Zadun Los Cabos, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve — Hotel in Baja California Sur

My husband and I spent one week at Zadun in mid February and at the risk of sounding like a horrible person, I very rarely am 100% delighted with service the way we were on this trip. Especially when paying a premium, I realize our expectations were high, yet Zadun not only met them but exceeded them. ||Pros|The setting - our room was set high on the back of the property (room 631 I think?) and it afforded us amazing views of the sea. The entire property is beautifully maintained with native plantings. The buildings are simple with natural materials, and they didn’t obstruct our view. It was great for whale watching. ||The room - we loved the room we had, we had a nice warm plunge pool on our patio with chaise lounge chairs, a table for eating, and two doors (one sliding, one not) into our room. there is a heavy metal door between the patio and the main walkway so we felt very private. The room was large with huge glass doors facing the sea and the patio, a very comfortable bed, a nice big bathroom with shower and tub, and enclosed toilet area by the closet. It was private and we never heard other guests (with one exception of a kiddo). ||Thoughtful touches - I could go on and on about the thoughtful details we enjoyed, from binoculars in our room to sun hats, a beach bag, and high quality body lotion in a full size bottle. Loved all of them!||Dining - The food, like many resorts, is essentially the same from restaurant to restaurant. We usually ordered coffee to our room, had lunch by the pool (get the shrimp tacos grilled), and dinner at either Barrio or Humo. Room service was fantastic although a couple times it took extra long. If you stayed for a few weeks you might tire of the same restaurants but the food was really great and fresh. ||Peace and quiet - The resort doesn’t have a ton of guests and even at full capacity it was mostly quiet. Midway through our stay a family arrived with a little boy who screamed a lot. A LOT. I suspect other guests complained as after the first night of unrelenting toddler tantrums on their outside patio which reverberated across the resort, he was much quieter (or inside). I understand kids are noisy but the peacefulness was something we cherished and I was grateful it didn’t continue. There is construction nearby by it wasn’t disruptive. We never heard people blasting music or talking on cell phones in public areas. It truly allowed us to relax very deeply. ||Family atmosphere - This place is not for partiers. Guests were a mix of families and couples. The gym is hopping at 6 am! The kids we saw were all beautifully behaved at meals (we were impressed!). Adults covered up in the restaurants so we didn’t see wet bathing suits or barely-there suits at lunchtime. Overall, guests seemed very respectful of each other and tastefully attired. ||Great spa - I had one of the best massages of my life here! thank you Bris. The little shop at the spa has nice stuff too. ||Environmental - I don’t think I saw a single piece of trash or plastic on the entire property. Even the razors had wooden handles. Water in the rooms came in tetrapak cartons. I loved that we didn’t fill our garbage each day with plastic water bottles! ||Walkable - we found ourselves enjoying walking to our room (although golf carts are available). Every day we walked from the property for about an hour around the area. The beach is not very walkable (it’s steep) so we enjoyed the paved trails instead. The entire area felt safe and clean. ||Service - this is where this resort went far, far above and beyond. We have stayed at Ritz Carlton hotels before but Zadun somehow managed to be professional yet warm, attentive yet not too intrusive, kind and caring while seeming to be authentic. Whatever management is doing to train and retain their staff, keep doing it. Our butler was Guillermo and he was simply wonderful. All week we just texted him when we needed something like a reservation for dinner and he took care of it. On his day off he had a backup who then stepped in and took care of us (Diego). I wanted to hug him goodbye when he gave us a parting gift of a beautiful beaded whale. ||Pool seating - you know how some resorts have those guests who leave their towels at 6 am on the most desirable chairs but never show up? We came down one morning to ask about chairs and were told they would hold our chairs for one hour, no more. I LOVE THIS. It was always easy to get a great spot no matter what time we arrived, and the pools are well staffed too. Pools are clean and there are separate adults vs kids pools. ||English/Spanish - Language was never a barrier. We speak a little spanish but mostly English and they were easy to communicate with. We were consistently greeted by everyone in our path with “Buenas dias” including the gardeners and housekeepers. ||Transport - a few nights we wanted to get off site and hired the resort’s driver to take us. They have a great team with clean Escalades that were perfect. I think they were $80 so more than an Uber but you can also call an Uber if you prefer. ||Way above & beyond - Let me add that we ate off site one night and the next day were both violently ill; Guillermo checked on us and sent electrolyte water and chicken soup to our room (without being asked). There were no goofy tequila jokes or awkwardness when I couldn’t get out of bed. They even sent up plain rice for my husband when he asked for it. If you’re going to be that sick, it was nice to be in a great bed with a good view. ||Cons|The only hiccup was our first night at Humo was weird. There was a large noisy/drunk table of young people dominating the server’s attention and he was rattled. After ordering I realized they were going to ruin our night so we just asked them to send our food to the room, which they did quickly. We ate our piping hot meal on our beautiful patio and looked at the stars! When we went back another night they remembered we’d had a less than ideal experience even though we never complained, and apologized and took very good care of us. (ps get the Totoaba, it’s a local fish). ||If you want to sit at the beach get there early as beach seats are in...

Zadun is a really special place, chosen to celebrate our 20th anniversary. Upon reading some of the prior reviews, I was a little nervous that we had chosen poorly - but we absolutely did not. The hotel is fantastic!

