4 Seasons Cabo San Lucas assessment: Mexican luxurious at its finest

Four Seasons Cabo San Lucas location

The Four Seasons Resort and Residences Cabo del Sol is located in the upscale Cabo del Sol development with two renowned golf courses and residential subdivisions between San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas.

To get there from Los Cabos International Airport (SJD), it takes about 45 minutes and costs around $40 to $60 depending on whether you use a ride-hailing service or a taxi company. The town of San Jose del Cabo is about a 20-minute, $20 ride away, while Cabo San Lucas is 20 minutes and $20 in the other direction.

Four Seasons Cabo San Lucas booking details

The Four Seasons Resort and Residences Cabo San Lucas at Cabo del Sol has just 96 luxury rooms, casitas, villas and suites, plus 61 residences and estates (some of which are still being completed).

Standout features

• One of the only swimmable beaches in Cabo.
• A huge family-friendly pool as well as a quieter adults-only one, both with sprawling private cabanas.
• Beautifully presented, locally sourced cuisine at restaurants like Coraluz and Sora Rooftop Bar.
• A top-tier wellness complex with its own pool, fitness center and secluded spa.

Drawbacks

• It might be a while before the water-conscious landscaping grows in.
• If you need a little nonresort action during your stay, you’ll have to drive about 20 minutes in either direction to San Jose or Cabo San Lucas.
• Rates aren’t all-inclusive, so prepare to budget (a lot) extra for meals and services.

The vibe

Swaying palms, lush lawns and prickly agaves line the entrance to the Four Seasons Cabo San Lucas Resort and Residences at Cabo del Sol, welcoming you to an exclusive enclave along what locals call Cabo’s Golden Corridor.

Bellmen will whisk away your luggage the moment you pull up to La Casona, the central building, while one of the concierges presents you with a birdcage from which you can select a scroll with your fortune, creating an arrival moment to set the tone for your stay.

After that, take a stroll through the resort’s adobe-tiled, whitewashed buildings, which trickle down a gentle slope to the Sea of Cortez. The feel is that of a modern hacienda inspired by Mexico’s traditional Pueblos Magicos, complete with tropical flower-lined paths and artfully placed lanterns that create a magical ambience in the evening.

Everything here feels unhurried and carefree, yet precisely placed and ready to welcome you. Relax into it and let the experience commence.

The room

Located down a meandering path from reception and fronting the family-friendly Coraluz pool, my ocean-view casita room with king-size bed and plunge pool was a sprawling 1,765 square feet of indoor and outdoor space.

Its private patio had an outdoor, fan-cooled living area and dining set, plus a plunge pool with two lounge chairs, creating a private cabanalike atmosphere.

Sliding open the floor-to-ceiling glass doors, the interior held a large living area that included a lounge section with a sofa and coffee table, where I found a welcome amenity comprised of chocolates sculpted like Cabo’s famous Los Arcos rock formation.

Opposite that was a long credenza and a wall-mounted television plus a breakfast table that doubled as a work desk. Stone floors, sand-hued walls and blue upholstery extended the desert-meets-ocean Cabo setting indoors.

The rest of the room was taken up by the king-size bed dressed in Four Seasons’ signature embroidered linens. To either side of it, nightstands held reading lamps plus control panels for the lighting, power plugs, USB-A and C ports and wireless charging pads.

To the rear of the bedroom, the entry foyer doubled as the minibar, complete with a variety of premium spirits and wines, plus a Nespresso coffee maker provisioned with pods of ground beans from various Mexican regions, including Veracruz and Chiapas.

Beyond this was the closet area, which had wardrobe space for two and a naturally lit vanity area leading into the bathroom.

Almost large enough to be an accommodation unto itself, the bathroom contained a long vanity and two sinks provisioned with Diptyque soaps and skincare products, a freestanding deep soaking tub and separate stalls for the toilet and the walk-in shower, both with decorative tile backsplashes.

The shower had a glass door opening to an outdoor shower with its own entryway to the room’s main door and patio in case you wanted to go right from the private pool to the shower.

Expansive yet cozy and with an intuitive spatial flow, the casita felt like an intimate hideaway within the larger resort where you could easily spend your whole stay … though it would be a shame to miss out on the other amenities.

Food and drink at the Four Seasons Cabo San Lucas

Four of the hotel’s six planned dining and drinking venues, two of which are backed by celebrity chef Richard Sandoval, were available during my stay.

For breakfast, guests can of course order room service via in-room tablet or phone and enjoy classics like a hearty breakfast burrito ($24) alfresco.

