of Grand Velas." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is the beach at Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal swimmable?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "No. Guest answers on the hotel's own TripAdvisor question thread are unanimous, with replies stating that the beach is not a safe swimming beach at all and that the beach in front of the Pedregal has a very strong undertow. It is a Pacific facing beach at the mouth of the bay. The resort's answer is water elsewhere: an adults pool, a family pool at the beach club, a shallow rock pool for children, and a private plunge pool or hot tub on the terrace of even the entry level room." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can you swim at Grand Velas Los Cabos?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "No, and the resort says so itself in three separate places on its own website. Its FAQ states that the beach in front of Grand Velas is not suitable for swimming, that it is not suitable for swimming or wading due to strong undertows and unpredictable tides, and that right in front of our resort it is not permitted to swim due to dangerous ocean conditions. Grand Velas recommends guests visit Chileno Beach, about a mile away, which is where two other resorts in this guide sit." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Which is the best luxury resort in Los Cabos?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Montage Los Cabos, on the strength of Santa Maria Bay. It is a Blue Flag cove the resort itself describes as perfect for swimming and snorkelling, there are only 122 rooms and 52 residences across 39 acres of single storey buildings, and Spa Montage is the largest spa in Baja at 40,000 square feet. It costs from USD$992 a night, and the bay is public and busy with snorkel boats from mid morning." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is the best value luxury resort in Los Cabos?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Chileno Bay, from USD$780 a night. It is the cheapest of the four resorts here with genuinely swimmable water, on a Blue Flag cove with a reef less than twenty yards from shore, and it scores 4.9 on TripAdvisor from 1,244 reviews. Snorkel kit, kayaks and paddleboards are free, and the rate includes transport and dining access to sister property Esperanza." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "When is the best time to visit Los Cabos?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "November, or late April into May. November still has the sea at 27C after the summer, one rain day and rates below the Christmas peak; May is dry, hot, quiet and cheap, with mobula rays gathering off the East Cape. January to March is the classic window and humpbacks are in the water from mid December to mid April, but the sea drops to 21C and rates are at their annual highest. Avoid late August and September, when rain days reach six a month and hurricanes are a real risk." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How far is Los Cabos airport from the resorts?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "It depends which end of the peninsula you booked. San Jose del Cabo is 8 to 15 minutes from the terminal, the Tourist Corridor resorts 20 to 35, Cabo San Lucas and the Pedregal 40 to 55, and the East Cape resorts around Costa Palmas 60 to 70. Solaz and One&Only Palmilla have the shortest transfers in this guide at about 25 minutes; Four Seasons at Costa Palmas has the longest." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How much does a transfer from Los Cabos airport cost?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "A pre booked private transfer is USD$35 to USD$100 per vehicle depending on distance and is the sensible choice. An authorised taxi from the official booth costs USD$30 to USD$50 to San Jose del Cabo and USD$65 to USD$100 to Cabo San Lucas. A shared shuttle is USD$20 to USD$45 a head but stops at several hotels and can take 60 to 90 minutes. Uber cannot pick up at the terminal kerb because of the concession rules." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Which Los Cabos resort is best for families?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "One&Only Palmilla, because the sheltered Blue Flag bay has a shallow entry and is the calmest water in Los Cabos for small children, and every room comes with a butler. Montage and Chileno Bay are the better choice for older children who want to snorkel, since both sit on protected reef coves. Grand Velas suits families who want the bill settled in advance, with nine restaurants included in the rate." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Which Los Cabos resort has the best restaurant?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Grand Velas has the only Michelin star among these ten, at Cocina de Autor, awarded in the inaugural Michelin Guide Mexico in 2024 and included in the all inclusive rate. Four Seasons at Costa Palmas has Estiatorio Milos from Costas Spiliadis plus Zest, a twelve seat counter doing a nine course tasting menu. Esperanza's Cocina del Mar, built out on a rock promontory over the water, is the most memorable room of the three." } } ] } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Article", "headline": "Best Luxury Resorts in Cabo San Lucas: 10 Ranked", "description": "The ten best luxury resorts in Cabo ranked, including which beaches you can actually swim at, what a night costs, and the months worth avoiding.", "image": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/images/guides/cabo/montage-los-cabos-1200w.webp", "datePublished": "2026-09-18", "dateModified": "2026-09-18", "mainEntityOfPage": { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas" }, "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jack Williamson", "url": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/about" }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Luxury Hotel Compare", "url": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Travel guides", "item": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Best luxury resorts in Cabo San Lucas", "item": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas" } ] }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can you swim in the ocean in Cabo San Lucas?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Mostly no. Medano Beach inside the bay is the one genuinely swimmable town beach in Cabo San Lucas, and everything west of the Arch faces the open Pacific with a strong undertow and heavy shore break. Of the ten luxury resorts in this guide, four sit on water you can swim in, five do not, and one is unclear. Several of the resorts state the problem themselves rather than leave you to find out." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Which Los Cabos resorts have a beach you can swim from?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Four in this guide. Chileno Bay and Montage sit on Chileno and Santa Maria, two Blue Flag horseshoe coves with headlands at either end. One&Only Palmilla has its own sheltered peninsula bay, also Blue Flag certified. Four Seasons at Costa Palmas on the East Cape has about two miles of calm Sea of Cortez, the longest safe stretch in the region, but it is 60 to 70 minutes from the airport." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Why are so many Cabo beaches unsafe for swimming?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Geography. The Pacific side and the long unprotected stretches of the Tourist Corridor take open ocean swell directly, which produces a steep shore break and strong undertows close in. Only the coves with rock headlands at both ends, principally Chileno, Santa Maria and Palmilla, are shielded enough for the water to settle. Several corridor beaches also carry rock in the shallows, including Playa El Tule in front of Grand Velas." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is the beach at Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal swimmable?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "No. Guest answers on the hotel's own TripAdvisor question thread are unanimous, with replies stating that the beach is not a safe swimming beach at all and that the beach in front of the Pedregal has a very strong undertow. It is a Pacific facing beach at the mouth of the bay. The resort's answer is water elsewhere: an adults pool, a family pool at the beach club, a shallow rock pool for children, and a private plunge pool or hot tub on the terrace of even the entry level room." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can you swim at Grand Velas Los Cabos?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "No, and the resort says so itself in three separate places on its own website. Its FAQ states that the beach in front of Grand Velas is not suitable for swimming, that it is not suitable for swimming or wading due to strong undertows and unpredictable tides, and that right in front of our resort it is not permitted to swim due to dangerous ocean conditions. Grand Velas recommends guests visit Chileno Beach, about a mile away, which is where two other resorts in this guide sit." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Which is the best luxury resort in Los Cabos?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Montage Los Cabos, on the strength of Santa Maria Bay. It is a Blue Flag cove the resort itself describes as perfect for swimming and snorkelling, there are only 122 rooms and 52 residences across 39 acres of single storey buildings, and Spa Montage is the largest spa in Baja at 40,000 square feet. It costs from USD$992 a night, and the bay is public and busy with snorkel boats from mid morning." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is the best value luxury resort in Los Cabos?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Chileno Bay, from USD$780 a night. It is the cheapest of the four resorts here with genuinely swimmable water, on a Blue Flag cove with a reef less than twenty yards from shore, and it scores 4.9 on TripAdvisor from 1,244 reviews. Snorkel kit, kayaks and paddleboards are free, and the rate includes transport and dining access to sister property Esperanza." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "When is the best time to visit Los Cabos?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "November, or late April into May. November still has the sea at 27C after the summer, one rain day and rates below the Christmas peak; May is dry, hot, quiet and cheap, with mobula rays gathering off the East Cape. January to March is the classic window and humpbacks are in the water from mid December to mid April, but the sea drops to 21C and rates are at their annual highest. Avoid late August and September, when rain days reach six a month and hurricanes are a real risk." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How far is Los Cabos airport from the resorts?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "It depends which end of the peninsula you booked. San Jose del Cabo is 8 to 15 minutes from the terminal, the Tourist Corridor resorts 20 to 35, Cabo San Lucas and the Pedregal 40 to 55, and the East Cape resorts around Costa Palmas 60 to 70. Solaz and One&Only Palmilla have the shortest transfers in this guide at about 25 minutes; Four Seasons at Costa Palmas has the longest." