Where to Stay

Four Seasons Cabo del Sol vs Costa Palmas: Which I'd Book

By Cabo Wander

If you typed "Four Seasons Cabo" into a search bar, here's the first thing to know. There are two of them. They're about 60 miles apart, and the airport sits between them.

One is Four Seasons Resort Cabo del Sol, on the Corridor about 15 minutes from Cabo San Lucas. The other is Four Seasons Resort Los Cabos at Costa Palmas, up on the East Cape, an hour and a half to two hours from Cabo San Lucas.

The one you most likely mean is Cabo del Sol. It's the Four Seasons that's actually near Cabo, and for most people, and for nearly every first-timer, it's the one I'd book.

Here's the twist, though. Costa Palmas is the better resort. It has two miles of calm beach you can walk straight into, more pools and the better spa, and that's why I rank it higher in the best luxury resorts in Cabo. It just isn't in Cabo in any useful sense. So I'd only book it if all three of these are true:

• Swimming in the ocean from your hotel is the reason for the trip.
• You're staying four nights or more.
• You have no plans to see the Arch, either town, or anything else in Cabo.

Miss any one of those and it's Cabo del Sol. And I'd book Cabo del Sol for its pools, its rooms and its restaurants. The hotel calls its beach swimmable, and I wouldn't count on that.

The Quick Version

Book Cabo del Sol if it's your first trip, you want a dinner or two in town, you're here for three nights, or you want whales from your room in winter. Book a casita with a plunge pool and plan on swimming in the pool.

Book Costa Palmas if you've done Cabo before and want a week of flat water and quiet. Book a Prime Ocean-View or Oceanfront room on an upper floor, rent a car at the airport, and try for April to June or October to mid-November.

Book neither if you want a real ocean swim and you want Cabo too. That's Chileno Bay or Montage, and I get to them in the beach section.

Either way, check the town on your booking before you pay. One says Cabo San Lucas. The other says La Ribera.

The Two Hotels, One at a Time

They're two different trips that happen to share a logo, so here's each one on its own before I put them side by side.

Four Seasons Resort Cabo del Sol

Cabo del Sol is for first-timers, Four Seasons loyalists, and families and couples who want a very nice pool resort with Cabo San Lucas close by.

It opened in 2024 with 96 rooms and suites, plus about 60 villas and residences, stepping down a hillside to a small cove near the San Lucas end of the Corridor. You'll still see it listed under its longer original name, Four Seasons Resort and Residences Cabo San Lucas at Cabo del Sol. It's the same hotel.

What it does best is the room and the location. The entry-level room is big, every room looks at the ocean, and the marina is 15 minutes away. There are three restaurants and a rooftop bar, a family pool with a splash pad, an adults-only pool, and a kids' club that doesn't cost extra.

The beach is the weak spot. It's a pretty cove with rocks, a reef and a current, and it's for strong swimmers on calm days.

Plan on about US$1,150 to $3,800 a night for two with tax and service in, depending on the season. It's the wrong hotel if the ocean swim is the point, or if stairs and slopes are hard for you. The rest of that stretch of highway is in my Tourist Corridor guide.

Four Seasons Resort Los Cabos at Costa Palmas

Costa Palmas is for people who've already done Cabo and want a calm beach with nobody on it, families who are happy to stay put, and divers.

It's a low-rise resort of 141 rooms and suites that opened in 2019, on a flat two-mile beach on the Sea of Cortez. It sits inside a gated development with a marina, a private golf course and a small village of restaurants, ten minutes past the little town of La Ribera.

What it does best is the water. You walk out of your room and into the sea, which you can't say about any hotel beach on the Corridor. There are seven pools, a big spa, and restaurants with famous names on them.

What it gives up is everything outside the gate. The airport is an hour away, there's no Uber, and you'll eat every meal at resort prices because there isn't another meal to be had. It's also VERY quiet.

Plan on about US$1,200 to $3,600 a night for two with tax and service in, plus about US$400 more in transfers than Cabo del Sol. It's the wrong hotel for a first trip, a three-night trip, or anyone who gets restless. What else is up that coast is in my East Cape guide.

