TORONTO to CABO SAN LUCAS! ♥
Honestly, Cabo was probably one of the funnest trip I've had ever! I think it also had to do it me celebrating my birthday there! This place was beyond BEAUTIFUL! I don't know what it is about this place but I honestly LOVE IT!!!!!
Arrival/ Check in:
Me and my boyfriend Matt stayed at the Riu Palace around the end of 2014 just after the hurricane hit the area. We were concerned for the shape of the area as many were not visiting for this reason. You wouldn't even think the area went through such devastation unless you looked at every little thing. It took us around 35 mins to get to the hotel from the airport and check in was simple and easy. The grounds were kept so clean and nice, it was honestly such a beautiful resort.
Hotel/ Rooms/ Staff:
We got a Oceanview junior suite. Well worth it, loved the view from our room. It was on the first floor, literally the middle room looking out past the pool to the ocean. As for the Riu Palace, absolutely love the PALACES!! The Riu's are our go to resort for anywhere. The resort itself is stunning with a ton to do and explore. Bigger than most hotels so you should take that into consideration but for how big it is, so easy to get around to everything quickly. Literally all the rooms are on two opposite ends and the hub is central for everything!
The view of the rocks and the famous arch from the hotel is amazing! You feel like you're in a dream when walking around or enjoying yourself here, it looks unreal!
The service is top-notch. I always talk about how the Palaces are not like a regular all-inclusive resort. All the staff are smiling, looking professional, and willing to assist you before you even ask. No matter where you go on the resort even the beach, there is a server there asking you for your drink and bringing it to you quick. That is not the norm at most resorts and it's great.
The palace is definitely more upgraded and just has a classier vibe than its sister resort, Riu Santa Fe. If you stay at the palace you have access to both resorts. The Santa Fe is more of a party resort and we enjoyed having best of both worlds!!
The pools were really nice! Both resorts PALACE and SANTA FE had infinity pools. They had swim up bars and as usuall one pool was more quiter than the other. The suites (left side) had the quiter pool and the other rooms (right side) had the more of a party pool vibe.
Food:
The food here was amazing!! I swear we were fine dining the whole 7 days we were there all day! The options are endless, from 2 buffets to like 5 A la carts, 24/7 room service with some really great choices of food. We ordered almost every night it was so good and helpful after we went out for the evening in town. We also ate authentic Mexican food when we went out to town. It was actually really relish! Pictures are below. My favourite would be the lamb chops, OMG they were SUPER good, I had them almost everyday! The food at this resort just seemed higher quality compared to Santa Fe.
Premium liquors for drinks, everything is a bit of an upgrade compare to almost all-inclusive. If you haven't been to a palace then this is definitely something to try!
Entertainment:
Every night they had entertainment, I think we only saw a couple because the bars were the spots to be. The atmosphere has had a fun party vibe which made it easy to mingle with people. Just like every other Riu, the shows always had a theme and it was actually pretty but similar to what we have experienced before. For entertainment we essentially just went out and hit the town.
The hotels also had volleyball and other pool games out which was very entertaining. Me and Matt both played volleyball and made a few friends from it.
Nightlife:
The only downfall was that some bars/clubs were closed because it was too quite and needed some renovations. Despite that hiccup, majority of the bars and clubs were still open.
CABO is definitely a PARTY CITY! Honestly I suggest everyone to visit this place at least once in their lifetime. I just fell in love with the vibe of this place and the views are literally picture perfect. The city was great, so much to do in Los Cabos, so much fun, lots of nightlife compared to some Caribbean spots we've been to.
We probably went clubbing like 3-4 times while we were there. The city at night definitely gets you to turn up! I forgot the same of the club but this club was super fun! it had a fake cow swinging above the dance floor and it also had a mattress you have to climb up to get to. The music was really good. We also went to a another bar where we grabbed shots that were lit on fire (not Sambuca) and it tasted AMAZING! There was also another club that played hip hop all night long. There definitely was a variety of club choices to choose from, from bars to even strip clubs. You can't get bored when you hit the town! Me and Matt met a couple there and we ended up chatting with them for so long that we thought the clubs were going to close, we went there around 2:45-3am and the clubs were still popping!
Beach/ Ocean:
Beach is a little tough on the feet but it's breathtaking out there. The sand actually hurt my feet to be honest and sometimes the sand was super hot, just brace yourself if you walk down to the beach towards the Arch. The ocean water is great to swim in just need to be careful. My boyfriend is a great swimmer so he was all over the ocean but as for me I'm not that strong of a swimmer but I did enjoy that salt water ocean! As for the under tide, it is strong SO, if you can't swim please do NOT go in the ocean. I swear it looks like the ocean is higher up and the tide can pull you in. Just be careful. I've seen kids that were running and jumping in, just know yourself and know if you can swim.
Excursions:
Probably one of the most memorable excursions I've ever done, same probably goes for Matt. We really enjoyed all of our excursions. We did ATVing and OMG it was the most amazing thing EVER!! I highly recommend everyone to do this while you travel to CABO! The views are SPECTACULAR! and the course is insane, It was truly dreamy. The path is so wicked, you go through the desert mountains and around the ocean and you truly see the beauty of the BAJA CALIFORNIA!
Also at the ATVing place, there was a zoo which was for free so you could walk around and see all types of animals, species and reptiles. It was actually pretty neat. There is also a restaurant there where we ate, the food was good. Just be sure to take extra cash and we were not told this when we signed up and thankfully Matt bought some $ with him. By far though, this was definitely one of the best excursions I've ever did in my life, HANDS DOWN!
We also did some jet skiing, and can I just say, the WAVES are INSANE! I was actually really scared. They were super hide waves but it was still amazing because we saw sea otters just swimming around us. BUT thank god no one fell because that water just looked deadly. It was a really cool experience compared to the other destinations where we have jet skied before.
We also took a glass water taxi boat to the Arch and spent a few hours there visiting the mini beaches (LOVERS AND DIVORCE BEACH). The taxi guy was very informative about the Arch and just seemed really down to earth. He took us around the Arch and the sea otters then dropped us off to lovers beach. The two mini beaches were actually really beautiful and the rock formations was amazing. The rocks were so HUGE and the sand was super soft compared to the sand back by our resort.
We also walked all the way down towards the Arch to beach I forgot the name, but its a party beach just by the Arch where you have bars and food and shows. Loud music everywhere, bikini contests and all that fun stuff. You can rent one of the loungers for the day and there are also vendors there with jewelry and other stores just on the beach. It's proably a 15-20 min walk, well it seemed that long so i'm just guessing here.
Check out:
Check out is always easy! But honestly leaving here was really sad because I enjoyed it so much! I had so much fun, met so many new people and just had a blast.
Overall:
I would rate this place 10/10 and definitely recommend anyone to got there. I know the downfall of the beach but it is so much fun overall that I would go back in a heartbeat! The sunset was beautiful every single night and it was literally different every single time.
Tip: Also, usually for all the places I have travelled to, because I live in Toronto, Canada. I usually convert my money into USD, because lets face its a universal currency so everywhere will take it.
Hope you all enjoyed reading this post as much as i loved living it!
Please leave any comments and questions below!
HOTEL: 5/5
FOOD: 5/5
SERVICE: 5/5
VIBE: 10/10