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How much does a transfer from Los Cabos airport cost?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "A pre booked private transfer is USD$35 to USD$100 per vehicle depending on distance and is the sensible choice. An authorised taxi from the official booth costs USD$30 to USD$50 to San Jose del Cabo and USD$65 to USD$100 to Cabo San Lucas. A shared shuttle is USD$20 to USD$45 a head but stops at several hotels and can take 60 to 90 minutes. Uber cannot pick up at the terminal kerb because of the concession rules." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Which Los Cabos resort is best for families?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "One&Only Palmilla, because the sheltered Blue Flag bay has a shallow entry and is the calmest water in Los Cabos for small children, and every room comes with a butler. Montage and Chileno Bay are the better choice for older children who want to snorkel, since both sit on protected reef coves. Grand Velas suits families who want the bill settled in advance, with nine restaurants included in the rate." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Which Los Cabos resort has the best restaurant?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Grand Velas has the only Michelin star among these ten, at Cocina de Autor, awarded in the inaugural Michelin Guide Mexico in 2024 and included in the all inclusive rate. Four Seasons at Costa Palmas has Estiatorio Milos from Costas Spiliadis plus Zest, a twelve seat counter doing a nine course tasting menu. Esperanza's Cocina del Mar, built out on a rock promontory over the water, is the most memorable room of the three." } } ] }, { "@type": "ItemList", "itemListOrder": "https://schema.org/ItemListOrderAscending", "numberOfItems": 10, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Hotel", "name": "Montage Los Cabos", "url": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#montage-los-cabos", "image": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/images/guides/cabo/2026/montage-los-cabos-aerial-1200w.webp", "description": "A Blue Flag bay you can dive from the sand, and the largest spa in Baja", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "Santa Maria Bay", "addressCountry": "MX" } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Hotel", "name": "Chileno Bay Resort & Residences, Auberge Resorts Collection", "url": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#chileno-bay", "image": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/images/guides/cabo/2026/chileno-bay-pool-1200w.webp", "description": "The most swimmable cove in Los Cabos, at the lowest rate of the four you can swim at", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "Chileno Bay", "addressCountry": "MX" } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Hotel", "name": "One&Only Palmilla", "url": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#one-only-palmilla", "image": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/images/guides/cabo/2026/one-only-palmilla-aerial-1200w.webp", "description": "A butler in every one of the 174 rooms, and the gentlest sea in Los Cabos", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "Palmilla", "addressCountry": "MX" } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Hotel", "name": "Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal", "url": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#waldorf-pedregal", "image": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/images/guides/cabo/2026/waldorf-pedregal-aerial-1200w.webp", "description": "A torchlit private tunnel, a plunge pool on the entry level terrace, and a sea you must not enter", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "Cabo San Lucas", "addressCountry": "MX" } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Hotel", "name": "Four Seasons Resort Los Cabos at Costa Palmas", "url": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#four-seasons-costa-palmas", "image": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/images/guides/cabo/2026/four-seasons-costa-palmas-exterior-1200w.webp", "description": "Two miles of swimmable Sea of Cortez, and seventy minutes of road to reach it", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "East Cape", "addressCountry": "MX" } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Hotel", "name": "Las Ventanas al Paraiso, A Rosewood Resort", "url": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#las-ventanas", "image": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/images/guides/cabo/2026/las-ventanas-exterior-1200w.webp", "description": "Eight pools and the only lazy river in Cabo, because the sea in front is closed to you", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "Tourist Corridor", "addressCountry": "MX" } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Hotel", "name": "Esperanza, Auberge Resorts Collection", "url": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#esperanza", "image": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/images/guides/cabo/2026/esperanza-aerial-1200w.webp", "description": "Two Michelin Keys and the best rated spa in Latin America, above a beach you can only paddle in", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "Punta Ballena", "addressCountry": "MX" } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Hotel", "name": "Grand Velas Los Cabos", "url": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#grand-velas", "image": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/images/guides/cabo/2026/grand-velas-aerial-1200w.webp", "description": "A Michelin starred dinner included in the rate, and an FAQ that tells you to swim somewhere else", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "Tourist Corridor", "addressCountry": "MX" } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Hotel", "name": "Solaz, a Luxury Collection Resort, Los Cabos", "url": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#solaz", "image": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/images/guides/cabo/2026/solaz-aerial-1200w.webp", "description": "The most interesting building in Los Cabos, and the only swimming answer here that is genuinely unclear", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "Tourist Corridor", "addressCountry": "MX" } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Hotel", "name": "Nobu Hotel Los Cabos", "url": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-cabo-san-lucas#nobu-los-cabos", "image": "https://luxuryhotelcompare.com/images/guides/cabo/2026/nobu-los-cabos-pool-1200w.webp", "description": "A real Nobu kitchen for 399 dollars a night, on a beach the hotel tells you not to enter", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "Pacific side", "addressCountry": "MX" } } } ] } ] } ] --- [L Luxury Hotel Compare Indep · Editorial · 2026 ](/) Destinations Guides [Best eSIM](/travel-guides/best-esim-international-travel-2026)[Priority Pass Review](/airport-lounges)[Best Luxury Luggage](/suitcases) [Book Via Booking.com](https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-101801746-17288959?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fsearchresults.html%3Fss%3Dluxury%2Bhotels%26checkin%3D2026-10-21%26checkout%3D2026-10-23%26group_adults%3D2%26no_rooms%3D1%26group_children%3D0) In this guide When to go In this guide - [When to go](#when-to-go) - [Compare](#compared) - [The ranking](#reviewed) - [Montage Los Cabos](#montage-los-cabos) - [Chileno Bay Resort & Residences, Auberge Resorts Collection](#chileno-bay) - [One&Only Palmilla](#one-only-palmilla) - [Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal](#waldorf-pedregal) - [Four Seasons Resort Los Cabos at Costa Palmas](#four-seasons-costa-palmas) - [Five more](#more) - [Las Ventanas al Paraiso, A Rosewood Resort](#las-ventanas) - [Esperanza, Auberge Resorts Collection](#esperanza) - [Grand Velas Los Cabos](#grand-velas) - [Solaz, a Luxury Collection Resort, Los Cabos](#solaz) - [Nobu Hotel Los Cabos](#nobu-los-cabos) - [Where to stay](#where-to-stay) - [The swimming question](#swimming-truth) - [Value pick](#value) - [Airport](#getting-in) - [Method](#how-i-ranked) - [More guides](#related) - [FAQs](#faqs) Guide facts Resorts reviewed 10 in full Sea you can swim in 4 of 10, plus 1 unclear Price range USD$399 to USD$1,316 a night Best value pick Chileno Bay, Auberge Resorts Collection Best months November, and late April into May Last verified September 2026 Compare live Los Cabos rates for your dates. [Check rates](https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-101801746-17288959?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fsearchresults.html%3Fss%3Dluxury%2Bresorts%2BLos%2BCabos%26checkin%3D2026-10-21%26checkout%3D2026-10-23%26group_adults%3D2%26no_rooms%3D1%26group_children%3D0) ![A horseshoe bay of pale sand with a low resort and pools set back behind it](/images/guides/cabo/2026/montage-los-cabos-aerial-1200w.webp) Los Cabos · Resort guide · 2026 # The ten best luxury resorts in Cabo San Lucas Ten Los Cabos resorts ranked on the question the brochures answer last, which is whether you can actually get into the sea. Four of the ten can, five cannot, one is genuinely unclear, and at the most expensive of them the hotel's own website tells you to drive a mile up the road instead. By **Jack Williamson**, Luxury Travel Editor Published 20 September 2026 Rates and scores verified September 2026 17 minute read ## The quick answer [Montage Los Cabos](https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-101801746-17288959?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fsearchresults.html%3Fss%3DMontage%2BLos%2BCabos%26checkin%3D2026-10-21%26checkout%3D2026-10-23%26group_adults%3D2%26no_rooms%3D1%26group_children%3D0) is the one I would book first. It sits on Santa Maria Bay, a Blue Flag horseshoe cove with a headland at either end, and the resort's own pools and beach page calls the water there perfect for swimming and snorkelling. The trade is that Santa Maria is a public beach on the standard snorkel boat circuit, so the far end fills with pangas by late morning, and there is nothing outside the gate to walk to. Chileno Bay is my value pick, at USD$780 against Montage's USD$992, on a cove Auberge describes as the most swimmable beach in Cabo with a reef twenty yards off the sand. [One&Only Palmilla](https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-101801746-17288959?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fsearchresults.html%3Fss%3DOne%2526Only%2BPalmilla%2BLos%2BCabos%26checkin%3D2026-10-21%26checkout%3D2026-10-23%26group_adults%3D2%26no_rooms%3D1%26group_children%3D0) is the family answer, with a butler in every room and the gentlest water in Los Cabos. Four Seasons at Costa Palmas has two miles of swimmable beach, and an airport transfer of sixty to seventy minutes to pay for it. Now the warning. Five of these ten resorts sit on water you cannot swim in, and two of them say so on their own channels. Nobu's representative writes that the beach is not swimmable. [Esperanza](https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-101801746-17288959?