Instead, though, head up to the resort’s lobby-adjacent restaurant, Palmerio, for classics like the chilaquiles with avocado, sour cream, red onions, Cotija cheese and eggs ($32) along with home-baked pastries and fresh fruit.

Palmerio, with its gorgeous coastline vistas and equally stunning indoor and outdoor dining spaces (the latter of which overlook beautifully landscaped gardens with firelit seating areas), also serves Mediterranean-inspired cuisine at dinner.

Start with a platter of Chingon oysters with raspberry mignonette and mezcal cocktail sauce ($39), luscious wagyu steak tartare with citrus brown butter over brioche toast ($44) and saffron arancini with prosciutto and piperade ($31).

Then tuck into wild mussel linguine with San Marzano tomatoes ($39) and local catch of the day with olive-caper sauce vierge ($45), all of which can be paired with up-and-coming Mexican wines. Leave room for an ultracreamy tiramisu ($25) or a strawberry mille-feuille ($24).

For casual lunches or candlelit dinners, chef Miguel Baltazar’s Coraluz feels like a swanky seaside getaway overlooking the beach where the understated soundtrack competes with the crash of waves.

During the day, keep it light with chilled dishes like Acapulco-style poached shrimp ceviche with passion fruit cocktail sauce ($25) and savory yet delicate Baja tuna tostadas with cucumber, spicy serrano peppers, avocado crema and chipotle emulsion over crispy blue corn tortillas ($25).

At dinner, start with catch of the day ceviche doused in spicy-sour leche de tigre with avocado and tortilla chips ($23) before a flame-grilled fillet of the fresh catch (likely snapper or totoaba) over creamy mashed plantains with beans and xnipec onion in an annatto adobo sauce ($45) accompanied by Mexican wines like a glass of crisp Dos Buhos sauvignon blanc from Guanajuato ($29).

While the Casona Bar in the reception area serves up a tequila- and a mezcal-forward menu of cocktails, come dusk, head to Sora Rooftop Bar instead.

Located just below Palmerio, Sora has sweeping coastal views, pastel decor and wood-and-woven furnishings reminiscent of Acapulco’s midcentury heyday.

Dubbed a Mexican izakaya, Sora serves savory small dishes aplenty, including delicate kampachi tiraditos with tropical aguachile sauce and mango ($29), plus lobster tacos with refried beans, avocado and chile cream sauce ($31) accompanied by strong signature cocktails like a Cabo Old-Fashioned with Bulleit bourbon, aged maple syrup and amarena cherries smoked in a glass luminario ($23).

Though not open at the time of my stay, chef Richard Sandoval will be debuting a restaurant called Cayao inspired by the Japanese-inflected Nikkei cuisine of Peru (think ceviche, tiraditos, causas and more) next door to Coraluz with a more formal interior dining room and plenty of oceanfront terrace seating.

Amenities at the Four Seasons Cabo San Lucas

Like many other luxury resorts around Los Cabos, the Four Seasons Cabo San Lucas is designed to be a destination unto itself so that visitors might not feel the need to leave at all, even over the course of a longer stay.

The pools

The hotel has three main pools suited to different demographics. There is a large, quiet lap pool lined by loungers up near the fitness center. You might find folks exercising here, but chances are you’ll have it (and its excellent shoreline views) to yourself at most times of day.

The family-friendly Coraluz pool is the largest and is a short walk downhill from the lobby through a ring of guest villas. It has plenty of umbrella-shaded loungers that attendants will make up for you with seat covers and towels, not to mention adjusting your umbrella throughout the day and bringing complimentary treats like fresh fruit, smoothies and popsicles during the hottest hours.

Off to one side of the pool is a shallow area with fountains suitable for toddlers and young children.

There are rentable private cabanas with their own patios and interior spaces with sofas and chairs cooled by ceiling fans and with flat-screen televisions and refrigerated minibars to boot.

Finally, the adults-only Brisas pool has an infinity edge overlooking the ocean as well as in-water loungers, regular lounge chairs and a panoply of cabanas for day rentals.

There’s a small outdoor bar here, too, though the menu is currently being served from Coraluz.

The beach

The hotel fronts a small, sandy beach with a few rocky outcrops and loungers and daybeds sprinkled across the strand.

This is one of the area’s few swimmable beaches (though it’s only advisable for strong swimmers due to rocks, reefs and strong currents), and water activity staff are available to take guests out for guided snorkel tours, stand-up paddleboarding sessions and surf lessons.

