LRobs

Currently staying here. I was expecting it to seem bad compared to the Waldorf Astoria we just came from but woof. The wifi was out completely starting about 10 minutes after we checked in so all the bars and restaurants were just writing down tabs for people. Can't wait to see what shows up on my bill at check out! This has been especially awful because we're working remotely this week. The power has also gone out several times. This is mostly covered by back-up generators after a quick flicker but the flicker wipes out wifi + cell services for a few minutes. This happened to my wife on an important zoom call, of course. The generators also seem to not power the pool pumps and most elevators, or perhaps those are maintenance problems. We've had to buy international data from a couple different carriers and tether to whichever cell phone is getting ok reception at the time but, as stated, when the power goes out both of our cellular providers drop out completely. When the property wifi is down of course all the guests switch to cellular data and the network struggles to keep up. We're staying as part of a timeshare presentation offer where we paid something like $800ish to stay 4 nights and we get 100k bonvoy points but we have to go to a timeshare pitch. I feel bad for the salesman when he asks "how are you enjoying your stay."

The architecture here is quite beautiful especially the pools and the reservation-only restaurant El Ciruelo. Everything is red and curved and looks very natural in the cabo landscape. There is a small beach and you can technically go in the water sometimes but of the 5 people I saw go in yesterday, the lifeguard plucked two of them out. Better to watch the waves crash from the pool. Speaking of which, the swim-up bar has 2-for-1 drinks 3-4pm. 80 pesos (< $4 USD) for 2x 12oz negro modelos is pretty nice. OTOH the normal drink price of around $12 USD for a shot of well tequila is absolutely insane. Stick to beer, ideally during happy hour.

We're in a two bedroom 'ocean view' suite. You can see a small window of blue off in the distance but you mostly see a green lawn and other buildings. The suite itself is fairly nice and looks like corporate housing from the late 00's, as most timeshare properties do. It is spacious and clean although they seem to not do housekeeping here. The in-unit washer and dryer were nice since we're staying here in the middle of a two week trip to cabo and actually had clothes to wash. The in-room coffee is god awful but you could bring your own grounds and filters from home and use the drip machine. The hotel is not close to anything else, unlike its sister location in Cancun, so you're fairly captive. The sports bar, for example, was about $14 USD++ for 5 small buffalo wings and french fries or for a burger and fries. We opted for this instead of the $40++ USD Mexican buffet. There is a convenience store on-site where you can buy a Kinder Surprise egg for 2.50 USD or a personal size pack of peanut M&Ms for 5.50 USD. You can uber to other places from here but you have to hike up to the guard shack to get your ride which is quite a walk from most rooms as the resort is massive.

Overall I would never return here, in fact we would have left here last night but we invited a friend to stay in our 2nd bedroom so switching at this point could get pricey. Wifi is mission critical for us in Mexico as we're typically working remotely here so having no stable internet for two days is unacceptable for us.

mullisingfb

for Wifi, am thinking of picking up a prepaid sim card at the SJD airport Oxxo, any experience with that? Also, what is the scene for rental car / uber? I heard or read that we can get uber at the main high way but have to take a golf cart from the lobby since it is a bit of a hike.

thanks

LRobs

I bought an esim from truphone. If your phone takes esims I would recommend doing that, or whomever has the cheapest plan for your needs.

I used Uber to get back to the airport but it was really difficult. Most drivers texted me after accepting and said they would only pick me up if I paid them in cash instead of through Uber. It took about 20 minutes of cancelling to find a driver who didn't do this.

To get to the hotel we used Canada transfers. It costs more than Uber but we had a nice new SUV with a/c and cold water and beer waiting for us in the car. We were going all the way to the Waldorf which is much farther than the Westin so the comfort was appreciated. I have seen people discuss getting an Uber from the oxxo but personally I think private transport is worth it if you can afford it. I am not sure if drivers are so hard to get leaving the airport but I would hate to sitting outside the oxxo for twenty minutes waiting for one. We used Uber to get dinner and do tours and such so didn't rent a car. Uber is pretty inexpensive and I love a margarita so pretty easy decision for us not to rent.

mullisingfb

Thanks LRobs. I am considering private transport to and fro from the airport and Uber / Rental depending on the need. I might still buy the sim card from Airport Oxxo. I have an older phone so eSim is not an option.

Serious Fraud Office

I have 3 award nights queued for later in January 2023, a few weeks from now (booked before the points devaluation last summer, wanted to maximize the 50k/night certs I had from my Chase Bonvoy card sign-on bonus).

• Sounds like I should get a rental car
• Any word on the Plat Breakfast?
• Seriously concerned about the wifi situation that LRobs described from September. Getting a bit worried, as I am planning some remote work, too.

Anybody watching this thread with advice? I may scrub the whole trip, since I can get a refund on stuff, and a solo travel weekend in Cabo is kinda meh right now.

JR303

Hi all, my family and I just finished 7 nights at the Westin Los Cabos so I can address the questions. You can rent a car but transfers and Uber worked great for us. We used Cabo Lindo Transport for our transfers to/from the airport and they were great: on-time, nice SUVs, and friendly drivers that spoke English. The round trip cost $130 for four people with a $25 up-charge for a stop at the Fresko super market on the way in. I recommend stopping for food if you're interested in saving some money. The resort is pretty isolated so if you want to spend all of your time at the resort, you won't need a rental. We took numerous day-trips into San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas and used Uber. The Uber fares were very reasonable at about $9US to San Jose and $20ish to San Lucas. We got the expected surge pricing when we wanted to come home after the Thursday night Art Walk in San Jose. All in, we spent about $110 on Uber, which was much less than a rental. I was nervous from prior reports of Uber drivers contacting you outside of the app and offering to drive you for cash, but that only happened once. I reported it to Uber and they waived my cancellation fee (the Uber driver refused to cancel because then HE would get charged). Uber would be my recommendation over a rental car. But, if you want to rent a car, there is a parking garage on property.

I am a Titanium Member and they didn't give me any free breakfasts. However, I wouldn't expect them to because this is part of Marriott/Westin Vacation Club/Aventuras but I may be mistaken.

The Wi-Fi was excellent. My Ookla speedtests consistently hit 100mbps up and down so my family had no problems streaming and doing work. We have Tmobile and the cellular coverage there was great even at LTE speeds. However, there were a few US-based websites that gave us problems like my bank and my daughter's employer's timesheet system. I suspect this was because we were hitting them from outside of the US. You may have better luck with a work VPN.

Serious Fraud Office

JR303 thanks a ton for the advice! Really glad to hear the interwebz were fine for you. I think I'll keep the trip. I had been considering going to the store to buy food, so I'm glad that's the move.

I see a Costco and Walmart, so I'll probably do that. I'm leaning towards a car because I have good corporate rates, but I'll look into the airport transfer company you used.

Thanks again!

DELee

JR303 : Great and informative first post!

David