Where to Stay

Montage Los Cabos vs Chileno Bay Resort: Which One I'd Book

By Cabo Wander

Montage Los Cabos vs Chileno Bay Resort is the comparison I get from friends who've already done the hard part. They know they want a top-end resort on the Corridor, and they know they want one where you can get in the ocean, which rules out nearly every other famous name on this coast. These are the two that are left, one bay apart, at almost the same price.

My answer is Chileno Bay for most people, and Montage if you're bringing kids.

The reason is the beach. Chileno sits on the better bay for swimming and snorkeling, with real sand and a gentle way in. Montage has the bigger rooms, the stronger service and more space around the pools, on a prettier cove where the sand is tiny pebbles and the bottom drops off fast. So it comes down to whether you're booking mainly for the water or mainly for the hotel.

If you want to see where both land against the rest of the top end, they're numbers one and two in the best luxury resorts in Cabo.

The Quick Version

Book Chileno Bay Resort if you're a couple, if you plan to swim or snorkel most mornings, or if anyone in your group has tender feet or isn't a strong swimmer. It's the smaller of the two and it has an adults-only pool.

Book Montage Los Cabos if you have kids and want a big room, a kids' club and plenty of pool space, or if being looked after matters more to you than the sand. Pack water shoes for everybody.

Either way, swim before 10, expect to pay about a third more than the rate you're quoted, and don't plan on popping into town for dinner.

The Bay and the Swimming

The bay is what decides it for me, and Chileno wins.

Chileno is a wide, open crescent of about half a mile, and it's the bay I rank first in the best swimmable beaches in Cabo. The sand is coarse with a little crushed shell, and it's comfortable barefoot. In the middle of the bay the bottom slopes in gently, so on a calm morning you can wade out a good way and still be standing. Chileno Bay Resort is the only hotel on it.

Santa María, where Montage sits, is the prettier of the two. It's a small horseshoe with clear blue-green water and rock on both sides. The catch is underfoot. What looks like sand is tiny pebbles, about the size of grains of rice, and a lot of people find it uncomfortable to walk on. The bottom also drops off within a few steps, so you go from ankle-deep to chest-deep quickly.

Santa María also takes more swell than its sheltered shape suggests. Both bays face the south swells that run from about May through October, and both close when the flag goes black. Santa María has less margin on a rough day, and it can stay shut for several days in a row. September is the worst month for that. It's also Montage's cheapest month, which is worth knowing before a low rate tempts you.

The calendar is the same at both hotels otherwise. Late October and November are the weeks to come for, with the water around 80°F and the sea settling down. February to April is the flattest stretch of the year and the coldest, at about 71°F, so plenty of winter guests end up in the pool anyway. I go month by month in the best time to visit Cabo.

And whichever one you book, mornings are when the water is calmest. By afternoon a breeze has roughed it up.

Winner: Chileno Bay. Better sand, an easier way in, and more days when a nervous swimmer will be happy.

Snorkeling

Both hotels let you snorkel straight off the beach, which is a big part of why they're the two I'd pay for. Chileno gets the edge, and it's closer than the swimming.

At Chileno the fish are along the rocks at the ends of the bay, and the middle is plain sand. The best stretch of reef in the whole bay sits off the resort's own sand. Day visitors get the rocks at the public end, and resort guests get the better ones. Snorkels, kayaks and paddleboards are complimentary for guests, so you don't need to pack a mask.

At Santa María the snorkeling is just as good on the right day, and on some mornings the water is clearer than Chileno's. The best of it is at the far right end of the cove as you face the water. The left side is rougher and deeper, with more current. The snorkel boats from Cabo San Lucas anchor in the middle of the bay from mid-morning, so the water gets busy even when the sand doesn't.

At both, set your expectations by what's down there. It's a LOT of fish over granite boulders, with patches of low coral, and it's nothing like a Caribbean coral garden. There are sea urchins in the rocks at both bays, so don't stand on anything. And the month matters more than which bay you picked. The same rocks can be warm and clear in November and cold and cloudy in March. The full picture is in snorkeling in Cabo.

Winner: Chileno Bay, narrowly. More reef, and the best of it is on the hotel's side.

Rooms, and Which Category to Book

Montage wins on rooms. They're big, they come with open-air showers and proper terraces, and some of the suites have their own pools.

Chileno's rooms are modern and comfortable, and the hotel is the smaller of the two, roughly 130 rooms and villas against about 175 rooms and residences at Montage. The lineup runs from guestrooms and suites up to villas and one six-bedroom house, so it works well for a group splitting a villa.

Neither hotel has a block of rooms I'd warn you off, and neither has one upgrade that's the obvious thing to pay for. So here's what I'd do.

