PHL INTL TERMINAL

Had a somewhat enjoyable stay at the Westin Cabo a couple of weeks ago. Here goes:

Two rooms on points for the Royal Beach Club. Free breakfast - which was very nice b/c it had hot food. Happy 2 hour from 5-7 with free booze and good appitizers. Rooms were nice and had a great view. Hotel overall was very nice and had lots of pools which were very nice too. Very few children (probably due to the fact that school just started for most kids). Pools were hot due to heat and sun. While the pools were hot, they had one pool in the shade which stayed cool in case you want a cold pool to get out of the heat.

Offered vacation ownership presentation, which gave us 100 USD off of food/beverage and 1/2 off shuttle and 1/2 off most activities. Sat through the presentation and the guy we had gave a very hard and annoying sell for 2 hours despite telling him there was zero chance of us buying a vacation ownership. The time share places were very nice, but still not interested. Was quite a pain but worth the savings on our vacation.

Staff was very nice and was responsive.

Was annoying that there was a conference there that had a beach party with activities until 1am one night and was extremely loud. Next night the conference had a fireworks show which we enjoyed so I was no longer angry at the prior night.

Hotel is not close to anything, but we liked that.

Beach was unswimmable, unless you really want to give it a try, which a couple people did while we were there. One guy seemed like he was about to drown. Big waves crash right on the beach. If you like surfing, the Cabo Surf Hotel is very close and has a nice reef break with nice longboard waves. You can rent a board for a reasonable price.

Hotel restaurants were nice.

Overall a good trip with a good hotel. Glad I picked it and would go there again. With the presentation and the free stuff at the club, we were able to have a great vacation for a very reasonable price.

On the way home, I ate at the Subway in the airport and by the time our flight got into San Diego, I had a mad case of Montezuma's revenge. I barfed in the customs bathroom. My wife got insanely sick the next night and had to go to the hospital when we got home b/c she couldn't stop barfing. Don't recommend eating the chicken sandwich at that Subway.

sbtinme

Thanks for the review. FWIW, I don't recommend getting anything to eat in airports in Mexico, period, unless it's factory sealed and looks edible. I have a very strong stomach and can do most anything, but the last few times I've eaten in a rush in Mexican airports (from reputable looking establishments, mind you), I have really REALLY regretted it within 90 minutes. Heed the warning and eat at your hotel or anyplace before you get to the captive market that is the airport.

Back to the review ... glad to know that the RBC is still doing a good job!

DJMeatBall

I'm there right now (and awake at 2:30 a.m. 'cause I slept half the afternoon away after arriving the day after a long, super tough day at work). It's wild to be able to do FlyerTalk while sitting on the balcony looking at the crashing waves on the beach and lightening of distant storms.

The only comment I want to make at this point is that I can't figure out why there are absolutely no prices on the Room Service menu at all. It seems kinda lame for guests to have to ask the attendant "how much for this, or that?".

I might post a bigger review later on, if anyone is interested. And yes, I will put the computer down pretty soon. A 15" Powerbook fits into the inroom safe.

BradC

We were there just a few weeks ago, and we found a price list on a separate page tucked in the back of the room service menu.

It's kind-of a hassle, but I'm guessing that's so they can change the prices without re-printing the entire menu.

DJMeatBall

Yep they charge. 231 pesos per day is what the browser screen said when I agreed to the charge, but the rate card says "$20 USD per day". I'm interested in seeing how they translate pesos to dollars on the final bill in the end. For the room rate I was quoted in U.S. dollars, but the automated bill that I can bring up on the TV is all pesos.

They have WiFi in the common areas (there are signs posted in various places saying "WiFi zone") and in the rooms I am using an Ethernet cable that comes out from the wall (long enough to make it to the balcony for me to sit in the chair and listen to the ocean waves).. all of the rooms are wired, according to the hotel's website.

DJMeatBall

Before I forget, I should probably type in my impressions of the Westin Cabo (also known as Westin Regina). Or does this belong more appropriately in the trip report section?

I flew in to join Mrs. Meatball who was already in Cabo for a business retreat (her company pretty much took over the Crowne Plaza Los Cabo (in San Jose Del Cablo). She was happy to get away from the Crowne Plaza, with their anemic conference buffet spreads (no variations in anything offered at lunch any of the days they were there) and their thin mattress on a concrete slab (for real!).... but she was thrilled to see how nice this Westin was.

The architecture & layout is really striking (one lady in the Northwest WorldClub called it "harsh", but I thought the building fit in really nice with the surroundings of desert hills). They are doing a lot of construction along the driveway leading into this Westin. It could be for more golf courses, but with the "model home!" sign in front of an empty lot (and a construction trailer that certainly wasn't the model home they had in mind), I'm thinking they are preparing to build more timeshare / vacation ownership properties. The lots they seem to be building on will be visible from the road, so the hotel property won't be nearly as subtle as it was before.

