Where to Stay

Best All-Inclusive Resorts in Cabo: The Ones I'd Book

By Cabo Wander

When a friend asks me for the best all-inclusive resort in Cabo, I ask one thing back before I name a hotel. Do you want to swim in the ocean?

That question splits the whole list. If a pool is all the water you need, Grand Velas is the best all-inclusive in Los Cabos, and Le Blanc and Marquis are the best for couples. If you want to walk off the sand and into the water, your real choices shrink to Paradisus on the Corridor or a hotel on Médano Beach, where the food is weaker and the town is right outside the door. No single hotel wins both ways, so I've ranked these by who each one suits.

I went through 30 hotels for this post. Only seven of them have a beach out front that I'd call swimmable. About a third of the names on the usual "best all-inclusive" lists turn out to be room-only resorts that sell a meal plan on top. And two of the most searched ones don't sell all-inclusive at all.

This post is about which one to book. Whether you should go all-inclusive in the first place is a different question, and the short answer is that it pays off at a hotel that's hard to leave, on a week when you'll eat nearly every dinner there. I do that math in whether a Cabo all-inclusive is worth it. And if you haven't picked an area yet, where to stay in Cabo comes first. If you're not set on all-inclusive at all, the best resorts in Cabo ranks these next to the room-only hotels.

Every price here is a rough range for two people per night with everything in, including the 16% tax and 4% lodging tax. They're planning numbers. Winter runs about one and a half to two times the late summer price, and Christmas week goes higher still. I break down the months in the best time to visit Cabo.

The Quick Version

• Couples: Marquis. Le Blanc if the budget is bigger.
• Honeymooners: Le Blanc, or Grand Velas Boutique if you want somewhere small.
• Families with small kids: Hyatt Ziva.
• Families with teenagers: Hard Rock.
• Groups and bachelorettes: Breathless.
• You want to swim in the ocean: Paradisus. On Médano, Villa del Arco for families and Breathless for adults.
• Food first, and you never want to see a check: Grand Velas.
• Tightest budget: Riu Santa Fe if you want a party, Royal Solaris if you have kids.
• You hate being sold to: Marquis.

The Three Things That Sort These Hotels

Three questions do nearly all the sorting on this list, and no hotel's photos will answer them for you.

Is It a Real All-Inclusive or a Meal Plan?

Cabo has two different things that both get called all-inclusive. The first is a hotel that only sells all-inclusive, with the food and drinks built into the rate. Grand Velas, Le Blanc, Marquis, Paradisus, Secrets, Hyatt Ziva, Hard Rock, the three Rius and Sandos all work that way.

The second is a vacation-club resort that sells you a suite and then offers a meal plan on top. That's every Pueblo Bonito except Pacifica, the Villa hotels, Garza Blanca, Corazón Cabo and Hacienda Encantada. The plan runs somewhere around US$140 to $185 per adult per day, and the hotels don't publish the price, so confirm it in writing when you book. These are also the resorts where "all-inclusive" comes with the most fine print. Expect a three-night minimum, everyone in the room on the plan, a surcharge at the best restaurants, and a slip to sign for every drink.

Never compare a plan resort's room rate with a true all-inclusive's rate. Add roughly US$280 to $370 a day for two first. Once you do, a plan resort is rarely cheaper than a true all-inclusive of the same standard.

Can You Swim There?

Mostly, no. Most all-inclusive beaches in Cabo are for looking at, with a flag on a pole and loungers on the sand.

The seven where I'd count on a swim are Paradisus, Breathless, Corazón Cabo, Pueblo Bonito Rosé, Pueblo Bonito Blanco, Villa del Palmar and Villa del Arco. Paradisus sits on a cove behind a breakwater in the middle of the Corridor. The other six are on Médano Beach.

The one that surprises people is Riu. The three Riu resorts have a Médano address, but they sit at the far east end of the bay, past the protected part, and the beach in front of them is NOT swimmable. If the swim is your reason for booking, a Riu is the wrong hotel.

And please ignore any list that calls Secrets, Dreams, Hyatt Ziva, Grand Velas, Le Blanc, Marquis or Hard Rock swimmable. None of them is. I've ranked the hotels that are in the best Cabo resorts with swimmable beaches.

Will You Get a Sales Pitch?