• At Chileno Bay, I'd book the entry-level room and spend the difference on the trip. I can't promise you every one of those rooms looks at the ocean, so ask before you pay, and get the answer in writing.
• At Montage, the entry-level room is already large. The upgrade I'd consider is a suite with a private pool, mainly as insurance for the days the beach is closed.
• For a group or three generations, look at the villas at Chileno Bay or the residences at Montage.

Montage is a wedding and event hotel, and a party can run late. When you book, ask whether anything is scheduled near your building during your dates.

Winner: Montage. Bigger rooms, and the open-air shower is a nice touch.

The Pools

You'll use the pool more than you think at both hotels. The bays are an early-morning swim, and by midday the boats are in and the breeze is up.

Chileno Bay has three pools, and one of them is an adults-only infinity pool. For a couple, that's the detail I'd care about. Service at the pool can be slow, which is a small complaint at this price but a real one.

Montage has several pools, spread out enough that finding a spot isn't a contest. The loungers there are hard and unpadded, and in August the pool water gets warmer than you'd want.

Winner: a tie. Chileno if you want a pool with no kids in it, Montage if you want room to spread out.

Service

Montage takes this one. Service is the thing it's best at, and housekeeping comes through twice a day. The one knock is the occasional communication slip.

Chileno Bay's staff are warm and good with names. The service is a little more uneven, though, and it shows most at the pool.

Both are very good, and I wouldn't choose between them on this alone. If being looked after is the main thing you're paying for, neither of these is the top of the market anyway. That's Las Ventanas, which I cover in Las Ventanas vs One&Only Palmilla.

Winner: Montage.

The Food

Neither hotel has enough restaurants for a full week, so plan for some repetition at both.

Chileno Bay has two. Comal is the main one, on a terrace, and it's inconsistent. At its best it's an outstanding dinner, and it can also send out small plates for what they cost. Yaya, the Mediterranean one, is the other. By the fourth night you've been around both twice.

Montage's headliner is Mezcal, and it's the best single restaurant between the two hotels. Behind it there's a second restaurant and a rotation of pop-ups, which helps a little with variety. Prices are steep even for this level. Bottled water at meals runs about US$10.

Both sell rooms without meals, so every breakfast, lunch and cocktail goes on the bill. Both also take dinner reservations from people who aren't staying there, which means you can sleep at one and book a table at the other. If you want a night off the property entirely, my picks are in the best restaurants in Cabo.

Winner: Montage, by a nose. Mezcal is the dinner I'd want. For a week, it's close to even.

Families vs Couples

For couples, I'd book Chileno Bay. It's smaller, it has the adults-only pool, and it feels more like its own place. Montage is beautiful and a little anonymous. It could be a very nice resort almost anywhere. If it's a honeymoon, it's worth looking at the wider field in the best Cabo honeymoon resorts, because a couple who won't swim much has more options than these two.

For families, I'd book Montage, and the reason is the hotel. The rooms are big, there's a kids' club, there's space at the pools, and it suits a trip with grandparents along. Confirm what the kids' club costs before you promise anybody anything, because I can't tell you it's included. Cabanas and tennis are extra.

Where Montage doesn't win for kids is the beach itself. Pebbles and a quick drop-off are harder on little ones than Chileno's gradual, sandy way in. So bring water shoes for every child, and plan on an adult in the water with them.

That makes Chileno Bay a real family option too. It has its own kids' club, cribs, and a children's menu at every restaurant, and the bay is the kinder one for a kid who's still getting used to the ocean. If your kids are happy in the water and the sea is the whole point of the trip, I'd lean Chileno even with children. The full spread of family picks is in the best family resorts in Cabo.

For golfers, Montage guests can play Twin Dolphin, the private course behind the hotel. The guest fee is high, so get the number before you count on a round.

Winner: Chileno Bay for couples, Montage for families. With the asterisk that Chileno has the easier beach for small kids.

What It Costs All-In

Price isn't going to make this decision for you, because the two are close to identical.

The rate you see when you book is before tax and a service charge, and together those add about a third. So here's what an entry-level room costs for two, per night, with tax and fees included. These are estimates and they swing with the season.

• Late summer: about US$1,200 to $1,300 at either hotel
• Winter: about US$2,200 to $3,400 at either hotel

Then you eat. Dinner for two with wine at a hotel like these runs US$250 to $450, and a full day of food and drinks for two is more like US$450 to $700. Add it all up and a realistic number for two people is US$2,000 to $3,500 a night.