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fsearchresults.html%3Fss%3DEsperanza%2BAuberge%2BResorts%2BCollection%2BLos%2BCabos%26checkin%3D2026-10-21%26checkout%3D2026-10-23%26group_adults%3D2%26no_rooms%3D1%26group_children%3D0)'s says the same. Grand Velas puts it in its FAQ three separate ways and recommends you drive to Chileno Beach a mile away. Read the swim column of the table before you read the rates. We may earn a commission when you use our links, at no extra cost to you. [How rankings and funding work](/methodology#how-we-make-money). ## Los Cabos month by month Daytime high, celsius The high season here runs from January to March and the sea is at its coldest for exactly that stretch, dropping to 21C in March while the rates sit at their annual peak. The water is warmest, at 28C, in August, September and October, which is also when six rain days a month arrive and when hurricanes become a real risk. November is the month that squares the circle: a sea still holding 27C, one rain day, and rates below the Christmas wall. 26 27 27 28 30 32 33 33 33 32 29 27 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Sea 23 22 21 22 22 23 26 28 28 28 27 24 Rain days 2 1 0 0 0 1 2 6 6 2 1 2 Crowds Busy Busy Peak Busy Quiet Quiet Steady Quiet Quiet Steady Busy Peak **My verdict.** Go in November or late April and May. November gives you a sea still at 27C after the summer, dry days and prices below the Christmas peak; May is dry, hot, empty and cheap, with the mobula ray season running off the East Cape. January to March is the classic window and the whales are there, but the sea drops to 21C and rates are at their highest. Avoid late August and September, when the rain arrives and hurricanes are a real risk. ## The ten compared Rates are the bottom of each hotel's TripAdvisor price range for a standard room, read in September 2026, so they compare with each other rather than with a booking engine on a different day. Read the swim column first. It is the one that decides what your week actually looks like. Ten Los Cabos luxury resorts compared on area, whether the sea in front is swimmable, rate, room count and who each one suits Hotel Area Swimmable sea From Rooms Best for ![A horseshoe bay of pale sand with a low resort and pools set back behind it](/images/guides/cabo/2026/montage-los-cabos-aerial-480w.webp)Montage Los Cabos Santa Maria Bay Yes, Blue Flag USD$992 122 Anyone who came to Baja to be in the sea ![A long still pool lined with cabanas and palms reflecting the sky](/images/guides/cabo/2026/chileno-bay-pool-480w.webp)[Chileno Bay Resort & Residences, Auberge Resorts Collection](https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-101801746-17288959?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fsearchresults.html%3Fss%3DChileno%2BBay%2BResort%2B%2526%2BResidences%2BAuberge%2BResorts%2BCollection%2BLos%2BCabos%26checkin%3D2026-10-21%26checkout%3D2026-10-23%26group_adults%3D2%26no_rooms%3D1%26group_children%3D0) Chileno Bay Yes, Blue Flag USD$780 92 Snorkelling off the sand without paying corridor rates ![A low white resort spread across a rocky point with palms and two bays either side](/images/guides/cabo/2026/one-only-palmilla-aerial-480w.webp)One&Only Palmilla Palmilla Yes, Blue Flag USD$896 174 Families, and anyone returning for the fourth time ![The resort built into a rocky headland above a long Pacific beach, seen from the air](/images/guides/cabo/2026/waldorf-pedregal-aerial-480w.webp)[Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal](https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-101801746-17288959?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fsearchresults.html%3Fss%3DWaldorf%2BAstoria%2BLos%2BCabos%2BPedregal%26checkin%3D2026-10-21%26checkout%3D2026-10-23%26group_adults%3D2%26no_rooms%3D1%26group_children%3D0) Pedregal No USD$1,108 112 Drama, and a room you will not want to leave ![A long low resort along a flat beach with mountains rising behind it, seen from the water](/images/guides/cabo/2026/four-seasons-costa-palmas-exterior-480w.webp)[Four Seasons Resort Los Cabos at Costa Palmas](https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-101801746-17288959?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fsearchresults.html%3Fss%3DFour%2BSeasons%2BResort%2BLos%2BCabos%2Bat%2BCosta%2BPalmas%26checkin%3D2026-10-21%26checkout%3D2026-10-23%26group_adults%3D2%26no_rooms%3D1%26group_children%3D0) East Cape Yes USD$849 141 The longest swimmable beach, if you accept the drive ![White domed buildings and a curving pool above a beach in early morning light](/images/guides/cabo/2026/las-ventanas-exterior-480w.webp)[Las Ventanas al Paraiso, A Rosewood Resort](https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-101801746-17288959?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fsearchresults.html%3Fss%3DLas%2BVentanas%2Bal%2BParaiso%2BA%2BRosewood%2BResort%2BLos%2BCabos%26checkin%3D2026-10-21%26checkout%3D2026-10-23%26group_adults%3D2%26no_rooms%3D1%26group_children%3D0) Tourist Corridor No USD$1,058 84 suites Service by name, and pools instead of sea ![A resort of tiled roofs above a pool and a small cove with a strip of sand](/images/guides/cabo/2026/esperanza-aerial-480w.webp)Esperanza, Auberge Resorts Collection Punta Ballena No USD$833 59 casitas A spa week ten minutes from town ![A curved cream building stepping down to pools and a beach seen from the air](/images/guides/cabo/2026/grand-velas-aerial-480w.webp)[Grand Velas Los Cabos](https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-101801746-17288959?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fsearchresults.html%3Fss%3DGrand%2BVelas%2BLos%2BCabos%26checkin%3D2026-10-21%26checkout%3D2026-10-23%26group_adults%3D2%26no_rooms%3D1%26group_children%3D0) Tourist Corridor No USD$1,316 307 suites All inclusive, with a Michelin star in the price ![A long terraced resort stepping down a slope to a pale beach and turquoise water](/images/guides/cabo/2026/solaz-aerial-480w.webp)[Solaz, a Luxury Collection Resort, Los Cabos](https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-101801746-17288959?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fsearchresults.html%3Fss%3DSolaz%2Ba%2BLuxury%2BCollection%2BResort%2BLos%2BCabos%26checkin%3D2026-10-21%26checkout%3D2026-10-23%26group_adults%3D2%26no_rooms%3D1%26group_children%3D0) Tourist Corridor Unclear USD$714 145 Architecture, art and very large rooms ![A long narrow pool lined with loungers and planted islands running towards the beach](/images/guides/cabo/2026/nobu-los-cabos-pool-480w.webp)[Nobu Hotel Los Cabos](https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-101801746-17288959?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fsearchresults.html%3Fss%3DNobu%2BHotel%2BLos%2BCabos%26checkin%3D2026-10-21%26checkout%3D2026-10-23%26group_adults%3D2%26no_rooms%3D1%26group_children%3D0) Pacific side No USD$399 200 The lowest rate here, and the Nobu kitchen Swim answers come from the hotel's own published wording where it exists, and otherwise from the guest answers on that hotel's TripAdvisor question thread. Each one is sourced in the review below it. Rates read September 2026, before tax and service. ![Priority Pass logo](https://cdn.brandfetch.io/prioritypass.com/w/200/h/200/logo?c=1id1S46xxETYxelu0Ag) Before you fly ### Los Cabos airport on a Saturday afternoon is one long queue. Almost every flight back to the United States leaves inside the same three hour window, and the departures hall is not built for it. A lounge membership has paid for itself on this route alone, twice. [See Priority Pass plans](https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=60243&awinaffid=2811492) ## The ten reviewed Ranked in the order I would book them, which is not the order of their rates. The most expensive resort in this guide is eighth. Every drawback below comes either from something the hotel publishes about itself or from a pattern in recent guest reviews, and I have said which in each case. One structural note. Los Cabos is two towns twenty miles apart with a highway between them, and where a resort sits on that highway decides whether the sea in front of it is calm or lethal. The ranking weights that heavily, because it is the thing people get wrong. 01\. Santa Maria Bay ### Montage Los Cabos 4.8 on Tripadvisor, 534 reviews ![A horseshoe bay of pale sand with a low resort and pools set back behind it](/images/guides/cabo/2026/montage-los-cabos-aerial-1200w.webp) ![An empty curve of sand with parasols and a rock headland at the far end](/images/guides/cabo/2026/montage-los-cabos-beach-1200w.webp) ![A pale bedroom with a timber headboard, a round table and a view through to the terrace](/images/guides/cabo/2026/montage-los-cabos-guest-room-1200w.webp) ![A suite living room with a white sofa, a wooden dining table and a wet bar](/images/guides/cabo/2026/montage-los-cabos-suite-1200w.webp) ![A stone lined indoor pool flanked by timber screens and loungers](/images/guides/cabo/2026/montage-los-cabos-spa-1200w.webp) Santa Maria Bay. The headlands at either end are what make the water here calm A Blue Flag bay you can dive from the sand, and the largest spa in Baja Montage opened on Santa Maria Bay in 2018 and it answers the question this guide is built around. Santa Maria is a horseshoe cove with a rock headland at either end, which is why the water inside stays calm when the coast on both sides does not, and it carries Blue Flag certification. The resort's own pools and beach page calls the bay a protected marine sanctuary perfect for swimming and snorkelling. On this peninsula that is worth more than any amenity list: five of the ten resorts here cannot say it. There are 122 rooms and suites plus 52 residences on 39 acres, all built low in local stone so the bay stays in view from almost everywhere. Rooms start at about 700 square feet, all with a terrace, most with an ocean view, many with a private plunge pool and the rest sharing one at the foot of the terrace. Spa Montage runs to 40,000 square feet with twelve treatment rooms and its own adults only Serenity pool, the largest spa on the peninsula. Mezcal is the main dining room, Talay a Thai kitchen, Marea the pool and beach restaurant. A Fred Couples golf course and the Twin Dolphin Club sit behind. Ask for a category with its own plunge pool rather than one that shares a pool at the foot of the terrace; the gap in privacy is wider than the gap in rate. Then use the Compass adventure centre, which runs a PADI dive operation straight off the beach. Almost nothing else in Los Cabos does, because almost nothing else here has water you can dive from the sand. Go in before ten, when the boats have not arrived and the reef end is at its clearest. The honest problem is that Santa Maria is not Montage's beach. It is a public bay with a car park above it and a fixed stop on the snorkelling circuit, so the far end fills with pangas from mid morning. The resort's stretch is quieter, but the water is shared. Dinner is either here or a forty minute round trip, and the TripAdvisor score of 4.8 rests on only 534 reviews, fewer