Where They Actually Are

This is the difference that decides most bookings, so let's start here.

At the airport, one Four Seasons is a left turn and the other is a right turn. If you only say "Four Seasons" to a driver, he has to ask which one.

Turn toward Cabo San Lucas and Cabo del Sol is 23 miles away. The hotel says 30 minutes and I'd plan on 35 to 40. A private car runs about US$75 to $95 each way.

Turn the other way and the resorts disappear within five minutes. It's a two-lane highway through cactus and small ranch towns with speed bumps, then La Ribera's gas station and mini-market, then a guardhouse. Costa Palmas is 41 miles from the airport. The hotel says 45 minutes, and I'd plan on an hour. You'll also see "two hours from the airport" on some websites, which is wrong in the other direction. Two hours is the drive from Cabo San Lucas. The transfer is about US$280 each way, or closer to US$220 if you book an independent company.

So the gap is about 20 minutes and about US$400 a trip. On a week, I wouldn't lose sleep over the 20 minutes. On three nights, two hour-long transfers eat most of a day between them, and that's why I keep saying four nights or more for Costa Palmas.

Whichever one you pick, book the ride before you land, and my Cabo airport guide walks you through the arrivals hall. If you haven't settled on an area at all yet, start with where to stay in Cabo, because these two hotels are at opposite ends of it.

Winner: Cabo del Sol, clearly.

Can You Actually Swim?

Four Seasons uses the same word for both beaches, and the word is "swimmable". It's true at one of them.

At Costa Palmas it's true without much of an asterisk. The beach is two miles of pale sand facing east on the Sea of Cortez, with no pounding surf and no undertow to think about. You walk in. Kayaks and paddleboards go out right from the sand and don't cost extra, and there's a water trampoline for the kids. It's the best hotel beach in the whole region for getting in the water.

The asterisk is wind. From about December to March a north wind builds late in the morning and chops the water up by afternoon, and the sea is cold then too, in the mid 60s to about 70°F. In summer it's flat and warm with an afternoon breeze. So in winter, swim before eleven. And bring sandals, because it's a very wide beach to cross at midday.

At Cabo del Sol, "swimmable" needs a lot more explaining. It's a small sandy cove with rock at both ends, and there's a reef and a current that isn't predictable. Your best odds are November to March, when the Corridor is at its flattest, and even then it can be rough. From about April to October the south swell comes in and the flag is against you on a lot of days. You'll read that it's rough because it faces the Pacific. It doesn't. It faces south at the end of the Corridor, and summer swell from the south is the reason.

On a flat winter morning, a strong, confident swimmer can get in. I wouldn't send a child in, and I wouldn't book this hotel for the swim. You can get a calm day in summer too. I just wouldn't plan a trip around one.

Here's my tip if you're at Cabo del Sol and you want a real swim. Santa María, a protected public beach, is about five minutes east by car, and Chileno Bay is just past it. Go at 8am, when the water is flat and the tour boats haven't arrived.

And if you've read this far and realized you want both things, the easy swim AND Cabo close by, neither Four Seasons is your hotel. The two that give you both are in Montage vs Chileno Bay, and the wider list at every price is the best Cabo resorts with swimmable beaches.

One thing the ocean gives you at Cabo del Sol is whales. From December to April the humpbacks pass right offshore, and you can watch them from your room or over breakfast.

Winner: Costa Palmas, by a mile. It's the whole reason to book it.

Leaving the Resort

Cabo del Sol is a resort you can leave. Costa Palmas mostly isn't.

From Cabo del Sol, the Cabo San Lucas marina is 15 minutes away. A taxi runs roughly US$30 to $50 each way and Uber is about half that. Ask the front desk where an Uber is allowed to pick you up, because on the Corridor it's often the outer gate. San José's plaza is 25 to 30 minutes the other way. So a boat out to the Arch, a dinner in town and a morning at a swimmable beach are all easy from here, and what's waiting at the marina end is in my Cabo San Lucas guide. The fare each way is about what an appetizer costs at the hotel.

