InterContinental Hotels Group Stay Forum - IC Presidente Los Cabos Resort, San Jose del Cabo

Just returned from a very pleasant stay with Mrs. xpacific at the IC Los Cabos. Had read-up on the property at www.tripadvisor.com which I highly recommend for unbiased reporting on various properties. Now rather than re-hashing what you can read about at tripadvisor, I will focus on what FT'ers are most interested in -- that is upgrades, use of points, leveraging the system, etc :p

Used PC points (40k/night - ouch!) but it was all-inclusive, so we just got charged some $13 or so per night for "resort fees." The food was excellent, from the buffets to the a-la-carte resturants as well. We might have well chosen the CP which is essentially next door and saved some points. They share the same beach (you can NOT swim there with the pounding waves and currents), but it seemed to be a little less what we were after, once we did some research.

We stayed mid-week, so it was quite easy for the front desk to give us an Ambassador upgrade to a first floor room with a hammock -- the other rooms either have no balcony (2nd floor) or a very small outdoor area (3rd floor). So if you go, be sure to ask for the 1st floor. It also provides easy in and out to the pool areas.

Rented a car, so this gave us easy access to Cabo San Lucas and the sights there. We are not the party types, so we just went there for a snorkel trip to El Arco and Lovers Beach, then it was back to quaint little San Jose del Cabo for the peace and quiet & low-pressure shopping, etc.

When checking-out on Friday, they posted a notice that volunteers were needed to instead go to the CP for two nights (also all-inclusive). In reward they would offer 3 free all-inclusive nights for a future stay at the IC. That would have been the way to go... Book the IC on a peak-weekend and hope for the bump for a future stay ^

If anyone is planning to go to this property, feel free to contact me for more details. It is NOT a 5-star property as to quality of the building, size of bathroooms, etc. However the food and service were superb.

Thanks xpacific. Do you think a car is necessary at this property?

My wife and I were there in Sept. and will return this Spring. Not because it is superior to other Presidente Hotels so much as it closer to Southern CA residents for a quick getaway.

Got in plenty of reading by the pool and on the beach.

We have stayed at both the IC and the CP in Cabo and far prefer the CP. It is a much newer property and all rooms have a balcony or in the case of first floor little garden areas.

You are much closer to the ocean at the CP also, if you like to hear the sound of the waves and feel close to the ocean.

Food at both resorts is very good. The IC is much bigger, and has more activities going on, so might be better for a family group. The northeast end of the IC, the estuary side, has a "quiet pool" that is heated and nice for adults who want to relax quietly.

Our first room at the IC was awful. The window was dirty and did not open. No balcony, and the door accessed an open hallway that had basically no view. The first desk clerk I talked with told me that as a Platinum I was not entitled to a room upgrade. She was snitty about it too.

After one night in the crappy room, and then some confusion about dinner reservations (Beware: you have to make a reservation in advance to get into some of the restaurants on the property for dinner), I asked for a manager who upgraded us to a Junior Suite. That was very nice, and it opened onto the quiet pool area, which we enjoyed.

All in all we much prefer the CP however, and are taking the whole extended family (23 people) there this summer.

NB: For those who want alternate activities to the non stop partying in Cabo, try a drive up the Pacific coast to Todos Santos. Beautiful scenery, and Todos Santos is very interesting.

We also liked sitting at the outdoor bar at the Tropicana in San Jose del Cabo and people watching.

Thanks, sonora for your report. I was debating if we should go to the IC or CP, and had we chosen the CP it would have saved considerable points. Next time we will give it a go :)

As for typhoon's question regarding having a car, we were happy we did, however others have found that the bus and shuttle services are adequate. The IC staff were very happy to see that we could park just steps away from the front entrance. We kind of played the dumb tourist at the airport and wandered by a few of the rental agents to find out what their cheapest economy rental would be. They all kept trying to best each other on the price for us :D and in the end we got about $45 per day from Dollar including full coverage (the insurance was about 2/3rds of this number).

If you drive, I highly recommend heading north from the airport (I know this is counter-intuitive) to catch the toll road which quickly loops back down south to San Jose. It is only 26 pesos, aviods going thru a bunch of traffic lights, yet drops you off at a roundabout which is less than a 1/2 mile from the CP/IC.

I'm planning a long weekend there in a couple of months, one night paid, one free with weekend cert and one on points...