than most rivals in this guide. I would still book it first. The sea is the reason to come to Baja, and this is the best access to it within a sensible drive of the airport. > “Beautiful property, incredible service, great food, and one of the best beaches in Cabo.” > > TripAdvisor review by ExpatFam62, August 2026 The verdict - **+**Blue Flag water you can swim, snorkel and dive from the sand - **+**The biggest spa in Baja at 40,000 square feet across twelve treatment rooms - **+**122 rooms on 39 acres, single storey, so the bay is visible almost everywhere - **−**Santa Maria is public and fills with snorkel boats from mid morning - **−**Nothing walkable outside the gate, and only 534 TripAdvisor reviews to judge it on From USD$992 a night Rate read September 2026, lowest standard room, before tax and service Check rates[Official site ↗](https://www.montage.com/loscabos/) 02\. Chileno Bay ### Chileno Bay Resort & Residences, Auberge Resorts Collection 4.9 on Tripadvisor, 1,244 reviews ![A long still pool lined with cabanas and palms reflecting the sky](/images/guides/cabo/2026/chileno-bay-pool-1200w.webp) ![A two storey villa with a long dark pool, loungers and tall palms in evening light](/images/guides/cabo/2026/chileno-bay-villa-exterior-1200w.webp) ![A bedroom with two beds, a striped chair and glass doors onto a terrace over the gardens](/images/guides/cabo/2026/chileno-bay-guest-room-1200w.webp) ![A living room with deep grey sofas opening directly onto rocks and open sea](/images/guides/cabo/2026/chileno-bay-villa-interior-1200w.webp) ![A shaded dining terrace of pale timber tables and chairs overlooking a pool and palms](/images/guides/cabo/2026/chileno-bay-restaurant-1200w.webp) The zero edge pool runs in three tiers down towards the bay The most swimmable cove in Los Cabos, at the lowest rate of the four you can swim at Chileno Bay opened in 2017 at Km 15 of the Transpeninsular, nine miles from Cabo San Lucas, and it is the value pick of this guide by a clear margin. Auberge's own beach page calls Chileno the most swimmable beach in Cabo, describes a protected cove with a reef less than twenty yards from shore and notes the Blue Flag award. It holds 4.9 on TripAdvisor from 1,244 reviews, the joint highest score here, and costs 212 dollars a night less than Montage for the same class of water. The resort counts 92 rooms and villas across 22 acres, according to Forbes Travel Guide. Guest rooms are bright and contemporary in terrazzo and pale timber. Suites run 1,300 to 2,100 square feet with a private infinity edge plunge pool and a hot tub, and villas go from two to six bedrooms, up to Brisa del Mar at about 24,000 square feet. The main pool is a zero edge design in three tiers with five private bungalows. Sol, the spa, has a bath house, a nap garden and a reflexology pool. COMAL is the open air main restaurant, with Proa at COMAL as a cliffside table for two; YAYA does Mediterranean and TnT is a taco and tequila bar on the sand. Here is what the booking page does not make obvious. Auberge runs free transport between its two Cabo properties, so your room comes with dining access to Esperanza, ten minutes west, which means a table at Cocina del Mar on its rock promontory without paying Esperanza's room rate. Do that on the second night. And be in the water by half past eight, because Chileno is the most popular snorkelling stop in Los Cabos and the first boats land around ten. Which is the drawback. Chileno is a public beach with a car park, and by late morning the bay carries day visitors, pangas and rented fins. The resort's frontage stays calmer than the public end, but the cove is shared and small. The other complaint is noise: The Bar Downstairs runs late with DJs from Thursday to Saturday, and on a 22 acre site that carries, so ask for a room at the far end from it. Neither point changes the arithmetic. This is the cheapest bed in Los Cabos with swimmable water in front of it, and one of the two best rated resorts in the guide. > “The service was excellent, but what really stood out was how genuinely kind and helpful everyone was throughout the resort.” > > TripAdvisor review by Teresa, September 2026 The verdict - **+**A Blue Flag cove with a reef less than twenty yards off the sand - **+**Free snorkel kit, kayaks and paddleboards from the H2O Cave - **+**Dining access to sister property Esperanza, with transport included - **−**Chileno is a public beach and the busiest snorkel stop in Los Cabos - **−**The bar runs late with DJs from Thursday to Saturday on a 22 acre site From USD$780 a night Rate read September 2026, lowest standard room, before tax and service Check rates[Official site ↗](https://auberge.com/chileno-bay/) 03\. Palmilla ### One&Only Palmilla 4.7 on Tripadvisor, 1,901 reviews ![A low white resort spread across a rocky point with palms and two bays either side](/images/guides/cabo/2026/one-only-palmilla-aerial-1200w.webp) ![A bedroom with two beds, a dark carved headboard and doors open to the sea](/images/guides/cabo/2026/one-only-palmilla-guest-room-1200w.webp) ![A stone terrace under white arches with daybeds and blue chairs looking over the bay](/images/guides/cabo/2026/one-only-palmilla-suite-terrace-1200w.webp) ![A long pool edged with loungers, parasols and bougainvillea under tall palms](/images/guides/cabo/2026/one-only-palmilla-pool-1200w.webp) ![Tables under palapas on a rocky shore with waves breaking behind them](/images/guides/cabo/2026/one-only-palmilla-restaurant-1200w.webp) Palmilla has its own peninsula, which is why the water on the sheltered side is calm enough to swim in A butler in every one of the 174 rooms, and the gentlest sea in Los Cabos Palmilla opened in 1956 as a fifteen room hideaway called Hotel Palmilla and became One&Only in 2004 after a rebuild that cost ninety million dollars. It has its own peninsula at Km 7.5 of the Transpeninsular, and that geography is the point: the headland shelters the bay, so the water is calm and shallow at the entry. One&Only's experiences page describes the warm swimmable waters of its Blue Flag certified beach, and Forbes Travel Guide calls Pelican Beach one of the few swimmable beaches in the region. For a family with small children this is the easiest sea in Los Cabos. There are 174 rooms and suites plus two standalone villas, Villa Cortez and Villa One. Rooms start around 600 square feet in low whitewashed hacienda blocks, with tiled floors, dark carved wood and shutters rather than picture windows. Every room comes with a butler and has done since 2004. The spa runs to roughly 22,000 square feet with thirteen private treatment villas, each with its own garden, outdoor bed and soaking tub, plus a temazcal steam house. Two infinity pools, Agua for everyone and Vista for adults. SEARED does live fire steak and seafood, Hoshi is Nikkei, and the Palmilla Social Club, added in November 2025, brought Lucille's Kitchen and Cafe and a mid century bar called Sala 56. Ask for a premier suite at the front of the point. The hacienda architecture is cool and shuttered rather than glassy, so in the standard categories the sea is something you walk out to; the premier suites at the tip look straight down at the water and are the only ones where the setting reaches inside the room. The airport is twenty five minutes away, which makes Palmilla the sane choice for three or four nights. The drawback is age. It is the oldest property here by forty six years and reads that way next to the glass and terrazzo up the corridor. The rooms are immaculate, traditional and dark, which some people book it for and others find heavy. At 174 keys it is also the busiest resort here, and the pools and the beach feel it in February. Its 4.7 from 1,901 reviews is the lowest of the top four here, and the gap is not about service, which is the best thing about the place. If the swimming and the staff matter more than the joinery, book it. > “Beautiful view of the golf course and sea. The food is delicious!” > > TripAdvisor review by Samantha R, September 2026 The verdict - **+**One of the few Cabo beaches you can genuinely swim off, and the calmest of them - **+**A butler with every room, included, since 2004 - **+**Twenty five minutes from the airport, one of the shortest transfers here - **−**The hacienda rooms are dark and traditional next to the newer corridor resorts - **−**At 174 keys it is the busiest property in this guide From USD$896 a night Rate read September 2026, lowest standard room, before tax and service Check rates[Official site ↗](https://www.oneandonlyresorts.com/palmilla) 04\. Cabo San Lucas ### Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal 4.9 on Tripadvisor, 3,201 reviews ![The resort built into a rocky headland above a long Pacific beach, seen from the air](/images/guides/cabo/2026/waldorf-pedregal-aerial-1200w.webp) ![Sand coloured casitas climbing the rock above palm trees and the beach](/images/guides/cabo/2026/waldorf-pedregal-exterior-1200w.webp) ![A bedroom under a beamed ceiling with glass doors opening onto a terrace above the bay](/images/guides/cabo/2026/waldorf-pedregal-bedroom-1200w.webp) ![A pale living room with stone walls, a beamed ceiling and deep white sofas](/images/guides/cabo/2026/waldorf-pedregal-suite-1200w.webp) ![A single storey beachfront suite with a lit plunge pool and the sea behind it at dusk](/images/guides/cabo/2026/waldorf-pedregal-suite-exterior-1200w.webp) The whole property is stacked up one cliff face at the western edge of Cabo San Lucas A torchlit private tunnel, a plunge pool on the entry level terrace, and a sea you must not enter The Pedregal opened in 2009 and became Mexico's first Waldorf Astoria in 2019. It has the best arrival in Latin America: cars are met at the Cabo San Lucas marina and driven through Mexico's only privately owned hotel tunnel, lit by torches at night, coming out on the Pacific side with the resort stacked up the cliff above. It holds 4.9 on TripAdvisor from 3,201 reviews, and one guest in August 2026 described arriving on the other side with a free margarita and an unobstructed view of the Pacific. There are 112 rooms, suites, casitas and private homes, down from 115 after the rebuild. The entry level Deluxe Ocean View has a terrace with its own plunge pool or hot tub looking down the rock, so the cheapest room here already carries what most resorts charge a premium for. A phased refurbishment finished in October 2025 took every room back to the shell. El Farallon is cut into the cliff above the surf and serves whole fish and a champagne and seafood service called Savor the Sea; Don Manuel's is the hacienda style dining room and Agave Study pours tequila and mezcal. The spa runs to roughly 12,000 square feet. Book the entry Deluxe Ocean View and put the saving into dinner, because upgrading for a plunge pool buys something you already have. If stairs are a problem, ask for a casita low on the hill near the beach club rather than high near the spa. Reserve El Farallon for your first night; the cliff edge tables go months ahead in season. Now the part the photography never tells you. The sea here cannot be swum in. Guest answers on the hotel's own TripAdvisor question thread are unanimous: the beach is not a safe swimming beach