El Caimancito Restaurant & Beach Club — Restaurant in Baja California Sur

I was so excited to try Carlos Valdez’s new restaurant, as I am a huge fan of Tatanka and take out-of-town guests there regularly. The food was excellent (5 stars), and the service was horrible (1 star), probably the worst I’ve experienced in Baja. There were only three tables, yet it took about 30 minutes to get our drinks. The cocktails were fresh and delicious. After 45 minutes, we still had not been given food menus. I waived down a server who seemed surprised. The menu was two separate pages and confusing. Different specials, sides and desserts on both one-sided sheets of paper. We had to ask which specials were appetizers since the word entrada/entrantes wasn’t used. About 90 minutes into the experience, our cocktail glasses were empty, and we had never been offered water. We asked for a wine list and waters when the appetizers arrived. About 30 minutes later, after we were finished with the first course, we asked for the wine list yet again. We ordered two bottles of wine right as the main courses arrived, a white and a rose. Both were barely cool, so we had to ask for more ice. My husband saw the waiter putting single ice cubes into the marble bottle holder at the bar. Neither of the servers who waited on us seemed like they have ever worked in a restaurant or been properly trained. When we asked for more water, they brought a tray of new glasses rather than using a pitcher to refill. The Thai fish bowl was exceptional, one of the best dishes I’ve enjoyed in my four years of living in La Paz. The baked cheese appetizer was very good and unusual. My friends also loved their seafood carpaccio. The side of creamed spinach with bacon was to die for. The octopus was hit and miss—we ordered one as an appetizer and two as main courses. The second two tasted like they’d been prepared with the first order and then sat in the kitchen for an hour until the rest of our food was ready. Three hours into this mess of a dinner, we were begging for our check. Another disappointment was the grounds. This new restaurant is located at an exclusive boutique hotel, Orchid House, which was once the Governor’s Residence. The fact that Orchid House is a chain with at least four hotels in luxurious Mexican destinations means there is no excuse for the service or the state of the facilities at Orchid House Baja. Rooms go for more than $500 USD per night, yet the lobby bathrooms are outdated and falling apart. One sink was missing in the men’s room, one stall out of service and the hand soap they are providing was shampoo. What a shame for such a beautiful outdoor dining setting by the sea. Before we received our check, a construction worker with a caulk gun started working on the bar. They are clearly not ready to host guests and should not be taking reservations. At the prices they charge, there is no room for error. I was embarrassed that I brought my friends there. I wrote a letter to Chef Valdez after the meal and learned that he hasn’t been associated with the place in seven months even though is name is promoted on their OpenTable. I look forward to updating my review once the chef and management confirm they have resolved the litany of...

Interesting experience at this “beach club.” This review is for the beach club beach pass and my intention is to just warn people what to expect. Don’t be fooled by the photos online or by the description of the “beach pass” when reserving your spot. Set your expectations low. First off, we reserved a spot for 4 people, and when we arrived we were told with the beach pass we couldn’t use the lounge chair areas that had overhead shade (these 2 spots were reserved for hotel guests only) and had to choose a “teepee” spot with dirty cloth couches. The spot they were trying to give us only had 2 seats (where are the other people in the reservation supposed to sit?) and the “teepee” was on the side, not on top so there was NO shade and no breeze because the teepee blocked it.(I added photos of these one sided teepees) If you wanted shade you had less than a foot of space to squeeze in to to hide from the sun and you had to be smashed against the side of the teepee to do so and it felt like you were in a sweat tent. Mind you it was in the 90’s so shade is necessary especially if you’re advertising that it’s included. (They didn’t have umbrellas to offer either). We asked if we bought a day pass would we have access to shade? They said yes up at the pool. So we asked to switch to a day pass and then were told they were sold out for the day. We ended up staying for less than 2 hours and had to sit at the restaurant in order to escape direct sun. (Btw when we left the pool area was nearly empty so I’m confused how it was sold out) This higher end “beach club” was also on the public beach with no separation so groups of people and kids were in it the whole time.

Another thing to note is the attitude of the staff. It was like they couldn’t have cared less and drinks also took forever to receive. Don’t expect a luxury experience (surprising since this is a nice hotel and the cost of everything) and don’t reserve thinking you’re getting a typical beach club experience. I highly recommend not wasting your time with this place and spending your money elsewhere. This place was a joke and honestly am...

Starting off with the good; the views from the restaurant are spectacular. We went around sunset and saw dolphins right below us. They have an infinity pool and plenty of seating on the deck. I think getting a day pass for the pool here would be worth it. Our server was friendly and attentive. However as far as the food goes I do not recommend it. At least what we tried was not good AND it made me sick (puke and diarrhea for the following 48 hours after eating here). We had the shrimp ceviche and it was vile. The sauce was a very goopy consistency and the shrimp was tough and chewy. Im guessing it wasnt fresh and/or cleaned properly since it made me very sick. We had some the "sushi" tapas and while the topping wasnt bad the consistency of the rice was very moist and too sweet. Overall I do not recommend eating here because the views are not worth the pain that it caused for two...