At most of them, yes. If the hotel's parent company sells memberships, the welcome desk is a sales desk.

The short list where nobody is selling anything is Marquis, Grand Velas, Hyatt Ziva and the three Rius. Nearly everywhere else has a presentation to say no to. That includes Secrets, Dreams, Breathless, Zoëtry, Paradisus, Sandos, every Pueblo Bonito, every Villa hotel, Garza Blanca, Corazón and both Solaris hotels. At Le Blanc a polite no usually ends it, though for some people it takes more than one.

The easy way out is to turn down the welcome gift, because accepting it is how you agree to the tour. What that morning looks like is in the Cabo timeshare presentation.

Luxury

This tier runs about US$900 to $2,300 a night for two, and more over the holidays. All three are in the middle of the Corridor, and at none of them can you swim in the ocean. You're paying for the food and the service.

1. Grand Velas Los Cabos

Grand Velas is first because it has the best food of any all-inclusive here, and the reason is one restaurant. Cocina de Autor, the tasting-menu restaurant with a Michelin star, is included in your rate.

It's in the middle of the Corridor, about 25 minutes from the Cabo San Lucas marina and 35 from the airport. Every suite faces the ocean and the smallest is well over a thousand square feet, so I'd book the entry-level Ambassador suite and not pay for more. Families are welcome. The kids' club takes ages 4 to 12 and stays open until 11pm, and there's a teens' club too. I haven't found a sales desk.

You can't swim at the beach here, and the hotel says so itself and points guests to the public beach at Chileno, about a mile away. So this is a pool resort with an ocean view.

Plan on about US$1,300 to $2,300 a night for two, and US$4,000 and up at Christmas. The rate covers the restaurants, premium drinks, a minibar that's restocked every day and wifi. It leaves out the spa, laundry and the airport transfer, which is around US$340 round trip in the hotel's SUV.

Book your dinners with the concierge on your first day, Cocina de Autor before anything else, and pack for the dress code. Men need a collared shirt, long pants and closed shoes at the fine-dining restaurants.

The weak spots are small ones. The poolside menu is a step below the restaurants, room service slows down at busy times, and pool chairs take some effort in the peak weeks.

It's the wrong pick for swimmers, for anyone who dislikes a 300-suite resort, and for anyone who doesn't want to dress for dinner on vacation. How it stacks up against the room-only hotels at this price is in the best luxury resorts in Cabo.

2. Le Blanc Spa Resort

Le Blanc is my pick for a honeymoon and the best adults-only all-inclusive in Cabo. It also costs a good deal less than Grand Velas, and I put the two side by side in Grand Velas vs Le Blanc.

What you're paying for is the service. Every room gets a butler, there's a liquor cabinet in the room, and the food is well above what all-inclusive usually means, across Japanese, French, seafood, Lebanese and Italian restaurants. The spa's hydrotherapy circuit is the highlight of the hotel. If it's your honeymoon, the honeymoon suites are the rooms to ask about.

The name says "spa resort", but it's a big, busy hotel with around 370 rooms. And the beach is not swimmable at all.

Plan on about US$900 to $1,650 a night for two. The extras are where it gets expensive. An 80-minute massage is around US$380, wedding add-ons are priced high, and the resort credit comes with a 16% fee on whatever you use.

There is a membership presentation, and it's long. For most people a polite no ends it, and for some it takes more than one.

I'd book it for couples who want to be looked after and plan to stay put. If you want a small hotel or the ocean, it's the wrong one. More honeymoon options at every price are in the best Cabo honeymoon resorts.

3. Grand Velas Boutique

This is the small, quiet version of number one, and it's the hotel I'd point a honeymoon couple to if Grand Velas sounds too big.

It has 79 suites, it's adults only, and it sits right beside the main resort. A shuttle runs between the two, and you can eat at the big hotel's restaurants, Cocina de Autor included. I haven't found a sales desk here either.

It shares the same stretch of shore as its neighbor, so assume a pool vacation here too.

Plan on about US$1,350 to $2,100 a night for two, which is right alongside the main resort.

I've ranked it third only because it doesn't have much of a track record yet. With a few more years behind it, I think it could sit higher.

Upscale

This is the biggest tier and the one most people are choosing from. It runs about US$540 to $1,000 a night for two.

