Villa del Arco Beach Resort & Spa — Hotel in El Tezal

April 18, 2024 |||To the General Manager of the Villa del Arco Beach Resort & Spa,|||With our right hand over our hearts, we must thank you, especially the entirety of the staff at Villa del Arco Beach Resort & Spa. Currently I am on my flight home after a one week stay with your staff of professionals. |||What an amazing experience!|||To understand why our visit to your resort was so important to us, please allow me to share the story from our last international holiday. March of 2022, we expected eleven days exploring Northwestern Costa Rica. On the third day we had a single vehicle accident requiring me to have emergency surgery while in Costa Rica. Being honest, the accident was my fault and the pain we suffered in Costa Rica was just beginning. Arriving at a hospital in Potrero Costa Rica, I required emergency surgery to repair the severe damage to my left arm and shoulder. Unfit to perform the urgent surgery in Potrero, I required transportation to San Jose Costa Rica. promising us they could perform the laborious surgery in San Jose. My wife returned to our room, packed to leave then checked out of the Eco Lodge. During this time, the Supervisory Doctor in charge of my care verified our policy with our insurance company, then returning to reassure me the surgery and flight to San Jose were “Fully Covered by our International Insurance Policy”, reiterating how their private hospital is superior to the free public hospitals in Costa Rica. My wife and I were both flown from Potrero to San Jose Costa Rica by Medical Helicopter. |||I was in surgery early the next morning, while still in recovery that evening I was contacted by my international insurance representative. My insurance representative clearly informed the hospital Doctor in Potrero, that our insurance policy expired after our first day in Costa Rica. “We Were Not Covered". The hospital in Potrero Costa Rica, directly lied to us about our insurance coverage. The money paid upfront for surgery to the hospital would not be refunded by our international insurance company. Worse yet, the surgery in San Jose was inadequate, the damage was not repaired correctly. Alarmed by the discovery from our insurance representative, we immediately returned to Oregon. I required additional surgery to properly repair my arm. The Doctor in Portland installed a titanium plate, securing the brake, additional repair was necessary on the rotator cuff and shoulder as well. More disheartening, the Costa Rican Eco Lodge chosen for our stay refused to return any funds for the eight days left on our reservation. |||These events made us fearful to travel outside of the U.S. again. We had lost our faith in traveling within the International Community. Fortunately for us all, a friend rang to inquire if we could share a vacation in Mexico with, he and his wife. Our friend’s invitation led us to considering Mexico. Research led us to direct flights from Portland Oregon; PDX, to Los Cobos Mexico; SJD, through Alaska Airlines. This proved too enticing for us all. Our friends agreed, and it was let's go to Cabo. We discovered a package deal through Costco to your Resort. In hindsight a spectacular choice.|||Over and over, I want to thank the entire staff at the Villa del Arco. We felt love unmatched by any stay at a Resort, Hotel, or Room we have stayed in throughout our marriage. |||Please let me indulge you with so many of the glowing experiences we shared with Arco Staff Members. Absolutely everyone deserves credit during the duration of our stay. I will grace you with the exceptional people who went above and beyond our expectations. After practically being assaulted by vendors at the Los Cobos Airport, we began fearing, oh no, here we go again. Then we arrived at the Villa del Arco Beach Resort & Spa for our one week stay. Staff assisted us with our bags, then our first encounter at Arco was at the front desk, where we met Melissa. Melissa greeted us with her right hand to her heart. Melissa assigned us our room, then thoroughly answered all our questions about the upcoming stay. Melissa was sincere, even engaging. Her service didn't stop there, anytime we passed through the lobby she was there with a smile and a hand to the heart.|||We noticed that not just Melissa, but most employees were greeting us, they too acknowledged us with a right hand to the heart. Tired and hungry, we met our bags in our room. The Bucanero Ship was in view outside the rooms deck. Arriving at the Bucanero, Ramon greeted us. Again, he welcomed us with his hand to his heart too. We were curious to understand the underlying meaning of this gesture but have yet to ask. Ramon was also courteous, patiently explaining the menu before we selected our meal. The next morning for breakfast, another splendid worker, this time a host named Gloria, at El Padron, and like the rest, a hand to her heart. Warm and welcoming. My wife requested a seat up front by the water. There was limited space near the water. Regardless Gloria sat us at the last table available up front, removing the sign reserved for elite persons. Well, Gloria made us feel Elite, granting my wife's wish. Wow, this place feels different. The next time we encountered Gloria, she knew our Sir Name while continuing to reach for her heart. Inquisitive, we finally stopped an employee by the pool asking him as he reached for his heart, politely he explained this tradition, “it means, We Mean It From the Heart”, seems so obvious now. We are noticing a trend, the trend of exceptionalism within the staff at the Villa del Arco. It does not stop there, the great people of Arco were making us feel welcome in their country, in their home. We were hungry for the support from the staff, we needed to regain trust within the international community to travel again. Thank you, Arco, for helping us to regain some trust!