A few differences at the edges:

• Montage's lowest rates are in September. That's also the month Santa María is most likely to be closed to swimming.
• Chileno Bay includes the snorkels, kayaks and paddleboards. Montage charges for more of its extras.
• Chileno Bay takes a two-night deposit when you book, with tax and service already in it.

The service charge shows up on every check at both hotels, so read the check before you add a tip on top.

Winner: a tie. Book the one you want. The difference won't cover a dinner.

Getting Out of the Resort

Both hotels are in the middle of the Corridor, and that's the hardest place in Los Cabos to leave. Neither one is a base for going out.

They're less than two miles apart on the same highway. From either, it's 20 to 30 minutes to Cabo San Lucas or San José, and about 35 minutes to the airport. A taxi into town runs US$30 to $50 each way. Uber is roughly half that, but drivers often have to meet you at the security gate, and getting picked up at the Chileno Bay gate after dinner can be a hassle. Ask either hotel where an Uber is allowed to collect you before you plan an evening around it. The fares and the workarounds are in getting around Cabo.

Nothing is walkable from either one. I don't know of a grocery store, pharmacy or gas station on this stretch of the highway, so ask your airport driver to stop for water, snacks and sunscreen on the way in.

I'd plan on one or two dinners out in a week, and no more. If that sounds like too little for you, it's worth reading my Tourist Corridor guide before you commit to this part of the coast.

Winner: a tie. Pick your hotel for the hotel.

The Public Beach Factor

Neither of these hotels has a private beach, because there's no such thing in Mexico. Both bays have a public beach with its own road and free parking lot, and both get tour boats. You'll share the water at either one. How you share it is different.

At Chileno, the public beach is next door on the same crescent, and it's the most popular free beach on the Corridor. It's quiet until about 10, busy by late morning, and towel to towel by noon, with Sunday the fullest day of the week. The snorkel boats anchor outside the buoys off the public end from about 10am. They don't land anyone, but their passengers swim in to the rocks down there. So you get more people in your bay, mostly off to one side.

At Santa María, Montage sits in the middle of the beach with its own loungers, and day visitors come down a boardwalk from the public lot. The sand stays much quieter than Chileno's, and almost nobody is selling anything. The boats are the trade-off. Five to ten of them anchor in the middle of the cove from mid-morning, which puts them right in your view.

A couple of things are the same at both. The loungers, umbrellas and service on the sand belong to the hotel, so your setup is yours. Neither bay allows jet skis. And the busiest weeks of the year, Easter and Christmas, are busy at both.

If you're curious what the free side of Chileno is like, or you want to send friends who are staying elsewhere, I've written it up in my Chileno Bay guide.

Winner: call it even. Montage for quieter sand, Chileno for boats that stay off to one side. At both, the fix is the same... swim early.

The Verdict

I'd book Chileno Bay.

At this price, the thing you're buying that almost no other luxury hotel in Los Cabos can sell you is the ocean, and Chileno has the better ocean. The sand is kind to your feet, the way in is gentle, the best reef is on the hotel's side, and it works for couples and for families in the same week. I'd accept two restaurants and a slower pool bar for that.

I'd switch to Montage in three cases. You have kids and want the bigger room and the kids' club. Service matters more to you than sand. Or you mostly plan to be at the pool, and the cove is something to look at with a morning dip now and then. In all three, Montage is the better hotel for you, and it's a very close second overall.

Neither one is for anyone who wants to walk to dinner, or anyone who'd rather never see a check. And if you love the idea of a swimmable beach but this is more than you want to spend, the wider list is in the best Cabo resorts with swimmable beaches.

Book Chileno Bay if you're going for the water, and Montage if you've got kids. Same price, add a third for tax and service. Swim before 10 at both. Water shoes at Montage. And skip September if the ocean is why you're coming.

Quick Answers

Which is better, Montage Los Cabos or Chileno Bay Resort? Chileno Bay for most people, because the bay is better for swimming and snorkeling and the sand is real sand. Montage is the better pick for families who want bigger rooms, a kids' club and more pool space.

Can you swim in the ocean at both? Yes, on most days. Both close when the flag is black, which happens most in the swell months from about May to October, and Santa María at Montage has less margin on a rough day.

Which one is better for kids? Montage as a hotel, for the room size and the kids' club. Chileno Bay has the gentler, sandier beach, so bring water shoes if you choose Montage.

Are the beaches private? No. Both bays have a public beach with its own access and free parking, and tour boats anchor in both from mid-morning. The loungers and service on the sand in front of each hotel are for guests.

How much do they cost? About the same. For two, with tax and service in, an entry-level room runs roughly US$1,200 to $1,300 a night in late summer and US$2,200 to $3,400 in winter, and US$2,000 to $3,500 once you count food and drinks.