1. Marquis Los Cabos

Marquis is my pick for couples. It's adults only, every room faces the ocean, the food is good across all five restaurants, and it puts "no timeshare" in its own marketing.

It's the one hotel in this tier where you can check in and have nobody try to book you into a presentation.

It's toward the San José end of the Corridor, 15 to 20 minutes from the plaza and 25 to 30 from the marina. Plan on about US$600 to $950 a night for two, which is roughly half of Le Blanc.

The beach has rip tides and you can't swim at it.

For the room, book a casita or a Master Suite if you want your own plunge pool. Ask for a higher floor, too, because the lower floors near the kitchens get noise. The standard rooms are showing their age, and that's the real trade here. The loungers at the pool are also packed pretty close together.

The plan leaves out the French tasting menu, which carries a charge, and wine by the bottle. Dinner needs a reservation. Tips are expected even though you're on a plan.

Bottom line: for a couple who wants good food and to be left alone, this is the best value on the whole list. If a brand-new room matters to you, look at Paradisus or Secrets. The full adults-only field is in the best adults-only resorts in Cabo.

2. Paradisus Los Cabos

If your first question was "can I swim", this is your hotel. Paradisus is the only true all-inclusive on the Corridor with a protected place to get in the ocean.

The beach is about 500 feet of sand on a cove behind a breakwater. On a calm day it's a real swim. Summer and early fall are the catch, because swells from the south can close even this cove, so go in the morning and look at the flag.

It's adults only, with about 350 rooms, seven restaurants and room service around the clock. The food is good for an all-inclusive without being the reason to come. Service in the restaurants is slow, the evenings are quiet, and the drinks are ordinary unless you're in the lounge that belongs to The Reserve.

The Reserve is the upgraded tier. It costs a bit more per night and adds its own pool, that lounge with the better liquor, and its own restaurant. The swim-up Reserve rooms are the ones I'd book. I'd also avoid a ground-level room in the regular section, since some of them have a damp problem.

Plan on about US$600 to $850 a night for two. Wine by the bottle is extra.

The sales pitch here is a pushy one and feels out of step with the rest of the hotel. The spa discounts are tied to it, so I'd pay full price at the spa or skip it.

Swimmers should book it. If being approached on your first day would spoil it for you, Marquis is the calmer check-in, with no swim.

3. Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos

Hyatt Ziva is my family pick, and the reason is the water park. Nothing else in this tier has one, and with small kids that decides it.

The kids' club takes ages 4 to 12. It closes at 5pm and there's no evening childcare, so don't plan a dinner for two around it. The hotel is big, with close to 600 rooms and about eight places to eat, and the buffet has real variety. Tips are included in the rate, and nobody is selling memberships.

The location is its other strength. It's in San José's hotel zone, about 15 minutes from the airport and a five-minute ride from the plaza, which makes it one of the easiest all-inclusives in Los Cabos to leave for an evening.

The beach is not swimmable and it's black-flagged a lot. With kids, treat the sand as a place to walk.

Plan on about US$550 to $900 a night for two adults, and around US$1,250 over the holidays. The spa and premium wine are extra.

Loungers get claimed at dawn, the entertainment at the main pool is loud, and housekeeping can run late. I can't give you a firm answer on dinner reservations here, so ask when you book which restaurants need one, and make them the morning you arrive.

With small kids, this is the one I'd book, and anyone who wants a quiet pool should keep reading. I compare it with the other kid-friendly options in the best family resorts in Cabo.

4. Secrets Puerto Los Cabos

Secrets is the solid adults-only choice near San José, with a lot of space and food that's good for the category. The Italian and Japanese restaurants are the two to book.

It's out at Puerto Los Cabos, 10 to 15 minutes by car from San José's plaza and about 20 from the airport. Cabo San Lucas and the boats are 45 minutes away, so it suits couples who are happy with a short ride into San José for a dinner or two.

The beach is not swimmable. Black flags are the normal state of things, whatever another list tells you.

Plan on about US$550 to $850 a night for two.

On rooms, the oceanfront suites are the best ones and the garden-view rooms are the quietest. The swim-out rooms are the ones everybody pictures, and they're older and have more maintenance problems, so I wouldn't pay extra for one. The mattresses are hard everywhere, which is worth knowing if you sleep light on a firm bed.