From Costa Palmas, the Arch is a four-hour round trip. San José is more than an hour away on a highway with no lights and cattle on it, which I wouldn't drive after dark. There's no Uber and no taxi stand, and a driver for the day is a three-figure arrangement. La Ribera, the town outside the gate, has a gas station, a mini-market, an ATM and a clinic, and it isn't set up for visitors.

What you do have nearby is the reef. Cabo Pulmo is about 45 minutes away, closer than from any other luxury hotel in Los Cabos, and if you snorkel or dive it's a real reason to be up here. The season matters a lot, and that's in my Cabo Pulmo day trip post.

A rental car changes Costa Palmas more than it changes Cabo del Sol. The road north starts a couple of minutes from the airport rental lots, valet parking is free at both hotels, and a week's rental can cost less than the two transfers. With a car you can drive 20 to 25 minutes to Los Barriles for fish tacos at Taquería El Viejo, as long as you make it lunch and you're back before dark. The paperwork is in renting a car in Cabo. At Cabo del Sol I'd skip the car and use rides, and the fares are in getting around Cabo.

Winner: Cabo del Sol. At Costa Palmas, plan on spending all of your time at the resort.

Which Room to Book

Cabo del Sol has the better room at the entry level. It's about 850 square feet against about 680 at Costa Palmas, it's five years newer, and it comes with an ocean view no matter which one you book. At Costa Palmas the view depends on the category, so you have to read the room list carefully.

At Cabo del Sol I'd book a casita, and one with a plunge pool if you can. They're around 1,200 square feet inside with a lot of outdoor space, and many have indoor and outdoor showers. For a family of four or five in one unit, ask about the casita suite.

A few things to know before you pay:

• The hotel is built on a hill. There are a lot of stairs and slopes between the lobby, the pools and the sand. If that's a problem for anyone in your group, tell the hotel when you book. There are a few wheelchair-accessible rooms in the main building.
• Ground-floor units share lawns, and the neighbors are close. If privacy matters, ask for an upper level.
• If the bathroom smells like drains when you walk in, call down and ask to be moved right away. It's uncommon, and it's not something to live with at this price.

At Costa Palmas I'd book a Prime Ocean-View or an Oceanfront room on an upper floor. The Oceanfront rooms sit right on the sand. The names may read a little differently on the booking page, so check the view description on whatever you pick.

The ones to be careful with are the ground-floor rooms with plunge pools. They sound like the upgrade, and here's the catch. Some of them face a garden, some get a partial view of the ocean, and people walk past your pool. At this hotel the plunge pool is what you're given in exchange for the view. If you want the pool more than the view, that's a fair trade. Just make it on purpose.

Costa Palmas is the easier hotel to get around. It's flat, everything is a few minutes on foot, and there are bikes for guests.

One more question to ask at Costa Palmas. The resort has an event venue that it sells on having no curfew, and I don't know where it sits relative to the rooms. Ask what's booked during your dates and how close you'll be to it.

Winner: Cabo del Sol on the room itself. Costa Palmas only if you get a room that opens onto that beach.

Pools, Shade and Wind

Costa Palmas has seven pools and Cabo del Sol has three. That sounds like an easy win, and it's closer than the count suggests.

At Costa Palmas there's a lap pool, two family pools, an adults' pool and three smaller ones, so you never have to hunt for a spot. The problem is shade. There isn't much of it at the pools or on the beach, and you're out in the sun and the wind more than the photos let on. On a winter afternoon the umbrellas are working hard. In August it's fierce. I'd pack a wrap for dinner in winter, and flat shoes, because the wind is still going when you sit down to eat.

At Cabo del Sol the family pool has a shallow end and a splash pad, the adults-only pool has an infinity edge over the cove, and there's a lap pool by the gym. It's sheltered from the north wind that hits the East Cape in winter, so a February afternoon here is a lot more comfortable.

I couldn't find out whether either hotel heats its pools in winter, or what a cabana costs at either one. If you're coming between January and March, ask.

Winner: Costa Palmas on space. Cabo del Sol on comfort, especially in winter.