I had already reserved a room with my plain SPG card on the SPG floor, but when I showed up I had a SPG Gold card... I don't think this translated to any upgrades or extra amenities. The "morning newspaper" is a faxed copy of New York Times stories slipped under the door 'round 3 a.m. (s'all right with me... I didn't need to keep too in touch with business). The breakfast in the Royal Beach Club lounge didn't change the different days I was there (but I didn't go every day, so it may change... I dunno). There were mimosas, sliced fruit, cold cuts, hot things (eggs, bacon/sausage, potatoes, tortilla). I didn't get to go to the Happy Hour that they had each night.

The wife reallly loved the Heavenly Bed, and the balcony over the ocean. I probably could've thrown a stone from the balcony into the ocean (it seems really close to the huge waves crashing... I have to imagine the hotel needs to dredge sand in at least once a year...). The air conditioning was really nice on the ridiculously hot day we showed up, but the next day Hurricane Otis blew thru the area.

I don't think the desert area gets all that much rain, but the hotel put out towels to stop the (intense) rain from getting into the elevators or into the common areas through the doors facing the rain. There were leaking roofs in the bar and in the spa (buckets on the floor couldn't catch all the water dripping through the ceilings). Speaking of the spa, the hotel was offering guests 20% off spa services while the weather was bad.

We liked all the meals we had at the restaurants we tried, except one particular dish (called Lemongrass Chicken, which had two larger pieces of "chicken" which looked more like it was encased in sausage skin and loaded with mystery meats). The staff were all really friendly and recognized us again subsequent days we visited. The prices for the meals were reasonable for a resort hotel (between $10 - $20 per entree) but the some of the beverages were a big ol 'rip. A can of diet Coke was 47 pesos (approx $4.50), margaritas glass was 93 pesos ($9). For comparison, single cans of diet Coke at Mega (the local WalMart knock off) down the highway were 5 pesos each (about 50 cents).

Apparently it is safe to wade in the ocean. They put flags in the beach to signify whether it's safe or not (yellow for "safe, but be cautious", red for "dangerous" or black for "forget about it!"). I watched one guy standing on the beach get repeatedly knocked over by the waves crashing onshore.

What else should I say? We thought it was a great place overall and hope to come back again.

stephem

I am looking to book a room at the Westin Cabo and have some questions about the various rooms (Sheraton is booked, usually we stay there and I have a better sense of what to book).

I am a Plat and by the sounds of it that would get me access to the Club lounge for breakfast and drinks if I just book a deluxe room. I'd be content with that unless I heard that the Royal Beach Club rooms are themselves much nicer than the deluxe rooms. I'm not going to hold my breath on an upgrade from a Deluxe to RBC room, that is usually very tough with a 7 night stay.

We'll be there a week, the SPG50 rate for the Deluxe is $170 and for the RBC it's $215. That's over $300 extra for the week and I'd rather not pay that if the gist of the difference is Club acess (which I should get as a Plat).

Bottom line, is there anything about RBC rooms (aside from lounge access) that is worth $45 per night?

Ken in Phx

I would book the cheapest room and upgrade w/ Starpoints to the RBC.

We ate the appetizers and drink the 1st night. Buffet was awesome.

Ken in Phx

Orange44

RBC rooms get access to the lounge, which as a Platinum you should get too...and they may have a slightly better view

I was just there in Oct. Great property. Splurge for the sea-side massge, it is well worth it.

SFOAmdam

Got a slight upgrade (was told). Very nice room. Could access the lounge for cocktail hour and was given free buffet breakfast for being platinum. Nice perk

Raincheck10

First, I want to thank all past posters on this web site. Your information proved very valuable. Now on to the good stuff.

We arrived from NY after a long but easy trip at the Cabo Airport. I had pre-arranged hotel transport one way on a Transcabo SUV to the hotel for about $52. When getting your luggage grab a skycap and he will expidite you thru Customs, past the timeshare sharks and straight to your transportation.

When we arrived at the hotel, we got the usual lemonade or Margaritas while we checked in but to my very happy surprise the front desk clerk told me I was upgraded from a Royal Beach Club room to a Baja Suite which includes a bed and hot tub on the terrace. My kids were in shock when they saw this room. Mind you, I was using Starwood points to pay for the room and booked over 9 months in advance. Don't know why I was upgraded other than I am a Starwood member and booked very early.

