November 1-4, 2006 (this report may see some updates as my recollection improves or to answer questions that I receive)
Some links listed in the text below may stop working if the resort makes changes to its web site. Please report any broken links to me for investigation and correction.
This visit took place during the opening days of the resort. Please keep that in mind when reading this report weeks & months later. Just like Desire in Cancun had, the resort will have some growing pains during it's first few weeks and months that will be resolved. Check out more current reports (I hope people will submit them) for updated information. The area saw two tropical storms come through just prior to the opening, with one storm coming through just a few days before. The storm continued to the "mainland" part of Mexico near Mazatlan. That happened to be the port where the supply ships for the Baja were coming from. This delayed a lot of furnishing and supplies. The storm also caused water to infiltrate the main electrical supply room that wasn't yet complete, resulting in a power outage that caused a multi-day delay right before opening. Needless to say a setback was experienced. But a 24 hour a day effort got the resort to where is could be opened. Not everything was at 100%, though.
Airport Arrival & Transfers To Resort
The San Jose del Cabo airport is quite a bit smaller than the Cancun airport. We arrived on a Wednesday at terminal 1 and waited 5 minutes maximum to get through Immigration. The wait for luggage was a bit longer. Several flights all had their baggage arriving at the same time on one conveyor belt. Prior to the customs check, you put your checked and carry on bags through a large scanner like the TSA uses in the US. Then there is the normal Mexican red/green light to pass through. I didn't see anyone get a red light.
After customs exit through the "Group" exit if you have prearranged transfers. Use the regular exit to get to cabs. There was a bit of confusion in the transfer area, but not much different than in Cancun. We had a clean and well air conditioned van for the short 6 mile, 10-15 minute ride to the resort. The road is fairly new and is a toll road so there was not much traffic.
I don't know the situation and layout at the other terminals. Terminal 1 had USAirways/America West, American, Continental, AeroCalifornia, AeroMexico, and Mexicana. Click here for an airport map.
For those checking for their own flight reservations, the airport code is SJD. It's the same airport that is used for Cabo San Lucas - the other Los Cabos city (San Jose & San Lucas). The flight from Phoenix was just under 2 hours; about 1/2 the flight time as compared to going to Cancun.
Check-In
We were greeted in the lobby with cold towels and champagne. Silvina from Cancun was there providing a familiar face and her high level of customer service. There was a large crowd due to the check-in desk just opening for the first time shortly before we arrived a bit after 12 noon. Earlier arrivals that morning were turned away because they weren't yet ready for the grand opening. Normal check in is 300pm just like Cancun. You can arrive earlier, but may not get your room until later. We came back around 230pm after getting a bite to eat and taking a walk around the property and were given our room key at that time.
The gift shop and sundry store is located right off the lobby. It was not yet fully stocked. The first night it didn't even have a door. Some yellow caution tape was used to keep people out. Glass doors were installed the second day. There are bathrooms off the main lobby that are also serve the main dining room and the Suki restaurant.
Room
We were in a third (top) floor Superior room. Most of the rooms in the resort are Superior rooms. The way the rooms are angled, most of the Superior rooms have at least a partial view of the ocean. The exception would be some of the first floor rooms. The Ocean View Jacuzzi Suites and the Passion Suites are located on the end of the buildings nearest the ocean & pool area. The Superior rooms have a patio or balcony on the inside of the resort with views of the courtyard and pool areas.