The Food

This one is closer than you'd think, and the real difference is whether you can eat anywhere else.

At Cabo del Sol the two restaurants I'd plan around are Cayao and Coraluz. Cayao is Japanese-Peruvian and it's the dinner to book once. It's very good and it's expensive. Coraluz does Baja Mexican by the family pool, and it's the one you'll end up at most days and be happy about it. Palmerio handles the breakfast buffet and a Mediterranean dinner, and I don't have a strong read on its dinner. Sora, the rooftop bar, has food and live music in the evening, which matters at a hotel where the nights would otherwise be quiet.

Prices are what you'd expect. Cocktails are in the low twenties, a breakfast dish is around thirty dollars, and a fish main is in the mid forties, all before tax and service. Lunch for two by the pool with a drink each lands around US$120. Over a week the choice does start to feel thin, and that's when you go out. There's an open-air mall with places to eat inside the same development, and Cabo San Lucas is 15 minutes away. My picks are in where to eat in Cabo San Lucas.

At Costa Palmas there are more places and bigger names. Estiatorio Milos, the Greek seafood restaurant, is in the hotel, and it does breakfast as well. Limón serves dinner in a lemon grove, and it's the meal people remember. Those are the two I'd book first, and both are really good. Casa de Brasa is the poolside grill and El Puesto does ceviche and sushi.

Then there's the Marina Village, and this is the fun part. You go to dinner by boat. A small water taxi takes about five minutes to cross the marina, it's free, and on the other side is Mozza Baja, Nancy Silverton's pizza place, along with a day club, a bar and a café. Mozza takes reservations only, so book it before you go down to the dock.

What you can't do at Costa Palmas is get away from the prices. Dinner at Limón or Casa de Brasa starts around US$75 a person before drinks, breakfast for two is about US$80, and a normal dinner for two comes to US$200 to $250. That's every night, because the village is run at the same prices and the next restaurant after that is a taqueria 25 minutes up the highway.

A quick warning about the numbers you'll see elsewhere. Cabo del Sol gets described as having eight restaurants and Costa Palmas thirteen. Both counts include bars and coffee counters. For a sit-down dinner it's about three at Cabo del Sol and five or six at Costa Palmas.

Winner: Costa Palmas on what's inside the gate. Cabo del Sol once you count being able to leave.

Kids and Teens

On paper the two are nearly identical. Both have a kids' club for ages 4 to 12 that's included in the rate and runs roughly 9am to 5pm, so confirm the hours for your dates. Neither takes children under 4, and evenings at both mean a sitter booked through the hotel.

The difference is the water. At Costa Palmas a child can get in the ocean on a calm morning, and the family pool has a sloped entry for little ones. There's the water trampoline, free kayaks and paddleboards, bikes, and good snorkeling off the marina jetty. Teenagers get a teen center with games, courts to play on, and the Cabo Pulmo trip. The paid water activities beyond the kayaks and boards are pricey, and the kids' program leans toward the younger ones.

At Cabo del Sol the kids' water is the pool. The splash pad and the shallow end are great for small children, and I'd keep them out of the ocean. For older kids there's an adventure center on the property and everything in Cabo San Lucas, 15 minutes away.

There's one thing I'd want every parent to weigh. At Cabo del Sol the hospitals in Cabo San Lucas are 15 minutes away. At Costa Palmas there's a clinic in La Ribera and the nearest hospital is more than an hour down that highway. With a baby, or anyone with a medical worry, that would decide it for me.

How both stack up against the hotels with water parks and later club hours is in the best family resorts in Cabo.

Winner: Costa Palmas if the kids need the ocean and you'll stay put. Cabo del Sol if you want a short transfer and the option to get out.

The Spa and the Golf

Costa Palmas wins the spa. It's the bigger of the two, with treatment rooms in their own little casitas and a cold plunge, and after the beach it's the best thing at the hotel. The massages are excellent. Ask at check-in whether the steam rooms and pools are free for hotel guests on your rate, because they have been.

The spa at Cabo del Sol is a good one, with ten treatment rooms, vitality pools, a steam room and a sauna. A massage runs about US$275 to $365 before tax and service.