at all, and the beach in front of the Pedregal has a very strong undertow, it's not advised to swim in the ocean there. This is a Pacific facing beach at the mouth of the bay, and the resort keeps people in the pools: one for adults, one for families at the beach club, a shallow rock pool for children. The site is the second problem: the hill is steep, so moving between room, spa and beach club means steps or a buggy. At 1,108 dollars a night you are paying for the arrival, the room and the cliff. If swimming in the sea was part of what you imagined, book elsewhere. > “Driving through the mountainside to arrive on the other side with a free margarita and an unobstructed view of the Pacific was quite the introduction.” > > TripAdvisor review by Lance and Valerie B, August 2026 The verdict - **+**A plunge pool or hot tub on the terrace of the cheapest room category - **+**Every one of the 112 rooms was taken back to the shell in 2025 - **+**Ten minutes from the Cabo San Lucas marina and hearing none of it - **−**The ocean here cannot be swum in at all, and guests say so plainly - **−**A steep site, so steps and buggies between the room, the spa and the beach From USD$1,108 a night Rate read September 2026, lowest standard room, before tax and service Check rates[Official site ↗](https://www.waldorfastorialoscabospedregal.com/) 05\. East Cape ### Four Seasons Resort Los Cabos at Costa Palmas 4.5 on Tripadvisor, 220 reviews ![A long low resort along a flat beach with mountains rising behind it, seen from the water](/images/guides/cabo/2026/four-seasons-costa-palmas-exterior-1200w.webp) ![A formal water garden of shallow pools and planted beds between two low buildings](/images/guides/cabo/2026/four-seasons-costa-palmas-pool-1200w.webp) ![A bedroom with a patterned rug, a bench at the foot of the bed and doors onto a terrace](/images/guides/cabo/2026/four-seasons-costa-palmas-guest-room-1200w.webp) ![A suite living room in cream and pale wood opening onto a private pool and palms](/images/guides/cabo/2026/four-seasons-costa-palmas-suite-1200w.webp) ![A curved restaurant room with a woven ceiling, green chairs and full height windows](/images/guides/cabo/2026/four-seasons-costa-palmas-restaurant-1200w.webp) The resort seen from the Sea of Cortez, with the Sierra de la Laguna behind Two miles of swimmable Sea of Cortez, and seventy minutes of road to reach it This opened in November 2019 on the East Cape near La Ribera, well beyond the Tourist Corridor, on the 1,500 acre Costa Palmas estate. Four Seasons titles its own homepage Luxury Los Cabos Resort With Swimmable Beach, which tells you both what it is selling and how unusual that is here. The beach runs about two miles, the longest stretch of safe water in Los Cabos, and Visit Los Cabos lists it among the beaches that are safe and family friendly for swimming, snorkelling, paddleboarding and kayaking. There are 141 rooms and suites, all single storey, all with a Sea of Cortez view, a terrace, an outdoor shower and in most categories a plunge pool, set in a grid of gardens and water channels. Estiatorio Milos, the Mediterranean seafood room from Costas Spiliadis, is the headline kitchen; Zest is a twelve seat counter doing a nine course tasting menu; Casa de Brasa is poolside by day and Mexican at night; Limon sits in a lemon grove. The Oasis Spa is about 16,000 square feet with a Rossano Ferretti salon. Six pools, a private marina and a Robert Trent Jones II course complete it. Book Zest before you fly. Twelve seats across 141 rooms is one seating for every dozen guests, and it goes first. The other piece of planning is the opposite of what the hotel will tell you: do not build any evening around leaving. Dinner in San Jose del Cabo is a two hour round trip, so treat the estate as the whole trip and take an early flight in, because arriving in the dark after a seventy minute drive wastes a day at both ends. The drive is the drawback and there is no softening it. Los Cabos International is sixty to seventy minutes away, roughly double the corridor resorts, with nothing outside the estate in any direction. Four Seasons launched a private jet arrangement with Aero in 2024 precisely because the transfer is the objection everybody raises. The second issue is evidence: 4.5 on TripAdvisor from only 220 reviews is the thinnest data in this guide. It is also getting busier, with Amanvari, Aman's first Mexican property, opening on this estate in August 2026 and Casa Encantada, an event house of about 2,109 square metres with no curfew or noise restriction, in September. Book it for the water and the space, not for a week of eating out. > “We chose Four Seasons Resort and Residences Los Cabos at Costa Palmas for my birthday, and it turned into one of the most memorable family trips we've taken.” > > TripAdvisor review by Dee Lee, July 2026 The verdict - **+**Two miles of swimmable beach, the longest safe stretch in Los Cabos - **+**Estiatorio Milos and a twelve seat nine course counter on the estate - **+**A private marina and a Robert Trent Jones II course on site - **−**Sixty to seventy minutes from the airport with nothing outside the estate - **−**Only 220 TripAdvisor reviews, the thinnest evidence base in this guide From USD$849 a night Rate read September 2026, lowest standard room, before tax and service Check rates[Official site ↗](https://www.fourseasons.com/loscabos/) The luggage test What I pack it in ### Nothing in Los Cabos is walkable, so everything is a transfer. Your cases go in and out of a van at least twice, and the corridor road is not gentle on wheels. I spent a year testing the suitcases I actually travel with and wrote up the ones that survived. [Read the luggage test](/suitcases) ## Five more worth your money 06\. Tourist Corridor ### Las Ventanas al Paraiso, A Rosewood Resort 4.8 on Tripadvisor, 1,654 reviews ![White domed buildings and a curving pool above a beach in early morning light](/images/guides/cabo/2026/las-ventanas-exterior-1200w.webp) ![Rows of white parasols on a lawn between a pool and a long grey sand beach](/images/guides/cabo/2026/las-ventanas-aerial-1200w.webp) ![A bedroom opening onto a terrace with loungers, a parasol and flowering shrubs](/images/guides/cabo/2026/las-ventanas-villa-1200w.webp) ![A cream living room with a sofa, armchairs and a doorway onto the sea](/images/guides/cabo/2026/las-ventanas-residence-1200w.webp) ![An infinity pool running out towards the sea past two bare sculptural trees](/images/guides/cabo/2026/las-ventanas-pool-1200w.webp) The whitewashed Mediterranean blocks that set the template for luxury in Cabo when they opened in 1997 Eight pools and the only lazy river in Cabo, because the sea in front is closed to you Las Ventanas opened in 1997 at Km 19.5 of the Transpeninsular and was rebuilt to the original drawings after Hurricane Odile in 2014, at the insistence of the owner Ty Warner. There are 84 suites and villas including the 28,000 square foot Ty Warner Mansion, plus 30 Rosewood Residences. It is the most service led hotel in this guide and the least interested in being fashionable. A June 2026 review: the property is spotless but the staff makes the resort. The smallest thing you can book is a Junior Suite of about 960 square feet, with a terrace, a telescope and in most cases a plunge pool or rooftop hot tub. A dedicated butler comes with every suite, not just the top categories, and there is a director of romance on the payroll. Alebrije cooks contemporary Oaxacan, Sea Grill sits on the sand, and Arbol above the Oasis pool has served a nine course Omakase del Mar lunch built on Baja bluefin since winter 2025. The Tequila and Ceviche Bar holds more than 150 tequilas. Eight pools in all, one of which carries the only lazy river in Los Cabos through a grotto. Use the telescope. Humpbacks are in this water from roughly mid December to mid April and the suites point straight at them, which turns a gimmick into the best whale watching in the guide and saves the boat fare. And take Arbol's Omakase at lunch rather than eating there in the evening: same kitchen, same bluefin, a materially lower number on a bill that needs watching. Because the drawbacks here are about value. The beach is not swimmable. The Points Guy's October 2024 review states plainly that the beach in front of the resort is not swimmable due to strong currents and large waves, and every answer on the hotel's TripAdvisor swimming thread agrees, with replies including absolutely not swimmable and very strong current and surging waves prevail. That is what eight pools and a lazy river are for. The same review notes the property feels hemmed in by other hotels, which it is, and that dining and spa prices are steep even for Cabo. It also flags fittings that feel out of date, electrical outlets in particular, in a 1997 building. At 1,058 dollars a night the service is worth it and the seclusion is not there. Book it if being known by name is the point. > “The property is spotless but the staff makes the resort.” > > TripAdvisor review by Severin R, June 2026 The verdict - **+**A butler with every suite, not just the top categories - **+**Eight pools and the only lazy river in Los Cabos - **+**The smallest room is a suite of about 960 square feet, with a telescope - **−**Strong currents and heavy shore break mean no swimming in front of the hotel - **−**Boxed in by neighbouring resorts, with dining and spa prices steep even for Cabo From USD$1,058 a night Rate read September 2026, lowest standard room, before tax and service Check rates[Official site ↗](https://www.rosewoodhotels.com/en/las-ventanas-los-cabos) 07\. Punta Ballena ### Esperanza, Auberge Resorts Collection 4.9 on Tripadvisor, 3,158 reviews ![A resort of tiled roofs above a pool and a small cove with a strip of sand](/images/guides/cabo/2026/esperanza-aerial-1200w.webp) ![A thatched round bar standing in the middle of a turquoise pool above the sea](/images/guides/cabo/2026/esperanza-pool-1200w.webp) ![A bedroom with doors folded back onto a lawn, cactus planting and the sea](/images/guides/cabo/2026/esperanza-guest-room-1200w.webp) ![A bed under white drapes in a room that opens along one side to the sea](/images/guides/cabo/2026/esperanza-suite-1200w.webp) ![A living room with deep sofas and lanterns opening onto a covered terrace and the sea](/images/guides/cabo/2026/esperanza-villa-1200w.webp) Esperanza sits on the bluffs of Punta Ballena between two coves Two Michelin Keys and the best rated spa in Latin America, above a beach you can only paddle in Esperanza opened in 2002 on Punta Ballena at Km 7 of the Transpeninsular, between two private coves, and it holds two Michelin Keys, the only property of its size in Los Cabos to do so. There are 59 casitas and suites plus about 30 privately owned villas and haciendas let through Auberge Private Residences, the largest running to 14,000 square feet. Cabo San Lucas is ten minutes west, and it scores 4.9 on TripAdvisor from 3,158 reviews. The spa is the reason to come. It has a warm soaking pool, a steam cave with a cold waterfall rinse, a Watsu pool and seaside cabana treatments, and Travel and Leisure rated it the number one spa in Mexico and Latin America. Every casita has an ocean view, a balcony with