The fitness center

Just around the corner from reception at the upper edge of the resort, the fitness center was designed in partnership with celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak and comprises a cardio and weight pavilion chock-full of Life Fitness and Hoist machines, and a separate, smaller room with Hoist spinning bikes.

It’s stocked with fresh towels, bottles of water (plus chilled chlorophyll-infused water) and homemade cacao protein snacks for guests to choose from.

Tierra Mar Spa

Adjacent to the fitness center, the hotel’s spa is a gorgeous, tranquil complex with various fountains and water features throughout.

After checking in at reception, guests can meander through small gardens to the light-filled men’s and women’s locker rooms where they will find both indoor changing and shower facilities as well as large outdoor areas with vitality pools, steam rooms, saunas and lounging areas.

When it’s time for a treatment, such as the signature Azul Profundo deep tissue massage with botanical-infused balms ($275 to $365; 60 to 90 minutes) or one of the various 111Skin facials performed, waft into the central garden whose bucolic pond is surrounded by cushioned daybeds (if it’s hot, there’s an indoor air-conditioned lounge as well).

Your therapist will collect you there and bring you to one of the 10 treatment rooms, including two larger couples suites, to start your experience.

360 Baja Adventure Centre

Near the spa and gym, the hotel’s activities center doubles as an informal hangout for teens thanks to a foosball table, as well as a boutique for swimsuits and other gear suited to the sunny clime.

The staff can arrange various outings like snorkel trips, fishing expeditions, desert dune-buggying and more.

Papalote Kids for All Seasons

Guests will find an outpost of Four Seasons’ signature Kids for All Seasons kids club located next to La Casona. Suitable for young children, there are activities throughout the day including arts and crafts, playgroups and even excursions around the grounds and the Coraluz pool.

El Taller Artisan Studio and Mercado

In the central court of the driveway, guests will find a delightful little gallery-studio where they can book art classes or simply drop by to peruse arts and crafts sourced locally and throughout Mexico, including Oaxacan sculptures and Huichol figurines.

Mercado, meanwhile, will be a handy marketplace for snacks and sundries, though it was not yet open.

Golf

Four Seasons Cabo San Lucas guests can play the resort’s famous Cabo Del Sol Course, which was originally designed by Tom Weiskopf and updated by Fry/Straka. The par-72 course spans over 7,000 meters, with inspiring (or perhaps distracting) desert and ocean panoramas around every corner.

Out and about

Most folks who come to Cabo simply plop down by the nearest pool, and while there’s enough to keep you occupied at the resort, there’s plenty to see and do if you do want to venture out.

To the east, San Jose del Cabo has a charming historic city core populated by art galleries, crafts stores and local eateries including the always popular taqueria La Lupita, as well as more contemporary eateries like Sage.

About 20 minutes’ drive to the west of the resort, Cabo San Lucas is more of a tourist hub with budget-friendly restaurants, thumping nightclubs and a thriving marina where you can book water-based activities like seasonal whale-watching, snorkeling trips and, yes, various booze cruises.

Accessibility

The resort has three wheelchair-accessible accommodations in the Ocean-View La Casona category. These accommodations are located in the main building and reachable via the reception’s main stair-free entryway and then by elevator. Guests will find that these rooms have standard accessibility features like wide entryways, wheelchair-height counters, grab bars in the bathroom and roll-in showers. As always, though, it’s best to contact the hotel directly to ensure you can reserve a room that meets your specific requirements.

The rest of the property does have many staircases and slopes throughout, so certain areas are difficult to reach via wheelchair, though there are elevators to the various public spaces, and the pools are accessible by stair-free paths (but not step-free or roll-in entries). The spa has stone and dirt paths from reception to the locker rooms, though there is an alternate wheelchair-friendly entrance that can be used to access the area with treatment rooms directly.

Checking out

If you thought the last thing Cabo needed was another sprawling luxury resort, think again. Although no hotel can be all things to all people, the Four Seasons Resort and Residences Cabo del Sol at Cabo San Lucas does seem to have nearly everything Baja vacationers could want — palatial rooms, huge pools (both family-friendly and adults-only), gourmet restaurants, a rare swimmable beach and a top-notch spa.

But what also sets it apart from the crowded field of Cabo luxury resorts is the high-touch hospitality, where every staff member you meet will recognize you and greet you by name, remember your breakfast or cocktail order and generally check in to make sure you are enjoying yourself (or to remedy the situation as soon as possible if you are not). Once you experience that, you’ll wish that the birdcage fortune you received at check-in predicted many return visits.

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