Bel Air Collection Resort & Spa Los Cabos (formerly Playa del Sol Los Cabos)

We stayed at the Playa del Sol Los Cabos in mid November. We are owners at the Playa del Sol Grand in Nuevo Vallarta. We weren’t sure what to expect as it is a brand new resort with its new building just opening up in August of 2007. We stayed in a 2 bedroom lock-off suite. This resort is in San Jose del Cabo and is about a 20 minute drive from the airport.

When we arrived we were pleasantly surprised by the beautiful lobby/check-in area. There are lots of fountains everywhere and the entire resort is very well decorated and landscaped with a very tropical feel. The location is GREAT as it is right on the beach and the water is a nice turquoise blue. We had stayed at another resort in CABO a few years back and the water was not pretty at all. It was the typical dark blue Pacific Ocean water that I am already accustomed to seeing in Los Angeles. The sand is rough and coarse, as is all along the Pacific Coast. You have to go to the Caribbean for the nice soft sand. But the beach here is beautiful nonetheless.

The swimming pool is also nice with a palapa covered swimup bar. Not huge like at other larger resorts, but decent sized given the small size of this resort. It is located right by the beach. There are two hottubs, thought the jets didn’t seem to be working well at the time. Unlike most other Mexican resorts, the pool was not crowded and there were always lounge chairs available. You didn’t have to get up early to stake your claim on a chair as there were plenty available. Maybe this will change when they add more buildings and more suites. While we were there, the pool was kind of chilly. I don’t know why it wasn’t heated. In fact the ocean water was much nicer from a temperature standpoint.

The 2 bedroom unit we got was very spacious. This was important to us being a family of four with 2 small kids with very sensitive napping routines. The 2 BR units can accommodate up to 8, but is probably best suited for 6. There are 2 full sized beds in one room, one queen bed in the other room, and a pull-out sofa bed in the living room. The beds are not Heavenly mattresses like at a Westin, but they were comfy enough and we slept well. The furniture was nice and clean with lots of storage space. This makes up for the lack of closets. There are 3 full bathrooms which we liked very much, so you don’t have to enter into a bedroom where someone might be sleeping to use the bathroom or take a shower. Two of the bathrooms also have decent sized Jacuzzi tubs, which were great for bathing our little kids.

What we loved most about our room were the two balconies (one thru the living room and the other thru a bedroom) and the INCREDIBLE oceanview. All the rooms in the building (they have only constructed one building so far) face the ocean and have a GREAT view. So far, in the one building they only have about 40 total rooms and I think they are all 2 bedroom suites. Unlike a lot of other Mexican resorts which have U shape with many of then only having a partial ocean view at an angle, EVERY room here (so far at least…. Not sure how the new buildings will be arranged) has a direct straight ahead view of the ocean and was situated VERY close to the water; probably less than 50 yards. The only negative with the ocean view here is that due to its location along the coast, being more east than Cabo San Lucas, there is no view of the sunset. You do however have a nice sunrise if you choose to get up early enough in the morning. Also, another downside with the rooms here (and this appears to be true at all the Mexican timeshare resorts), is that they do not come with laundry units which we usually take advantage since our kids are always getting messy.

On the beach, there are lots of beach chairs and palapas. The beaches in this zone are supposedly not good for swimming, but they were fine to wade into and just get wet. In November, the water was surprisingly warm. I just wish the sand was softer like in Cancun. They also have a cabana set up on the beach for massages and other spa activities.

There is only one restaurant on site thus far, Palm Terrace. We found the food to be very good and reasonably priced for a hotel. Is has a very nice tropical décor and ocean view and pool view. Surprisingly the food arrived fairly quick (in general we have found service at most Mexican hotel restaurants to be painfully slow). I REALLY enjoyed the rib-eye steak. Melted in my mouth. The Mahi-Mahi is also delicious, as is there ceviche-like scallops appetizer. There is also a poolside bar which serves burgers and tacos. We cooked many of our meals. There is a full kitchen with new appliances. More importantly, there is a MEGA supermarket about a mile away. We were able to find everything we needed there. There is also a McDonalds, Subway, and Domino’s Pizza all near this resort if you like. Being a coffee snob, I was hoping to find a Starbucks or Coffee Bean nearby, but there were none.

As I mentioned before, this is a small cozy boutique like resort. Very quiet and quaint. Very different from the “mega-resorts”. It is not the kind of place for young singles or couples without kids to party and go crazy. Its much better suited for older couples trying to relax or families with young kids. They apparently have a Kids Club, but we didn’t use it as our kids are both too young (under three). If you are looking for something more grand and lavish with more activities, I would stay at one of the larger resorts. Also keep in mind, this resort is in San Jose del Cabo and is about 30 minutes away from Cabo San Lucas. So if you are looking to hit the town for partying, you probably want to stay closer to Cabo. The town in San Jose del Cabo is slower paced and more authentically Mexican.

