by Cynthia Cruz
| April, 6, 2024
It was rainy and cold and a good time to get away to somewhere warm and dry. Why not Los Cabos, Mexico? So, I packed my bags and flew the little over three hours to Cabo and made my way to a quiet and secluded destination: Mar del Cabo.
This petite property is unassumingly tucked away between its more glamorous sisters, the newly opened Grand Velas Boutique Hotel to the left, and the larger Grand Velas Los Cabos to the right – all three belonging to the Velas Resort family of hotels.
Once you arrive, you’ll find that the lobby in Mar del Cabo is a breezy space with a casual sitting area to the left. Straight ahead is a glimpse of the ocean beyond – a blue stripe of horizon. Bougainvillea, the signature flora of the Velas resorts are in bloom everywhere, adding a vivid splash of hot pink to the Greco-Spanish vibe – red tile roof and sugar white architecture accented with bright blue and hand-painted Spanish tiles. Although you may not get the typical “wow” moment that you might get when you enter other hotels with the spectacular ocean-facing lobbies, Mar del Cabo is really very pretty in her own modest way and has a distinct charm of her own. You are greeted with a refreshing pink lemonade and a cool towel and plenty of warm smiles and hospitality from the very welcoming reception staff.
Mar del Cabo is a very boutique-y style adults-only (ages 16+) hotel consisting of 48 uniquely decorated suites (in fact no two suites are exactly alike). There are varied floor plans including one- and two-bedroom ocean and garden view suites each with its own charm. Some ocean-view suites have balconies with a panoramic view of the shore, and most of the garden view suites come with a tiled terrace festooned with a canopy of bougainvillea with a colorful hammock or a sitting area perfect for taking an afternoon nap or enjoying a glass of wine.
The suites themselves are comfortable with a spacious bathroom, small kitchenette, and small table and a couple of chairs for dining and working. My ocean-view room afforded an expansive view of the ocean beyond and the sprawling resort below. The roomy shower had a rain shower fixture – always a plus. There was a flatscreen TV with limited channels – the only channel I could find in English was MTV, but who needs TV on vacation! The bed was comfortable and the nightly turn-down was very nice.
Unlike other Velas properties, Mar del Cabo is not an all-inclusive resort, so guests are on their own for meals and activities. There is a restaurant on-site where meals are served, but if you don’t want to opt for all-inclusive, Mar del Cabo is an excellent option as there is no need to pay for meals and activities if you plan to explore and dine out in Cabo. Each suite does come with a kitchenette which includes a refrigerator, microwave, and coffee maker, as well as basic dishware and cutlery. The on-site restaurant, Encanto, does serve absolutely delicious meals and there are complimentary activities at the hotel including a small gym, the pool, and lounge chairs on the hotel’s beachfront.
Having said that, I enjoyed the meals I ordered from the on-site restaurant Encanto Farm & Sea. For breakfast, try the Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes with sweet cream, honey, fresh berries, and sugared almonds – they do take 25 minutes to prepare to get the extra fluff so, if you’re short on time, order the French Toast with the goodies that come with the pancakes instead. The Chilaquiles are tasty too – the red sauce is delicious. For lunch & dinner, the kitchen specializes in cooking up a variety of tacos; I tasted the fish taco, oyster taco, and the short rib taco – all delicious; others at the table tried the carnitas tacos, veggie tacos (made with cactus), and chicken tacos and all were deemed delicious as well. And the guacamole is out of sight! For lunch one day, I feasted on the best paella I’ve ever tasted. Once a week Encanto features a gourmet dish and I got lucky that it was paella (my favorite) during my stay. Don’t miss Encanto’s gourmet events. On my last night, I enjoyed a special dinner of a single Baja oyster with a mignonette of rose and hibiscus, burrata salad, shrimp with mushroom risotto and sauteed asparagus and, for dessert, a creamy panna cotta infused with rose water and strawberries macerated in sherry – it was a fabulous and truly gourmet meal. Although there are many dining options throughout Cabo, don’t miss a having a meal or two at Encanto.
If you do get the opportunity to dine out, go to La Lupita Tacos & Mezcal in San Jose del Cabo for cocktails and tacos. The pork belly and al pastor tacos are some of the best tacos I’ve ever eaten. The live music, the lively crowd, great food, and drinks – this is the place to be. The wait can be long but you can spend some time shopping and exploring the area while you wait.
A highlight during my visit was a day spent touring with Cabo Adventures. Cabo Adventures can arrange just about any type of adventure you can imagine whether it’s ziplining, ATVs, fishing, snorkeling, yachting, and on and on! Our day with Marcelino, our amicable Cabo Adventures tour guide, was a full day of exploring and discovering cultural hidden gems that might otherwise be overlooked. He loaded our group into the van then fed us warm homemade tortillas stuffed with fresh panela and warm café de olla while regaling us with geographical facts, funny stories, and local lore as he drove us to the town of Todos Santos where we stopped to pose in front of the legendary Hotel California of song, and to shop for souvenirs, including pearls from a shop where we learned how oysters produce these precious treasures. I barely walked away without making an investment on a pearl bracelet – and I don’t even wear jewelry. Instead, I bought the ubiquitous glass heart seen everywhere in Todos Santos for a mere $20. We stopped at Baja Tasty, a corner snack shop, for mango and tamarind paletas. Then we hopped back in the van and made our way toward the Blanket Factory where Michelle, a young blanket maker, showed us the tedious task of making blankets on the loom – these are authentic Mexican blankets, not ones made in China! Ka-ching! I bought a beautiful cream-colored cotton blanket with a rainbow of stripes for forty bucks. It would be a miracle getting it to fit in my suitcase – but it’s authentic! Our last stop was cavorting with the camels at Cabo Adventure. Here we took pictures with the camels with Andres, a charismatic photographer who made all his subjects, including Jeffrey, the camel, feel like Claudia Schiffer – “Yeah baby! You got this! Beautiful! Beautiful!” He made the “photo shoot” so. much. fun. And at the end of the day, we got the photos to prove it. Once the photo shoot was over, we headed to the Cabos Adventure palapa for lunch. There, they served an excellent meal: nopales (cactus) salad, pasta salad, chicken mole, ribs, potatoes, and homemade tortillas with cheese. It was one of the best meals on this trip. Then came the tequila tasting. I learned how to drink tequila that day.
Good times!
This was the perfect getaway with plenty of time to relax with a book on the beach, eat plenty of excellent food, and explore the area. The plane ride is a little over three hours so it’s an easy getaway from the Bay Area. Even customs was quick and quite painless. Highly recommended!
Mar del Cabo
www.mardelcabo.com
Email: reservationslc@velasresorts.com