|||Let us keep going, we met Joel as a server on the beach. Joel was again only worried about our pleasure, returning to continually check on us. The next day he was working in the Bucanero, although we only requested two drinks on the beach, Joel greeted us by name and had memorized our room number. Then there was Teofilo tending bar at El Padron sharing laughs with Us, the four silly people who weren't even drinking alcohol. Carmin going out of her way helping my wife find a bag we thought we left at the pool. Talking about "Yes I Can", we had outstanding service here. At this point you should be glowing with pride. Here is more to make you blush, we made reservations at Neptune, our server was Eddy, he could explain the entire menu inside and out. He and the others assisting us were sharp and efficient. Then we got a visit from the Manager making sure our needs were met. “Yes, exceedingly so”. |||Wow you folks are good. Now we are beginning to engage more with your staff. Observing one employee constantly moving quickly from restaurant to restaurant. I decided to introduce myself to him, his name is Gabriel, surely, he is management. I complimented Gabriel for his work ethic; Gabriel directs the conversation to me and my wife’s needs. Gabriel did not need a compliment, he only wanted to make sure our stay was special, he succeeded. These are great people you have hired, even better when you visit with them. |||Let's talk about my most emotional day at Arco. Kevin had begun serving us on the beach. I bought a little toy from a Beach Vendor, a young girl and her mother. The little girl was absolutely adorable. Displaying my new toy on our table, I told Kevin how she gave me a huge hug after the sale. Kevin then informed me that I had bought a traditional Alebrije, he went on to tell me the story and history of Alebrije's. I was fascinated and made sure to read about them that evening. What a guy! I believed Kevin had his own appreciation for us. He courteously introduced us to another fine young coworker, Jesus. We all spoke and joked with each other as I discovered that these professionals were just junior employees starting just their sixth week at the Arco. Great new hires for you. I do not believe Jesus ever served us, but he continued to greet us by name as we passed by him and you know it, right hand to his heart every time. Later that evening a genuinely nice young woman approached our table at the Bucanero. Introducing herself as Liz. That young woman spoke with such care as she continued an intriguing conversation with us. Full of sophistication and love. Liz spent 20 minutes with us, intuitively she recognized how touched we were by the people working for you before excusing herself, giving us both a warm hug. During our embrace, she softly spoke to me with words of encouragement to go on loving in life. Such wisdom for a woman half my age. She is a keeper; she must be in management or should be. She makes me want to become a better person. Thank you, Liz! |||Later that evening we were in the hot tub area on the backside of the resort. A gentleman came back to have a cigarette, once we started speaking, we realized he was yet another outstanding employee. This time Adrian (I believe he is a concierge) Adrian took additional time to explain the terrain and how it helps to absorb storm water. Several days later, he recognized my wife in the lobby during check out. Outgoing as Adrian is, he started a conversation, sharing family photos with her all while encouraging her to reach for her dreams.|||Another day, another amazing encounter with someone in the Arco staff. Take Abran at the South American Grill, although we never officially met Abran, whenever we came to the S.A. Grill, he energetically greeted us from behind the bar. People are not this kind to us in my own neighborhood back home. Your people treated us like family. I am finally getting close to the end, but only because our stay at Arco was concluding. The most enthusiastic of all was Angelica, oh my, what a vibrant woman she is, I didn't speak with her until the day before I left, but her energy made me feel high. She was so sweet, I got eggs today just so I could speak with her again. I wish I had met her on the first day. Just plain wonderful she is. I must mention Escarlet too. She was awesome. Another special person is Elizabeth. My wife bonded with Elizabeth from El Padron; they are sisters from a different mother. An extremely strong woman there. Big hugs from Elizabeth as we left breakfast today.|||On our final night we all went to El Padron for Karaoke night. An excellent night, not a lot of singers, but high energy. Elizabeth and Teofilo were serving us again. People are working 12-hour days for our pleasure, but no matter what, always welcoming, always a right hand to the heart. By the way, not one complaint from the staff members all week, only good people trying to make us happy. No matter their position, from Grounds Keepers, House Keeping, Room Service, Front Desk, Servers to Managers, your staff exceeded our expectations repeatedly. My wife would like me to mention Elizabeth, Anna, and Isabella of the front desk for their above and beyond efforts for her, over the week.|||I absolutely loved your staff. Your facilities may be five stars, but the staff at the Villa del Arco Beach Resort & Spa are all six stars in my heart for their performance on our stay, from start to finish. I hope every one of your employees has the chance to experience the kindness, the warmth, and the love, we both felt on our stay with you. Simply Put, Outstanding!!!|||All my best,|Michael Cassidy|Room 3107b|April 11th...

