Where to Stay

Best Resorts in Cabo: My 13 Picks and Who Each Is For

By Cabo Wander

When a friend asks me for the best resort in Cabo, I ask two things back. Do you want to swim in the ocean? And how do you feel about a checkout bill that's a lot bigger than the rate you booked?

Those two questions do most of the sorting, so here's my answer up front. If money isn't the limit, the best resort in Cabo is Chileno Bay. At a normal price it's the Hilton Los Cabos, which sits on the same kind of protected water for about a third of the money. And if you never want to see a check and a pool is all the water you need, it's Grand Velas.

There isn't one best resort for everybody, though. There's a best one for each kind of trip, so this list has 13, from about US$200 a night to about US$4,000. I ranked them on the ocean in front first. After that came what it costs to leave for dinner, then how far the final bill lands from the rate, then the room you're actually handed. The brand name came last.

The swim comes first because it's the scarce thing here. Only about 16 hotels in all of Los Cabos sit on water you can usually get into, and seven of my 13 are among them. The other six are a pool with an ocean view, and I picked each of those for a different reason. The full swim list is in the Cabo resorts with swimmable beaches.

One note if you searched for the best resorts in Cabo San Lucas, or the best hotels in Cabo San Lucas. Booking sites put that name on the Pacific side over the hill, on resorts 15 miles up the highway and on Médano Beach, and those are three very different vacations. In the town itself, my picks are the Waldorf Astoria at the top end and Pueblo Bonito Rosé on Médano Beach. Both are below. If you haven't chosen an area yet, start with where to stay in Cabo and come back.

Every price here is for two people, per night, with tax already added, plus the service charge at the hotels that put one on the room. That makes my luxury numbers about a third higher than the rates you'll see on a booking page. They're planning ranges, and the low end is late summer.

1. Chileno Bay Resort

Chileno Bay is number one because it has the fewest compromises of any resort in Los Cabos. The bay in front is protected and roped off with buoys, there are fish along the rocks, and no jet skis are allowed in. The rooms are modern. And it works for a honeymoon couple and a family in the same week, which very few hotels at this price manage.

It's best for couples who swim and for families with older kids. The kids' club is free for ages 5 to 12, there's a teen lounge that stays open until 9pm, and kayaks and paddleboards don't cost extra.

The entry-level room is fine, and I haven't found a category to avoid. I'd ask whether yours sees the ocean before you pay, because I can't promise every one does. Families should look at two connecting one-bedroom suites or one of the villas with a kitchen. Cribs and rollaway beds are free for kids under 12.

Swim before 10am. After that the snorkel boats from Cabo San Lucas anchor just outside the buoys, and the public beach next door fills up by late morning. The sand is coarse, and a summer or fall swell can close the bay for a day or more.

Plan on about US$1,250 a night in late summer and US$2,200 to $3,400 in winter. Then plan on eating every meal at the hotel, because you're 20 to 25 minutes from either town and a taxi is US$30 to $50 each way. Uber is cheaper going out, and getting one to come to the gate after dinner can be a hassle. That's the real catch here. There are only two restaurants, they get repetitive by about night four, and the food is where the bill runs away from you. Service at the pool can be slow, too.

If you have younger kids, I'd look at Montage first, and the two go head to head in Montage vs Chileno Bay. If the price is the problem, skip down to number six.

2. Montage Los Cabos

For a family with a big budget, Montage is the one I'd book. It's on Santa María Bay with snorkeling right off the sand, the entry-level rooms are large and come with outdoor showers, and the service is the first thing people talk about when they get home.

It also suits multigenerational groups and golfers. Between this and Chileno it's close to a tie, and Montage has the livelier pool.

Any room category works. The question to ask is what events are scheduled near your building, because this is a wedding hotel and a party outside your terrace can run until midnight.