I was going to contact the hotel but there's no emial, any one know the chances of a suite upgrade?
I'm not sure which room to reserve as I can only book a "standard" room for the last night on points?

Any help would be appreciated.


My wife and I were there in Sept. and will return this Spring. Not because it is superior to other Presidente Hotels so much as it closer to Southern CA residents for a quick getaway.

Got in plenty of reading by the pool and on the beach.

The disadvantage of using points these days is that you might not get the key RA benefits, such as room upgrade, free mini-bar, etc. But since this is an all-inclusive resort, what would the benefits be for an RA anyway? I assume there's no Club Intercontinental Lounge, with all of those restaurants. Are the drinks free as well?

I'm just hoping for a suite or at least a nice view of the pool or beach....


The disadvantage of using points these days is that you might not get the key RA benefits, such as room upgrade, free mini-bar, etc. But since this is an all-inclusive resort, what would the benefits be for an RA anyway? I assume there's no Club Intercontinental Lounge, with all of those restaurants. Are the drinks free as well?

I'm just hoping for a suite or at least a nice view of the pool or beach....

I suggest you ask for a ground-level room with hammock ^
Also, aku is correct, no mini bar in the rooms, nor is there a club. Oh, and I forgot to mention before that there is free wi-fi internet service in the lobby. Enjoy your stay!

I would be very skeptical about that hotel opening this year...
They pushed the date a few times, it was finally October 15th, but now
they are saying November 1st... From what I read it was very far
from being done, no windows, no floors etc. just a month ago.
I cancelled my Thanksgiving reservation and booked another place.

I would be very skeptical about that hotel opening this year...
They pushed the date a few times, it was finally October 15th, but now
they are saying November 1st... From what I read it was very far
from being done, no windows, no floors etc. just a month ago.
I cancelled my Thanksgiving reservation and booked another place.


The hotel is closed?

Mea culpa! I'm sorry I was thinking about IC Cozumel....
Please disregard my comment....

We went again to the CP in Cabo this summer, this time with our whole xtended family. Ended up being 22 people, as one dopey bro-in-law chose not to come.

The staff were fabulous, lavishing attention on my parents, sending extra goodies to their room, etc. The UG you want here is an ocean front room, absolutely wonderful view. with a balcony.

The first two days we were there Tropical Storm Emilia paid us a visit, and the outdoor dining areas were closed. The staff did entertainment in the lobby, goofy trivia games and such, that the kids in our group really enjoyed.

When the sun came out it was back to the pools and the beach.

One activity the kids did this time that was neat was horseback riding on the beach. Negotiate directly with the guy on the beach, it will save lots of $$ vs going through the hotel.

We had ten teens and 20-somethings with us, which meant the all inclusive really benefited us. The older kids really made use of the 24 hr room service. Pizzas were being carried down the hall almost constantly.

I hope the various storms that have hit the Cabo area recently did not do much damage, and that you have a great time on your visit.

As for typhoon's question regarding having a car, we were happy we did, however others have found that the bus and shuttle services are adequate.

Does the CP have shuttle services or can I use the IC's ?

How often was the service ? cost ?

--

Does the CP have shuttle services or can I use the IC's ?

How often was the service ? cost ?

--

I've been to the IC 3 tor 4 times with no shuttle service.

Hi Sweet Willie,

The shuttle I referred to above was a commercial service not related to the IC. Again, we rented a car for a very reasonable rate and found it a great way to explore the area.

Hi Sweet Willie,

The shuttle I referred to above was a commercial service not related to the IC. Again, we rented a car for a very reasonable rate and found it a great way to explore the area.
ok thanks,^^

I did receive this from the Crowne Plaza, it is written in broken English so I did correct some things,

"Unfortunately we don't have the shuttle service all days, our service is
one day at week and don't have charges but for the rest of the week it has a
cost of $15.00usd per person (aproximately) but i don't have the itinerary
here in the Hotel in the Guest Service desk you can find it"

I had also asked if there was a car rental desk at the hotel but will take xpacific's advice and haggle at the airport. here was the CP's response to my question on a rental car desk, "Yes we have the car rental service here in the Hotel in the Hospitality
Desk"

Thanks, sonora for your report. I was debating if we should go to the IC or CP, and had we chosen the CP it would have saved considerable points. Next time we will give it a go :)

I made the choice to save points and went with the CP, doubt I'll return as there were just too many things wrong and no attention given to my PC Plat status.