an infinity edge hot tub or a hammock, and a soaking tub, in cream plaster and terracotta rather than the cool modernism up the coast. Cocina del Mar is built out on a rock promontory over the water, La Palapa works the pool with a swim up bar and an exhibition kitchen, and ALMA is the coffee shop that turns into a cocktail bar at night. Five pools, two of them adults only. Auberge runs free transport to Chileno Bay, its sister resort fifteen minutes east, and Chileno is the most swimmable cove in Los Cabos. Guests here use that shuttle for dinner. Use it for a swim instead, mid morning, two or three times in a week, and the biggest weakness of this hotel stops being one. It needs saying because the sea here is out of bounds. The property's own representative, answering the question on TripAdvisor, writes that our beach has a gorgeous setting but is not swimmable, and guest answers on the same thread describe a rocky shoreline and currents, with one noting you can wade and look at the tide pools and no more. The cove is small and the water lands on rock. The second issue is age: a 2002 building in a traditional Mexican register that reads older than Chileno Bay, Montage or Solaz, which matters at 833 dollars a night when the resort fifteen minutes away is newer, cheaper and swimmable. What Esperanza has that they do not is that spa, that promontory restaurant and a ten minute run into town. For a couple planning a spa week rather than a beach week, that is a fair trade. > “The resort itself is gorgeous, and the food and drinks are excellent.” > > TripAdvisor review by Basil H, July 2026, from a review titled Expensive but worth it The verdict - **+**Rated the number one spa in Mexico and Latin America by Travel and Leisure - **+**Cocina del Mar is built out over the rocks, unlike anything else in Cabo - **+**Ten minutes from Cabo San Lucas, and free transport to Chileno Bay - **−**The hotel itself states that the beach is not swimmable - **−**A 2002 property that reads older than the newer resorts on the corridor From USD$833 a night Rate read September 2026, lowest standard room, before tax and service Check rates[Official site ↗](https://auberge.com/esperanza/) 08\. Tourist Corridor ### Grand Velas Los Cabos 5.0 on Tripadvisor, 2,472 reviews ![A curved cream building stepping down to pools and a beach seen from the air](/images/guides/cabo/2026/grand-velas-aerial-1200w.webp) ![Tiered infinity pools ringed with loungers running down from a curved resort building](/images/guides/cabo/2026/grand-velas-pool-1200w.webp) ![Wooden loungers and cream parasols on an empty beach with rocks at the water's edge](/images/guides/cabo/2026/grand-velas-beach-1200w.webp) ![An indoor hydrotherapy pool with water jets falling from a stone wall](/images/guides/cabo/2026/grand-velas-spa-1200w.webp) ![A dark panelled dining room with upholstered chairs and a screen of vertical timbers](/images/guides/cabo/2026/grand-velas-restaurant-1200w.webp) The single curved block holds all 307 suites, each one facing the sea A Michelin starred dinner included in the rate, and an FAQ that tells you to swim somewhere else Grand Velas opened in 2016 at Km 17.3 and is the only all inclusive resort in this guide, which makes its 1,316 dollar headline rate misleading in both directions. There are no rooms, only 307 suites, every one facing the sea: the building is a single long curve. The entry level Grand Class suite is around 1,100 square feet with a separate living area, a terrace and in most cases a plunge pool or hot tub. It holds 5.0 on TripAdvisor from 2,472 reviews, the highest score here. The food is the argument. Cocina de Autor took one Michelin star in the inaugural Michelin Guide Mexico in 2024 and has held it since, and it is included in the rate. Around it sit Frida for Mexican, Piaf for French, Lucca for Italian, Velas 10 for steak and seafood, Sen Lin and Loto for Asian cooking and Cabrilla on the beach. All included, along with in suite bar stocking and butler service. SE Spa runs to roughly 35,000 square feet, and three infinity pools step down the site, one adults only and one for children. Reserve Cocina de Autor for the night you land rather than the night before you leave, because it is the one table here that fills. And do the arithmetic before dismissing the rate: for two adults eating and drinking across nine restaurants, 1,316 dollars all in is not obviously worse than 992 at Montage with Cabo restaurant prices on top. For a couple who eat one main meal a day it is much worse. The swimming is not a matter of interpretation. Grand Velas says it on its own website in three separate places. Its FAQ reads that the beach in front of Grand Velas is not suitable for swimming, and recommends you visit Chileno Beach, located just a mile away. Elsewhere: the beach in front of Grand Velas is not suitable for swimming or wading due to strong undertows and unpredictable tides. A third answer states that right in front of our resort it is not permitted to swim due to dangerous ocean conditions. Playa El Tule also carries rock in the shallows. This is the most expensive resort here, it is telling you to drive somewhere else for the thing you came for, and at 307 suites it is the biggest, with the breakfast queues to prove it. Take the advice literally and go to Chileno. Or stay there. > “We had an amazing experience at Grand Velas Los Cabos while traveling with our 6-month-old baby.” > > TripAdvisor review by Agata F, August 2026 The verdict - **+**A Michelin starred restaurant, Cocina de Autor, included in the rate - **+**All 307 suites face the sea, and the entry suite is about 1,100 square feet - **+**A 35,000 square foot spa with a full hydrotherapy circuit - **−**Its own FAQ says swimming in front of the resort is not permitted - **−**307 suites, the highest rate here, and queues at breakfast and the pools From USD$1,316 a night Rate read September 2026, lowest standard room, before tax and service Check rates[Official site ↗](https://loscabos.grandvelas.com/) 09\. Tourist Corridor ### Solaz, a Luxury Collection Resort, Los Cabos 4.5 on Tripadvisor, 691 reviews ![A long terraced resort stepping down a slope to a pale beach and turquoise water](/images/guides/cabo/2026/solaz-aerial-1200w.webp) ![A concrete and timber facade of stacked balconies lit warm at dusk with a sculpture in front](/images/guides/cabo/2026/solaz-exterior-1200w.webp) ![A bedroom with a dark timber headboard, a desk and glass doors to a terrace with a hammock](/images/guides/cabo/2026/solaz-guest-room-1200w.webp) ![An infinity pool running the length of a beach with a headland in the distance](/images/guides/cabo/2026/solaz-pool-1200w.webp) ![A timber pavilion restaurant lit at night with olive trees growing through the terrace](/images/guides/cabo/2026/solaz-restaurant-1200w.webp) Sordo Madaleno stacked the building in three staggered terraces down the hillside The most interesting building in Los Cabos, and the only swimming answer here that is genuinely unclear Solaz opened in 2018 to a design by Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos and added 21 suites in 2023, taking it to 145 keys on 34 acres at Km 18.5 in Cabo Real. It is the most interesting building on this coast: huanacaxtle wood, marble and concrete terraced down the slope, with green roofs over 36 per cent of the rooms. There is a museum on site with a whale skeleton and a collection of Baja artefacts, and more than 400 pieces commissioned from Cesar Lopez Negrete. Rooms are unusually large and almost all have a terrace with a hammock, an outdoor shower and often a plunge pool. The 2023 work brought the Villa Solaz Suite of about 10,645 square feet. Seven places to eat: Mako on the seafront with a swim up bar, Riccio di Mare for Italian, Al Pairo working pre Hispanic ingredients, Foresta for plant based lunches and the Baja Beach airstream on the sand. Ojo de Liebre Spa and Talasso runs to about 10,000 square feet with twelve treatment rooms, plunge pools and a Himalayan salt igloo. Five pools, two of them long infinity pools above the beach. Ask at the beach desk every morning and believe the answer rather than the marketing. Book planning to use the two infinity pools, and treat a calm enough day in the sea as a bonus. Take the art tour on your first morning: the building is the reason to choose Solaz over the cheaper corridor options, and most guests never find half of it. The swimming answer here is the least clear cut in this guide. It is marketed as beachfront and American Express describes a swimmable beach there. But both guest answers on the hotel's TripAdvisor thread qualify it heavily: yes but the surf can be rough and the water is cool even in summer, and yes but there's no active life guard on side, mind those big surf. This is an exposed stretch of Cabo Real, no headland and no lifeguard. Treat it as a beach you may sometimes swim off on a calm day, not as reliable water in the way Chileno, Santa Maria and Palmilla are. The building is the other drawback: concrete and severe, and some guests find it cold. Forbes rates it Four Star and its 4.5 from 691 reviews is the joint lowest here. At 714 dollars for rooms this size it is still the most building for the money in Cabo. > “We had a wonderful stay at Solaz. This is a gorgeous beach resort in a perfect location” > > TripAdvisor review by Michele W, July 2026 The verdict - **+**More than 400 commissioned artworks and the best architecture on the coast - **+**Very large rooms with terraces, hammocks and outdoor showers - **+**Seven restaurants and a 10,000 square foot spa, from USD$714 - **−**No headland and no lifeguard, so the swimming is conditional at best - **−**A cool concrete aesthetic that a number of guests find severe From USD$714 a night Rate read September 2026, lowest standard room, before tax and service Check rates[Official site ↗](https://www.solazloscabos.com/) 10\. Pacific side ### Nobu Hotel Los Cabos 4.8 on Tripadvisor, 3,162 reviews ![A long narrow pool lined with loungers and planted islands running towards the beach](/images/guides/cabo/2026/nobu-los-cabos-pool-1200w.webp) ![A bedroom with a low platform bed, timber screens and doors onto a terrace above the sea](/images/guides/cabo/2026/nobu-los-cabos-suite-1200w.webp) ![A dark timber restaurant standing over a still channel of water with cacti around it](/images/guides/cabo/2026/nobu-los-cabos-restaurant-exterior-1200w.webp) ![A sushi counter with pale stools and shelves of ceramics behind it](/images/guides/cabo/2026/nobu-los-cabos-restaurant-interior-1200w.webp) ![A bar counter with high stools under cream parasols looking out to the beach](/images/guides/cabo/2026/nobu-los-cabos-bar-1200w.webp) The Cortez pool runs the length of the building down to the Pacific A real Nobu kitchen for 399 dollars a night, on a beach the hotel tells you not to enter Nobu Los Cabos opened in 2019 as the first Nobu hotel in Mexico and Latin America, in the Diamante development on the Pacific coast north west of Cabo San Lucas. At 399 dollars it is less than a third of the rate at Grand Velas and roughly half the next cheapest room here, and the kitchen is the real one rather than a licensed copy. That is why it scores 4.8 on TripAdvisor