Los Cabos From Hilton to El Ganzo

I was up early and walked along the beach in behind of the Hilton Los Cabos while the sun came up over another beautiful day in Los Cabos.

My friend Lynn soon joined me at El Mason restaurant, where they have one of the best breakfast buffets I’ve seen at a resort. I ordered an omelet and filled my plate with fruit and chiquillas, a Mexican favorite of mine that’s basically a breakfast casserole of softened tortilla chips with eggs and salsa and cheese.

I finished up with some coffee and a cheese and almond filled pastry before we headed down to our last time at the Hilton’s massive infinity pool. 

The water was surprisingly cold, but I couldn’t resist taking a little dip while Lynn stuck with the whirlpool. I do have to admit that one of my laps was to the swim-up bar to “warm up” with a mango daiquiri.

Rossy Rossier, the Marketing Manager at the Hilton Los Cabos, then met me for a tour of the resort. I was surprised that there was so much more (including another pool, a deli and a kids’ club) I hadn’t seen.

The main object of the tour, though, was to check out the spa. It is quite big and had lots of treatment rooms, a Jacuzzi, sauna and steam room. Spa Oasis at the Hilton is also the only place on the island that has a Nausicaa machine.

Rossy explained to me how this machine uses water to produce steam, mist, chromatherapy, polishing showers, warm air and rhythmical massage. It sounds heavenly and I hope I get to try one someday soon.

We headed up to the scenic rooftop of the spa, where they were setting up for a wedding party of 16. The hotel was hosting 250 the next day and the bride, bridesmaids and her family were all sitting back in the warm air enjoying pedicures, manicures and facials.

I went back to the room to pack up and Lynn and I bid Rossy and the Hilton Los Cabos farewell and took a cab to Hotel El Ganzo.

Hotel El Ganzo was an entirely different experience. It is located in a new area, Puerto Los Cabos, which will soon also have another Secrets Hotel, as well as a JW Marriott.  It was a little difficult to imagine as the area looks pretty deserted, but El Ganzo certainly doesn’t.

This hotel is built around the arts, with modern touches that radiate music, paintings and a laid back atmosphere. The marina is man-made and there are only 72 guest rooms. The fitness center and spa were just opened when we arrived. 

Our room was rather small, but well-equipped with a Jacuzzi on the balcony facing the marina and unique touches such as free Wi-Fi, coronas, water and soda in the rooms, as well as use of an IPad which comes packed with the room service menu and hotel details.

We had lunch at the hotel’s only restaurant, Downstairs at El Ganzo. It was a perfect day to sit on the patio and we both loved the Veggie Sandwich, made with pumpkin, asparagus, onion, pepper and cheese.  A glass of Waterford Columbia Valley Pinot Gris brought us into the relaxing atmosphere a we talked to other guests and waited for our tour guide.

Mark Rudin, the El Ganzo music director, told us about owner Pablo Sanchez Navarro, who had come up with the concept of a hotel in this area for “music in residence.” Mark came to build the recording studio and worked his way up to management.

We walked throughout the hotel, looking at the artwork and some of the suites. When we finally made it up to the rooftop, I could certainly see how this was Charlie Sheen’s favorite place in Los Cabos.

The views were incredible from this height and angle and the rooftop included a bar, infinity pool, lounging beds, a Jacuzzi in clear glass and a sushi bar.

The next stop is one I wished I had skipped as a microphone fell on my foot while I was enjoying the Mark’s piano playing in the recording studio. I will skip the details, but suffice it to say, the rest of my Mexican adventure was spent out of the water with my final diagnosis of a sliced and dislocated toe and torn ligament in my ankle.

Our dinner at Flora Farm had to be cancelled. We did make it back from the hospital in time to catch one of the musical performances that Hotel El Ganzo is famous for while having dinner (and some churros for dessert) at Downstairs at El Ganzo. 

The sounds of Chaplin were still in my ear as I drifted off to sleep thinking of an alternate plan to the dolphin swim I was looking forward to in Los Cabos.