The beach needs a little more care than Chileno's. The sand is really tiny pebbles, so pack water shoes for everybody. The bay faces south, which means less margin on a swell day, and five to ten tour boats show up from mid-morning. September is the cheapest month here and also the month the beach is most likely to be closed for days at a time.

Rates run about US$1,200 to $3,400. On top of that, water is US$10 a bottle at meals, and cabanas and tennis cost extra. I'd also confirm what the kids' club costs before you promise anybody anything, because I couldn't get a firm answer on whether it's included.

I think it's expensive even for what it is. The loungers are hard and unpadded, and the whole place feels a bit anonymous, like a very nice resort that could be anywhere. For a couple, I'd take Chileno. For under-sixes, Palmilla has softer sand and calmer water. More kid-friendly options at every price are in the best family resorts in Cabo.

3. Las Ventanas al Paraíso

Las Ventanas has the best service in Los Cabos, with a butler for every room no matter which category you book. It also has the strongest set of hotel restaurants. It's third because you can't swim here.

That one's worth sitting with for a second. Guests at Las Ventanas, paying around US$2,000 a night, walk down the sand to swim in front of the Hilton. The hotel makes up for it with eight pool areas and a lazy river, and for a lot of couples that's plenty.

This is a honeymoon and anniversary hotel. Kids under 16 aren't allowed in the oceanfront junior suites, so families end up in the villas.

Look closely at the entry-level room before you book. It's a big junior suite with a patio, and it has no plunge pool and no hot tub. It's also not the freshest room at this price anymore. The junior suite with a rooftop terrace is the one I'd pay for.

Plan on about US$1,550 to $1,900 in low season and US$2,700 to $3,900 in winter. Dinner will startle you. A shared starter and a fish for two runs around US$240, and a cabana starts at US$250 for half a day before tax and service. There are minimum stays of five to seven nights over Christmas and New Year's.

Bottom line: book it if being looked after is the whole point. If you want your own pool and a town to walk to, the Waldorf is next. If you swim, go back to Chileno. And if you're torn between the two classic names, I've compared them in Las Ventanas vs One&Only Palmilla.

4. Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal

The Waldorf Astoria is my pick for couples, and it's the best luxury resort in Cabo San Lucas proper. Every one of its 112 rooms has a private plunge pool, the rooms have all been redone, and it's the only top-end hotel you can walk to dinner from.

The walk is the part I'd pay for. The hotel sits behind a private tunnel through the mountain, and the town end of that tunnel is about ten minutes on foot from the marina. Everywhere else in my top ten, a dinner out starts with a taxi fare.

You don't need to upgrade, because the entry-level room already has the plunge pool. Every afternoon at four, guacamole, chips and two beers arrive at your door without anyone asking, which is a lovely thing to have happen in a US$2,000 room. The property is steep, and carts run you around it.

You'll see this beach described as a swimmable cove. It isn't. It's the open Pacific and nobody goes in.

This has the highest starting rate of the established names, about US$1,700 to $2,000 in the quiet months and US$2,700 to $4,000 in winter. Dinner at the cliffside restaurant runs US$450 to $600 for two, and whether that's money well spent is its own question, which I take on in whether El Farallón is worth it. The kids' club carries a charge.

The catch is the wind. From February to April this side of the cape is breezy and cool in the evenings, the umbrellas come down, and the plunge pools only heat to the high 80s. If you feel the cold, I'd come another time of year. Private events also take over parts of the pool area now and then.

If the rate is too much, The Cape is ten minutes away by car at about half the price, roughly US$800 to $1,700 all in. You can't swim there either, and you'll want a room that isn't under the rooftop bar.

5. One&Only Palmilla

Palmilla is where I'd take a toddler, and it's the best top-end resort near San José. Its two sandy coves have the calmest hotel water on the Corridor.

The location is nearly as good as the beach. San José's plaza is ten minutes away, and a supermarket and a pharmacy are five. If you're traveling with small kids, that pharmacy matters more than you'd think. The kids' club is free for ages 4 to 11 and runs from 9am to 7pm, and younger ones can go with a parent or a sitter.

