FreeDiningFanatic
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Trip report: Cabo San Lucas and El Pescadero, Baja California Sur, Mexico
Thought I’d share a travel hacking/points based trip report for our recent trip near the Cabo San Lucas coast. We paid points for flights and and hotels using points or FNCs, while also working towards an MSRs. We loved, loved our stay in Rancho Pescadero. If you are into farm to table, botanicals and herbs, as well as complimentary resort experiences, this Hyatt resort is for you. I would not hesitate long to book this newly reopened and expanded resort- I can’t imagine it will stay at this points pricepoint for long, or perhaps the complimentary experiences will become paid.
Travel party of 2: Myself and husband, 45
This year we are celebrating our 25th anniversary. We’ve only traveled without the kids a handful of times in 25 years, so this year we are planning to take several trips on our own.
Trip Insurance. I always buy trip medical insurance and did this for our travel party of 2 ($24 total). $100,000 secondary medical insurance pp, $0 deductible and $1M med evac, + more coverage. My husband and niece were once hospitalized in Mexico and during our hospital stay we met many American and Canadian families without insurance coverage who were facing bills in the tens of thousands of dollars. Over the years, I’ve filed 4 claims with various travel insurance companies and it is ALWAYS a hassle, but I’ve always been glad to have the coverage. Cost= $24
El Pescadero, post #1
Airfare and Lounges. We paid 26k Southwest RR points RT for (1) + companion pass. We escaped the SW meltdown by a few days but were able to rebook our flights for fewer points due to the free change window. EBCI free from a SW cc, which was good for both primary + companion due to new benefit that checks in both at the same time.
Layover in DEN- used Centurion Lounge. Still solid. No wait. Some tables available, but pretty busy overall at 8-9amish.
Cell service: AT&T has no cost coverage in Mexico.
Transportation. We did a 5 day rental through BBB car rental, recommended by frequenters of the Tripadvisor Cabo forum. Upon exiting the airport, we followed BBB’s instructions and went to the Taxi stand where they got us a Josephina taxi to BBB, which BBB pays for and you just tip the driver. Fastest exit out of SJD we’ve ever had. A few minute ride over to BBB, where Ruben is super efficient and processes everything quickly. We did have a wait for our vehicle. Airport exit to leaving with our vehicle was 40 minutes, so longer than we would have liked. On the return though, we walked into BBB and they knew who we were and were ready to inspect the vehicle, and even dropped us at the Terminal in the same vehicle. Easy peasy. I would use them again.
TIP about the Cabo airport: As always, remember it’s a shark tank inside, everyone trying to sell you a timeshare and misrepresenting themselves as airport workers, your transport company, etc, so don’t talk to anyone and just exit to the outside, even if they ask you what exit you’re looking for and tell you you’re going the wrong way. Sigh.
Cost: $325, including taking full insurance and $0 deductible waiver
Accommodations.
We stayed at Rancho Pescadero in El Pescadero, a new Hyatt Unbound collection resort. This resort has a really interesting story, starting as just 11 rooms and then closing for renovation for four years to a 100ish room resort. There are nine gardens in this desert meets the sea oasis, which you get to on a dirt road. 2 nts @30k points/nt for a garden view room. Upon arrival, we were greeted by Marco Chavez, temporary general manager. We talked a little about his journey, and he lives in our neck of the woods and rose up through the Kimpton system, which we are big fans of. Sounds like Hyatt recently pursued him for this Director opportunity and he’s been at Rancho since the opening and will be there until February.
We have NO Hyatt status whatsoever. My guess is there were 20 rooms occupied during our stay. We were upgraded to a Coastal View Suite, one building over from the pool and El Centro, so a really convenient location. Marco treated us to Spicy Mezcalitas, as our room was still being cleaned, so there was a bit of delay. The suites are SOO well done, with great lounging areas. I love that the closet area is in the bathroom, which just makes it easy to keep all your junk in one place and have the suite stay pristine.
