Vista Encantada Spa Resort & Residences — Hotel in Baja California Sur

This resort could be a true contender for 5* status with some work and a management change. Not going to lie, the first impressions of this resort is that it is not very well run. I sat waiting to get into my room, and the person who checked us in yawned approximately 20 times in our faces. I did however get a complimentary margarita when I came and it was quite strong. The person who checked us in, gave us the impression that it would be a short wait to get into our room and I sat for over an hour and a half in the lobby. There are really pretty views of the hills and beaches and ocean from the lobby. It is not a large lobby. It's quite squishy but they make the most of it. I sat in the lobby for a long time and my room was actually ready the whole time that I sat. There was a lack of communication between the maid and the man who checked us in and he didn't text me to let me know. I approached him and asked about the room because it looked like the room was ready when I walked past it. It seems the staff are more concerned about talking to each other than actually being good at their job. I actually found my own room, I found my own way in and walked around our unit and then went and got a porter to roll the bags just down the hallway. I gave him a measly 20 pesos because to be honest he didn't deserve much more. I checked over the kitchen situation and the nice thing is we had an ice maker but I did not find one paring knife, long knife, sharp knife any kind of knife other than butter knives? I went to the phone and pressed the button for the front desk five different times and it didn't appear to work. Then I went to the other phones in the other bedrooms and they did the exact same thing. This front desk staff appear to be uncaring. I would not be surprised if they actually turned the front desk button off on all of the phones. I had to go to the front desk and ask for some knives. We cook a lot, we cut up a lot of vegetables so we needed some sharp knives. However, the cleaning staff (females) are very impressive at their jobs!! There were three large bags of Hacienda Encantada Coffee and I'm very interested to see how much they would have charged us for those because they were quite good sized bags. We chose to buy our own coffee and not chance the ridiculously expensive charge. First impressions are important and the check in situation left a bad taste in our mouths for a few hours. However, once I got over the initial first impression of Vista Encantada, I settled in and had a comfortable stay. We had a three-bedroom four bathroom unit for the first week, that was quite large. The kitchen had a 12-ft long thin Island and most everything that you needed to cook except for sharp knives, a dishwasher and an oven. It turned out that the ice maker did not use filtered water so we could not eat the ice, but there is an ice maker on every second floor. There was a large dining room that sat 8 and a living room that I have yet to sit in. The outdoor balcony had a small cold dipping pool/ whirlpool and a barbecue that is not very common in Mexico. There was a table with four chairs, two lounge chairs, and two chairs with ottomans and two side tables. The balcony was very well furnished. The style of the units was Hacienda and was quite fitting for this Mexican resort. But there was a weird art/design element that we labeled 'Creepy Carnival'. They were quite hideous so I had to take a photo of some of them in the units that we were in. We were fortunate enough to be located high enough up on the fourth level to get a gorgeous Ocean view. There are several Beach lots or Ocean front lots available for sale and that was also part of our view. The bedrooms all had very comfortable beds, but with the most ridiculous sized single pillows that we've ever seen on a king size bed. In fact, the group of us were laughing at how ridiculous they looked. The bathrooms unfortunately did not have a tub in the 3 bedroom units. Read full review at:...

There are 7 of us in our family--my husband and I and 5 teens. This is the most amazing stay we have ever had! We have been home for 10 days now and we are all still missing it so much. I don't remember the last time it was this hard for me to leave a vacation. From the moment we stepped into the beautiful, open-aired lobby was pure joy and peace. We were greeted with a welcome drink and then had our first encounter with the upbeat, friendly, helpful, and gracious Elder--who instantly became our favorite face to see every time we walked through the lobby. Check in was easy and we were introduced to our butler, Estefania (Fani), who was also a real sweetheart and absolutely incredible, patient, and accommodating throughout out trip. She texted us every morning with the daily resort happenings and reminders of our dinner / excursion reservations for the day and she was accessible via text any time of day for our questions and needs. We needed a nurse / doctor on our stay, as my son got sick while we were there, and Fani was incredibly compassionate and set up the medical visit very quickly for us. Later that day, she also stopped up to our room on her own accord to deliver Gatorade and Pedialyte to our son. ||We stayed in the 4-bedroom / 4.5 bathroom vista and it was mind-blowingly beautiful. The view is unreal, like you're looking at a picture all day long; the bedrooms, bathrooms, and living area all very clean and comfortable; the balconies/patios (there are 2) are gorgeous. The cleaning service was spectacular, cleaning our vista daily for 90+ minutes, replacing sheets and towels, mopping floors, etc. These days I feel like that attention to detail is a rarity and the cleaning process (which is such a big deal!) is skimmed over. Not here. Super thorough and immaculate. I was SO comfortable in these vistas. ||There is a lot to do to stay active. I could lay at the pool all day, but not my kids. There is a putting green, sand volleyball court, pickleball courts, tennis courts, and basketball court. We utilized them all almost daily. Family sand volleyball was our favorite, my husband and sons loved the pickleball, and my youngest was on the basketball court every night before dinner.||We were on the all-inclusive plan. The quality of food on the resort varied from place to place. Some restaurants we loved and others we didn't like. Our family favorite ended up being Il Forno, my husband loved Mistizo Del Mar (for dinner and the breakfast buffet), and the Friday buffet at El Den was very good. We did not like Barola or La Trajnera. At the front of the property is Negra Rosa which is no included in the all-inclusive plan and the menu is quite expensive but the loud, vibrant atmosphere was a blast and a great experience. ||We went to the marina/downtown Cabo one day and headed back to the hotel early. We didn't like it and were not comfortable in the environment. However, we went back down there for a private sailboat excursion one day and that was an incredible experience. ||Couple notes to consider:|The balcony plunge pool was just ok. It was hot, so more of a hot tub. |Two of our boys ended up getting stomach bugs (lasted about 24 hours) on different days so just understanding safety of eating and drinking in Mexico is important. |The rooftop pool at the vistas is gorgeous but can use some maintenance--tiles broken everywhere and lots of mold in the grout.|The fitness center is amazing but very strict about age--under 16 absolutely not allowed without a parent, even just for a treadmill run. |Signing the bill every hours and after meals got a little annoying on the all inclusive plan. We did have to wait a long time to close out every hour and waiting for the check after meals almost always took forever. Just prepare for this--you're on vacation time. ||Go here! It's amazing. I know I missed some things but I can't say enough good. We can't wait to...

