Hacienda del Mar Los Cabos, An Autograph Collection All-Inclusive Resort — Hotel in Baja California Sur

This is a review strictly for the hotel as a whole, and not the individual on-resort food establishments, which vary widely in quality and options.

First impressions, Hacienda del Mar is absolutely stunning. Architecturally, you're not likley to find anything more beautiful in all of Baja California. The central square feels like you could be in Spain, and many of the small villas that make up the resort would feel right at home on a colonial vineyard. Grounds were clean and tidy, with lots of cute little "squares" with fountains and plenty of cool plants and vegetation.

Views aren’t any different than most anywhere else in Cabo, but spectacular nonetheless. The surf at this beach can be too rough to swim for much of the year, but there are plenty of pools available, and there are some calmer beaches just a short uber ride away. Getting a pool chair could be a pain in the busiest seasons (Christmas, Spring Break, etc), but there were plenty of spaces when we went.

Service was impeccable. Butlers and front desk were ready to serve your every need. Housekeeping went above-and-beyond, even organizing our shoes and folding our clothes.

Room type and quality probaly varies depending where on the grounds you are. We stayed in the main "hotel" building overlooking the main square and the ocean. Our room was beautiful, the balcony was fantastic. The building itself was fun to explore, with lots of little publicly-accessible balconies and rooms.

There are some minor things that didn't really bother me, but I can see them being an issue for someone who is a bit pickier. Such as... Plumbing fixtures are older and don't mix the hot/cold very well, leading to temperature swings. The old can lights in the toilet room and shower are harsh and ugly. There are no USB plugs anywhere, so make sure to bring your own chargers. The TV was nice, but had just a handful of channels and seemingly no smart capability for logging into something like Netflix. Balcony railings aren't to the same safety standard as they are in the USA, so be aware of that if you have small (or particularly stupid) children. Also, being that the "town square" is basically a concrete/tile megaphone, the room can be a bit loud. If you're a sensitive sleeper, I would definitely bring some earplugs.

Some other things I noticed that could sour someone more picky were the constant translation issues, both on the grounds and on menus. For example, saying "Pull" instead of "Push", or some pretty egregious menu translation errors which I won't go into detail here. Also, confusion on what is included with the “all inclusive” deal was an occasional (albeit very minor) annoyance. And finally, the unexpected service charge and tax on a spa treatment was an unpleasant surprise and increased the bill by nearly $100. None of these "issues" affected our experience, which was overwhelmingly positive, but they were things I noticed nonetheless.

The resort is pretty far from anything, and there is no public transport available. Ruta del Desierto will stop on the highway, but it's a mile walk to the resort. Fortunately, Ubers are plentiful and affordable. The hotel itself can transport you into town for a reasonable fee.

The biggest issue that anyone is going to have here is sticker shock. Almost everything is obscenely expensive, even by USA standards. This was mostly not an issue for us, as our stay was "all inclusive", although we did find the beach vendor prices to be absurd. You'll find better prices at the on-resort vendors. For those without an "on inclusive" bracelet, be prepared to spend enormous amounts on food and drinks.

Hacienda del Mar is not a party resort. There are some late-night options and plenty of younger people, but it's definitely more of a family-friendly place. If you want a quick romantic getaway or a safe place for your kids to run around, this is it. But if you're looking to party and mingle, there are probably better options.

All in all, the experience was overwhelmingly positive. We had a fantastic time and will absolutely be...

The resort itself is beautiful, with stunning views, multiple pools, a variety of activities, and well-maintained amenities. The restaurants, while overpriced, offered good food and a pleasant atmosphere. However, our overall experience was deeply disappointing due to the behavior of certain staff members, which completely overshadowed the positives.

On our third day, we were abruptly woken up at 8:30 AM by a call from the front desk inviting us to collect a “welcome package.” Despite the early hour, we went down, expecting something thoughtful or useful. Instead, we were told the package included a free breakfast and discounted access to activities like jet skiing but only if we agreed to attend a session where they would “gather information” about us and explain their membership benefits.

Since I have an interest in real estate, I agreed to hear them out. What followed was an uncomfortable and invasive process. We were asked to provide our credit cards, ID documents, and personal information, including our home address. It felt less like a welcome and more like a background check where we were questioned if we were actually married.

The breakfast we were promised turned out to be minimal: scrambled eggs, waffles, and coffee. But the real issue began when we met the two representatives who were supposed to explain the timeshare offering. One of them, in particular, was rude and dismissive. He looked us over, profiled us immediately and began questioning our presence: “What was offered to you to come here?” and “It would be a waste of my time.” , “It would save our time if you guys are not interested,” without even attempting to explain the membership or property details.

He never shared what the timeshare included or what benefits were being offered. Instead, he kept making personal remarks and seemed to pre-judge us on our skin-color, age, background, or something else. We tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, thinking maybe it was a language barrier, but it only got worse.

The most upsetting moment came when he turned to my wife and told her she was being “disrespectful” for not smiling or engaging with him. She was clearly uncomfortable, having been woken up early, asked for personal documents, walked around the resort, and then subjected to this kind of treatment, all for a subpar breakfast and a sales pitch we never asked for.

We decided to end the meeting and return to our room, but even then, we were escorted to another desk where a different staff member again pressured us. She insisted we had “agreed” to give them our time in exchange for the breakfast and made me sign a letter stating we had committed to 75 minutes. The entire ordeal lasted until 12:30 pm and left us feeling disrespected, judged, and emotionally drained.

This experience completely ruined our stay. We will not be returning to this resort, or to...

This place is an absolute nightmare! Avoid at all cost. I’ve never had to write a negative review in my 11+ years as both a Marriott Ambassador and Lifetime Platinum member, but this experience was so horrible, that I had to. The hostess at the De Cortez is racist, condescending, and will ruin your trip.

We went early as a couple to De Cortez restaurant for dinner to be able to get a decent seat since we were told, at time of check-in with Maximiliano, that reservations were not taken nor were not required for any restaurants on site. Upon arrival, we were told by Sara, the hostess, that on top of the additional fee for the restaurant, that only indoor seating was available since all the outdoor tables were reserved. Upon refusing to sit indoors, given that nearly all outdoor tables were empty, we were seated at one of the least desirable tables both furthest from the ocean and less visible to other patrons seated outdoors. For 3 hours nearly all the “reserved” desirable tables for 2 sat empty with no one seated at them, except for 1 table with a white couple who was already seated at the time of our arrival. During these same 3 hours, two (3-4ppl per family) other families of color arriving after us, were given the same run around of being told to sit inside since all seats outside were reserved and upon them pointing out that nearly all the tables were empty, they were “stuffed” behind us in the worse seats in the restaurant while the other 2 person tables remained empty and larger group tables were given to white guests arriving 1-2 hrs after the other families. Adding insult to injury, a white couple with no reservation (arriving 2.5 hrs after us) was initially directed to the front-row “desirable” seating. However, when the host, Sara, realized that we overheard their seating arrangement, they were moved back to the same area we were in, so as to save face. Having seating decisions based on racial bias rather than any legitimate reservation policy or seating availability is a blatant double standard, unacceptable, and unmistakably discriminatory.

Two days after this experience, with complaints logged to Marriott member services and front of desk staff at the property, nothing to be heard from anyone at the property including the manager who was supposed to call within 24hrs of the incident since he was on holiday. The experience was so bad that I am now having Marriott removed from my company’s list of hotels for corporate travel.

Save yourself the frustration and go...