The suite has a complimentary mini-bar with sodas, water and Pacifico beer, as well as tea kettle, tea, coffee and a French press. The scent of their toiletries is to die for. Rancho did a great job with providing temporary items for your use, like a beach bag, sarong/wrap and sunscreen. They also provide MANY glass bottles of water and have refill stations, as well as gift you two tumblers.
Housekeeping was great, restocking the minibar and providing turn down service as well. Between 7-8am the team hung a Morning Eyeopener on your door. This is a really thoughtful gesture that sounds like it dates back to the original 11 suite resort. Very sweet.
Beachfront. We grabbed some of our Pacificos and headed to the cabanas (3) set up on the beach. The beach is long and very walkable, but not swimmable. Loved hearing the waves crash. We saw whales right from the beach, including a juvenile putting on quite the show, breaching three times!
Room tip: The sunsets here are pretty amazing. We went to the top of the rooftop bar one evening for sunset, but my guess is that if you have an oceanview suite, you’ll be located on the second floor and will be able to view from your balcony.
Beware: Some of the other luxury resorts we’ve stayed in provide items like beach bags, toiletry bags, etc as gifts. I’d assumed this to be the case, but called guest services to check, and was told there was a price for the beach bag. So don’t accidentally take it unless you’re hoping to purchase it.
Experiences.
The resort provides several Complimentary Discovery Experiences, including:
Margarita/Mezcalita Class
Rancho Ceviche Recipe
Rancho Tour
Sunrise Meditation
Rancho Yoga
Restorative Yoga
Build your own Bouquet
Create your Baja Blend (apothecary)
Biosphere Guided Walk
Earthing Meditation
There is a Wellness Center Link they can send you in advance to sign up for the classes. We experienced a lack of responsiveness to our requests to sign up or confirm our reservations. In the end we were able to complete these experiences in our two day stay:
The Sunrise Meditation (though early) was amazing. I can’t really put into words the emotions that overcame me as the warm of the sun rose over my body. It was a really special, spiritual experience that I’ll remember forever.
Rancho Tour was… disorganized? It was scheduled for 4pm on our arrival day, so we rushed a bit after our room wasn’t quite ready, to get there in time and then after a bit of inquiring, they kindly told us they couldn’t provide it that day and rescheduled it for the next day. The next day, again, no one seemed aware. Turns out they called someone over from their campus to do the tour, but it was super casual and she was basically like, “so what do you want to see?” rather than it being an organized experience. Even so, she was incredibly knowledgeable and we walked the entire grounds and learned so much about the resort. Do try to schedule this for your arrival day if it is offered.
The Rancho Ceviche Recipe occurred at the rooftop restaurant in El Centro. I don’t recall his title, but one of the lead chefs provided the demonstration, and we were the only guests. Two recipes were demonstrated, tuna and shrimp. The ceviche was piled SO high. This could have been a meal of its own. It was ridiculous.
My favorite thing about the experiences and the Rancho hospitality in general, was a real genuine warmth. I felt like we actually got to know some of the people and their stories. I think that will be our lasting memory of Rancho.
Area Dining
At Rancho Pescadero, Botanica. We ate here both evenings. One meal was a complimentary three course menu, provided as part of the soft opening. Evening one, we weren’t super impressed with the food. The pizza was meh. But the salad and cocktails were good. Evening two, which was the complimentary three course menu, was better. The fish tacos were excellent, as was the salad and churro dessert. Definitely get the fish tacos- so, so delicious. Service was very slow, so there’s still some work to be done for Botanica. Their Sunday Hangover Brunch looks delicious.
Farm to Table restaurant Hierbabuena is actually just up the dirt road, maybe half a mile away. We had drinks and apps here before dinner at Botanica. Great cocktails and guac/pico and chips were good. So many things we wanted to try here. We sat at the bar and watched the kitchen and absolutely everything was so well prepared. We’ll definitely put this on our list when returning to the area. Probably half the price of Botanica’s menu.
