Anonymous
Unregistered
Posts: N/A
Registered: N/A
Member Is Offline
|
|
Crazy for CABO - Baja's playground builds on its loose reputation -- and luxury
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archi...
Jeanne Cooper
February 6, 2005
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico -- We were expecting the whales. We were not expecting the stripper pole.
Only minutes out of Cabo San Lucas' harbor, apparently lubricated by the all-you-can-drink margaritas, a sextet of middle-aged women transformed our
sunset cruise into "Showgirls." While a pod of five gray whales took turns breaching port and starboard, the stocky women in shorts and windbreakers
performed Elizabeth Berklee-style twirls around the ship's slender mast. "Take a picture," one yelled to her husband -- and she wasn't referring to
the sea life.
These days the spring break atmosphere in Cabo is hardly confined to those of college age, nor is it limited to spring. Grown-up money -- much of it
from the Bay Area -- flows into the tip of Baja as freely as the liquor. Instead of cramming themselves into tiny cinderblock rooms like the student
set, these older partiers loll at one of the burgeoning luxury resorts or private villas, swing their Callaways on a new world-class golf course and
enjoy a gourmet dinner before heading out for a night of tequila shots and matrons-gone-wild at Cabo Wabo.
The vibe in this new Cabo is a combination of Vegas without the gambling, Palm Springs without the early-bird specials and Miami Beach with a lot less
Spanish. It's also created a building boom -- rebar and concrete forms sprouting in the desert like the ubiquitous saguaros -- that is spreading
across the entire coastline of Los Cabos, from flashy Cabo San Lucas to staid San Jose del Cabo and the opulent beach "Corridor" in between. And
thanks to United's new nonstop service to Los Cabos on Ted, its discount carrier, it's even easier for Bay Area residents to check out the phenomenon
for themselves.
Cabo Wabo: Woo-hoo
There are professional showgirls in Cabo San Lucas, at least according to the neon signs on the back side of the harbor, but after amateur hour on the
sunset cruise we were ready for another source of intoxication, er, inspiration: Cabo Wabo.
The mystique of Sammy Hagar's cantina, opened in 1990, looms larger over Cabo San Lucas than the actual lighthouse depicted in its logo. A few short
blocks from the water, Cabo Wabo's physical structure includes a concert hall, gift shop, patio-style bar and second-floor restaurant. As a business,
Cabo Wabo Enterprises (based in Berkeley) includes production of private-label tequila, logo clothing (from baseball caps to thong underwear) and
parties. It has rivals for fun lovers -- El Squid Roe (part of the famed Se?or Frog's family), the Giggling Marlin, Hard Rock Cafe -- and yet nowhere
else has quite the all-ages appeal.
Twenty years ago, Hagar's "Can't Drive 55" was on heavy rotation on MTV. Now MTV airs more spring break footage than music videos, his audience is
closing in on 55 in age and the song is only on heavy rotation at Cabo Wabo. But the night we visited, that didn't deter a crowd of flush-faced people
in their 20s from milling downstairs with $7 margaritas in hand. Upstairs, tables of diners twice their age dined on jumbo shrimp sauteed in the house
tequila and verbally replayed their rounds on one of the Cabo del Sol golf courses.
While Cabo's nightspots and souvenir stores promote the cantina can-do spirit, other establishments are trying to rein in the wild-child gatherings.
The newest hotel on broad, bustling Playa el Medano -- Cabo San Lucas' best swimming beach -- is the upscale, all-inclusive Riu Palace, which opened
in December with an official policy of "no spring breakers" (meaning groups of young adults) "anytime throughout the year."
Two of the oldest hotels in the area -- Solmar Suites and Hotel Finisterra, built in the early '70s on the Pacific side of Land's End -- have
undergone extensive renovations within the last several years and now also refuse individual or group student bookings. Other hotels take a more
lenient approach, but still require young guests to sign a copy of their rules and pay special deposits before allowing them to stuff rooms like '50s
telephone booths.
