Maryella

Just returned from a 6 night stay at One&Only Palmilla in Cabo San Lucas. This was our first trip to the area and I must say we were very pleasantly surprised. The hotel is about 20 minutes from Cabo San Lucas and 5 minutes from San Jose Del Cabo. Far enough to have some peace and quiet yet close enough to go for dinner or whale watching trips. The Palmilla was just fabulous! The grounds and rooms were gorgeous and the staff could not do enough to help. It put new meaning to the phrase "service with a smile" The scenery was very dramatic with crashing surf along numerous rock out croppings. Beaches had numerous palapa huts w/hammocks and built-in lounge chairs.The bars and restaurants on the property were good but very expensive. The pools and beaches very picturesque and relaxing. The ocean water the color of the Caribbean. Spa was one of the best I have been to. Charlie Trotters new spot "C" was a little disappointing in the quantity of food served for the price you paid. After 6 nights we did not want to leave. Loved spending time on our large balcony on the sofa bed gazing out to sea. High tech telescope on each balcony for the numerous whale sightings where they breached and spouted and froliced w/their young all day. Long walks on the beach and frozen drinks at the swim up bar. A nice mix of people from older couples to families w/kids and young people on company sponsored outings. Book now or you will never get in next year when the word ggets out. We were there right after John Travolta's Birthday bash and got to meet him and his family! Very exciting!!! Highly recommended!!

john_sf

Unfortunately, we had a less satisfying experience at Palmilla when we visited in January 2004. While it indeed meets many of technical requirements to be rated "5 stars," it lacks the charm and personal attention of it's main competitor, Las Ventanas, where we've stayed twice. For those unfamiliar with these two resorts, there is a rivalry between the two, and the GM of Palmilla was the former GM of Las Ventanas. C Restaurant is overpriced but so is Las Ventanas' restaurant. No doubt that Palmilla will get mucho attention due to it's "new" status, but those looking for a more discrete, slightly classier resort should stick with LV. However, Palmilla does have it's high points: Much larger resort in general, more rooms, kid's pool, and many rooms are brand new (the suites are actually slightly nicer than LV suites). Still, looking beyond the manicured grounds, and Disney-esque staff uniforms, Palmilla has yet to master the art of customer service; They are good at it, but not as good as they want you to believe. Numerous hiccups demonstrated this during our stay. Perhaps this will be ironed out, but one wonders if the size of the resort (and the $~80M renovation cost) will force it to focus on guest turnover instead of ultimate luxury. Time will tell. For me, though, it's back to Las Ventanas.

penny

I have not been to either hotel, but there was just a review of in the Friday weekend edition of the Wall
Street Journal about Les Ventanos. The finky traveler was not so pleased with the food or service at this Rosewood mangaged resort, she was very disappointed.

penny

Sorry for the typos-it posted too fast!

melis1314

I would have loved to be able to stay at Las Ventanas. Unfortunately my company wants all-inclusive only. We will be staying right next door at The Melia Cabo Real. Although probably not as luxurious....does anyone know what I can expect?