Book a junior suite. The entry-level room is about 500 square feet, the smallest at this level, and it doesn't have a bathtub.

The coves face south, so a summer swell can still put a red flag up even here.

Plan on about US$1,200 in late summer and US$2,300 to $3,800 in winter. Tax and the mandatory service charge add about a third to the listed rate. Breakfast is often included, so check whether it's in yours.

Is it still the best resort in Cabo? I don't think so, and I say that kindly. The rooms and fixtures are showing their age, and the food is good without being great. Read your final bill at the desk, too, because billing mistakes here have had to be chased from home. What you're paying a famous-name rate for is the beach and the address.

For calm water at about a third of the price, the Hilton is next. For a bigger suite near San José and no swim, look at Zadún, which I cover with the rest of that end of the coast in the best hotels in San José del Cabo.

6. Hilton Los Cabos

This is the most useful recommendation in the whole post. The Hilton sits among hotels that cost three times as much, and it's the only mid-priced resort on the Corridor with an ocean swim. It shares a cove behind a rock breakwater with Paradisus next door. Engineers built that cove, and I'm completely fine with that.

It's for families who want the ocean without a luxury bill, and for couples who'd rather spend on dinners than on a brand. The kids' club is free for ages 4 to 12, and there's an adults-only pool as well as a family one.

Entry-level rooms are about 540 square feet with two queen beds and no kitchen. The upgrade is the Altamar tier, which gets you a larger ocean-view room or a suite. I've seen breakfast listed with it, so ask whether it's part of your rate before you count on it.

The swim is behind the wall only. It faces south, so summer and early fall swells reach it and red flags do happen. Mornings are best.

Plan on about US$500 to $800 a night, room only. Parking is free. Tax is about a fifth, and I'd ask at booking whether a service fee goes on the room as well, because I couldn't pin down the percentage.

The catch is food and drink. It's good, and it's expensive, and you're on the stretch of highway where leaving for dinner is US$40 to $70 each way by taxi. Without a car you'll spend a lot on property. The fairest summary I can give you is five-star prices for four-star service, with a cove that makes it worth it anyway.

Two things to check. One, whether there's a vacation-club sales desk, because I've heard it both ways. Two, that you're booking the right Hilton. Hilton Vacation Club Cabo Azul is a different property in San José's hotel zone, on a beach you can't swim at.

If you're adults and want all-inclusive on the same water, Paradisus is the neighbor at about US$600 to $850, with a pushy membership pitch at check-in.

7. Four Seasons Resort Los Cabos at Costa Palmas

The best hotel beach in this post belongs to the Four Seasons at Costa Palmas. It's two miles of calm sand on the Sea of Cortez that you walk straight into, with seven pools behind it and big-name restaurants.

It's seventh because it isn't really in Cabo. It's on the East Cape, an hour from the airport in the opposite direction, and an hour and a half to two hours from the Arch. The transfer is about US$280 each way. I'd book it for people who've done Cabo before, families who are happy to stay put, and divers headed to Cabo Pulmo. I wouldn't send a first-timer. What else is out there is in my East Cape guide.

Book an ocean-view room. The ground-floor rooms with plunge pools don't have much privacy.

Rates run about US$1,200 to $3,600.

It's windy, there isn't much shade, parts of the development around the hotel are still being built, and it is VERY quiet in the evenings.

There are two Four Seasons in Los Cabos, well over an hour apart, and people do book the wrong one. I put them side by side in Four Seasons Cabo del Sol vs Costa Palmas. If you want nearly as good a swim without leaving Cabo, that's Chileno Bay.

8. Grand Velas Los Cabos

Grand Velas is the best resort in Cabo for anyone who never wants to see a check. The food is the best of any all-inclusive here, and that includes Cocina de Autor, the only Michelin-starred restaurant in the state, which is inside your rate.