Laps of luxury
"Windows on paradise" is the English translation of Las Ventanas al Paraiso, perhaps the most luxurious boutique hotel on the Cabo corridor. But
getting through its doors is less like being greeted by St. Peter and more like entering a minimum-security prison -- with better-dressed guards.
Part of the Rosewood group of ultra-luxurious lodgings, the blazing-white- stucco hotel promises exclusivity, privacy and staff-intensive pampering
for its guests. Keeping out interlopers helps it make good on the promise. Nevertheless, you can enjoy a spa treatment there, even if you're not
willing to pay a minimum of $600 per night (junior room, garden view, plus taxes).
Before you can be admitted, however, you have to get an application from the concierge at your own hotel, fill in your personal information and credit
card details, have your concierge fax it over, wait for the approval to be faxed back, present your papers at the hotel's elegant, unmarked gate off
the Transpeninsula Highway and wait while the security guard examines them before calling the spa to verify your appointment. When the guard gets the
OK, the wrought-iron gate will swing open so your cab can deposit you at the open-air lobby, where a series of staff members will gently guide you
directly to the spa.
At least, that's how the process worked for my pedicure appointment. Once inside the spa -- actually, a group of casitas surrounding a beautiful
desert garden, where clients recline on lounge chairs before and after their appointments -- I felt as pampered as the other guests, one of whom
sighed with pleasure, "It feels like nobody else is here." While I wasn't permitted to use the pool or fitness facilities, I could prompt my
pedicurist to tell me her favorite celebrity guests ("Jennifer Aniston ... y Brad Pitt"), soak in the sun afterwards, and, feeling empowered by my
glossy toenails, stroll around the gift shop and decidedly quiet bar. (Well, it was only 10 a.m.)
It almost felt like slumming when I returned to our handsome digs at the Westin Regina, reputedly the most expensive hotel ever built in Mexico when
it opened in 1994. A strikingly modern, brick-hued semicircle, the Westin added its own stylish spa during a renovation a couple of years ago. Every
room has at least a partial ocean view; from ours, we enjoyed seeing the burnt-siena Cerro Colorado ("colored hill") that inspired the hotel's shape
and color as much as the indigo slice of the Sea of Cort?s. A refined dinner of delicately seasoned huachinango (red snapper) and sea bass at
Arrecifes, the Westin's well-regarded cliff-side restaurant, brought us even closer to the water.
Along the Corridor, there's nervous talk that they're nearing build-out on the 10,000-room moratorium imposed for water and other environmental
reasons, and there's a voracious demand for real estate investments that come with resort-style service. The grounds of the Westin, already home to
traditional timeshare units, are now a construction site for Grand Regina vacation villas. At Las Ventanas, they're building full-size houses. But if
you're just not ready to buy a two-week share of a two-bedroom villa for $67, 000 (the least expensive way to buy into the Grand Regina), you'll find
plenty of traditional hotels competing for your large-denomination greenbacks. (And keep in mind, "plus tax" at a luxury hotel in Los Cabos can mean a
15 percent service charge, a 2 percent "administrative" tax and a 10 percent value added tax.)
The Marquis Los Cabos, just west of the Westin, opened in mid-2003 with a bold design similar to the Westin's (albeit in yellow and white) and
lavishly attentive service similar to Las Ventanas; rooms start at $445 plus tax. One non-inebriated couple we met on our sunset cruise delighted in
the Marquis' daily room service: In the morning, coffee and a light breakfast are placed in a pass-through compartment in the door, their arrival
signaled by a brief knock; evening brought a c-cktail and snack. To the east, the One & Only luxury hoteliers spent $90 million renovating the
renowned Palmilla, famous in part for the gourmet lunch it packs in a signature tote for departing guests. (Believe me, you do not want to rely on the
airport's indifferently prepared tacos.) There's a $30 fee for the meal, but who notices when the cheapest room tab is almost $600 per night?
Less expensive, but no less artificially lush, are the sprawling Hilton Los Cabos (built in 2002) and Sheraton Hacienda Del Mar (built in 1996), both
in the heart of Cabo golf country. Jack Nicklaus, Tom Weiskopf and Robert Trent Jones Jr. all have scenic courses to their credit in the region. In
2000, Querencia, the first private golf club in Cabo (and surely not the last), opened with a layout by Tom Fazio.