The better liquor is in the Preferred Club lounge, and the pool bars pour the basic brands. The spa is extra. Expect to be asked more than once about a "90-minute" presentation.

5. Hard Rock Hotel Los Cabos

Hard Rock is the one I'd book with teenagers. There's a teen lounge and a music program, eight restaurants that mostly don't need a reservation, and room service around the clock, which with teenagers is the feature that counts.

The plan is one of the most complete in Cabo. Tips, premium liquor, wifi, parking and a minibar that's restocked daily are all in. Only Zen takes reservations, and you can still wait for a table at the popular restaurants. There's a kids' club for younger ones and a nightclub for the adults.

The trade is the location. It's on the Pacific side at Diamante, 20 to 25 minutes from the marina, close to an hour from San José and 45 minutes to an hour from the airport. You can't swim at the beach. Uber can't pick you up inside the gate, so a night in town means a taxi both ways. The options are in getting around Cabo, and the rest of that coast is in my guide to the Pacific side of Cabo.

Plan on about US$600 to $950 a night for two. Unlike most of this list, the most expensive month here is December.

Ask for an ocean view and say no to a room that looks at construction, because the development around the hotel is still being built. And expect a hold of US$100 a night on your card for incidentals, even though nearly everything is included. The spa, tours and anything on the resort credit cost extra, and that credit carries a service charge of about 35%, so check the current terms before you count it as money off.

The rooms have some wear, and the air-conditioning can be damp. There's a vacation club attached, so be ready to say no.

It's great for a family that will stay on property all week. If you want to see Cabo, you'll feel stuck.

6. Breathless Cabo San Lucas

Breathless gets the groups and bachelorette slot because it's a party hotel. If I were ranking on food it wouldn't be this high. Judged as a party hotel, it's good value.

No other hotel in this tier is adults only, on the marina end of Médano Beach with water you can swim in, and a walk from the marina bars. A group can spend all day at the party pool and walk to dinner or a bar in town without paying for a ride. What's along that beach is in my Médano Beach guide.

The beach out front is small, and you share it with the public beach and its vendors. It's swimmable, which most of this list can't say.

Plan on about US$600 to $850 a night for two, with the top suites closer to US$1,450.

The food is the weak point. The restaurants don't take reservations, so on a busy night the wait for a table can eat a good part of your evening. The air-conditioning is weak in some rooms, and the layout is confusing for the first day or so. The Xhale Club upgrade adds a lounge and better liquor.

Book an upper-floor ocean-view room. The lower floors on the marina side get the party boats, the fishing fleet leaving before dawn, and the sea lions, who don't leave at all. There is a quiet pool, and it's the one facing the marina.

There's a vacation club desk here too.

I'd book it for a group that wants the pool by day and town by night, and I'd skip it if food matters or you want to sleep.

7. Pueblo Bonito Pacifica

Pacifica is one of the quietest adults-only all-inclusives in Cabo, and it's the one I'd pick for whale season, which runs from mid-December to April on this coast.

It's on the Pacific side at Quivira, 10 to 15 minutes by road from the marina, with 201 rooms. The Towers is a separate wing of 47 suites with plunge pools and butlers, and it's the part to book if the budget allows. The standard rooms are clean and dated.

You can't swim at the beach, and this coast is windy from late winter into June.

Plan on about US$400 to $700 a night for two in the main hotel, and up to around US$1,100 in the Towers. That's the lowest rate in this tier, and the plan is where you give some of it back. The all-inclusive is mandatory, but two of the best restaurants, LaFrida and the Quivira Steakhouse, add a surcharge of US$30 to $50 a head, and the better liquor is charged. Ask the bartender what your plan covers before you order. On the plus side, your plan also works at the sister hotels, and a shuttle runs between them.

There are four restaurants on site, which gets thin over a week. And there is a sales desk, as there is at every Pueblo Bonito.

Couples who want silence, a sunset and whales will love it. If "inclusive" needs to mean everything, it'll annoy you.

Also in This Tier

Zoëtry Casa del Mar is small and calm, with about 70 rooms in the middle of the Corridor. It's priced at the top of this tier, around US$700 to $1,200 a night for two, and it has three restaurants. I'd book it for three or four quiet nights. Over a week you'll run out of dinners. The beach in front isn't swimmable. The property has steep ramps and a lot of stairs, and there's a vacation club desk.