Every suite faces the ocean and the smallest is 1,180 square feet, so the entry-level Ambassador suite is enough. Families should ask for one of the connecting suites or the Family Duplex. The kids' club stays open until 11pm, and nobody is selling memberships.

You can't swim at the beach. The hotel says so itself and sends guests to the public beach at Chileno, a mile away. It flies a Blue Flag, which is a water-quality award and tells you nothing about whether you can get in.

Plan on about US$1,300 to $2,300 for two with tax and tips already in, and US$4,000 and up at Christmas. Kids aged four and up pay, around US$170 a night. The only real extras are the spa, laundry and the airport transfer, which is about US$340 round trip.

That rate looks like the highest on this list, and it's not the most expensive stay. Add tax, service and a day of food to the room at any of my top five and you pass it.

It's a 300-suite hotel with dress codes at dinner. The poolside menu is bland, room service slows down at busy times, and pool chairs take effort in peak weeks.

For adults who'd like to pay less, Le Blanc is about US$900 to $1,650, and I weigh the two in Grand Velas vs Le Blanc. The rest of the field, down to the budget end, is in the best all-inclusive resorts in Cabo.

9. Marquis Los Cabos

Marquis is my adults-only pick and the best value of any all-inclusive in Cabo. Every room faces the ocean, all five restaurants are good, and there's no sales desk. The hotel puts "No Timeshare" in its name on booking sites the way other hotels put "Spa".

It's for couples, anniversaries and anyone who hates being sold to.

If the budget allows, book an Ocean View Casita with a plunge pool. It's about 1,670 square feet, against 650 for a junior suite. Otherwise take a junior suite on a higher floor, because the lower floors near the kitchens get noise. The bathrooms are open-plan, which is worth knowing if you're not that kind of couple.

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

Plan on about US$600 to $950, roughly half of Le Blanc. The French tasting menu and wine by the bottle are extra, and tips are expected even though you're on a plan.

The trade is the standard rooms, which show their age, and loungers that are packed pretty close together.

I'd send a honeymoon with a bigger budget to Le Blanc and a couple who must swim to a Reserve swim-up room at Paradisus. If "adults only" means a party to you, that's Breathless. All of them are ranked in the best adults-only resorts in Cabo.

10. Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos

With kids between about four and ten, Hyatt Ziva is the all-inclusive I'd book. It has the only real water park at a Cabo all-inclusive, with five slides, dump buckets and a toddler splash pool. Tips are included, there's no sales desk, and it's 15 to 20 minutes from the airport, which you'll appreciate with a tired five-year-old.

It's also the easiest all-inclusive to leave. San José's plaza is five minutes by car.

Check the size of the entry-level room before you put four people in it. Hyatt's own room list has it at about 580 square feet, and older descriptions say about 350, so go by the figure and the bed layout on your booking page. Price two rooms against one room with two kids added and see which wins.

The beach is not for swimming, and black flags are routine. Palmilla's coves are ten minutes away by car if the kids need the ocean.

Plan on about US$550 to $900 for two, about US$750 to $1,100 for a family of four, and around US$1,250 for two over the holidays. Kids from 3 to 12 are roughly US$85 a day, and 13 and up pay the adult rate.

The kids' club closes at 5pm and there's no evening childcare, so don't plan a dinner for two around it. A three-year-old pays the child rate and is too young for the club. Loungers get claimed at dawn, the main pool is loud, and convention groups come through.

With teenagers, I'd book Hard Rock. With more money, Grand Velas. If the kids have to get in the ocean, the Hilton or Villa del Palmar. And if you're choosing between the two big family names, that's Hyatt Ziva vs Dreams Los Cabos.

11. Pueblo Bonito Rosé

For a first trip, Pueblo Bonito Rosé has the best position in Cabo San Lucas. It's in the middle of Médano Beach, where the water is roped and gentle and there are lifeguards. The beach clubs and their microphones are far enough down the sand to be background noise. And the marina is 15 to 20 minutes away on foot. No other hotel on the beach has all three.