from 3,162 reviews and why it is in this guide at all. There are 200 rooms and suites, the largest property here. Rooms start at about 514 square feet with a balcony, an onsen style soaking tub and Japanese joinery in pale timber; premium suites add a plunge pool, and some open straight into the pool from the terrace. The two bedroom Nobu Suite runs about 2,628 square feet. Nobu itself sits in a pavilion over a water channel, with Pacific for Mexican cooking, Ardea as a steak and sports bar and Playa Bar on the sand. Esencia Wellness Spa has thirteen treatment rooms and a hydrotherapy garden using Natura Bisse products. Four pools, including an adults only infinity pool and a swim up bar at the Cortez pool. Book one of the categories that opens directly into the pool. On a property where the sea is closed to you the pool is not an amenity, it is the beach, and paying a little more to step off your terrace into it changes the shape of the day. Then play Diamante, because the golf is the real draw on this side of the peninsula and the resort sits inside the development. The hotel is straightforward about the water, which I respect. Answering the swimming question on TripAdvisor, the property representative writes: we are located in the pacific side, for this reason our beach is not swimmable, but we have two pools in the property with jacuzzis and a swim up bar. The Pacific here has a heavy shore break and a strong undertow year round, and nothing is walkable in any direction, with the airport fifty minutes away and the town twenty. At 200 rooms this reads as a large hotel rather than a retreat, and Forbes rates it Four Star, the only property here it does not rate at Five. If the sea was never the point and the pool and the kitchen were, Nobu is the best arithmetic in Los Cabos. > “Beautiful property, great food, amazing views, and even better service.” > > TripAdvisor review by Dee N, August 2026 The verdict - **+**By some distance the lowest rate in this guide, at USD$399 - **+**A genuine Nobu kitchen rather than a licensed version - **+**Four pools and an onsen style soaking tub in every room - **−**The hotel states plainly that its Pacific beach is not swimmable - **−**At 200 rooms it reads as a big hotel, fifty minutes from the airport From USD$399 a night Rate read September 2026, lowest standard room, before tax and service Check rates[Official site ↗](https://www.nobuhotels.com/los-cabos/) ![Airalo logo](https://cdn.brandfetch.io/airalo.com/w/200/h/200/logo?c=1id1S46xxETYxelu0Ag) Staying connected ### Land with Mexican data already working. Uber is barred from picking up at the terminal kerb under the concession rules, so your phone needs to work the moment you clear customs, not after you have found the wifi. I put the eSIM on the night before I fly. [See Airalo plans](https://airalo.tpx.lt/XJUpu9hS) ## Where to stay in Los Cabos, by area Los Cabos is two towns about twenty miles apart with a highway between them, and almost every decision you make here follows from where on that highway you sleep. Cabo San Lucas at the western end has the marina, the bars and the Arch. San Jose del Cabo at the eastern end is a colonial town with an art district and the airport ten minutes away. The Tourist Corridor is the stretch in between, and it is where most of the big resorts sit. The short version: Chileno and Santa Maria if you want to swim and snorkel off the sand, Palmilla if you have children, the corridor for the widest choice of resorts, Cabo San Lucas and the Pedregal headland if you want to walk into town for dinner, the East Cape if you want empty water and do not mind an hour in a van, and the Pacific side at Diamante for golf and the lowest rates on the peninsula. Two things apply everywhere except the town end. You will not walk anywhere, so build the transfer into every plan, and the beach in front of your resort is not automatically a beach you can use. That second point gets a section of its own below, but it belongs in this decision too, because area and swimming are the same question asked twice. Note also that none of the ten resorts here is in San Jose del Cabo itself. The town's own beach at Costa Azul is a surf break. Los Cabos areas compared on who they suit, driving times and the entry rate in this guide Area Suits Driving times From Cabo San Lucas and Pedregal Marina, bars, walking into town Airport 45 to 55 min · Town 10 min USD$1,108 Tourist Corridor Most people, most of the time Airport 25 to 40 min · Cabo San Lucas 10 to 20 min USD$714 Chileno and Santa Maria Swimming and snorkelling off the sand Airport 30 to 40 min · Cabo San Lucas 20 min USD$780 Palmilla Families and returning guests Airport 25 min · Cabo San Lucas 30 min USD$896 San Jose del Cabo A Mexican town rather than a resort strip Airport 8 to 15 min · Cabo San Lucas 40 min No resort in this guide East Cape and Costa Palmas Two miles of empty swimmable beach Airport 60 to 70 min · Cabo San Lucas 90 min USD$849 Pacific side and Diamante Golf, sunsets and the lowest rates Airport 50 min · Cabo San Lucas 20 min USD$399 Times are off peak road times from Los Cabos International (SJD). The corridor highway slows in the late afternoon and around the October marlin tournaments, when Cabo San Lucas fills. ### Cabo San Lucas The town end of the peninsula. Medano Beach is the one genuinely swimmable town beach; everything west of the Arch faces the open Pacific and is not. Best for people who want a marina, bars and somewhere to walk to at night. ### Pedregal A gated headland on the Pacific side of Cabo San Lucas, reached through a private tunnel from the marina. Dramatic and steep. No swimming. Best for couples who want to be five minutes from town but hear nothing of it. ### Tourist Corridor The 20 mile stretch of highway between the two towns, where the majority of the big resorts sit. Beaches here are mostly open ocean with heavy shore break, apart from the protected coves at Chileno and Santa Maria. Best for most people, most of the time. ### Chileno and Santa Maria Two horseshoe coves halfway along the corridor, both Blue Flag certified, both public, both busy with day boats from mid morning. Best for anyone who wants to swim and snorkel off the sand. ### Palmilla A small peninsula near San Jose del Cabo with its own sheltered bay, golf and a cluster of shops. One of the few swimmable beaches close to town. Best for families and returning guests. ### San Jose del Cabo Colonial centre, art district with a Thursday night art walk in season, and the airport ten minutes away. The town beach at Costa Azul is a surf break, not a swimming beach. Best for people who want a Mexican town rather than a resort strip. ### East Cape An hour or more beyond the corridor around La Ribera and Costa Palmas. The water is calm and swimmable for miles, but you are committed to the resort. Best for travellers who want empty beach and do not mind the drive. ## What the glossy lists do not tell you: most of these beaches are closed to you Every resort in Los Cabos photographs the sea. Four of the ten here let you into it. Five do not, and at one the answer is genuinely unclear. This is not one rough day: the Pacific side and the unprotected stretches of the corridor carry strong undertows and heavy shore break. They say so in their own words. Nobu's representative, answering the question on TripAdvisor, writes that we are located in the pacific side, for this reason our beach is not swimmable. Esperanza's writes that our beach has a gorgeous setting but is not swimmable. Grand Velas puts it in its FAQ three ways, including that the beach in front of Grand Velas is not suitable for swimming or wading due to strong undertows and unpredictable tides, and then recommends you visit Chileno Beach, located just a mile away. The Points Guy says of Las Ventanas that the beach in front of the resort is not swimmable due to strong currents and large waves. Guest answers on the Waldorf Astoria Pedregal thread are unanimous: the beach is not a safe swimming beach at all. The exceptions are a short list: Medano in Cabo San Lucas, Palmilla, Chileno, Santa Maria, Tequila Cove and the two mile beach at Costa Palmas. Chileno and Santa Maria are Blue Flag horseshoe coves with headlands at either end, which is the mechanism. Both are public and fill with snorkel boats from mid morning, so the resorts there own the access, not the water. Solaz is the honest unknown. It is marketed as beachfront and American Express calls the beach swimmable, but both guest answers on its own TripAdvisor thread qualify it: yes but the surf can be rough, and yes but there's no active life guard on side. No headland protects that stretch of Cabo Real. One number for everywhere else: the sea is 21C in March and 28C in September, so even where you can swim, January to March gives you the coldest water of the year. ## The value pick, and the one I would think hardest about Chileno Bay is the value pick. It costs 780 dollars a night against 992 at Montage, 896 at Palmilla and 849 at Four Seasons Costa Palmas, which makes it the cheapest of the four resorts here with water you can use. Auberge calls the cove the most swimmable beach in Cabo and puts the reef less than twenty yards off the sand, it is Blue Flag certified, and the resort holds 4.9 on TripAdvisor from 1,244 reviews. The rate also carries free transport and dining access to Esperanza, so a second restaurant of a completely different character comes included. The trade is the public beach. Chileno is the busiest snorkelling stop in Los Cabos and you will share it from about ten in the morning, which is why the advice in the review is to be in the water by half past eight. If sharing the bay with day boats would spoil the week, pay the extra 212 dollars for Montage, whose stretch of Santa Maria is larger and further from the car park. That is what the difference buys. Nothing else about Montage is 212 dollars better. The one I would think hardest about is Grand Velas. It has the highest TripAdvisor score in the guide, a Michelin starred restaurant included in the rate, 307 sea facing suites and a 35,000 square foot spa, and at 1,316 dollars it is the most expensive resort here. It is also the resort whose own FAQ says swimming in front of it is not permitted due to dangerous ocean conditions, and which names Chileno Beach, a mile away, as where to go instead. Paying the top rate in Los Cabos to be told to drive somewhere else to swim is a strange transaction. If you eat and drink heavily and treat it as a food and spa holiday, the all inclusive arithmetic holds up. If you pictured the sea, book the place it is sending you to. Which of these to book, by what you actually want from the trip If you want Book Because Anyone who came to Baja to be in the sea montage-los-cabos A Blue Flag bay you can dive from the sand, and the largest spa in Baja Snorkelling off the sand without paying corridor rates chileno-bay The most swimmable cove in Los Cabos, at the lowest rate of the four you can swim at Families, and anyone returning for the fourth time one-only-palmilla A butler in every one of the 174 rooms, and the gentlest sea in Los Cabos Drama, and a room you will not want to leave waldorf-pedregal A torchlit private tunnel, a