Grand Fiesta Americana is the family option that gets overlooked. It's at the Cabo San Lucas end of the Corridor, about 15 minutes from the marina, with a kids' club and a long list of restaurants, for about US$500 to $800 a night for two. You'll see its beach called swimmable. I'd describe it as a rocky, partly sheltered patch for confident adults on a calm day, and I wouldn't book it for kids to swim. Avoid the hill-view rooms on the golf side, expect dated furniture, and expect a pitch.

Hacienda del Mar is Marriott's all-inclusive, in the same development as Grand Fiesta Americana, and old listings still describe it as room-only. It has five pools and eight restaurants, two of which are good, for about US$500 to $800 a night for two. The beach has rip tides. The small charges add up here: one room-service order a day is included and it's about US$10 after that, and a premium lounger on the beach is US$150 a day. Pool chairs are gone before dawn, and check-in is slow and comes with a sales pitch. I'd book it if you collect Marriott points, and I'd confirm with the hotel exactly what your rate includes.

Mid-Range

This tier runs about US$340 to $700 a night for two at the true all-inclusives. It's also where the Médano hotels with optional plans sit, and those cost more once the plan goes on.

1. Villa del Arco (and Villa del Palmar)

For a family that wants the kids in the ocean, this is my pick. Villa del Arco is on the east side of Médano Beach, the water is swimmable, and the suites have kitchens and a washer-dryer.

Villa del Palmar is next door, with the same beach and kitchens at a lower room rate. Both are a five to ten minute drive from the marina. The other hotels along this sand are in the best hotels on Médano Beach.

These are plan resorts, so the all-inclusive is an add-on with a three-night minimum, and kids are charged about half the adult price. Confirm both numbers before you book. The plan covers the restaurants at the neighboring Villa hotels, which helps over a week. "Premium" drinks get charged without much warning, so ask first.

Rooms run roughly US$400 to $900 a night with tax at Villa del Arco and US$180 to $480 at Villa del Palmar. Add the plan for two adults and Villa del Arco costs more than Marquis.

I'd book Villa del Arco for the room and the beach, stop at a supermarket on the way in, and eat dinner out. With a kitchen in the suite and good food a short ride away, I'd skip the plan.

Loungers at the pool and on the beach are gone by 6am. Check-in can take an hour. The sales presentations run long, so decline the welcome gift. And read your bill line by line at checkout.

2. Riu Palace Baja California

This is the budget adults-only pick for a group, and it's good at that. You get eight restaurants, seven bars, drinks around the clock and nobody selling you a membership, for about US$400 to $650 a night for two.

It's at the far east end of Médano, a ten-minute drive from the marina or a long walk down the beach. As a Palace guest you can also use the Riu hotels next door.

The beach in front is not swimmable, and that's the mistake I'd most like to save you from. Book this for the pools.

The food is the weak spot, and there are no reservations. Dinner starts with a line at the restaurant door before it opens, so get there early or plan to wait. The Elite Club rooms come with a lounge, a private restaurant and better drinks, which takes care of some of that.

There's music at the pools from mid-morning and there isn't a quiet pool. Before you plan a night out, ask the front desk where rideshare pickups happen, because it may be a walk out to the road.

It's a fair price for an adults-only week of pool and open bar. Swimmers and light sleepers should look elsewhere.

3. Dreams Los Cabos

Dreams is the fair-priced family option in the middle of the Corridor. It's a similar kind of resort to Hyatt Ziva for less money, about US$450 to $700 a night for two. I compare the pair in Hyatt Ziva vs Dreams Los Cabos.

It welcomes families and has an adults-only pool, and the food is good for the price. The beach is not swimmable.

The plan has some thin spots. The pool bars close around 5pm, the cocktails are weak, and lunch choices are limited. The vacation club pitch here is a hard sell.

The full name says "Golf Resort", but there's no golf course on the property. Also ask whether any work is going on near your room before you book.

4. Sandos Finisterra

Sandos has the best location of any all-inclusive in this tier. It sits between the marina and the Pacific beach, and the marina is ten minutes on foot. If you want a wristband and a town to walk into, this is the one.

Plan on about US$350 to $700 a night for two.

The beach is on the Pacific and you can't swim at it. The hotel's staff lead walks over to a public beach.