I'm planning a long weekend there in a couple of months, one night paid, one free with weekend cert and one on points...

I was going to contact the hotel but there's no email, any one know the chances of a suite upgrade?

I walked all over the CP resort and took notes of the rooms and their numbers, there are 5 suites at the CP.

The CP is made up of 3 primary buildings, a main building that runs parallel to the ocean, the main building contains the lobby, and all but two of the restaurants. The other two buildings are wings that run perpendicular to the beach, So picture a big U with the top of the U being closest to the ocean/beach and the bottom of the U being farthest away from the ocean/beach.

As mentioned there are 5 suites on the CP property, 3 are in the main building (President's Suite room #1604, and two others rooms 1609 and 1617) and 2 are in the wing to the right as one faces the ocean from the Lobby. These two (#3591 and #3595) are right on the ocean and truly face the ocean, most rooms are at an angle (so all can be considered ocean view:rolleyes:)

The main building has three floors of rooms 1400, 1500, 1600 level with the 1600 being the top floor. The rooms run from XX01 on the far right hand side of the the main building (again when facing the ocean) to XX25 on the far right hand side. XX01, XX02, XX24, & XX25 all have larger than normal balconies, but all XX01, XX02 look directly into the left hand side wing so not great rooms. The XX24 rooms looks directly into the right hand side wing so not so good, the XX25 rooms however while they look into the right hand wing, also have a partial wall to the west that at least allows for the sun and a view of the ocean over the currently undeveloped piece of property to the west of the CP. I could not hear the ocean in the dead of night from the main building so I don't believe I would have enjoyed staying in these rooms, PLUS the lobby bar area is very loud, till very late, so rooms 1401 through 1415 would be right above this very noisy area.

As far as the two wings go, they both have 5 floors of rooms.

The left hand wing is odd-numbered 2X01 through 2X25 down the left hand side of the wing and even-numbered 2X02 through 2X24 down the right hand side of the wing. The higher the last two digits, the closer one is to the beach/ocean. The higher the first two numbers, the higher the floor 21XX being the first floor and 25XX being the top floor. Most of the odd numbered rooms in the left wing are angled and overlook the roofs or look into a resort that is 20' from the CP, NOT a good choice of rooms. The even numbered rooms in the left wing look over the pool areas.

The right hand wing is odd-numbered 3X01 through 3X25 down the right hand side of the wing and even-numbered 3X02 through 3X24 down the left hand side of the wing. The higher the last two digits, the closer one is to the beach/ocean. The higher the first two numbers, the higher the floor 31XX being the first floor and 35XX being the top floor. The even numbered rooms in the right wing look over the pool areas. The odd numbered rooms in the right wing overlook a vacant lot to the west of the CP and if one had to choose a regular room, the odd numbered rooms would be the best IMO.

The Best rooms at the CP are those that are not angled, are on the end of the wings and face directly onto the ocean. These rooms have a different numbering system, there are five floors of these rooms (219X to 259X) in the left wing. 2X95 being the rooms to the very left of the wing to 2X91 being the very right of the wing. There are only three floors of these rooms (339X to 359X) in the right wing. 3X95 being the rooms to the very right of the wing to 3X91 being the very right of the wing. These rooms of this wing are directly above the beachside restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch, FYI.

I'll continue in the next thread.

Now for the actual trip experience.

Arrived into Cabo at 6pm after our flight was delayed. Taxi wanted $55 US to drive to the CP, shuttle was $11 per person and we only had to wait 3 minutes for the van to fill up with enough passengers.

Upon arrival at the CP, we were very pleased with the large open air lobby, there is a slightly chilly breeze blowing through but much better than Chicago (especially in the opinion of Mrs Sweet Willie :))

Check-in was quick but there was no mention of nor perceived action as a result of my Plat status which is usually not a good sign. Asked about an upgrade as was told that that was not possible, again usually not a good sign.

We were put in room 2304 which is on the third floor of the left hand wing. Clearly not a great room as the third floor of each wing are where the walkways from the lobby meets each wing so one gets all the pedestrian noise of people entering the wing, then either walking past to get to their rooms or laughing/talking as they wait for the elevators which are on either end of each wing. I went back to the front desk to inquire about switching my room for another and was told that that was not possible. Oh, well I thought, I'm not here for the room I'm here for the beach and sun. We unpacked and I went onto the balcony, upon resting my forearms on the railing, they were immediately covered with dirt/dust, the railing had not been dusted in quite awhile. So I went to sit down only to see that the seat of one of our chairs was ripped 7/8 of the way so was unusable.