Looking forward, and back
It's no surprise that the most reasonably priced golf course is found at the other end of the Corridor, in stereotypically "sleepy" San Jos? del Cabo.
The government-run tourism developer Fonatur designed the nine-hole San Jose Municipal Course hard by the beachfront condos and hotels of the town's
Zona Hotelera, which, like Cabo San Lucas and the Corridor, is also witnessing a boom in new construction and large-scale renovation.
The government also has high hopes for a new marina being dredged east of the San Jos? estuary, itself an attraction for birdwatchers but a little
bedraggled for nature lovers. Scheduled to open this fall, the marina is expected to divert some of the famous sportfishing fleet from Cabo San Lucas
(to say nothing of stripper-pole cruises), and is already accelerating development pressures along the east coast toward Cabo Pulmo. Residents may be
feeling the pressure, too: A sign in Spanish along the main drag, Boulevard de Mijares, urges Cabenses (people from Cabo) to "Smile at a tourist, feel
like a Cabense."
A mission town that's generally more sedate than its wild cousin on the opposite end of the Corridor, San Jose has expanded its central plaza in the
last few years, providing ample room for tourists and locals alike to experience regularly staged fiestas. In a portent of where things seem to be
headed, a Cabo Wabo boutique is at one end of the plaza, facing the church. Tucked away in side streets and along the central Boulevard de Mijares are
a growing number of haute cuisine restaurants with equally haute prices.
At one of them, El Patio, we spent a balmy night dining on expertly presented but somewhat small portions of salad and seafood in a romantically lamp-
and candlelit courtyard, while a serenading guitarist took requests. In between his heartfelt canciones, we eavesdropped on a suavely dressed, salt-
and-pepper-haired local man who was busy promoting the charms of Los Cabos to an American couple who also looked to be well into their 50s. "You know,
we have an expression here: 'What happens in Cabo, stays in Cabo,' " the Mexican host informed his guests, somewhat proudly.
"I thought they said that about Vegas," the male visitor replied.
"Really?" his host asked, genuinely puzzled. It's hard to blame him for feeling a little proprietary about Cabo's disreputable reputation. The 1940s-
era church a few blocks away may have a nondescript interior, but a painting over the entrance and a pillar carved in Spanish and English reveal the
area's colorful past.
It seems that things went relatively well for the Jesuits among the indigenous Peric? people after they founded the San Jos? del Cabo mission in 1730,
until four years later, when Father Nicholas Tamaral had the bright idea to enforce a ban on polygamy. The angry Peric? apparently burned him alive --
if he wasn't already dead from the severe beating they inflicted first.
Taking the lesson of Father Tamaral to heart, we didn't complain about the inappropriately gyrating women on our sunset cruise. Not even when, with
children in earshot, one took hold of the P.A. system and trilled about the whales' impromptu performance, "That was orgasmic!"
Instead, we kept our eyes on the ocean, backlit by a sunset shocking only in its brilliant orange hue.
-----------------------------------------------------
IF YOU GO
Note: Los Cabos, as the Cabo San Lucas and San Jos? del Cabo region is called, is on Mountain Time, one hour ahead of San Francisco. Prices below are
quoted in U.S. dollars, which are widely used. At press time, the exchange rate was 11.2 pesos to the dollar.
When to go
The winter holidays and mid-February through March (spring break) are high season, although families have boosted summer visitor numbers. The arid
region gets almost a third of its annual rainfall in September (which is also hurricane season).
Getting there
From San Francisco, Ted (United Airlines' discount carrier) and Alaska Airlines offer nonstop service to Los Cabos International Airport, about a 10-
minute cab ride to San Jos? del Cabo and 30 minutes to Cabo San Lucas. A valid passport, or a birth certificate with another government-issued photo
ID, are required for U.S. citizens.
