Solaz, a Luxury Collection Resort, Los Cabos

KM 18.5 Carretera Trans Cabo Real, Tourist Corridor, 23405 Cabo San Lucas, B.C.S., Mexico

Why we love it: A sprawling retreat offering high design and a beachfront location

The Highlights:

  • Guest rooms with private plunge pools or whirlpools
  • The only Thalasso therapy wellness spa in Baja
  • Five separate pools, plus 4,000 square feet of beachfront

The Review
Though the Baja Peninsula has welcomed a slew of luxury properties over the past few years, it seems the 128-room Solaz is only in competition with itself. First, there are the sophisticated stone-and-wood interiors, which balance high-tech details (remote controlled lighting) and luxe amenities (outdoor showers, private plunge pools) with locally sourced decor and wall sculptures by Mexican artist César López Negrete.

Guests even have the option to add personal butler service, which can arrange everything from swimming with whale sharks to ordering a bottle of local wine from the property’s wine cellar. Outdoors, the landscaping features endemic desert plants like agave and cacti, with a hardly a palm tree in sight.

Then there’s the spa, a 10,000-square-foot refuge that features the region’s only Thalasso therapy seawater treatments and a Himalayan salt igloo. Five pools (including two sleek infinity ones that overlook the Sea of Cortez), four dining outlets (a Mexican breakfast spot, a seafood restaurant, a poolside cafe, and a coffee lounge), a beachfront fitness center, and 4,000 square feet of white-sand shoreline complete the desert dream.

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Solaz Resort, Los Cabos

Los Cabos (comprised of the adjoining towns of San José del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas) has no shortage of luxury resorts sprawling behind imposing entrance gates, where high thread counts, exceptional service, and waterfront views await.

But Solaz really is something different, and visitors sense that as soon as they arrive in the open air lobby, which manages to achieve the architects’ and designers’ goal of having the space feel like a part of the Baja California Sur landscape. It’s hard to pay attention to check-in details, what with the allure of the Sea of Cortez rippling in front of you, seemingly close enough to touch.

Between you and the sea, there are a few terraced levels of the property where rooms sit in low-slung buildings, each with a living green roof, and all planted with native flora. It’s a welcome change from the typical looming “pack ‘em in” towers of other resort hotels in the area.

Rooms are as comfortable as you’d expect from an upscale property, but many have lots of special extras, including private plunge pools, handwoven hammocks, and outdoor showers, all with views of the water (bring binoculars; you might be lucky enough to see migrating whales if you’re visiting in season). There are four on-site restaurants, and most guests will end up at some point in Cascabel, where an ample breakfast spread is laid out Monday-Friday and a brunch buffet (the name belying how truly expansive and delicious this is) on weekends. (There’s even a chef assigned to man a Big Green Egg-style smoker. This brunch is *serious.*)

Throughout the property’s common areas, you’ll notice compelling sculptures, and in rooms, you’ll see not-your-usual-hotel-photographs. Both were made by Mexican artists who spent nearly a year traveling the entire Baja California Sur peninsula in search of inspiration for these works. You’d be forgiven if you wanted to take time off to do the same.

Information on this page, including website, location, and opening hours, is subject to have changed since this page was last published. If you would like to report anything that’s inaccurate, let us know at notification@afar.com.

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