Esperanza
"Why do people flock to a beach resort where you can't swim in the ocean?" I asked Severino Gomez, the general manager of Esperanza, an Auberge resort. We were dining in its open-air restaurant, which sits on boulders that jut into the sea. "This coastline has so much character, so much interaction between water and rocks," he said as a wave crashed below us in a thunder of spray. "I think our guests are content just to look." For someone who loves swimming in the ocean as much as I do, proof of Esperanza's charm was that it didn't take me long to feel content just to look at it too.
The resort's fifty-six casita suites start at a roomy 925 square feet and are housed in six three-story and four four-story beige adobe buildings that border a sweeping lawn. Oversized wicker chairs, wooden armoires that conceal plasma-screen TVs, and beds piled high with soft white pillows give the rooms a California vibe. The paintings and sculptures, however, are exclusively Mexican. All suites have ocean views.
My top-floor room had a palapa-style roof and sliding glass doors that led to a sizable terrace with a Jacuzzi. I left the doors open at night so I could hear the surf and watch the sunrise from my bed. Of Los Cabos's three luxury resorts, Esperanza is the closest to Cabo San Lucas and the only one from which you can see distinctive El Arco.
Esperanza's rectangular pool is situated above a rocky cove and is large enough for doing laps, a plus because it's dangerous to swim at the beach. (The pool is off-limits to children under sixteen.) In a cove to the south are the two-, three- and four-bedroom villas of the Residence Club, where families stay. These fractional-ownership properties, with kid-friendly pools, a clubhouse and restaurants, have the same beach-chic style as the hotel.
Guests in both locations use the Spa at Esperanza, a peaceful spot with plunge pools, steam "caves" that appear to have been carved from rock and eight bamboo-shaded casitas. The spa specializes in treatments using local fresh fruits. A grated-coconut-and-lime body exfoliation left my skin soft and smelling faintly like macaroons, my favorite cookie.
Cantilevered on a bluff that looks out over the sea, the Restaurant at Esperanza is the most dramatic of the eateries at the three resorts. I had been there before my husband joined me in Los Cabos, but I felt compelled to bring him for dinner on our last night, even though we were staying elsewhere. The place was so spread out that we felt as if we were dining by ourselves. With El Arco silhouetted in the distance, we ate tequila-glazed prawns and tuna with a chipotle-chili curry sauce while the sky turned crimson.
In high season (October 15 through June 14), casitas from $675 to $1,125, villas from $4,000 to $5,500. 866-311-2226; esperanzaresort.com.