I'd be picky about the room. The standard rooms are dated. The cliffside Finisterra suites and the ocean-view junior suites are the ones to book, and I'd avoid the ground-level rooms near the action, which are noisy at night. The paid VIP pool is small, and I wouldn't pay for it. It's a family hotel, and the only adults-only space is a bar.

The food is a weak point, with four restaurants and a cafe, and vegetarians will have a hard week. Premium liquor is not included. The sales pitch is the hardest on this whole list.

I'd take it for the location and the views and eat a few dinners in town, which is easy from here.

Also in This Tier

Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas is the family version next door to the adults-only Riu. It has the same beach you can't swim at and the same lines at dinner, and the rooms are dated. At the bottom of its range, about US$350 to $600 a night for two, it's honest value.

Pueblo Bonito Rosé and Blanco are on the middle of Médano, on swimmable water, 15 to 20 minutes on foot from the marina. Both are dated. The plan has a three-night minimum, covers the whole room, adds a small fee for each room-service delivery and surcharges three of the restaurants, and it costs a lot less prepaid than at the front desk. I think either hotel is a better buy room-only. If you book an oceanfront suite at Blanco, know that it has one bathroom.

Corazón Cabo is on the club strip toward the marina end of Médano, in the loudest stretch, with a big beach club and a rooftop bar, and the marina is ten minutes on foot. It's my runner-up to Breathless for a group. The plan is an add-on at the top of the usual price band, and the membership presentations run two hours and more. Groups should confirm their room assignments in writing. If you want to be asleep before midnight, it's the wrong hotel.

Budget

This tier runs about US$260 to $530 a night for two. You're paying for a pool, a buffet and an open bar. Book with that in mind and you'll be happy with what you get. For rooms without a meal plan at this price, see the best affordable Cabo hotels.

1. Riu Santa Fe

Riu Santa Fe is the cheapest party in Cabo. It has more than 1,000 rooms, 12 restaurants, a water park, and party nights with foam and DJs, for about US$250 to $500 a night for two.

It's at the east end of Médano with the other two Rius, and the same beach warning applies. You can't swim in front.

It works for two very different groups. Spring breakers get the party, and families get the slides, as long as they don't mind the soundtrack. There's no sales desk.

The room matters a lot here. Avoid anything facing the party stage and the ground-floor rooms by the main pool. The walls are thin, so bring earplugs either way.

The food repeats and the bars are short-staffed at busy times. At this price, I think that's a fair deal.

2. Royal Solaris Los Cabos

Royal Solaris is the cheapest family all-inclusive, with a water park and a kids' club, in San José's hotel zone. Plan on about US$275 to $550 a night for two.

It's five to ten minutes from San José's plaza, which is its best feature. The beach is not swimmable.

Read the rate conditions carefully before you book. The lowest advertised price is tied to attending a two-hour sales presentation, and there are rules about who qualifies for it.

The food is where the low rate shows. You're capped at three specialty-restaurant reservations for your stay and they're often full, so book all three the day you arrive. The buffet is thin. The walls are thin too, and the pool looks tired by evening.

Bottom line: with young kids and a tight budget, it does the job. I'd take that short ride into San José for dinner at least twice.

The Ones I'd Skip

None of these is a disaster. Each one loses to something above it for a specific reason.

Garza Blanca. The suites are big and there's a kids' club, and I'd book it for the room. As an all-inclusive pick it falls short, because the plan is an add-on with no published price, the beach isn't swimmable, and the pressure to tip and the billing disputes at the front desk would wear on me.

Villa La Valencia. It has five pools and a long lazy river, which is a great week for a kid. Don't assume it's on Médano with the other Villa hotels, though. It's in the middle of the Corridor, on a beach you can't swim at. The sales pitch is aggressive, you need a reservation even when the restaurant looks half empty, and some rooms face the highway. If you book it for the lazy river, ask for a room away from the road.

Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach. It's a hilltop resort on the Pacific side with golf carts everywhere. You can't swim there, the shuttle to the Médano sister hotels runs once an hour, and the sales approaches follow you into the lobby, the restaurants and the shuttle. If you do book it, avoid the ground-floor units.

Hacienda Encantada. The room rate is one of the lowest on the Corridor, the suites have kitchens and the clifftop view is lovely. The water below is waves on rock, and the way to a swim is a shuttle to its sister hotel at the marina. The presentation runs long. I'd consider it room-only for the kitchen and the view.

