Where to stay in Los Cabos – Hacienda Encantada

Sitting at the massive lobby decorated with different Mexican paintings, awkward metal statues, wooden chairs and a fireplace while waiting for my massage makes me wonder if I ever come back to this amazing resort at the rocky beach.

Three days at Hacienda Encantada were really un encanto. I usually dislike people who don’t even get out of the hotel for the entire stay and just chill out, but that was exactly what I also did here. My body was telling me not to do much and doing nada was on my every day bucket list. It tasted better than the best meal. And trust me, the hotel is so vast that you cannot find yourself bored. 72 hours flew by faster and easier than I would ever wished for.

Hacienda Encantada from the rocky beach

Hacienda Encantada at night

I know many travelers are not the biggest fans of all inclusive hotels but I am. Being a solo female traveler on the road approx. 10 months per year allows me to get pampered and be treated like a star. At least from time to time. Or am I wrong? And all inclusive means I can get my healthy breakfast and also all the 5 meals per day without freaking out where I’m going to find a place to make my belly happy again. Some things are just better when they are easy.

healthy breakfast at Las Marias restaurant

After being adventurous doing zip line, swimming with dolphins, snorkeling and even camel riding my first days when staying at Marina Fiesta, I really needed relax time by the pool. I could even choose from 2 pools at Hacienda Encantada. I was at the first one in the morning being served by very pleasant guys at La Pergola pool bar, then got some work done and talked to my family in my room, and the afternoon was time for the main pool with the breath-taking views of Los Arcos and the Gulf of California (the Sea of Cortez). The main infinity pool here basically consists of 3 little pools and a big jacuzzi at the bottom.

Being stuck at the edge of the main pool felt as if I was just there touching the skies with one hand and reaching to the famous Arch with the other one. All the dreams just seemed closer. Luckily, I didn’t have to dream about plastic sunbeds inside the swimming pool or white comfy sunbeds on the cliff to watch the sunset from. They were all there for my use.

ready to get my swimming done

swimming pool with the views

at the main pool

the second pool where I spent my mornings

a bit of tanning by the pool

loved the sunbeds in the pool

jacuzzi time at sunset

But the swimming pools where I swam every day twice to keep fit were just one of a long list of the things that got under my skin in Hacienda Encantada. I left just a few hours ago and already missing the resort and its amenities so much as if it was a human.

What else I loved about Hacienda Encantada:

• free wifi – all around the resort in public areas, restaurants, by the pool and in the suites. I could easily reply to emails and tweets from the pool and even spent an hour on the Viber call with my mum literally from inside the swimming pool. Then I worked on my laptop when having breakfast and dinner in the restaurants and during the day in my room. A great place for a digital nomad.

• room – with comfortable double bed, sofa, TV, big bathroom, kitchen, table, a few mirrors and balcony. I slept very well on that bed which doesn’t happen so often to an insomniac like me :)

enjoying my spacious bed

view from my room

 

• all inclusive meals and drinks – I drink 3 to 4 l of water/tea per day in warm weather and it was around 30 Celsius degrees during my stay which for me means summer time. So being able to get water or even my favorite mango and strawberry smoothies was a blessing!

fruit and smoothie by the pool

 

• restaurants and food – some all inclusive resorts have always the same food each day and my mum could tell you how much I hate that. The only thing I can eat every single day is my oatmeal for breakfast but nothing else. Not even pasta al pesto or Slovak meals I heart. But Hacienda Encatada offers different cuisine on different days – Italian dinners, Mexican specialties, Mezquite grill, sushi bar El Eden or exquisite Pacific cuisine at La Trajinera (it’s the only restaurant you need to make a reservation for ahead and also the only one with formal clothes). The colorful decorations and the live piano music together with Latin fine meals make La Trajinera a pleasant spot for romance. Every night I was also already looking forward for breakfast as Las Marias restaurant does offer fresh fruit, oat, granola, nuts and even fresh juices/smoothies you ask for. I didn’t have a banana I cannot live without since I left Napa so just this simple detail put me in a good mood. Of course, there’s plenty of other breakfast options at the Las Marias buffet, such as Mexican food, but I didn’t need anything else.

