MexiCanIGoBack?

For some reason, I've always been drawn to Mexico. I suppose it's easy to see why with all of the beautiful beaches and delicious food. However, the thing I love the most is that it's so rich in culture. That's why it's no surprise that I wanted to go back even though I have a lot of other countries on my travel bucket list that I have yet to visit.

In the past, Drew and I have stayed at the adult-only Hyatt Zilara properties in both Cancun, Mexico and Montego Bay, Jamaica. They are the only all inclusive resorts we've been to but based off what others have said and what I have read, the service and food are a lot better than most. However, I was a little torn when deciding which hotel to book in Cabo. On one hand, I love that food and drinks are unlimited at all-inclusives. On the other hand, we really wanted to experience local, authentic food but weren't sure we'd still want to if food was already paid for at our resort. Also, Cabo only has the kid-friendly Hyatt Ziva. As much as I love kids, I admit it was very peaceful and luxurious without them at the Zilara properties. Despite the downfalls of staying at the Hyatt, we decided to book there regardless because of the two free nights from the Hyatt Credit Card sign up bonus we had.

The hotel was pretty good overall but we were really spoiled by the Zilara properties so I kept comparing it back to those. The downsides: no alcohol in the minibar, no tortilla chips & guac or alcohol in the 24-hour deli, fewer breakfast and lunch options, poor nightly entertainment, no turn-down amenity, no chaise lounge on our balcony and not as great of a view for the price. Although we could see the ocean from our room, our main view was of the pool. Lastly, there were two big weddings on our last night which led to a bit of chaos and the restaurants being under-staffed. (p.s. I would not advise having a large wedding ceremony at the hotel unless you want to see kids running around and bikini clad women while walking down the aisle!)

view from our room

The resort had 7 restaurants, 6 bars, a snack bar, a coffee bar and a 24 hour deli. The only breakfast options were the buffet, the coffee bar and room service. I would have loved if at least one of the a la carte restaurants were open to serve specialty egg dishes, pancakes, french toast, etc. We ate at Coco Loco for lunch almost every single day. They had tacos, burgers and fries, chips & guac and ceviche. They were all really good but I must admit, I did get sick of the food by the end. I believe there was only one other restaurant open for lunch each day.

Tacos al Pastor and Fish Tacos at Coco Loco's

We tried every restaurant for dinner and all were delicious, except for Dozo on the last night. We had teppanyaki there another night which was awesome but our dinner on the last night was mediocre at best and the food was cold by the time it arrived. Some of the dishes that stood out above the rest were the Duck Magret at Bon Vivant, El Molcajete at El Molino and El Arroz Negro at El Cortijo.

Duck Magret at Bon Vivant

Molcajete at El Molino

El Arroz Negro at El Cortijo

My favorite part of each day was talking with the staff. On two separate mornings, we went for the hotel-led walk on the beach. We were the only guests to show up on both mornings so it gave me a chance to brush up on my Spanish and learn about what it's like to live in Cabo. We also spent a lot of time talking with Eduardo in loss prevention who went out of his way to make us feel welcome. We chatted about everything from food and cooking to Mexico and the US.

horses on one of our morning walks

Eduardo, Myself, Drew and Juan

Although it was expensive, we opted for a 50 minute couples massage at the on-site spa, Zen. It made me feel a little better when I saw a sign in the spa saying that the price included gratuities. However, we still tipped an extra 15%. The all inclusive resorts are usually inclusive of gratuities but I personally feel that the staff deserves more. The massage felt amazing after our previous day's outdoor adventure, which I'll touch more on below.

Zen Spa

One of my other favorite things at the hotel were the coffee drinks they made before dinner time outside of the Piano Bar. The bartender poured flaming vodka over coffee, Kahlua, and Brandy or Whiskey and then topped it with whipped cream and a cherry. The drinks packed a punch and were out of this world!

Location wise, the hotel itself was within walking distance to a supermarket and mall, which didn't really have much. I was sure to stock up on Mexican Vanilla Extract while in the supermarket. In the other direction, there was small, more upscale shopping plaza called Plaza del Pescador.

The hotel was also right across the street from The Dolphin Center, which is owned by Cabo Adventures, an amazing tour company. The center serves as a pick up location for many of their tours which I would highly recommend, especially considering Hyatt Ziva is roughly 1/2 hour from Cabo San Lucas. I'll go into more detail on their Luxury Day Sailing and Outdoor Adventure in upcoming posts.

On one of our last days, we took a 5-10 minute cab ride to downtown San Jose del Cabo to do some site-seeing and shopping. The area was a lot smaller than I expected so we were done in less than an hour. I kind of regret not checking out one of the restaurants there.

If we had never stayed at the Hyatt Zilara Cancun, I would rave about Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos in a heartbeat. It's just hard for me to say it was amazing since we have. However, I can't emphasize enough how amazing the staff was at both properties. I would definitely recommend the hotel to families with children but if you're looking for something romantic or like to party, it's probably not the best choice. I'm sure we'll still end up going to other Hyatt Zilara properties as they open in new locations...I'm eyeing you, Dominican Republic!