Warning: it's a long review but filled with helpful information! ||Overall, I think this is a great choice of a resort if you are looking to visit Cabo San Lucas. I will preface that I went on a promotion so the price was 399$ USD for 4 nights, but we had to attend a 90-minute timeshare presentation which I will explain more in-depth later in this review. The resort is about a 30-minute drive from the airport, and a 5-10 min ride to the Downtown marina area. There is beach access which is nice if you want to go for a walk on the beach or use the beach to walk to your destination as well. The waves are somewhat rough in most spots but there are plenty of water taxis, boats, and Jet skis if you choose to do any of these. The room itself was decent sized, it has a small kitchen so if you do decide to purchase the timeshare you can make some meals in the room to save $. Bathroom was nice and a good size. Room had the typical musty smell you sometimes get at resorts in Mexico but nothing too bad. Our room had two full sized beds and a large balcony with a view of the city (would have been 650$ more to change to ocean view probably because we came on a timeshare promotion for so cheap to begin with). It was a comfortable room my only complaints would be that the TV was dated and there weren’t many outlets, but these are small things that would not change my opinion on the hotel in any way just a little note. The resort is very clean and well-kept considering it is a somewhat older building. The room service was excellent, and the common areas were always in very great shape. I used the free WIFI and had no issues, sometimes it was a little slow, but I was on vacation, and it was nothing that interfered with me having a good time. || Dining/ bar options at the resort||I will note that based on other reviews I’ve seen that some people find it annoying to have to sign every bill for food, but I did not really mind. It shows a price on it but if you are all inclusive you just write your room number and sign and leave a tip if you so choose. ||Taco Restaurant: great taco spot for lunch. They make guac right at your table and the tacos are very good. They come out plain with just meat on a tortilla and have a topping station by the grill to add the toppings you choose. They also have sushi here I did not have any though. One downside to this place during the day is there are a lot of flies that swarm and will land on your food. At night, this place turns into the steakhouse Carbon. ||Carbon (steakhouse): the food here was very good. We got the salmon and fillet which were both amazing. All the food comes out on a tiny grill that sits on the table which was neat. ||Sports bar: the sports bar was great too. Not sure what time it opens as it always looks empty until later, but we had dinner there one night and it was delicious. We got a crispy chicken sandwich and some wings, and everything was good. Great service as well very attentive - which is the case at every place I went to.||Italian Restaurant (dinner): this was my favorite place to eat for dinner, we ate here twice. The first night I got the chicken parm and it was so good. Everything I had here was tasty and comes out relatively quickly. We also had the calamari, bread and bruschetta and loved every bite. ||Buffet with show (dinner): we did the buffet once and it was good. Somewhat limited with options but that didn’t stop me from getting a full plate so no complaints. They have salad some main dishes and a dessert station. It opens at 6 and the show starts at 7:30 so getting there early is ideal to get a table. ||Cafe and ice cream across street: next to the market is a small cafe and an ice cream area. For the ice cream you pay in the cafe, and they give you a ticket to use to get your ice cream. The cafe had good coffee and fresh orange juice as well as breakfast sandwich’s but was on the expensive side. For a coffee orange juice and sandwich, it was about 30$ USD. I personally enjoyed this much more than trying to wait an hour in the breakfast buffet line but to each their own.||Tomatillos (did not go): small restaurant outside the front door of the hotel I unfortunately did not get a chance to try it.||Two outside bars: they have two outside bars here, one down by the beach next to the pizza station and one by the adult pool. Both very friendly and easy to grab a drink. If you are by the pool someone can bring you your drinks but if not, you can always just walk up and order. || Other amenities – the Pools, Gym, and Market ||• Pool: two main pools one is adult only the other is not and has a water slide and activities during the day such as water volleyball. They have a few outdoor hot tubs as well that are nice to go in. They have plenty of lounge chairs and have a policy that prevents people from putting w towel down and leaving all day to claim the spot. We never had trouble getting some good seats right by the adult pool. The poolside servers are all super nice and come around often which is nice for having drinks and lunch by the pool if you so choose. ||• Gym: the gym was very nice I was impressed by it. Lots of equipment in great condition and they even had a nice locker room with a hot tub sauna and showers in it. The gym is right outside the hotel easy to find and get to and open 24 hours (apparently, I also went in the morning so can’t confirm). ||• The market: they have a market outside the front door of the building, which is convenient but expensive. For example, I got a tube of sunscreen, and it was about 35$ USD. Not ideal but more convenient than leaving the resort to buy some so it is what it is. || The timeshare presentation||No one is ever thrilled to go to a timeshare presentation but for the discount it gave us I didn’t mind going. It was the first morning, we met at around 8 am and were done and by the pool at 11. They take you to a breakfast then show you some of the nicer rooms at the Arco the resort next door. Then you go to the office and that’s where the 90 mins starts. I will say they do a good job of selling you on it but at this point in my life I did not think it was something that I could afford/would be worth it for me personally, but we did speak to others that did buy it. The person who did our presentation was very nice and respectful as well. They do get a little pushy and salesy but if you’re not interested you just must be firm and eventually, you’ll be free to go. As I said, to me personally it was a small price to pay to be able to get such a cheap price for our stay. || Summary and review||To summarize, I would recommend staying here, I think the building is nice, the staff and food are incredible, and the location is a bonus. Walking down onto the beach is amazing and a quick 5 min ride to downtown is hard to beat. Come here if you are a couple or family but I would not come here if you wanted a party resort or if being pitched a timeshare is something that would bother you. I would stay here again if/when I come...