spaghetti al pesto Italian dinner at Las Marias

Nachos with guacamole at La Pergola restaurant

La Trajinera restaurant

salmon with sweet sauce at La Trajinera restaurant

• fully-equipped kitchen – as you might know already, I don’t like cooking but love hotel rooms with kitchen just because I can make my cup of tea and be a happy kid again. And sometimes I enjoy making oatmeal with fruit, nuts and cinnamon so kitchen is very useful.

fully-equipped kitchen

ready for my hot tea

 

• in-room jacuzzi – the best part of my room. I kind of made it a habit already to spend my last night at the hotel in the jacuzzi and travel blogging from it. Music, healthy tea and the views from the balcony at the same time. The best office in the world. What else could I wish for?

travel blogging from in-room jacuzzi

 

• in-room mini bar – out of everything that was there I used the 4 bottles of water every day (I’m not a soft drinks, beer nor coffee drinker)

• smiling staff – from the managers Gabo and Jesus, through golf car driver Rogelio, La Pergola guys, El Patio girls to masseuse Mari and restaurant servers at Las Marias and La Trajinera. Very pleasant and professional always willing to help. I will miss seeing their smiles every day.

• location and views – situated on the secluded beach at the tip of Punta Los Anegados just a few minute drive from Cabo San Lucas is overlooking Los Arcos on the right side. Breath-taking sunsets are awaiting you here. The rocky beach is not good for swimming because of huge waves and undercurrent but it makes the hotel dramatically energetic yet quiet at the same time. Very rarely you visit a place that breaths with life more than anything else but still remains a silent paradise where the time stops. Ah, and I found a big puffer fish when walking along the rocky beach.

the main Hacienda Encantada pool at sunset time

sunset above Los Arcos

dramatic scenery for relaxation

just before the sunset

at the rocky beach

rocky beach

a puffer fish I found at the beach

at sunset

 

• spa – honestly, I was surprised at the quality and quantity of spa treatments. I had a very active sports massage done by the masseuse Mari.

• decorations – Spanish colonial fountains, hand-made Talavera tiles, terracotta colors, broken-looking arches in the middle of the property, native American statues, religious decorations, simply typical Mexican style with a mix of everything. The beautiful decorations reminded me of my first 3 months in Mexico back in 2011 when I saw this kind of design for the first time and it really made me feel at home.

Spanish colonial fountain

one of the decorations in my room

own Los Arcos decorations

 

• gym – big high-tech fitness center to accommodate all your needs

gym

 

• daytime pool activities for both children and adults – similar to other all inclusive resorts; meditation, aqua aerobics, cooking and cocktail classes, pool and kids games, water volleyball, darts, handicrafts, bingo and even Spanish classes

• silence – such a peaceful resort to sit back and forget about the real world surrounded by many little birds and the noise of the sea close by

• free shuttle to Marina Fiesta located at the downtown Cabo San Lucas 8 times per day – I would definitely go to check out the port, its nightlife and the Golden Zone restaurants if I was you (I stayed at Marina Fiesta before Hacienda Encantada).

• romantic scenery – flowers, palm trees, other vegetation all around you like little gardens and lit at night.

• minimarket and pharmacy La Tiendita

• nursery – thankfully I was less clumsy than usual so I didn’t have to use it but always comes in handy. Just in case.

• temazcal and meditation area – I’m not sure if you are familiar with the term temazcal because I was not until my first time in Mexico. But it was exactly then when I fell in love with this Native American treatment that connects your body with mind. The stone eskimo-looking temazcal place with the views of the Los Arcos could not be at a better location than right outside of my balcony.

temazcal

 

• horse-back riding every Friday – such a shame I was not in the Hacienda on Friday as I would finally like to check off another thing of my bucket list – horse-back riding on the beach

Bye bye Hacienda Encantada, encantada to meet you!

My stay at Hacienda Encantada was a press stay as part of Adventure and Spa project.  For more information, please visit Hacienda Encantada website.

Posted in hotels, Mexico, North America, photo, press trip, travel Tags: Hacienda Encantada, Hacienda Encantada Resort and Spa