From arrival, we were treated like special guests, welcomed the minute we arrived. We arrived around 9:30am and did not expect our room to be ready; we were shown where we could change so that we could enjoy the pool and hotel amenities until our room was ready. When our room was ready around 1:15pm, we were picked up in a golf cart and introduced to our Tosoani (like a personal butler), Mario. Mario showed us around our room, ensured that we knew how to contact him via WhatsApp and made sure we had everything we needed. We were treated to an upgraded suite which was expansive and beautiful! (my husband travels extensively for work and gets a number of upgrades each year). From the decor to the bath products, it's all high-end and includes thoughtful items like sunscreen and after sun lotion. For women, there was a Dyson hair dryer and high-end bath/shower products. (not the cheap $20 hair dryer most hotels provide!) The plunge pool and patio with a fire pit were gorgeous and provided wonderful ocean views. The coffee bar was complete with a Nespresso machine and pay-for alcohol and snacks. Twice daily housekeeping was an added bonus when most hotels no longer provide daily service. The room space was expansive!

Mario provided exceptional service for us during our stay, assisting with dinner reservations (both at the hotel and off-property), transportation to activities and dinners off-site and general needs like additional towels when needed. He responded promptly each and every time, was extremely kind and courteous and truly made our stay so memorable. Thoughtful touches like rose petals in the shape of 20 on our bed, champagne upon arrival, etc. He went above & beyond! As a side note: we met friends there and initially each had different tosoani's. The hotel took the liberty of changing this so that Mario was caring for both of us which made things extra easy to coordinate. He was able to split the cost for things like transportation between our rooms and things like that.

There are three pools on site and they are all very nice. The two upper pools are very near one another; one allows kids and one is adults-only. There were a few kids there during our stay, but definitely more of an adult resort vs family hotel. We particularly enjoyed the lower pool and spent part of each day there; it's a small pool, but has 4 cabanas that are free to be used (the cabanas around the two upper pools are pay-to-use) providing ample shade and personal space. The area is quiet and closest to the ocean. The server in this lower pool area, Luis, truly made our day every single day! He remembered our names, our drink preferences and my gluten allergy. He was extremely attentive and provided exceptional service. A thoughtful amenity at the pools was the coolers stocked with (free) water that they provide to all guests - as soon as you select your seats, the staff member sets out towels and a cooler for you. There was an ample supply of free bottled water everywhere: in our room, at the pool, the fitness center, etc.

The food at the hotel is delicious. The fitness room is clean and well-stocked. The property itself is beautiful; full of colorful plants and flowers that are all well maintained. In other reviews things like missing tiles in the lower pool were mentioned and yes, we did see this - but it was not a big deal at all. If you own a pool, you know things like this happen. It did not at all impact our experience. The golf cart transport around the property was very nice; the rooms are all spread out and the hotel is set on a hill, so there is quite a bit of walking - we never waited more than a couple of minutes.

Other than the beauty of the hotel, what sets it apart is the service. We enjoyed truly exceptional service from staff members like Luis and Mario and are so thankful for their...

From the beginning, it was absolutely amazing. I intended to travel solo, which I do occasionally. I wanted to go to a place tropical, with a beach, panoramic-ish glass walls/windows in the room, and a tub or pool on the balcony. It took me a couple weeks to find (because I was looking at all inclusive resorts), but I stumbled upon Zadún. I'd never been to an "exclusive" resort before, just all inclusive so I was a little nervous at first, but I'm a risk taker and the reviews were good, so I booked. And I'm glad I did! I chose to get airport transportation through the hotel. Everything was seamless and as described. I was picked up in the Suburban and dropped off in a Navigator. Both trucks were pristine and very clean. Both drivers were very friendly and informative, and answered all the questions that I had. Water and snacks were there in my arrival truck and waters were there in my departure truck. Once at the hotel, I was greeted and lead to check in by my daytime Tosoani/butler Guillermo, at check-in someone was waiting there to make a drink of my preference. Everyone was so friendly and happy to see me there. I was then hand-delivered to spa staff whom presented me with a gift certificate for 2 hours of hydrotherapy. After that, I was escorted to my room by golf cart and I was shown around the entire room and how everything works. Everything was explained in detail and perfectly. My nighttime Tosoani, Diego introduced himself and made himself available to me throughout the night if I needed anything. Both Tosoani's communicate by text message, which makes everything very simple and easy. They set me up with dinner reservations, a private dinner on the beach, and also suggested excursions off the resort grounds. The first day I had dinner at the Argentinian restaurant. Alex was my server and was absolutely amazing. That honestly was probably one of the best meals that I have had in a very long time. Once I was finished eating, they ordered a golf cart to take me back to the room. Once back to the room, my Tosoani cleaned the room and run hot bath water with bubbles and flower petals around it. Very pleasantly surprised. The next day, I made reservations to go to Flora Farms off resort grounds. I was given my options of travel: Hotel shuttle, Uber, or taxi. I chose to take an Uber. I was given recommendations on what to order and informed that Uber was very safe in that area and to just tell them all the details so that they could let the Uber driver back into the community. I disclosed all details and the Uber pulled up, staff opened my door for me and I was delivered to Flora Farms, where the food was exquisite. I got an Uber back to the resort where staff was waiting for me. I stayed in constant contact with my Tosoani. Once at the resort a golf cart was waiting to take me back to my room. Later on that night, I went to Equis for dinner. Once again, excellent service and amazing food. You seriously can't go wrong ordering anything off the menus lol. The following day I went on a sailing cruise through TripAdvisor. I checked with my Tosoani prior to booking and was informed that it was a reliable company and they heard nothing but good reviews, so I felt confident. I had the time of my life! Upon returning to the resort, once again, staff was waiting for my arrival who quickly put me in a golf cart to take me back to my room. That night, I arranged for a beach dinner. It was absolutely beautiful, more than I could have imagined. They literally put so much time into perfecting this event for me and it showed. Staff was amazing and attentive, the food was exquisite, the scenery was absolutely stunning. They were personable and took their time with me. As a solo traveler, I felt very taken care of and very safe the entire time. The entire staff made me feel seen and important. I went during off-season (Aug), so there weren't a lot of guest there, which was perfect. I'd definitely go back again. HIGHLY...