Golf is where a lot of websites get Cabo del Sol wrong, so here's the short version.

• At Cabo del Sol, hotel guests play the Cabo del Sol Course, which is on the property and runs somewhere around US$175 to $300 a round. The famous oceanfront holes you've seen in photos belong to the Cove Club, the Jack Nicklaus course next door, and it's private. You can't play it unless a member brings you. Cabo Real, which anyone can book, is ten minutes east.
• At Costa Palmas, the Robert Trent Jones II course is private to members and Four Seasons guests, so staying here is how you get on it. The guest package has run around US$275 a player per day plus tax for unlimited golf, with clubs and a cart. Confirm the price, and ask whether all 18 holes are open on your dates, because course work tends to get scheduled for late summer. There's no other golf nearby.

Which courses a visitor can actually book around Los Cabos is in the best golf courses in Cabo.

Winner: Costa Palmas for the spa. Golf is a tie, with a private course at one and more choice at the other.

Service, and What's Being Built Next Door

Service is good at both, and at neither is it flawless. I'll be honest that I can only separate them by a little.

At Cabo del Sol the staff are warm and the concierges are the people guests remember. It can run a bit by-the-book for this brand, and in late summer, when the hotel is quiet to the point of feeling empty, the energy drops with it.

At Costa Palmas it's also warm, and it slips a little more often than I'd expect at this price. The slips are things like a missed turndown, housekeeping showing up at four in the afternoon, or nobody showing you around when you check in. None of it ruins a week. If you're booking a Four Seasons for the mind-reading kind of service, you should know that neither of these is quite there, and the two classic names I compare in Las Ventanas vs One&Only Palmilla do it better.

Both hotels sit inside big developments that are still going up. At Costa Palmas there's home building around the resort and in the Marina Village, and you can notice it. Cabo del Sol has more hotels, homes and shops being added around it. At either one, before you pay, ask the hotel what's being built near your room.

Winner: Cabo del Sol, slightly. I wouldn't choose between them on service.

When to Go

The best months are different at each hotel, which is handy if your dates are fixed.

• January to March: Cabo del Sol. It's sheltered, the cove has its best odds of the year, and the whales are out front. The water is cold, about 71°F. Costa Palmas has swimmable mornings and windy afternoons, and both are at their most expensive.
• April to June: Costa Palmas. The wind eases, the sea warms up, and it's usually the calmest and best-value stretch there. At Cabo del Sol the swell is starting and the flags go up.
• July to September: Costa Palmas if you can take real heat with very little shade, because the sea is flat and warm. At Cabo del Sol the beach is mostly off limits. Rates are lowest at both, and it's storm season.
• October to mid-November: Costa Palmas, and this is the best time of the whole year to be there. The water is warm and clear, the wind is light, and Cabo Pulmo is at its best.
• Mid-November to December: even. The Corridor is calming down, the northers are starting on the East Cape, and holiday rates kick in at both.

Hurricane season runs from late August to late October at both. The full calendar for the region is in the best time to visit Cabo.

What the Week Really Costs

Price won't settle this one. The room rates are within about US$50 to $100 of each other on most dates.

Here's an entry-level room for two, per night, with tax and service in. These are rough planning ranges for either hotel and they move a lot with the day of the week.

• Late summer: about US$1,150 to $1,350
• Spring and fall: about US$1,350 to $2,100
• Winter: about US$2,000 to $3,600
• Christmas and New Year: higher than that. I don't have a number I trust, so ask about minimum stays too.

The rate you see when you search is before the extras. Both hotels add tax and a 15% service charge to the room, which comes to about a third on top, plus a few dollars a night for an environmental fee. A US$1,200 room is really about US$1,625. I haven't found a flat resort fee at either one.

Be careful on booking sites. I've seen one add only about 17% at the final step, which means the service charge is either hidden in the nightly number or waiting for you at the desk. Compare the final totals, and ask whether the 15% is in it.

