THE MEXICO HOT LIST
ME Cabo, a luxury all-inclusive hotel with a beach club, bar, and international restaurant, is just over a mile from downtown Cabo
No.1
The luxurious beachside resorts of Los Cabos
You know a place has shifted away from its humble beginnings as a bohemian stop on the North American hippie trail when there are $25,000 tacos on the menu. The biggest of big spenders can find the delicacy—a corn tortilla filled with Kobe beef, shrimp, beluga caviar, and black-truffle Brie, topped with salsa shot through with Morita chiles and kopi luwak coffee made from partially digested coffee berries that have been excreted by civet cats, and sprinkled with 24-karat gold flakes—at the Grand Velas Los Cabos resort. “People are excited and a little surprised about how you can eat a taco for $25,000 when you can find one on the street for 10 pesos,” chef Juan Licerio Alcala told Agence France-Presse. “Then I explain the delicacy, the technique, and the harmony that they will lift from the plate, and that it’s worth it.”
Welcome to Cabo in 2017. On the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula, you’ll find paradise—no matter what your definition of that admittedly loose term is. To the west is the party paradise Cabo San Lucas, and to the east is the heavy-walleted beach bum paradise San José del Cabo. In between are 20 miles of bars, world-class restaurants, and breathtaking desert landscapes. (Not to mention beaches.) The region has recovered nicely since 2014’s Hurricane Odile, with a new international airport terminal and new luxury beachfront properties, which, combined with its proximity to California, have made Cabo one of the continent’s most attractive holiday destinations.
It’s also a golfer’s paradise: Golf Advisor lists 15 courses in the area, with One&Only Palmilla’s Jack Nicklaus– designed course earning the ravest reviews. Tiger Woods is working on his second course in the region, and two new courses have opened at Rancho San Lucas and Chileno Bay. Nobu, Four Seasons, and Ritz-Carlton are all working on high-end hotel and residential projects.
For those looking for a more laid-back upmarket experience, stay at Pueblo Bonito Pacifica and Quivira Golf Club, an adults-only all-inclusive. For an even lowerkey vibe, check out the Casa Natalia hotel, which features a tranquil pool surrounded by palms. You’ll quickly get used to the pool butlers and other sophisticated touches at Las Ventanas al Paraiso, A Rosewood Resort, one of the most lauded vacation spots in all of Mexico.
San José del Cabo features a colonial cathedral, cobblestone streets, and a town square. It’s also home to an art
