Hacienda del Mar Vacation Club, S. Jose del Cabo

Hacienda del Mar tries to be a 5 or 6 star resort, however, in my eyes Hacienda del Mar fell flat on its face. The Hacienda del Mar room we stayed in was quite tacky because they coated the entire tile floor with a coating, probably to ease the cleaning by the maids. Also, the walls of the Hacienda del Mar rooms are finished off very sloppily - looks like someone of my poor masonry skills did the work.... In a rare rainfall, the water from the roof drained down the wall of the Hacienda del Mar building and went straight into our closed window. We had at least 5 buckets of water in our room. If we had not been there, many of our things on the floor of the room would have been drenched. The Hacienda del Mar restaurants are OK at best. The Mexican food was good, but the other finer dishes, such as fish, were just OK hit or mis or pretty bad. At least one of our fish dishes was really not edible. Overall, the food at the Hacienda del Mar restaurants was not worth the high prices that they charge (the one has a great view though). If you order bottled water, they charge $7!!! Another complaint is that the pool is not cleaned. There were LOTS of stuff floating in the water. Finally, we attended a sales meeting for the Hacienda del Mar resort and we later found out that what the sales guys were saying was either not true or not even representative of what was being sold. When we complained about this to other people of the Hacienda del Mar sales office and to the management, we were treated rudely and our complaints ignored. It seems that they just wanted our money and we did not matter. ...too bad because parts of the Hacienda del Mar resort are nice.

Sits in the corridor - probably not the best place if you are going to Cabo to party as you are about 5 miles from town. Hacienda del Mar is far more tranquil - generally vendors are not allowed on the beach, but there are still a few - they don't bother you much at all though. The grounds are beautiful. Rooms a spacious - occasionally you'll have one with a A/C leak or something - but they do work to keep the rooms in good condition and will do their best to fix problems (some things are not easily fixed). Shares grounds swith the Sheraton hotel property and you get you use all of their amenities as well. Great fitness room as far as resort fitness rooms go - it's not Bally's or 24 Hour Fitness, but still very well equipped. Resort can get expensive if you don't pay attention. There are a couple of basic things you can do to save lots of $$. All rooms have kitchens - don't ever buy breakfast in any of the restaurants - you'll spend an arm and a leg. Drinks are expensive, except during happy hour where you get 2 for 1, so if you follow the happy hours around - you can do just fine. If you want to save even more - buy you own beer, wine and hard liquor and make your own drinks. We always like the thought of our waiter trumping through the sand to bring drinks, etc. but you'll spend more. Depending on how often you want to go to town or take part in activities - taxi rides can get expensive. We always rent a car so we have the freedom to go when and where we want to. For anyone who stays here and wants to snorkel, just realize that all the snorkel boats go to Santa Maria, which is conveniently less than a mile away from Hacienda del Mar. So you can taxi or drive a rental there easily for the amount of money it would take to taxi into town, then pay for the acitivity. Great spa (or so my wife tells me, I'm not much of a spa person). You will be asked to go to "breakfast" to get a sales pitch for the timeshare (if you don't already own one). You will get the hard sell - but just go and be firm if you do not want to buy. As annoying and time consuming as the "breakfast" is - if you go you will get very deep discounts on actvities, cruises, diving, etc. etc. if you go. So if you want to save some money, you should go through exercise - just make sure you go with the right mindset. They will make you feel guilty if you don't buy - so just be prepared to not let that get to you. Oh, BTW - the breakfast is free, but they will ask you to tip the waiter - this is really annoying if you aren't aware up front. Hope this is useful - thx

If you are looking for a luxurious and restful vacation, this is the place. Private uncrowded beach, six restaurants with world class food, unparalled golfing. No, this is not for big families on a budget. This is for someone who wants and deserves some pampering. I love it and visit every year when I can. Loved it so much I bought a two bedroom, which makes my vacations even a better value !

The rooms are well laid out. Two beds in Master Bedroom means you need to check sleeping arrangements if you have large party. Everything: furnishings, landscaping, views etc are excellant. Some units are further from beach than optimum, but carts will transport you for nothing or small tip. Restaurants are very expensive, maybe not for CABO! You can cook easily. Take bus to town for groceries or rent a car (also very expensive) Beach is not best swimming, but there are numerous pools, some heated. A luxurious place with lots of great experiances.