CABO IN BAJA CALIFORNIA
Baja California, you know, that long finger of land that goes South into Mexico from
the border with California at San Diego, is one of the places we have always hankered
to go to. Lots of our American friends tell us what a wonderful place it is. Our
original intention was to fly to Los Angeles, rent a car and drive down there, but
this proved to be difficult (a) because of tales of banditry on the 800 mile journey
down to Cabo San Lucas at the tip of the peninsular and (b) anyway, no care hire
company in the US would give us any insurance cover whilst we were in Mexico. So
we decided to fly.
We had the opportunity to stay at The Grand Mayan Resort at San Jose del Cabo, a
smaller town a few miles out of Cabo and nearer to the international airport. It
had only just opened and they were keen to garner some good impressions for their
PR. The place is pretty impressive although we had just a small studio room which
lacked basics such as a fridge and a coffee maker. Not all the facilities were available
(the gym and spa was not yet open), but there were plenty of activities organized
to keep us all fit. The biggest upside for us was the food, which was streets ahead
of anything that we had in either Cabo or San Jose. Yes, it wasn't cheap, but it
was exquisitely produced by the French-trained Mexican head chef, aided and abetted
by her French husband patissier, who produced pastries and desserts of real finesse.
Many of the restaurants that we tried outside were little more than 10% cheaper,
and for us, this was a false economy, particularly as we got Montezuma's revenge
on a couple of occasions. Sure, if your gastronomic horizons are burgers and fries,
than this is not the place for you to eat, but I can assure you that their Sunday
Brunch at $29 was worth 10 times more than the brunch we has for $32 in a swank hotel
just outside Los Angeles the following week. The setting and the layout of the resort
were pretty good, with several swimming pools, lounges and bar facilities. However,
it was not possible to swim in the sea (although the resort is right on the beach),
owing to rough seas and jellyfish.
The resort does have its downsides. The most colossal of these is the enormous pressure
that you are put under to buy their timeshare. We thought that we were pretty experienced
enough to resist this, but as we got passed up to a more senior and then a more senior
salesperson, it became really insidious. They tried to convince us that they were
selling us an investment, which looked really good on paper - and when we said we
were interested, they tried to get us to sign a piece of paper stating that they
were not selling us an investment! You just can't trust people like that, so we said
our goodbyes but after having wasted more than half a day of our time! Of course,
we took the $100 off the price and the 10% discount off the food and drink (worth
it on the food, but not on the drink, especially the wines, where the prices were
really outrageous). However sticking to the Happy Hours (4 -5 at the pool and 6 -
8 in the lobby bar) brought some of the drink prices back to normal.
The other downside was the extraordinary entrance lobby, which was made out to resemble
a Mayan temple. Very dramatic, but the place was so dark, you could hardly see where
you were going and I'm sure that one day someone will have a nasty accident. It was
the first time we visited the area and I must say that we found it rather tacky,
although there were some beautiful hotels around. But in some ways the whole place
seems that it is beginning to go to seed, unfortunately spoiled by too many tourists
and the resulting greed of the natives - certainly it is the most expensive resort
we have been to in Mexico (and we have been to a few).
I can imagine that this must have been a beautiful area 10 years ago and those who
bought their timeshares then should seriously consider cashing in on their investment
and moving on to greener pastures.
Grand Mayan Los Cabos Boulevard San Jose S/N, campo de Golf,
Lote 12, San Jose del Cabo, 234000 Mexico
Phone: (from Europe) 0800 032 8868, (from US and Canada) 1-800-403-4176 Elsewhere
+52 624 163 4000
E-mail by request from the website
Open all year
Rooms: 172 all en suite
Prices: from $USD500 per night
Credit cards: all major cards