La Esquina in Todos Santos. Courtyard setting breakfast joint. The setting was super cute. Two entries, coffee and juice= $20. Todos Santos is cute and we explored some of the little shops and boutiques there. Definitely a hippy, earthy, granola vibe. Big expat community- seems everyone knows everyone.
Cerritos Beach, Barracuda Cantina. This beachside outdoor restaurant was featured in Netflix’s Taco Chronicles. Good cocktails, guac and tasty grilled fish tacos. We didn’t enjoy any of the battered tacos; greasy and mushy. $40. Cerritos Beach, known for its surfing, was a fun outing. I’ve never seen waves like this. Fun to see the surfers and kids on their boogie boards. Worth a stop or to spend a few hours there.
Overall, I really enjoyed exploring this area and would like to return. We thought pairing it with Cabo was nice (I'll do an updated post on WA Los Cabos- maybe). I'd be happy to provide a comparison of Rancho Pescadero vs WA Los Cabos, for those interested. They're very different experiences and concepts. We see a longer trip of the entire Baja coast in our future.
Some peopler never stay at a property when it's just opening, which is understandable. There were some misses:
- discovery experience chaos, before and during visit
- offering to send something to our room for our anniversary, but not following through.
- Botanica needs to age a bit to be a serious foodie contender
- pool bar at El Centro not offering food, but bartender may have been misinformed
- a maintenance worker tried to enter our room after dark while it was occupied (during an inopportune time) and when we answered through the door, he went away
- the water to our unit was shut off without notice an hour before we were due to checkout
However, we found that their generosity far outweighed the minor misses. The GM bought us drinks for a slight delay, the complimentary experiences, the complimentary upgrade without status, the morning eyeopener, several other offers of complimentary drinks either on a tour or for a missed experience, and the three course dinner (they valued at $182, inclusive of gratuity). The hospitality was genuine and endearing; we will definitely return.
Thought I’d share a travel hacking/points based trip report for our recent trip near the Cabo San Lucas coast. We paid points for flights and and hotels using points or FNCs, while also working towards an MSRs. We loved, loved our stay in Rancho Pescadero. If you are into farm to table, botanicals and herbs, as well as complimentary resort experiences, this Hyatt resort is for you. I would not hesitate long to book this newly reopened and expanded resort- I can’t imagine it will stay at this points pricepoint for long, or perhaps the complimentary experiences will become paid.
Travel party of 2: Myself and husband, 45
This year we are celebrating our 25th anniversary. We’ve only traveled without the kids a handful of times in 25 years, so this year we are planning to take several trips on our own.
Trip Insurance. I always buy trip medical insurance and did this for our travel party of 2 ($24 total). $100,000 secondary medical insurance pp, $0 deductible and $1M med evac, + more coverage. My husband and niece were once hospitalized in Mexico and during our hospital stay we met many American and Canadian families without insurance coverage who were facing bills in the tens of thousands of dollars. Over the years, I’ve filed 4 claims with various travel insurance companies and it is ALWAYS a hassle, but I’ve always been glad to have the coverage. Cost= $24
El Pescadero, post #1
Airfare and Lounges. We paid 26k Southwest RR points RT for (1) + companion pass. We escaped the SW meltdown by a few days but were able to rebook our flights for fewer points due to the free change window. EBCI free from a SW cc, which was good for both primary + companion due to new benefit that checks in both at the same time.
Layover in DEN- used Centurion Lounge. Still solid. No wait. Some tables available, but pretty busy overall at 8-9amish.
Cell service: AT&T has no cost coverage in Mexico.
Transportation. We did a 5 day rental through BBB car rental, recommended by frequenters of the Tripadvisor Cabo forum. Upon exiting the airport, we followed BBB’s instructions and went to the Taxi stand where they got us a Josephina taxi to BBB, which BBB pays for and you just tip the driver. Fastest exit out of SJD we’ve ever had. A few minute ride over to BBB, where Ruben is super efficient and processes everything quickly. We did have a wait for our vehicle. Airport exit to leaving with our vehicle was 40 minutes, so longer than we would have liked. On the return though, we walked into BBB and they knew who we were and were ready to inspect the vehicle, and even dropped us at the Terminal in the same vehicle. Easy peasy. I would use them again.