The Superior room was nicely sized. The main area had a king bed with nightstands. There was a sitting area with a curved couch, coffee table, dresser with TV stand and refrigerator cabinet. The room safes hadn't yet been installed. The legs for the couch hadn't yet arrived and the couch rested directly on the floor. The decorating scheme was Zen/Buddha/Asian (my best description) - see the pictures at the link at the top of this page. I don't know if all the Superior rooms were identical. But from speaking with other guests, I think they are (or will be when completed). The bathroom is split between the sink area and the toilet/shower area. A single frosted glass door swings 90 degrees to close off either the shower alone, or the shower/toilet area. The shower has a square plate in the ceiling where the water comes out like a rain shower. The only problem was a lack of hot water until the second day. (Some rooms had to wait longer for hot water.) The room was missing the bedside reading lamps which some rooms had in them. Multiple requests were made for them, but they never showed up. The ambient lighting by the 2 lamps and wall lights was not bright enough to read by. The balcony had two chairs and a small table. But the patio door wouldn't lock. The refrigerator was not plugged in upon our arrival. It was locked and a trip to the front desk was required to get the key. It was stocked with bottled water, beer (Dos Equis), and soda (Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite). After plugging in the refrigerator, I did not hear the compressor come on. A search of the inside and outside of the unit by me (by flashlight since the room was semi-dark) did not turn up any control switch. Sharon took a crack at it and found the control switch by moving aside the bottles and cans in the fridge. It was on the wall at the bottom of the inside of the unit. She set it to a middle setting. We still didn't hear the compressor come on, but after a few hours everything inside was cold. The unit wasn't restocked at all during our 3 nights. A trip to the lobby bar was required to self-stock it. I expect employees were busy doing other more important things related to the opening.
Initially there was no phone in the room. A request to the front desk took care of that. There was also no hair drier in the room. One showed up the next day without requesting it. There were no hangers in the closet. A request to the front desk solved that problem. There was an iron and ironing board in the closet.
Bars and Restaurants
See the information sheets posted on the main Desire page on this web site for information on the hours and days of operation of the restaurants. The collection of bars include:
Emilio, Oswaldo, and Aaron from Desire Cancun were on hand to help out with the bar and restaurant service. It was nice to see familiar faces who remembered us. There were several bar waiters working the pool area during the day.
No reservations are required at any of the restaurants. See the information sheets for the days and hours of operation of the various restaurants.
All the restaurants had a variety of food that tasted good. The buffet offerings were limited, though. The service was a little lacking in some areas. Sometimes it took way too long just to get an initial glass of water or to have your water glass refilled. Many of the wait staff are in their first hospitality jobs. Hospitality workers in the Los Cabos area are hard to come by. A recent growth surge in hotels, condos, and time shares has caused a need for service workers. Many workers are not yet properly trained. Hopefully the service will improve after time.
Beach
The sandy area of the beach in the area around the resort is quite expansive. However, the water is just too rough with large waves and undercurrents to safely swim in. The resort doesn't recommend swimming. The beach is unguarded. (I personally know 2 people who were neighbors of me at the time who drowned in the area about 10 years ago.) At opening time the only resort facility on the public side of the beach fence was the volleyball court. The sand in the area was quite rough. There was still construction debris scattered in the sand. Work was underway to plant 12 large palm trees to delineate the area right outside the resort fence into an area which will eventually hold beach chairs and palapas for guest use. This will not be a nude area. My understanding is that topless is ok on the beach. There were very few people from other resorts on the beach, perhaps due to it being off-season. There were also just a couple of vendors who were not too bothersome.
The one thing missing is a shower as you come off the beach to get the sand off you. There is one under construction, but it is at least 50 ft away from the beach entrance. I foresee people just using the pool because it is closer. There should at least be a foot bath right at the beach.
Pool
There is one large heated pool, bigger than the one at Desire Cancun. The swim-up bar is at one side. At one end the bottom gently slopes into the deeper area so you just walk down a ramp. That end has some statues spouting water into the pool from the side. Each corner has a gas torch bowl that is lit at night. In the center of the pool is a tiered two-level round island. The lower tier has a 6 foot wide deck that is just under the top of the water. It is a place you can sit and converse or sun and still be in the water to keep cool. The center tier is higher - about 4 feet above the level of the water. It was mostly used as a place to set drink glasses and ash trays. It is easy to bang against the island as you are walking or swimming through the area - especially when it gets dark. A water volleyball net was set up for daily volleyball games including tequila volleyball. The only inflatable rafts I saw were ones that guests brought. But I assume over time that guests will leave some behind and will be in general use.
There were only about a dozen single beach chairs and 6 or 8 double chairs around the pool. There were also about 15 covered beds around the pool. This wasn't enough for everyone especially with some people saving both a covered bed and a beach chair. More chairs are coming, though. There are another 17 or so canopy beds in the sand area just off the beach within the resort fence. I was told that there would be enough chairs and beds to hold the entire guest population of the resort when filled to capacity.