Mrs Sweet Willie was ready to go to dinner as was I, we went to the buffet restaurant as the other two (an Italian and a Mexican cuisine) restaurants require advanced reservations which there were no openings upon our arrival.

I've never been a fan of all-inclusive resorts as the food is not good quality. Fortunately there was a highlight or two with most of our dining experiences at the resort. Seriously, as I walked past food steam tray after steam tray, it all looked and for the most part tasted like cafeteria food. The highlight this evening was the roast pork, as most pork in the US is pumped full of solution to keep the pork moist, this was real pork the unadulterated stuff !!! Excellent^

We then grabbed some beers and went down to the ocean to listen to the waves, we were tired and turned in early as we had just had two days of weddings and the great parties that went along with them.

That night there was some very loud metal banging noises, almost as if some kids were banging on the door then running away, I assumed that is what these noises were. The next morning while waiting for Mrs Sweet Willie I figured out the noises were the AC unit which is mounted in the ceiling just inside the door to our room. I'm not an AC expert but it appeared to me that the unit would make this sound when the room reached the temp we had requested as the metal door would shut cutting off the cool air from continuing to enter the room. I made a note of this and the dirty railing as well as the ripped chair and went to the front desk to ask that these things be repaired/cleaned.

We then headed to the breakfast/lunch beachfront restaurant and had breakfast. Mediocre Mexican pastries, a decent fruit selection, egg station, breakfast meats, and yes do I actually see something true to Mexican culture on the breakfast line, yes I do!!!! it was a tray of Chilaquiles and some AWESOME fresh green salsa and Mexican crema to go with, I had this every morning for breakfast, great stuff, the rest of the breakfast buffet, ehh.

One is given one towel card per person, so only one towel. They are however nice sized and of decent quality. There are two types of chaise lounges, both of the same comfort level and size IMO. There were some crazy early morning people with marking chairs with towels and then not using the chair until after noon, at other resorts we would use the chair in the AM and when confronted simply move to a different chair, but we didn't have to result to that at the CP.

There is a swim up bar in the main pool, the outside in pool stools were very slimly which to me indicated poor pool care.

The bartenders were quite prompt and the waitstaff that circulated the pool area were not always present when we wanted but were frequent enough, some extra tip $$ solved this issue.

There is a food bar open at the bar by the pool, standard mediocre burgers, hotdogs, chicken wings or tenders BUT again as listed above there was usually a saving grace for each food line, this time it was some very good fish ceviche with fresh guacamole.^ Later in the afternoon, we went for lunch at the breakfast/lunch restaurant, and again most of the buffet was crap, except for the fresh mahi mahi fillets that they flat top grilled, one could request some tortillas and then with the fresh pico de gailo make an excellent fish taco.^ As an example no nothing food preparation, take the chicken or beef fajitas, the meat was grilled on a flat top grill (so no charcoal flavor) and without marinade or spice, so essentially it was steamed pieces of meat on a tortilla :td::td::td: this dish and many others could have been so much better with a little extra effort by the kitchen.

At this time of year, the sun goes behind the right wing at about 3:30pm so there is no/very little sun on the main pool at this time.

We had dinner in the historic downtown district of San Jose del Cabo at a place called Don Emiliano. More on that place later.

The next few days consisted sunning/swimming in different areas. The beach as mentioned is rough, although there were a good amount of us who braved the waves.

We did dine at the Mexican "fine" dining restaurant which one has to make a reservation for, the food was quite good, the particular night we went we dined on smoked fish empanadas, cream of poblano pepper soup, fish with cilantro sauce, chiles relleno (one). They did run out of dessert :rolleyes: and while I very much appreciated the extra effort of a waiter to go down to the buffet restaurant and bring up a few selections from there, the "special" restaurant should have had their own desserts like were on the menu, running out of all of them is not excusable. We were really puzzled at the lack of people in the "special" restaurants, they should have been able to handle many more people.

In the evening we went up into the skybar which is a tower that stands above the resort, what could have been a huge WOW factor seeing the lights of the hills and resorts turned into an ehh factor as the outside of the windows were simply filthy with dirt and hadn't been washed in a long time so it appeared to be a haze instead of the clarity there could have been.