plunge pool on the entry level terrace, and a sea you must not enter The longest swimmable beach, if you accept the drive four-seasons-costa-palmas Two miles of swimmable Sea of Cortez, and seventy minutes of road to reach it Service by name, and pools instead of sea las-ventanas Eight pools and the only lazy river in Cabo, because the sea in front is closed to you A spa week ten minutes from town esperanza Two Michelin Keys and the best rated spa in Latin America, above a beach you can only paddle in All inclusive, with a Michelin star in the price grand-velas A Michelin starred dinner included in the rate, and an FAQ that tells you to swim somewhere else Architecture, art and very large rooms solaz The most interesting building in Los Cabos, and the only swimming answer here that is genuinely unclear The lowest rate here, and the Nobu kitchen nobu-los-cabos A real Nobu kitchen for 399 dollars a night, on a beach the hotel tells you not to enter ## Getting in from the airport Everything arrives through Los Cabos International at San Jose del Cabo, and the drive from there is the most underestimated part of a Cabo trip. San Jose is 8 to 15 minutes from the terminal. The Tourist Corridor is 20 to 35. Cabo San Lucas and the Pedregal are 40 to 55. The East Cape resorts around Costa Palmas are 60 to 70, which means a family on an evening flight to Four Seasons reaches the room after dark. A pre booked private transfer is the sensible option at 35 to 100 dollars per vehicle depending on distance. An authorised taxi from the official booth costs 30 to 50 dollars to San Jose and 65 to 100 to Cabo San Lucas. A shared shuttle is 20 to 45 a head, but it stops at several hotels and can turn a 30 minute drive into 90. Hire cars start around 25 to 40 dollars a day before insurance and only earn their keep if you plan to leave the resort often, which at the East Cape and Diamante you will not. Uber cannot collect at the terminal kerb because of the concession rules, so it is useful in town and useless on arrival. The trap nobody warns you about is inside the building. The arrivals hall at SJD is lined with desks staffed by timeshare sellers presenting themselves as transport services, and they are good at it, because a family with three cases and two children is an easy mark. They offer a free or discounted ride in exchange for a presentation. Walk straight through, accept nothing, and book only at the official taxi booth or with a transfer arranged before you flew. One date to note if you travel in October: the Bisbee's Los Cabos Offshore runs 12 to 17 October 2026 and the Black and Blue, the richest marlin tournament in the world, 19 to 24 October, and between them they fill Cabo San Lucas. ## How this ranking was made Every resort here was checked against the same five things: whether the sea in front of it can be swum in, what the room actually is at the entry category, what is inside the property rather than nearby, what recent guest reviews complain about repeatedly, and what a standard room costs on a comparable date. The first of those carries more weight in this guide than it would anywhere else, for the reasons the swimming section sets out. The swim answers were not estimated. Where a hotel publishes its own wording, that wording is quoted and the source named, which covers Nobu, Esperanza, Grand Velas, Montage, Four Seasons, One&Only and Chileno Bay. Where it does not, the answer comes from the guest replies on that specific hotel's TripAdvisor question thread, which covers the Waldorf Astoria Pedregal, Las Ventanas and Solaz. Where those replies disagreed with the marketing, as at Solaz, the entry says so and the table says unclear rather than picking a side. Rates are the bottom of each property's TripAdvisor price range for a standard room, read in September 2026, so they compare with each other rather than with a live booking engine. They are not a promise about your dates, and Grand Velas is all inclusive while the other nine are not, which its review says plainly. Scores and review counts were read on the same pass and are quoted with their counts, because 4.5 from 220 reviews and 4.5 from 691 are not the same statement. Drawbacks come from two places only: detail the property publishes itself, or a complaint frequent enough in recent reviews to be a pattern. Every photograph on this page was opened and looked at before it was published, and every one comes from the property's own site or its brand's press library. That sounds like a low bar. It is the one this guide failed last time, and it is why the whole page was rebuilt. ## More from the hotel guides More ranked hotel guides from the same series. [Best luxury hotels in San Diego Ten hotels ranked on whether you can walk onto the sand. Only two can. › ](/travel-guides/best-luxury-hotels-san-diego)[Best luxury resorts in Puerto Rico Ten Caribbean resorts compared, with the drive times from San Juan written in. › ](/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-puerto-rico)[Best luxury resorts in Hawaii Island by island, with the flight times and the months to avoid. › ](/travel-guides/best-luxury-resorts-hawaii)[Best luxury hotels in Las Vegas Ten city resorts ranked, with the resort fee written into every line. › ](/travel-guides/best-luxury-hotels-las-vegas) ## Los Cabos luxury resort questions The questions people actually type before booking Cabo, answered with the figures rather than the brochure line. Can you swim in the ocean in Cabo San Lucas? Mostly no. Medano Beach inside the bay is the one genuinely swimmable town beach in Cabo San Lucas, and everything west of the Arch faces the open Pacific with a strong undertow and heavy shore break. Of the ten luxury resorts in this guide, four sit on water you can swim in, five do not, and one is unclear. Several of the resorts state the problem themselves rather than leave you to find out. Which Los Cabos resorts have a beach you can swim from? Four in this guide. Chileno Bay and Montage sit on Chileno and Santa Maria, two Blue Flag horseshoe coves with headlands at either end. One&Only Palmilla has its own sheltered peninsula bay, also Blue Flag certified. Four Seasons at Costa Palmas on the East Cape has about two miles of calm Sea of Cortez, the longest safe stretch in the region, but it is 60 to 70 minutes from the airport. Why are so many Cabo beaches unsafe for swimming? Geography. The Pacific side and the long unprotected stretches of the Tourist Corridor take open ocean swell directly, which produces a steep shore break and strong undertows close in. Only the coves with rock headlands at both ends, principally Chileno, Santa Maria and Palmilla, are shielded enough for the water to settle. Several corridor beaches also carry rock in the shallows, including Playa El Tule in front of Grand Velas. Is the beach at Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal swimmable? No. Guest answers on the hotel's own TripAdvisor question thread are unanimous, with replies stating that the beach is not a safe swimming beach at all and that the beach in front of the Pedregal has a very strong undertow. It is a Pacific facing beach at the mouth of the bay. The resort's answer is water elsewhere: an adults pool, a family pool at the beach club, a shallow rock pool for children, and a private plunge pool or hot tub on the terrace of even the entry level room. Can you swim at Grand Velas Los Cabos? No, and the resort says so itself in three separate places on its own website. Its FAQ states that the beach in front of Grand Velas is not suitable for swimming, that it is not suitable for swimming or wading due to strong undertows and unpredictable tides, and that right in front of our resort it is not permitted to swim due to dangerous ocean conditions. Grand Velas recommends guests visit Chileno Beach, about a mile away, which is where two other resorts in this guide sit. Which is the best luxury resort in Los Cabos? Montage Los Cabos, on the strength of Santa Maria Bay. It is a Blue Flag cove the resort itself describes as perfect for swimming and snorkelling, there are only 122 rooms and 52 residences across 39 acres of single storey buildings, and Spa Montage is the largest spa in Baja at 40,000 square feet. It costs from USD$992 a night, and the bay is public and busy with snorkel boats from mid morning. What is the best value luxury resort in Los Cabos? Chileno Bay, from USD$780 a night. It is the cheapest of the four resorts here with genuinely swimmable water, on a Blue Flag cove with a reef less than twenty yards from shore, and it scores 4.9 on TripAdvisor from 1,244 reviews. Snorkel kit, kayaks and paddleboards are free, and the rate includes transport and dining access to sister property Esperanza. When is the best time to visit Los Cabos? November, or late April into May. November still has the sea at 27C after the summer, one rain day and rates below the Christmas peak; May is dry, hot, quiet and cheap, with mobula rays gathering off the East Cape. January to March is the classic window and humpbacks are in the water from mid December to mid April, but the sea drops to 21C and rates are at their annual highest. Avoid late August and September, when rain days reach six a month and hurricanes are a real risk. How far is Los Cabos airport from the resorts? It depends which end of the peninsula you booked. San Jose del Cabo is 8 to 15 minutes from the terminal, the Tourist Corridor resorts 20 to 35, Cabo San Lucas and the Pedregal 40 to 55, and the East Cape resorts around Costa Palmas 60 to 70. Solaz and One&Only Palmilla have the shortest transfers in this guide at about 25 minutes; Four Seasons at Costa Palmas has the longest. How much does a transfer from Los Cabos airport cost? A pre booked private transfer is USD$35 to USD$100 per vehicle depending on distance and is the sensible choice. An authorised taxi from the official booth costs USD$30 to USD$50 to San Jose del Cabo and USD$65 to USD$100 to Cabo San Lucas. A shared shuttle is USD$20 to USD$45 a head but stops at several hotels and can take 60 to 90 minutes. Uber cannot pick up at the terminal kerb because of the concession rules. Which Los Cabos resort is best for families? One&Only Palmilla, because the sheltered Blue Flag bay has a shallow entry and is the calmest water in Los Cabos for small children, and every room comes with a butler. Montage and Chileno Bay are the better choice for older children who want to snorkel, since both sit on protected reef coves. Grand Velas suits families who want the bill settled in advance, with nine restaurants included in the rate. Which Los Cabos resort has the best restaurant? Grand Velas has the only Michelin star among these ten, at Cocina de Autor, awarded in the inaugural Michelin Guide Mexico in 2024 and included in the all inclusive rate. Four Seasons at Costa Palmas has Estiatorio Milos from Costas Spiliadis plus Zest, a twelve seat counter doing a nine course tasting menu. Esperanza's Cocina del Mar, built out on a rock promontory over the water, is the most memorable room of the three. [L ](/) Luxury Hotel Compare Independent reviews of the world's best hotels, written by someone who actually cares. 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