TIP about the Cabo airport: As always, remember it’s a shark tank inside, everyone trying to sell you a timeshare and misrepresenting themselves as airport workers, your transport company, etc, so don’t talk to anyone and just exit to the outside, even if they ask you what exit you’re looking for and tell you you’re going the wrong way. Sigh.
Cost: $325, including taking full insurance and $0 deductible waiver
Accommodations.
We stayed at Rancho Pescadero in El Pescadero, a new Hyatt Unbound collection resort. This resort has a really interesting story, starting as just 11 rooms and then closing for renovation for four years to a 100ish room resort. There are nine gardens in this desert meets the sea oasis, which you get to on a dirt road. 2 nts @30k points/nt for a garden view room. Upon arrival, we were greeted by Marco Chavez, temporary general manager. We talked a little about his journey, and he lives in our neck of the woods and rose up through the Kimpton system, which we are big fans of. Sounds like Hyatt recently pursued him for this Director opportunity and he’s been at Rancho since the opening and will be there until February.
We have NO Hyatt status whatsoever. My guess is there were 20 rooms occupied during our stay. We were upgraded to a Coastal View Suite, one building over from the pool and El Centro, so a really convenient location. Marco treated us to Spicy Mezcalitas, as our room was still being cleaned, so there was a bit of delay. The suites are SOO well done, with great lounging areas. I love that the closet area is in the bathroom, which just makes it easy to keep all your junk in one place and have the suite stay pristine.
The suite has a complimentary mini-bar with sodas, water and Pacifico beer, as well as tea kettle, tea, coffee and a French press. The scent of their toiletries is to die for. Rancho did a great job with providing temporary items for your use, like a beach bag, sarong/wrap and sunscreen. They also provide MANY glass bottles of water and have refill stations, as well as gift you two tumblers.
Housekeeping was great, restocking the minibar and providing turn down service as well. Between 7-8am the team hung a Morning Eyeopener on your door. This is a really thoughtful gesture that sounds like it dates back to the original 11 suite resort. Very sweet.
Beachfront. We grabbed some of our Pacificos and headed to the cabanas (3) set up on the beach. The beach is long and very walkable, but not swimmable. Loved hearing the waves crash. We saw whales right from the beach, including a juvenile putting on quite the show, breaching three times!
Room tip: The sunsets here are pretty amazing. We went to the top of the rooftop bar one evening for sunset, but my guess is that if you have an oceanview suite, you’ll be located on the second floor and will be able to view from your balcony.
Beware: Some of the other luxury resorts we’ve stayed in provide items like beach bags, toiletry bags, etc as gifts. I’d assumed this to be the case, but called guest services to check, and was told there was a price for the beach bag. So don’t accidentally take it unless you’re hoping to purchase it.
Experiences.
The resort provides several Complimentary Discovery Experiences, including:
Margarita/Mezcalita Class
Rancho Ceviche Recipe
Rancho Tour
Sunrise Meditation
Rancho Yoga
Restorative Yoga
Build your own Bouquet
Create your Baja Blend (apothecary)
Biosphere Guided Walk
Earthing Meditation
There is a Wellness Center Link they can send you in advance to sign up for the classes. We experienced a lack of responsiveness to our requests to sign up or confirm our reservations. In the end we were able to complete these experiences in our two day stay:
The Sunrise Meditation (though early) was amazing. I can’t really put into words the emotions that overcame me as the warm of the sun rose over my body. It was a really special, spiritual experience that I’ll remember forever.