Review Update: Hotel responded to say they would be in contact and never received anything. Called Reynoldo twice with no response..

Overall, our group had the worst experience at the Villa Del Arco. Personally my worst experience at an all inclusive resort. There were 8 of us in total, between 4 separate rooms so we spent a considerable amount of money to be there. Some of which haven’t had a vacation in several years.

I’ll start with the positives - the trolly that takes you between sister resorts is so incredibly convenient. Runs every 5 minutes or so. Secondly, I got a massage at the spa and it was one of the best massages I have ever had. Lizbeth was my masseuse and I would highly recommend her. Lastly, transportation to and from the airport was wonderful.

Now for the negatives - I plan to list all so management knows the extent of the problems we had even though we tried to escalate multiple times.

To start, check in. We took a red eye and showed up at our hotel around 9. Our room wasn’t ready, understandable, but we weren’t able to get the all inclusive portion until 12. We weren’t aware of this as it didn’t say on the website, during booking, or on our confirmation emails (I double checked).

Also, kind of small detail/inconvenience compared to the other issues, but almost all of the elevators were not working.

We also had a few issues with the maids coming into the room with minimal notice. Someone would knock once and walk in immediately before giving someone the opportunity to answer. One member in our group was in the shower and a maid walked in. Another was sleeping and a maid walked right in.

We cannot confirm because we have no proof, but we speculate we had some items taken from the room. When we asked the hotel if they would help us file a police report, they told us no.

And the final, most important, and largest issue. Most of our group got incredibly sick. Around the same time 3/8 people started not feeling well and Villa Del Arco was violently coming out both ends for hours. We had assumed food poising. The hotel had a doctor onsite that we had to call for one person around 2AM. He was obviously working for the hotel because he would not confirm if it was food poising or what the actual issue was. Said it was maybe contributed to eating greasy food even though we tried to mention other people in our group were also sick. He gave her a shot for nausea, wrote a prescription to fill if we wanted, and said go to the hospital if you don’t feel better. A manager came to the room at the same time to supervise. He ensured me that the day guest services manager would be in contact with me in the morning to update me with an investigation. The next day, after being up all night, I went to talk to the day manager, and he had no clue what I was talking about. Said he would look into it and get back to me. Never got back to me. I walked past his desk multiple times, he was not there, called and asked to speak with him directly, and was unable to. We even heard and talked to some other people on the trolly who’s group also got sick. At this point it has been 16+ hours, our friend is still sick, we are buying food from the store because we are unsure what caused this so didn’t want to eat the food at the resort, losing out on the all inclusive we paid for. No one asked about our friend, tried to help in anyway, offered to call the doctor, asked what they could do. When I was finally able to get in touch with Reynoldo, he had no information for us, told us no one else reported anything so he couldn’t confirm if it was picked up at the hotel. Basically said “what do you want me to do.” A few hours later, we had to send our friend to the hospital. $1000 and a few hours later we found out she had contracted an Amoeba. While at the hospital, additional members of the group started getting sick, 5/8 of us in total were some form of sick. After returning to the states, 4 of us needed further medical attention.

We had high expectations with the good reviews but would definitely not recommend...