Rooms: No matter what, book a Royal Beach Club room. It includes a very filling and decent breakfast and cocktails and excellent snacks from 5-7pm. Our Baja Suite was very big and was one of the nicest rooms we have ever stayed in. They call it a suite but in reality it is just a very large room with a stone waist high partition in the middle which the TV sits on. The nice thing was, that the kids were able to go to sleep while I had the TV turned the opposite way towards the main bed. The view from the room was killer, but I dont think there really is a bad view in the whole hotel.

Food: Ate at all the restaurants with the exception of the fancy one. Coming from NY the food is expensive but in line with other nice resorts. Childrens menus are offered and hamburgers or chicken run about $5 (a bargain). All in all the food was of good quality and the settings and service were excellent.

Activities: Pools were beautiful and the kids really enjoyed. It would have been nicer if the pools were filled past the infinity edge and maybe a slide were added. Chairs directly next to the pool were hard to come by past 10am but plenty were available a few steps further away. One thing that did surprise me was that the towel people really had no interest in setting you up, they just handed you as many towels as you wanted and you were on your way, no hustling for tips. Tennis courts were at no cost to use, but make sure to reserve the day before to get good times. I was a little disappointed in that there were no scheduled activities. I'm not looking for cruise ship type stuff, but maybe something to divide up a day at the pool or beach. One thing that bothered me was that they charged for mini golf without telling us till we were done ($5 per person). This activity should be free for hotel guests, it takes about 10 minutes to play when no one is around. Saw people swiming in the ocean at certain times even though the black flag was up and much to my surprise, I saw a whale from my balcony.

Staff: Everyone was helpful and courtieous but not overbearing.

Other: We booked 3 outside activities thur the hotel. All were excellent. Beach ATV's($80 per atv), Waverunners at the Hilton ($90 per hour) and the Laprincessa Snorkel trip ($45).

Summary: All in all this a great hotel. I think some of my negative comments have to do with Cabo being a more adult place than family place. The Westin is awesome for adults and very good for children. By the way, the Taxi from the hotel back to the airport was only $26 (some type of taxi scam that goes on in Cabo)

Raincheck10

The snorkeling trip was fun but underwhelming as compared to the Carribean. Our boat took us to Santa Maria Bay and the water was somewhat cloudy and not to many fish. I would just take the boat trip next time and save the snorkling for the Carribean.

Cabo was a lot of fun for the kids due to the ATV trip. It was about 3 hours and a lot of driving on desert roads and beach dunes. It was a great experience to do at least once and Cabo is about the only place on a vacation to do it.

Another tip is to have ice creame at Senor Sweets at the Marina. The kids thought it was the best ice creame they ever had.

ajthegreat

i too was there from the 10-14. My only major gripe was I wish that they would clean the pool...it was pretty dirty. I liked the snack shop they had near the villas. It had cereal, fruit, etc, a little convenience store.
In general cabo is a good place except their cab fares are highway robbery!!

Raincheck10

I thought the pools were pretty clean with the exception of beach sand which did not bother me.

You are right, the grocery store up the hill was pretty well stocked and I thought the prices were decent. I paid more for bottled water at the gas station on the main road than at the hotel.

Taxis are a total ripoff. It was a $10 trip to go to the Hilton next door (about a 3 minute ride). I still dont understand why it costs $52 from the airprot to the hotel and $26 on the way back. Also, I found none of the drivers friendly, just doing their job was the attitude.

heathriel

I've stayed there twice, actually, both times in Club Rooms. I second the vote for that (I have a review on IgoUgo saying the same thing, actually.) The resort is halfway between Cabo and San Jose, so you don't have much choice exept for a Pemex with a Subway/Dunkin Donuts across the highway for cheap food in the area, and cab fare is expensive (go on their timeshare presentation if you can talk them into giving you the free shuttle passes - saves you $11/rt each time).

If you're looking for activities, you might want to sneak over to the Club Regina side. The adult pool there has daily things such as Lotteria, Spanish Lessons, etc, where you can win blankets and bottles of tequila. I don't think there is actually a requirement that you be a guest of Club Regina to participate, but hey, I don't know. My family are members, but we stay in the Westin. They never once have asked us for proof of Club Regina at the pool. There's also a deli on the Club Regina side with sundries and chips and stuff, cheaper than on the Westin side.

I've eaten in all the restaurants there, and Arrecifes is nice, but the Seafood Buffet at La Cascada is much, much better. I mean, if you're gonna spend the money anyway, might as well make it all you can eat lobster.

Best thing by far, food wise, at the Westin, is the tortilla soup. I never leave Cabo without it. It's divine. Don't order it as an appetizer though. Order it alone, and then if you're still hungry after, order something more. Trust me.

The only thing i have to say that's negative about the Westin is that the sheets are really, really scratchy.