GR Solaris Lighthouse. This is the hotel formerly called Barceló Gran Faro, and plenty of lists still use the old name. It's the same group as Royal Solaris with the same strengths and weaknesses, plus weaker wifi and restaurant service. I'd pick Royal Solaris.

Krystal Grand. It's cheap, and it has ongoing problems with cleanliness and road noise. I'd spend a little more.

Day Passes

If you're staying somewhere walkable and want one all-inclusive day, a day pass is the smart way to do it. You get the pool, the buffet and the open bar, and you keep your dinners in town.

Here's about what the all-inclusive passes run per adult:

• Sandos Finisterra: about US$140, adults 18 and up
• Dreams: about US$145, ages 13 and up
• Hyatt Ziva: from about US$150
• Breathless: about US$155 to $160, adults 18 and up
• Zoëtry Casa del Mar: about US$165, ages 13 and up
• Hacienda del Mar: about US$180
• Marquis: about US$360, with the spa included

Breathless is the only one of those that comes with a beach you can swim at. Corazón Cabo sells a pass too, so ask for the price. I haven't found one at Grand Velas, Le Blanc, Hard Rock, the Rius, Paradisus or Secrets, though it never hurts to call.

A pass is also a cheap way to try a hotel before you commit a week to it. For the less expensive passes on the sand in town, see the best beach clubs in Cabo.

Nobu and ME Cabo Are Not All-Inclusive

Both of these get searched for as all-inclusives, and some booking pages tag them that way.

Nobu Hotel Los Cabos sells rooms without a meal plan. So does ME Cabo, the party hotel on Médano. Neither one offers an all-inclusive plan of any kind. If a third-party page lists either as all-inclusive, check what the rate really covers before you pay.

The Verdict

If you only have time to look at one, look at Marquis. It's the hotel on this list with the fewest catches for the money, with good food, an ocean view from every room and no sales desk. That's assuming you're adults and a pool is enough.

If the pool isn't enough, book Paradisus. If you have small kids, book Hyatt Ziva. And if the budget is there and you care about dinner more than anything, book Grand Velas and reserve Cocina de Autor on day one.

Here's who I'd steer away from what:

• Swimmers: skip everything except Paradisus and the Médano hotels. That includes the Rius.
• Anyone who hates a sales pitch: stick to Marquis, Grand Velas, Hyatt Ziva or a Riu.
• Light sleepers: skip Breathless, Corazón and Riu Santa Fe.
• Anyone planning three or more dinners in town, or three boat mornings: skip the whole category and book a room.

Would I book an all-inclusive on a beach I can't swim at? For Grand Velas or Marquis, yes, because the food earns it. For a mid-priced one... only if the pool is the whole plan.

So it's Marquis for couples, Le Blanc for a honeymoon, Ziva with little kids, Hard Rock with teens and Breathless for the group trip. Paradisus if you want to swim. You can't swim at the Rius. If the hotel sells a "plan", add about US$300 a day for two before you compare it with anything. Say no to the welcome gift.

Quick Answers

What is the best all-inclusive resort in Cabo? Grand Velas on quality, with a Michelin-starred restaurant inside the rate. Le Blanc for adults, Marquis for adults at about half that price, Hyatt Ziva for families, and Paradisus if you want to swim in the ocean.

Which Cabo all-inclusives have a swimmable beach? Paradisus, on its cove behind a breakwater, and the Médano Beach hotels: Breathless, Corazón Cabo, Pueblo Bonito Rosé and Blanco, Villa del Palmar and Villa del Arco. The Rius are on the same bay and are not swimmable in front.

How much is an all-inclusive in Cabo per night? For two with tax in, roughly US$260 to $530 at the budget level, US$340 to $700 in the mid-range, US$540 to $1,000 for upscale and US$900 to $2,300 for luxury. Christmas week costs more.

Are tips included? Grand Velas, Hard Rock and Hyatt Ziva say they are. Staff are tipped in practice almost everywhere, so bring small bills.

Will I get a timeshare pitch at a Cabo all-inclusive? At most of them, yes. Marquis, Grand Velas, Hyatt Ziva and the three Rius are the ones without a sales desk.