There is only one bathroom serving the pool, bar, beach, and snack area. There is a towel/activity center. During our visit towels did not have to be signed out for like at Cancun. But that is supposed to be the case at some point in the future. The "cabana boy" started the day with towels set out on each chair and palapa.
Gym/Spa
The gym wasn't quite done when I toured it on the second day. The equipment was generally ready for use, but they were still painting and doing trim work. There appeared to be more equipment than at the Cancun resort. The workout room is more spacious. The locker rooms were large, but the lockers were not yet installed. The spa was open on the second day for massages. I didn't speak with anyone who used the facilities. There are several massage rooms include one for couples and one for hydro-therapy use. There is also a large Jacuzzi tub for couples to use after a massage. It is in a room that looks out onto the ocean. The prices seemed to be comparable with the Cancun spa.
Jacuzzi Lounge
This is an area that you have to see to believe. The Jacuzzi is HUGE! It is much larger than the Hedonism II hot tub. It has a swim-up and walk-up bar. One side faces the ocean with frosted glass to partially block the view from the beach. There are a couple of seating areas on a level above the Jacuzzi that are next to fire-pits that gives off a nice warmth on a cool breezy night. There are also 6 canopy beds for playing on. There will be a glassed in shower which was still under construction. Bathrooms are also available.
Entertainment
There was a 4 person entertainment staff: Sergio (supervisor), Bud, Nicki, & Rosa, with one more male scheduled to arrive after we left. Most of them had no prior activity staff experience, but were raring to go and were very friendly. They did lead some volleyball (beach & pool), ping pong tournament, salsa dance lessons, and maybe a couple of other things I missed. During these initial days they were being used to do odd jobs around the resort. They planned to have a full schedule of activities as the days progressed. The activity staff was also active in the disco in the evenings.
Board games and paperback books are available at the activity center. There are no water sports available due to the rough seas.
Disco
The disco wasn't open the first night. I saw it about 2pm the next day and was told it would be ready to open that evening at 10pm. With what I saw left to do in the disco to make it even semi-usable, I thought to myself (and also told some others) that I would be very impressed if it was ready that evening. At right about 10pm we showed up but were told it would open at 1030pm. There was a lot of last minute work going on. At 1020pm the word came out that it was open. It was about 97% done. There was some trim work and lighting work left to do - nothing major. The disco is non-smoking (except for the requisite smoke generator machine). There is a lounge area outside the disco with seats and a lot of candles that is used for smoking. There is a bathroom off that hallway.
The disco is located on the top floor of the main building. It is much smaller than the Cancun disco and has lower ceilings. You can touch the ceiling when standing on the center raised dance floor. It is so low that there won't be any bar top or table dancing going on. The dance floor has 2 poles. In one corner of the disco is a cage for dancing. The cage has no door, though. I don't know if that is something that is coming in the future. The bar is next to the cage with the DJ booth behind the bar. Tables with chairs and cushioned couches were scattered throughout. Several waiters came around to take drink orders which kept the traffic at the bar to a minimum. The other end of the disco had the entrance to the playroom. It is about the same size as the Cancun playroom. But there is no door on it. Perhaps that is coming.
There are theme nights at the disco. See the information sheets or the resort web page for a list of them. I expect that they will change as time progresses.
Grounds
It is evident that a lot of time was put into making the grounds a spectacular place to walk through. Los Cabos is in an arid desert environment and the flora represents it. There are a lot of cacti, aloe, and other desert plantings all over the grounds. The walkways are much wider than the ones in Cancun. The walkways and garden areas are well lit at night. The front of the resort property is at a much higher level than the rear so there is a set of steps to traverse as you go back and forth between the main lobby area and the pool/beach area.
The courtyard area by the lobby bar has a lot of seating scattered around it. There is a large fire-pit which was not yet working. Electric candles and real candles were set up all around the area. There was no entertainment in the courtyard while we were there like Cancun has. However, there is a sound and light system set up making it appear usable for that purpose. Since the disco wasn't open the first night, the DJ played music in the courtyard which worked out ok.
Miscellaneous
There appears to be clear sight-lines from many of the surrounding properties. It will be interesting to see how that works out.
I sincerely hope that other visitors from the next few weeks and months will write and submit a trip report so we can all see how things have progressed (or not progressed) and what changes have been made. I thank you in advance for that.