Sophie and I recently returned from five days in Cabo San Lucas at Esperanza. It was a magical trip- I loved spending time with Sophie, Cabo is gorgeous, and it was terrific to just get away. I wanted to share a bit about our trip and perhaps inspire you to plan a Mexican getaway when you feel comfortable doing so.
Getting there
We flew out of SFO to San Diego and then on to Cabo. The flights were 1/3-1/2 full, and everyone was masked up. Arriving in Cabo was so strange. I had been to Cabo in November 2018 (with Kate), and the wait to get through Immigration was about an hour long. This time, we waited for about 2 minutes, and the huge Immigration hall was empty. A bit disconcerting. Looks like other travelers experienced the same thing.
Esperanza
Sophie and I had planned a spring break trip to Esperanza for back in March. That trip didn’t happen, for all the reasons you can imagine, but the hotel still had our rather substantial deposit and was reluctant to return it to us (understandable- and I read that a lot of people are finding it challenging to get money back in such situations…) Seemed like a good excuse to plan a trip for when Cabo re-opened, which started to happen in June.
Esperanza is absolutely gorgeous. And very private. We saw a few groups of fellow travelers who looked like they must be celebrities but because I don’t keep up with pop culture, I had no idea who they were 🙂 It’s interesting how discreetly the rooms are tucked away and how hard it is to see the room numbers- I suspect that that is quite deliberate!
The hotels in Cabo are required to limit occupancy to 30% during this phase of reopening, but it didn’t really feel like that at the pools, with most/all of the lounge chairs in use by about 2pm each day.
And apparently we got quite a deal on the room rate (although it certainly wasn’t inexpensive) due to the crazy coronavirus situation (we rebooked in April)- I started looking at booking a return trip next year, and the prices were significantly higher than what we paid. Sad! But I’m glad we were able to stay here, although it may be the first and last time.
The entire resort is beautiful and well-designed. Landscaping is lush and tropical, and there’s art scattered throughout the grounds.
How we spent our days
Originally, for the trip planned for March, we were planning on a sunset cruise, perhaps a trip to Todos Santos, and some shopping at a ceramics factory recommended by Goop. Given the uncertainty of how safe we would feel and what was actually open, we decided to keep it simple and stick mainly to the hotel.
…which was fine with us! I started out the days at the gym (they had two Pelotons, similar to the Ojai Valley Inn) and then we ate breakfast at the Cocina del Mar restaurant (included in our room rate). The restaurant’s breakfast menu was somewhat limited but we found something delicious to eat every morning. I highly recommend the tropical fruit plate- Sophie and I split one every morning.
Then we headed to the pool- one day at the adult pool (too quiet for Sophie!) and the rest at the Palapa pool. We ate lunch there (fish tacos every day- no complaints from me!)
And Sophie had an afternoon “pinada”, basically a virgin pina colada, while I had a signature Esperanza margarita.
Restaurants
Cocina Del Mar
We had dinner one night at Cocina del Mar, the fanciest of the restaurants at the hotel, and not because we are particularly fancy people- it was the only restaurant open for dinner at the hotel. After a late arrival to the hotel, it was easier than getting in a car to go someplace else.
The food was terrific, and the view, over the ocean, is spectacular. Not cheap, but a festive way to start off our trip. You can check out all the Esperanza summer menus to get an idea of what’s on offer and the prices.
Flora Farms
One night we went to Flora Farms, which I had wanted to visit for quite a while. The restaurant sources all the ingredients from the farm itself and other local providers. The menu was extensive and it was a tad less expensive than the hotel. There are a few shops at the farm, including a James Perse store and a very high end jewelry store. This puzzled me- who comes to the farm to go shopping for a necklace or an overpriced tee shirt? But I suppose they wouldn’t be in business if someone didn’t.
The atmosphere was very festive with a band playing classics from the 1970s. They were setting up a screen to show a movie in the fields as we left. Sophie wants me to tell you all that this was her favorite restaurant, largely because there was dog named Nova wandering the property. See what I mean about being suckers for dogs?
Flora Farms, Animas Bajas, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico
SUR Beach House
We spent our last dinner at SUR Beach House in Cabo San Lucas. We saw another big party of what must have been celebrities or very flashy dressing people! Again, I had no idea who they were.
I selected the restaurant because I hoped it might be a bit more lively and have more young people than we were seeing elsewhere. Alas, it was pretty quiet and everyone appeared to be over 40. Sorry Sophie!
Food was fine, nothing remarkable. The view and location are nice, but we were pretty spoiled at this point with the views from our hotel.
SUR Beach House, Playa El Medano, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
All in all, an amazing trip to Cabo and a much needed getaway. Can’t wait to get back to Mexico sometime soon! Alas, our vacations are likely complete for 2020 with “school” starting soon and a lot of work obligations on the horizon- but that won’t stop me from planning the next one!