It suits first-timers without a car, couples, and families who'll make their own breakfast. The suites have a kitchenette with a stove.

Book it room only. The meal plan runs from about US$118 an adult a day prepaid to US$185 at the desk, with a three-night minimum and surcharges at three of the restaurants. With the marina a walk away, I'd skip it.

The rooms are dated, and some of the standard ones have musty air-conditioning. If yours does, ask to move, and I'd lean toward an ocean-view suite from the start. Blanco, next door, is the same idea and has the kids' club for ages 4 to 11. Its oceanfront suites have one bathroom.

The swim is the reason you're here. Get in before ten, when it's flat and the jet skis beyond the buoys haven't started.

Plan on about US$300 to $600, room only.

There's a vacation-club desk, so turn down the welcome gift. March is spring break on this beach.

A few swaps. With teenagers, Casa Dorada has kitchens and sits on the club strip for about US$230 to $470. An adult group who wants one price should look at Breathless. For quiet and a washer-dryer, Villa del Arco. Please don't book a Riu for the swim, because the swimmable part of the bay is more than a mile down the sand from them. Every hotel on this beach, west to east, is in the best hotels on Médano Beach.

12. Pueblo Bonito Pacifica

On the Pacific side, Pacifica is the one I'd book, and specifically The Towers. It's the quietest of the resorts out there. It's adults only, there's a rule against amplified music at the pool, the sunsets are right in front of you, and from mid-December to April you can watch whales from your room.

It suits couples in their 50s and 60s, golfers and readers. Honestly, if your ideal day is a book and a sunset, you'll be very happy.

The Towers is a separate wing of 47 suites with butlers, plunge pools and a lounge. If that's out of budget, book an ocean view in the main building and avoid the garden-view rooms. The standard rooms are clean and dated.

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

Plan on about US$400 to $700 all-inclusive in the main hotel and about US$720 to $1,100 in The Towers. The plan has holes in it. Two of the best restaurants add US$30 to $50 a head, the better spirits are charged, and it's worth asking the bartender what you're covered for before you order.

The quiet rule gets overridden. Ticketed music weekends and private events do happen, so ask what's booked for your dates. Uber can't pick you up inside the gate, and there's a sales desk. What staying out here does to your cab budget is in my Pacific side guide.

Of the Pueblo Bonitos out here, this is the one. I'd skip Sunset Beach.

13. Villa del Palmar Cabo San Lucas

Villa del Palmar is the cheapest way to sleep on swimmable Médano with a kitchen in your room. That's why it closes out the list.

It's for families on a budget with kids from about four to eight, and for anyone who'll cook breakfast and eat dinner in town. The kids' club takes ages 4 to 12 and there's a whale-shaped slide. The pools and restaurants have been rebuilt and look good. The guest rooms weren't part of that work.

For two, the junior suite is 592 square feet with a kitchen. For a family, the one-bedroom has two bathrooms and the two-bedroom has three, which with kids is worth more than the extra square footage.

The beach is swimmable with less margin than the middle of Médano. It's steeper here, and rougher in the swell months.

Here's the honest part about the price. Room only, it's about US$185 a night in September and about US$490 in December. It's an under-US$300 hotel on average only in August and September, and on a good date from about May to October. In winter it's a US$400-plus hotel. The meal plan is about US$140 an adult and US$70 a child per day, the price isn't published, and I wouldn't take it. If you do, get the number in writing.

Loungers are gone by 6am, check-in is long, and there's a sales pitch. The marina is 25 to 30 minutes down the sand, and the beach is dark at night, so plan on a US$10 to $15 cab back after dinner.

For under US$300 all year, Solmar Resort at Land's End runs about US$150 to $230, with good pools right on the sand and a walk to town. You can't swim at its beach. More like it are in the best affordable Cabo hotels.