Where to stay
Westin Resort and Spa Los Cabos (also known as the Westin Regina), Carretera Transpeninsular KM 22.5, San Jose del Cabo. 011-52-624-1429-000; www.starwoodhotels.com. Doubles from $365 plus tax; air-inclusive vacation packages offer significant discounts. Our United Vacations package for
two people included roundtrip airfare from San Francisco, three nights' lodging, airport transfers and all taxes and fees for $1,350. Note: A
representative of nearby vacation villas greets arriving Westin guests, but you are not obligated to tour their facilities.
Riu Palace, Camino Viejo A San Jos?, Cabo San Lucas. U.S. toll-free reservation line (888) 666-8816, 011-52-624-1467-160; www.riu.com/palacecabosan lucas. All-inclusive resort with five restaurants, children's pools and playground, and disco. Junior suites, including
all meals for two adults, fitness club use and local taxes, from $363.
Las Ventanas al Paraiso, Carretera Transpeninsular KM 19.5, Los Cabos. U. S. toll-free reservation line, (888) 767-3966; in Mexico,
011-52-624-144-2800; www.lasventanas.com. Doubles from $600 (oceanview, $800) plus 12 percent in taxes and 15 percent service charge.
Where to eat
Cabo Wabo, Calle Vicente Guerrero (between Madero and L?zaro C?rdenas), Cabo San Lucas. 011-52-624-143-1188, www.cabowabo.com. Open daily for lunch and dinner. Shows begin around 9 p.m. Entrees $10-$30.
Arrecifes, in the Westin (see contact information above). Dinner nightly. Entrees $14-$30.
What to do
Information on sport fishing, golf, harbor cruises, snorkeling, horseback and Jeep rides, and regional day trips are readily available at hotels and
in free guides distributed throughout the area.
For more information
The Los Cabos Tourism Board's official Web site is www.visitcabo.com; toll-free, (866) 567-2226.
For more images
To see more pictures of Los Cabos, visit www.loscabosguide.com.
|
|
|
Bruce R Leech
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6796
Registered: 9-20-2004
Location: Ensenada formerly Mulege
Member Is Offline
Mood: A lot cooler than Mulege
|
|
Anonymous
Anonymous I can not figure out how you get your Joelly' s from posting so much mis information?
Bruce R Leech
Ensenada
 |
|
|
capt. mike
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8085
Registered: 11-26-2002
Location: Bat Cave
Member Is Offline
Mood: Sling time!
|
|
my 1st trip to Cabo in 1981 was one
of the best trips to baja i've ever taken!!
1986 still good but way different
1992 - a joke and i haven't gone back....
but i might be going again just to make sure i do the right thing....
formerly Ordained in Rev. Ewing\'s Church by Mail - busted on tax fraud.......
Now joined L. Ron Hoover\'s church of Appliantology
\"Remember there is a big difference between kneeling down and bending over....\"
www.facebook.com/michael.l.goering |
|
|
BajaNomad
Super Administrator
Posts: 4969
Registered: 8-1-2002
Location: San Diego, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: INTP-A
|
|
Mike,
If you haven't been back since '92 - you won't believe it now. The difference is startling.
I think they opened the 4 lane highway along the corridor there sometime in mid-to-late '92. Before that, it was still a slow, curvy two-lane highway
between SJdC and CSL.
--
Doug
When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.
– Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
We know we must go back if we live, and we don`t know why.
– John Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez
Affordable Domain Name Registration/Management & cPanel Web Hosting:
https://www.regionalinternet.com |
|
|
capt. mike
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8085
Registered: 11-26-2002
Location: Bat Cave
Member Is Offline
Mood: Sling time!
|
|
yeah, i remeber that...those were the days
but now a friend of mine is putting in another huge time share resort property - he and his compnay have several all over USA and mexico - they are
mui rico - anyway i'll be going there a lot in the future as it is built and after it opens too. It's not the Cabo I like but hey, a party is a
party!! ( and comped rooms ain't too shabby my friends!!)
formerly Ordained in Rev. Ewing\'s Church by Mail - busted on tax fraud.......
Now joined L. Ron Hoover\'s church of Appliantology
\"Remember there is a big difference between kneeling down and bending over....\"
www.facebook.com/michael.l.goering |
|
|
|
![[*]](images/xmbforum/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