Rancho Tour was… disorganized? It was scheduled for 4pm on our arrival day, so we rushed a bit after our room wasn’t quite ready, to get there in time and then after a bit of inquiring, they kindly told us they couldn’t provide it that day and rescheduled it for the next day. The next day, again, no one seemed aware. Turns out they called someone over from their campus to do the tour, but it was super casual and she was basically like, “so what do you want to see?” rather than it being an organized experience. Even so, she was incredibly knowledgeable and we walked the entire grounds and learned so much about the resort. Do try to schedule this for your arrival day if it is offered.
The Rancho Ceviche Recipe occurred at the rooftop restaurant in El Centro. I don’t recall his title, but one of the lead chefs provided the demonstration, and we were the only guests. Two recipes were demonstrated, tuna and shrimp. The ceviche was piled SO high. This could have been a meal of its own. It was ridiculous.
My favorite thing about the experiences and the Rancho hospitality in general, was a real genuine warmth. I felt like we actually got to know some of the people and their stories. I think that will be our lasting memory of Rancho.
Area Dining
At Rancho Pescadero, Botanica. We ate here both evenings. One meal was a complimentary three course menu, provided as part of the soft opening. Evening one, we weren’t super impressed with the food. The pizza was meh. But the salad and cocktails were good. Evening two, which was the complimentary three course menu, was better. The fish tacos were excellent, as was the salad and churro dessert. Definitely get the fish tacos- so, so delicious. Service was very slow, so there’s still some work to be done for Botanica. Their Sunday Hangover Brunch looks delicious.
Farm to Table restaurant Hierbabuena is actually just up the dirt road, maybe half a mile away. We had drinks and apps here before dinner at Botanica. Great cocktails and guac/pico and chips were good. So many things we wanted to try here. We sat at the bar and watched the kitchen and absolutely everything was so well prepared. We’ll definitely put this on our list when returning to the area. Probably half the price of Botanica’s menu.
La Esquina in Todos Santos. Courtyard setting breakfast joint. The setting was super cute. Two entries, coffee and juice= $20. Todos Santos is cute and we explored some of the little shops and boutiques there. Definitely a hippy, earthy, granola vibe. Big expat community- seems everyone knows everyone.
Cerritos Beach, Barracuda Cantina. This beachside outdoor restaurant was featured in Netflix’s Taco Chronicles. Good cocktails, guac and tasty grilled fish tacos. We didn’t enjoy any of the battered tacos; greasy and mushy. $40. Cerritos Beach, known for its surfing, was a fun outing. I’ve never seen waves like this. Fun to see the surfers and kids on their boogie boards. Worth a stop or to spend a few hours there.
Overall, I really enjoyed exploring this area and would like to return. We thought pairing it with Cabo was nice (I'll do an updated post on WA Los Cabos- maybe). I'd be happy to provide a comparison of Rancho Pescadero vs WA Los Cabos, for those interested. They're very different experiences and concepts. We see a longer trip of the entire Baja coast in our future.
Some peopler never stay at a property when it's just opening, which is understandable. There were some misses:
- discovery experience chaos, before and during visit
- offering to send something to our room for our anniversary, but not following through.
- Botanica needs to age a bit to be a serious foodie contender
- pool bar at El Centro not offering food, but bartender may have been misinformed
- a maintenance worker tried to enter our room after dark while it was occupied (during an inopportune time) and when we answered through the door, he went away
- the water to our unit was shut off without notice an hour before we were due to checkout
However, we found that their generosity far outweighed the minor misses. The GM bought us drinks for a slight delay, the complimentary experiences, the complimentary upgrade without status, the morning eyeopener, several other offers of complimentary drinks either on a tour or for a missed experience, and the three course dinner (they valued at $182, inclusive of gratuity). The hospitality was genuine and endearing; we will definitely return.
And thank you! Glad I kept it while the kids were little but for me it's time to move on!
And DH thinks it's odd that public wifi isn't abundant in one of the most technologically advanced countries, when in places like NYC you can get public wifi everywhere. Maybe I should get this on my phone at least, so we'll always have the data we need to be able to use Google maps and translate.
