BeSeeingYou at: Solaz, a Luxury Collection Resort, Los Cabos
Location: Los Cabos, Mexico
Number of rooms and suites: 145
Date of Stay: April 2024
Website www.solaz.com
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The hotel’s main restaurant, Mako, has a swim up bar, infinity poolside service, and superb shrimp tacos (photo by Kimberley Lovato)
Why book?
Solaz, a Luxury Collection Resort, Los Cabos, re-opened in 2023 and is an architectural stand-out between two towns: party-central Cabo San Lucas and Mexi-charming San Jose del Cabo, collectively known as Los Cabos.
Designed in harmony with its toes-in-the-sea setting and surrounding Baja California desert, the 145-room hotel sits on a sandy beach with seven à la carte restaurants, five bars, multiple infinity pools and more than 400 works of art scattered about its 34 acres and rooms from renowned Mexican creator Cesar López-Negrete. Marketing and PR Manager Flavio told me the artist travelled around Baja for four years to study the land, sea and Mexican folklore, which he infused into each masterpiece.
If you must spend any time indoors, the 10,000 square foot Ojo de Liebre Spa has hot and cold plunge pools, dry saunas, and steam rooms, as well as they typical menu of beautify and body treatments.
Upon arrival at Solaz, guests are assigned a personal butler with whom they can text for reservations, questions, and requests. Hola Rafael! It’s Cabo pampering at its best.
Who’s staying?
Couples and honeymooners, friend groups that want a more upscale Cabo experience (not an upside down tequila shot party scene), and families with small kids to older teens.
The plunge pool room has shaded outdoor seating and a hammock
Rooms & Suites
All 145 rooms and suites in varying sizes and configurations have sea views and some sort of outdoor space. Modern and contemporary décor diehards will be pleased with the clean lines, cool marble floors and huge windows, while loads of natural wood and neutral and green tones warm up the space, not that you need it in Baja. I cannot say enough about the shower in my plunge pool terrace room. It was like standing under a waterfall, which might not the best for water conservation but sure felt amazing.
My one gripe: The plunge pool is more of a foot bath or water feature and connects to the rooms on either side. It didn’t feel private. I suppose for a quick cool-off dip it works, but I didn’t bother. There was an amazing shower instead.
The resort also has 21 brand new residences that are between 464 square metres (5,000 square feet) and 1091 square metres (11,000 square feet), each with a wrap-around terrace, modern stocked kitchen, multiple bedrooms, and a private chef available to prepare meals onsite. Access to the resort amenities is also part of the deal.
Spill the tea! How’s the…
Food and drink?
Hotel food can be a little boring as it tries to impress rather than satisfy. But in Mexico, there’s always a taco nearby and for a taco lover like me, it’s the height of caloric bliss. Roll in the Moët et Chandon Champagne cart and bar, and I might have found my personal paradise.
Seafood reigns supreme on all the menus but landlubbers will find something to gnaw on, and vegetarians and vegans won’t feel denied either. Servers ask about allergies and dietary preferences, and Foresta is a restaurant entirely focused on plant-based food (though only open during the day so stock up on those morning smoothies). The shrimp tacos at Mako, the seafront alfresco restaurant with a swim-up bar, were among the best I’ve had anywhere—and I know a good taco when I bite into one.
Over at Al Pairo, just off the open-air lobby, we indulged in the Wanderlust Menu, an 8-course flavour-infused odyssey of small and creative Mexican dishes. The sommelier introduced us to Mexican wines too, and we found a few favorites. In fact, Solaz’s impressive cellar, La Cava, has more than 2,500 wines, many local to the region.
Other recommendations: a Mezcalita made with fresh passionfruit juice and the Mexican spiced coffee, made with sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground cayenne. Olé!
The Wanderlust Menu at Al Pairo consists of eight beautifully plated courses (photo by Kimberley Lovato
Neighbourhood?
There is no neighbourhood to speak of. Like most of the hotels of Los Cabos, Solaz sits along the main highway, about halfway between the two towns. If you don’t plan to leave the resort, you won’t need a car, but having one makes it easier to get to other resorts, and explore further afield. I loved Flora Farms and the nearby town of San Jose del Cabo, which has galleries, taco restaurants, and a Thursday evening Art Walk held between November and June.
Don’t feel like driving? No problem. Just ring your butler and let him/ her arrange a driver or taxi.
Service?
It is uncanny how invisible staff are except when you need them, and then poof!— they appear with a smile and a buenos dias, ready to help. Our personal butler, Rafael, was top notch, quick to respond to our need for more coffee, filtered water, and reservation requests. Staff also make it a point to address guests by name for an extra personal touch.
Bliss out by the sea at Solaz Los Cabos Resort
Amenities?
There is almost nothing you can’t do or have here, including drive a dune buggy through a tunnel straight from the hotel’s lobby and into the desert (next time!), shop for a colourful new dress or button down shirt in the boutique, and sip a flight of Mexican wine. The Ojo de Liebre Spa has 10 private treatment rooms and two VIP couples’ rooms, with a full range of services, plus a salon for manicures, pedicures, and hair cuts, if you’re here for a special event.
Rooms are well-stocked with plenty of towels, bathrobes, coffee machines and minibars. All room categories have an outdoor space with comfortable seating for morning coffee and evening Mezcalitas, which can be made in your room— just call your butler. The Cabo Nauta Kids’ Club recently launched a ‘Night at the Museum’ experience for little ones that invites them to watch a movie amidst the giant whale bones and fossils in the onsite Gabinete del Barco Museum.
Green scene?
I am happy to say this place embraces an ethos of protecting the planet. Drinking water is available in recyclable cartons and there are no little plastic bottles of shampoo and conditioner in the showers. It’s also okay to ask for “house water”. It’s filtered, served in glass bottles and I consumed it with no problem.
What stood out at Solaz was the landscaping. Not a palm tree in sight! Why? All the flora is endemic to the Baja desert, and extremely drought tolerant. The resort’s green roofs, noticeable from above, were designed to look like a cascading hillside to help it blend in with the surroundings while having the added benefit of keeping rooms extra cool during Cabo’s hot days.
Restaurant menus favour local farmers, artisans and fishermen who supply fresh, organic and sustainably-sourced ingredients.
Any Pet Peeves?
I have no complaints. Zero. Nada. Read my comment on the plunge pool above. My only other suggestion would be to make the menu at Baja Beach—an airstream on the sand below Maka — a little less fancy. We had to ask for explanations of several of the ingredients.
Keep it simple: grilled-meat-and-fish-tacos and ceviche with some margaritas and lively Mexican music would be a winner.
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Hotel Review by Kimberley Lovato
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Photos courtesy of Solaz, except where noted