There is also patchy Wi-Fi internet access. Seems to go in and out, but adequate to check emails and do a little occasional web surfing. I seemed to get most of my signal from the Palmilla resort wireless network than I did from the Playa del Sol. The television units in the rooms are small and for some reason the DVD players will not play DVDs you bring from the US, only DVDs made in Latin America. I don’t know why. The channels on the TV are mostly Mexican programming however there are a few American channels like HBO, Cinemax, the Entertainment Channel, Fox News, CNN, and the Cartoon Network.

A great restaurant that we went to nearby was Zippers. It is only about ¼ mile away. Some will walk there along the beach from the resort, but with two little kids, we opted to do the 2 minute drive. It is a great outdoor restaurant that is casual but has great food for reasonable prices. Great view as it is right on the beach. There is also a great place for crepes at a French Bakery restaurant in San Jose del Cabo.

For about $20, you can ride horses on the beach for about 45 minutes, which our kids loved. We did this late afternoon when it was cooler. Because our kids were so young, we did not try the many other excursions that you could set up at the concierge desk. Be aware that the concierge staff is paid commissions to get people to sign-up for the timeshare presentation, so they will kindly ask you many times, but will also not pressure you excessively if you politely say no.

If you have never been to Cabo, or any other major tourist destination in Mexico, be wary of all the timeshare sharks. There are people EVERYWHERE trying to get you to go to a timeshare presentation. If you are a seasoned Mexico traveler and are familiar with timeshares, its probably something you will be prepared for, but I see many unsuspecting newbie travelers who get suckered and taken advantage of while going on these presentations in exchange for free stuff. Just realize NOTHING is truly FREE. These presentations are HIGH pressure and you need to be prepared for this if you go on one. Don’t fall for the sales pitch that you will “make money” by renting out your units. They are all lying thru their teeth. Only buy if you will actually use the unit yourself. That is where the true value lies in a timeshare. We are happy owners, but we know too many people, who never should’ve bought a timeshare.

The Playa del Sol Los Cabos resort in its current state is still in its infancy. They have many more buildings they are planning to add, as well as more restaurants, many koi ponds, and a new, larger infinity swimming pool to go along with the current pool. For some reason, there was no construction going on during the week of our stay…. which was nice for us. In the future once all the construction resumes, it could conceivably get noisy. I don’t know why, but this place is not rated by Interval International as FIVE STAR. Maybe cause it is so new. We have stayed at other places that were rated FIVE STAR, including Villa del Palmar in Cabo, and this place was MUCH nicer. Maybe it takes time. Don’t know. I do know it’s a very nice resort.

OVERALL… in a nutshell…. The POSITIVES: beachfront location with fantastic oceanview from the room, spacious well furnished suites, small quiet cozy atmosphere, free wi-fi internet access. The NEGATIVES: small resort with limited organized activities, only one restaurant (but they will be adding more in the near future), far from Cabo San Lucas,

We definitely enjoyed our stay at the Playa del Sol Los Cabos and will definitely return again. I look forward to when the resort is completed.

This is the newest addition to the fabulous 5* resort offerings throughout Mexico. The Resort's landscaping style more closely resembles the types you would typically see in Tahiti and Hawaii.

This is a brand new resort and Phase 1 opened August 1, 2007. It is patterned after the one which recently opened on Flamingo Beach in Nuevo Vallarta.

The double unit has 2 bedrooms with separate kitchens, living/dining area with a pull out couch, bathrooms and a terrace with ocean view. The unit sleeps 6 people.

This resort is more of a boutique style hotel with daily maid service. There is a fabulous infinity pool with a swim up bar, a hot tub, spa facilities, and a beautiful beach with palapas.

Although the resort is a bit smaller in size than some of the very large resorts in the area, it offers everything that these resorts offer.

There is a Kids Club available for children 4-12 yrs. for a fee of $12/day.

There are also activities throughout the day for teens and they even have X-Boxes that can be rented as well.

There are a number of restaurants with both indoor and patio seating, with some overlooking the beach and ocean. There is also an optional all-inclusive plan that is offered on a per-day basis.

All the living rooms have satellite TV with a DVD player and DVD's can also be rented from the resort. The bedrooms have a TV as well. The kitchens have a stove, microwave and a full refrigerator.

There are ceiling fans throughout the unit, and a wonderful terrace with furniture. There is also an on site market.

This has all the amenities that one would expect from a 5* Resort.