The Ones That Didn't Make It

None of these is a bad hotel. Each one is the answer to a narrower question than "which is best", or it loses to something above for a specific reason.

Le Blanc. It's the luxury adults-only all-inclusive, with butlers and food above the category, for about US$900 to $1,650. The beach is unswimmable. It's my "book this instead" for both Marquis and Grand Velas, which is why it doesn't get its own number.

Paradisus. The only true all-inclusive on the Corridor with a protected swim, on the same cove as the Hilton. It went adults only a few years ago, so ignore any list that sends families there. Book a Reserve swim-up room and avoid the ground-level standard rooms, which can be damp. If "all-inclusive and I must swim" is your whole brief, it could fairly be on the main list.

Hard Rock and Nobu. They're neighbors on the Pacific side and they're opposite trips. Hard Rock is the all-inclusive for teenagers, with tips included, and it's isolated, unswimmable and a little worn. Nobu has the lowest rate of the big luxury names, and that rate grows by about a third at checkout. Taxis out are US$44 to $60, and the pool has a DJ. You'll see Nobu called the best value in Cabo. I don't agree. I sort the two out in Hard Rock vs Nobu Los Cabos.

Four Seasons at Cabo del Sol. The best restaurants of the newer hotels and a good family resort, 15 minutes from Cabo San Lucas. The beach is for strong swimmers on calm days only. Book a casita.

Esperanza. Romantic, with freshly redone rooms. You can't swim, and it draws the sharpest complaints about fees of any hotel at this level.

Zadún. The best entry-level suite on the coast, about 1,550 square feet with a plunge pool. There are only three restaurants, no swim, and you should ask what's being built beside your building.

Park Hyatt. Big rooms, and a golf hole between the hotel and a beach you can't swim at.

The Rius. Honest value as pool resorts. The beach in front is not a swim beach, whatever the Médano address suggests.

And if a resort with a few hundred rooms sounds like the wrong trip altogether, the small places are in the best boutique hotels in Cabo.

What Gets Added to the Bill

Okay, now the part the booking page leaves out.

At the luxury hotels that sell rooms without meals, which is numbers one through five and number seven, the rate you see is about three-quarters of what the room costs. Tax adds about a fifth, and then a 15% service charge goes on the room itself. After that you eat, and two people spend US$450 to $700 a day on food and drinks at these hotels. So a realistic number at the top is US$2,000 to $3,500 a night with everything counted. My full top-end ranking, ten deep, is in the best luxury resorts in Cabo.

There isn't a flat resort fee at most Cabo hotels. At the luxury end that 15% service charge does the same job and it's bigger. Flat or percentage fees do show up at vacation-club resorts and a few small design hotels, so read the fee line before you book one.

About a third of what gets sold as all-inclusive here is a room-only resort with a meal plan on top, at US$140 to $185 an adult a day. That's every Pueblo Bonito except Pacifica, plus the Villa hotels. Before you compare Rosé or Villa del Palmar with a true all-inclusive, add about US$280 to $370 a day for two. When the plan is worth having at all is in whether a Cabo all-inclusive is worth it.

A few more things land on everyone:

• Environmental fee: four or five dollars a night, per room.
• State visitor fee: about US$25 to $30 a person over 12, paid online and separate from the hotel.
• Airport transfer: rarely included. About US$75 to $95 for a private car to a Corridor hotel.
• Christmas and New Year's: minimum stays at the top hotels, so ask before you pick dates.

And then there's the sales desk, which is the norm. The hotels on this list without one are the six luxury room-only resorts, Grand Velas, Marquis and Hyatt Ziva. At the two Pueblo Bonitos and Villa del Palmar, the "welcome gift" at check-in is how you agree to the tour, so say no thank you. What happens if you say yes is in the Cabo timeshare presentation, and the rest of the trip budget is in how much Cabo costs.

When the Swim Works

"Swimmable" on this list means usually, in the morning, on a calm day. The season changes it more than the hotel does.