Then come the two things that make Costa Palmas the more expensive week:

• The transfer. About US$150 to $190 round trip at Cabo del Sol and US$440 to $560 at Costa Palmas. That's roughly US$400 more per trip, unless you rent a car.
• The food. At this level, two people spend about US$450 to $700 a day eating and drinking on property. At Costa Palmas that's every meal. At Cabo del Sol, a couple of dinners in town take some of it off the bill, and a US$40 dinner is possible. At Costa Palmas it isn't.

A few smaller things. Food, drinks and the spa already carry tax and a 15% service charge, so read the check before you add a tip on top. Valet parking, wifi and the kids' club are free at both, and Costa Palmas also includes the bikes, the water taxi, and the kayaks and paddleboards. Some travel advisor and credit card programs add breakfast for two and a hotel credit at the same public rate at both hotels, which is worth knowing exists.

If you're looking at those food numbers and wincing, an all-inclusive at this level deals with that, and the two best are in Grand Velas vs Le Blanc.

Winner: Cabo del Sol, slightly. Same room rate, cheaper week.

Can You Do Both in One Trip?

You can. Just think of it as two vacations with a long drive in the middle.

The hotels are an hour and a half to two hours apart. Neither one publishes a price for a car between them, and I'd expect it to cost more than the airport run to Costa Palmas. So get a quote before you book the second hotel.

If you've got a week and the budget, three nights at Cabo del Sol for the Arch, the towns and the dinners, then four at Costa Palmas for the water, is a great trip. My 7-day Cabo itinerary has a two-base version that works the same way. With fewer than six nights, I'd pick one.

The Verdict

For most people, and for anyone on a first trip, I'd book Cabo del Sol.

Judged purely as a resort, Costa Palmas is the better one, and I don't want to undersell it. That beach is the real thing, and there's more room, more pools and a better spa. But a hotel is also where it is. Cabo del Sol lets you see the Arch, eat in town twice, swim at Santa María at 8am and be at the airport in 40 minutes, and you come back each afternoon to a bigger room with an ocean view. I'd book the casita with the plunge pool, eat at Cayao once, and treat the cove as something to look at.

I'd switch to Costa Palmas when the three things from the top all line up. Getting in the ocean from the hotel is why you're going, you have four nights or more, and you've either done Cabo or don't care to. Then it's an easy yes. Book the upper-floor ocean room, rent the car, and go in a month when the wind is down. For a couple who wants silence it's lovely, and how it sits against the more romantic hotels is in the best Cabo honeymoon resorts.

And if you want the ocean swim and Cabo in the same trip, please don't talk yourself into either of these. Book Chileno Bay or Montage. Where all of them land against every hotel at every budget is in the best resorts in Cabo.

Here's how I'd text it to a friend. There are two Four Seasons, so check the town on the booking. Cabo San Lucas means Cabo del Sol, and that's the one you want for a first trip. Get a casita and swim in the pool. Costa Palmas has the beach, but it's an hour past the airport the other way... so only go if you'll stay four nights and never leave.

Quick Answers

Are there two Four Seasons in Cabo? Yes. Four Seasons Resort Cabo del Sol is on the Corridor about 15 minutes from Cabo San Lucas, and Four Seasons Resort Los Cabos at Costa Palmas is on the East Cape near La Ribera. Both also rent out private residences, which are part of those two resorts and aren't a third hotel.

Which one is the Four Seasons in Cabo San Lucas? Cabo del Sol. Costa Palmas is in the wider Los Cabos area, but it's an hour and a half to two hours from Cabo San Lucas.

Which Four Seasons in Cabo has the swimmable beach? Costa Palmas, where the only real catch is wind on winter afternoons. The cove at Cabo del Sol has rocks, a reef and a current, and it's for strong swimmers on calm days, mostly from November to March.

How far apart are they, and which is closer to the airport? About 60 miles by road, or an hour and a half to two hours, with the airport in between. Cabo del Sol is 35 to 40 minutes from the terminal and Costa Palmas is about an hour.

Which one is cheaper? The room rates are nearly the same. Costa Palmas costs more in practice, because the transfers run about US$400 more per trip and every meal is at resort prices.