Just spent 5 days in 4 bedroom suite with All-Inclusive plan. Then overnight in 2 bedroom suite on 1st floor, without all-inclusive plan. Both rooms were GORGEOUS! Each had its own flavor and special thing about it. The 2 bedroom had a swim-up pool. The 4 bedroom had a plunge pool, the size of a jacuzzi.

Overall: Amazing, beautiful facilities, good food, activities and service. The building and grounds are just gorgeous. The rooftop pool and bar were great. The food was good, the drinks are good (mostly). The staff on the Vista side in particular are friendly and helpful.

All of the concierge staff are great, very helpful. Elder was our butler and he was always responsive and smiling! Then there was Trinidad - golf cart driver/porter - he was the best! So friendly! He just had a great attitude always.

The Milagro spa was very nice, upscale., and very expensive.

We booked excursions through the resort.The sunset jazz cruise was fun. Not actually jazz music, but mellow and nice time. The “luxury sailing” day trip with Cabo Adventures was The Best experience for me!

If you want to just relax, mostly stay at the resort with a trek or 2 to town, the all-inclusive is the way to go. The cost for a la cart is muy, muy expensive. (It’s comparable to Beverly Hills or Hollywood Hills.)

The not so great: So some fair warning about the Vista and Hacienda Encantana restaurants. The food is good. No complaints there unless you want your beef well cooked. (They don’t understand the concept.) But the service leaves much to be desired. It’s not the slowwwwwness that’s a problem. After day 1, I can appreciate slowing down and not feeling rushed for dinner. The problem is that we regularly experienced waiting 30 minutes or more … with no water, no bread, no drinks, no menu even. Then, we order food, drinks, starters, entree. Wait another 15 minutes or more for drinks. Wait another 20-30 minutes for food - and it all comes out at once. Sometimes, the starters/appetizers come even after the entree! This was an issue at every dinner service, at every restaurant we went to. And if you reserve dinner at 8 or 8:30, after having you wait for an hour to eat, the kitchen and servers will suddenly rush to get you out. They need a complete retraining of the kitchen and serving staff.

One other warning: We went to many of the pools. It is so interesting … the only one that we did not have a great time at was the one exclusive to adults. The bar staff were rushing us to close out around 4:30 pm, and were not friendly. At all. And seriously? The adult pool bar closes at 5 or 6? Really? That’s unheard of. They must have an unkind boss because their attitudes were so different than other staff at the resort. It’s almost like wherever the kids are, the staff is more friendly! So, the rooftop pool became our spot because it was in the Vista building, and although there were some kids, there weren’t many. Far more were at the Hacienda pools. 😌

Overall though, I had a wonderful stay with great memories there. I only point out the negatives to help them improve and to give you fair warning.

TIPS:

If you want to spend a lot of time in Cabo San Lucas, then maybe all-inclusive isn’t the best. You can take the resort’s shuttle to their sister property, Marina Fiesta (or Fiesta Marina? Which, by the way, is in no way comparable. Very different properties!) A mall with a really nice grocery store is within walking distance. Stock up on supplies and bring it back to your room. Lol! Do not eat at their lobster restaurant at the Marina. $100 per pound for lobster? $20 for cheap liquor? They can keep it! In fact, don’t eat at any of their associated...