We rented a car one day from the budget office across the street from the CP (there is a Thrifty desk at the CP) and then drove to Todos Santos. While an interesting and artistic town, it was not that interesting nor the crafts/art that good to warrant a trip in my opinion. It was excellent to get out and see/walk some of the deserted beaches along the road to/from Todos Santos though^^^^

We spoke with two different concierge, one was young (said she had been there awhile) but was an idiot, didn't know approx cab rates to various destinations, for instance she quoted $50US to the center of San Jose del Cabo (which is exactly two miles away from the CP), the cab ride should be no more than $6US. The other concierge and I wish I could recall her name (Suzanne maybe?) was extremely proficient and good, I tipped her well. We also scheduled massages, the idiot concierge gave us a piece of paper to take to the front desk so that it could get charged to our room, then we were to come back to her with the proof of payment. Seeing as lines move slow as molasses this could have taken quite a bit of time, so I simply waited until later in the day when there were no lines. I shouldn't have had to do this, as soon as I scheduled the massages and asked that they be charged to the room, that should have been the end of it, no playing courier.

The massages were $135US for 70 minutes, not cheap and of good not great quality IMO, Mrs Sweet Willie really enjoyed hers though so YMMV.

We were there for 5 days and never was the AC fixed, railing cleaned, ripped chair replaced.

I did take a drive down to the IC property, while it did appear slightly older, the location is quite nice as there are no buildings to the east of the IC, so there is a huge expanse of open beach.^ The IC is about 1.5 miles from the center of the historic district of San Jose del Cabo.

To conclude, I'm glad I was able to burn some points at the CP as I haven't been all that impressed with the ICH program. The sun is almost always shining in Cabo so Mrs Sweet Willie was very happy which makes me happy. The fact that there was no recognition of my plat status and there were far too many faults and lack of action IMO, we won't go back to the CP

Taxi wanted $55 US to drive to the CP, shuttle was $11 per person and we only had to wait 3 minutes for the van to fill up with enough passengers.

Check-in was quick but there was no mention of nor perceived action as a result of my Plat status which is usually not a good sign. Asked about an upgrade as was told that that was not possible, again usually not a good sign.

The highlight this evening was the roast pork, as most pork in the US is pumped full of solution to keep the pork moist, this was real pork the unadulterated stuff !!! Excellent^

The next morning while waiting for Mrs Sweet Willie I figured out the noises were the AC unit which is mounted in the ceiling just inside the door to our room.

There is a swim up bar in the main pool, the outside in pool stools were very slimly which to me indicated poor pool care.

To conclude, I'm glad I was able to burn some points at the CP as I haven't been all that impressed with the ICH program.

Wow. I've never been asked for more than 30USD for a taxi (been either there or the Presidente 5 or 6 times, which is the subject of the thread, BTW). Like you, though, we never bit. Plat has not been of any use there (but yes for the IC) which I find disappointing. I think I emailed IHG about that.

The cooked to order t-bones are amazing. I wished I could eat them every day but I only do so much red meat.

I can't remember being at a Mexico resort without A/C problems, and this one's was noise.

I never got into the pools--but like you, braved the waves.

Is there a shuttle to the hotel from the airport? What is the cheapest way to get here from SJD? Are all rates all-inclusive or just certain rates?

How far is it from the Westin?

Hello Flyertalkers!

Thinking about heading to this property. Question for you...how rough is rough? Is the beach rocky or is it the waves and currents that make it rough? I love laying on the beach but I do like to get in for at least a few mins each day. Is it just not possible. Do they have signs posted saying don't swim?

I guess with all these rapid fire questions I am really trying to understand....Does anybody swim on this beach or is there a beach nearby?

Thanks for any insights...K7

What upgrades do they give at the IC for Plat Amb?

Does anyone know if all rooms are consdiered AI? I have a sweet dilemma night I want to book and it doesnt state all incluslve....thanks

i have booked 4 nights here starting Friday. I emailed the hotel to see what RA upgrade is and got this response.

As a Royal Ambassador member you get the best room available at your check in it soes not matter what cathegory you reserve, if I have a suite available, you will get it.

Im hoping the best room available includes the presidential suite :-) Ill report back on the stay once completed. Would note my upgrade may be affected by me doing the price match getting 30 USd a night off the advance purchase rate.