The ocean is flattest from February to April, and coldest, at around 71°F. Late October and November are warm and settling down. From about May to October, swells from the south can close even the good coves, and September is the worst month for it. September is also the cheapest month, so if the swim is the reason you're coming, don't let the rate talk you into it.

Prices swing less at the top than you'd hope. Winter is about one and a half times late summer at the luxury hotels and about double at the mid-priced ones.

The Pacific side and the Waldorf are windy from late winter into June, and that same coast has whales from mid-December to April. Spring break is March, on Médano, and barely reaches the Corridor or San José. I go month by month in the best time to visit Cabo.

The Verdict

If you can only look at one, look at the Hilton Los Cabos. Chileno Bay is the better hotel and it's my number one. The Hilton is the one most people reading this can actually book, and it passes the test that most resorts at three times the price don't.

Here's who I'd send where:

• Big budget, wants to swim: Chileno Bay. Montage with kids.
• Service above everything, or a honeymoon: Las Ventanas.
• A couple who wants a plunge pool and a town on foot: the Waldorf Astoria.
• Toddlers, or the San José end: One&Only Palmilla.
• A normal budget and an ocean swim: the Hilton.
• Never see a check: Grand Velas.
• Adults-only all-inclusive: Marquis.
• Family all-inclusive: Hyatt Ziva.
• First trip, walk to everything: Pueblo Bonito Rosé, room only.
• Quiet, sunsets and whales: The Towers at Pacifica.
• Tightest budget with a swim: Villa del Palmar, in the off season.
• You've done Cabo and want the best beach: the Four Seasons at Costa Palmas.

And who I'd steer away. Swimmers should skip the whole Pacific side, Grand Velas, Hyatt Ziva, Las Ventanas and the Waldorf. First-timers should skip Costa Palmas. Anyone who feels the cold should think twice about the Waldorf or Pacifica between February and April. If it's a honeymoon you're planning, I go deeper in the best Cabo honeymoon resorts.

Here's the catch for the whole list. No resort in Los Cabos gives you a swimmable beach, a town you can walk to, a new room and a moderate price all at once. Every pick above trades away at least one of the four, so decide which one you can live without... and the choice gets a lot easier.

The way I'd text it to a friend: Chileno Bay if you can afford it, the Hilton if you can't, Grand Velas if you hate checks. Add a third to any luxury rate, then add food. Ask every hotel what color the flag is most mornings. And say no to the welcome gift.

Quick Answers

What is the best resort in Cabo? Chileno Bay with a big budget, because it has the fewest compromises and a bay you can swim and snorkel in. The Hilton Los Cabos at a normal budget, and Grand Velas for all-inclusive.

What is the best resort in Cabo San Lucas itself? The Waldorf Astoria Pedregal at the top end, the only luxury hotel you can walk to the marina from. On Médano Beach, Pueblo Bonito Rosé or Blanco in the middle of the beach, booked room only.

Which Cabo resorts have a beach you can swim at? Chileno Bay, Montage, One&Only Palmilla, the Hilton and Paradisus on the Corridor, the hotels on the protected part of Médano Beach, and the Four Seasons at Costa Palmas on the East Cape. The Rius, Grand Velas, Le Blanc, Hyatt Ziva, Las Ventanas, the Waldorf and everything on the Pacific side are not swimmable.

How much does a good Cabo resort cost per night? For two with tax in, about US$185 to $490 for a kitchen suite on Médano, US$500 to $800 at the Hilton, US$550 to $950 at a good all-inclusive and US$1,300 to $2,300 at Grand Velas. At Chileno Bay or Montage the room alone is US$1,200 to $3,400, and US$2,000 to $3,500 once two people have eaten.

Is there a resort fee in Cabo? Not a flat one at most hotels. The luxury room-only hotels add a 15% service charge to the room, which is bigger than a resort fee would be, and everyone pays a small nightly environmental fee and a one-time state visitor fee.