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Looking for info on a resort in Cabo

vlapinta

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Marriott Ocean Watch at Grand Dunes
We own a Marriott timeshare and were looking to trade into a resort through II in Cabo. Are all of the resorts all inclusive? It looks like the fees in other areas for the all inclusive are pretty expensive. I would appreciate any info on this. Also which resort is in a good location. We will be traveling from NJ.
 

dioxide45

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Marriott Grande Vista
Marriott Harbour Lake
Sheraton Vistana Villages
Club Wyndham CWA
What Marriott do you own? Perhaps you could try a direct trade with a Vistana owner to go to the Westin Los Cabos?
 

calberry

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Marriott Timber Lodge, Lake Tahoe (2 weeks)
Marriott Ko Olina, Oahu, Hi. EOY
UVC, Villa del Arco, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.EOY
We are Marriott owners and frequently trade to both Cabo and PV. Have you been to Cabo before?

Steve
 

vlapinta

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We are Marriott owners and frequently trade to both Cabo and PV. Have you been to Cabo before?

Steve
No, we have never been there. It looks beautiful. We have a week banked through II and we were looking to trade for something in October or November. I realize it is kind of last minute. Any suggestions of which resort and what is the deal with the all inclusive part when you are trading into the resort?
 

whitewater

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Club Wyndham Access
Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach (1Br, 2Br)
Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach - Monte Cristo Estates
sunset beach is not AI. We own there and love it.
 

vlapinta

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Whitewater does sunset beach trade through II? Do they have 2 bedroom units?
 

whitewater

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Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach (1Br, 2Br)
Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach - Monte Cristo Estates
Whitewater does sunset beach trade through II? Do they have 2 bedroom units?
RCI I believe. That is what we exchange into however not sure if they use II.
 

buzglyd

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I think Casa Dorada trades in II. It's really nice and right on Medano beach. Mango Deck is right below you but it's not open too late.
 

dioxide45

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If you use the II Directory In Excel Spreadsheet, you will find there are actually 15 resorts that are not AI that are either Elite or Premier level. You can capture the same list from the II online directory.

Code...Resort....Resort Name
PDX....Premier...Bel Air Collection Resort & Spa Los Cabos
MCZ....Elite.....Cabo Azul Resort
MBE....Elite.....Casa Dorada at Médano Beach
CBO....Premier...Casa Dorada San Lucas Bay
DOR....Premier...Casa Dorada Spa and Golf Resort
GSD....Elite.....Grand Solmar at Rancho San Lucas
GSE....Elite.....Grand Solmar Land's End Resort & Spa Cabo San Lucas
HEC....Elite.....Hacienda Encantada Resort & Spa
RCQ....Elite.....Las Residencias Golf & Beach Club
MC3....Elite.....Monarch Grand Vacation Cabo Azul
WKO....Elite.....Sirena del Mar by Welk Resorts
RDI....Elite.....The Resort at Diamante
WLX....Premier...The Westin Los Cabos Resort Villas & Spa
VLS....Elite.....Villa del Arco
VDC....Premier...Villa del Palmar-Cabo

Thus you can search them all in a single search using just the resort codes; PDX, MCZ, MBE, CBO, DOR, GSD, GSE, HEC, RCQ, MC3, WKO, RDI, WLX, VLS, VDC

There does seem to be a fair amount of availability for October and November this year. Just be sure to buy Travel Insurance as that is hurricane season.
 

calberry

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Marriott Timber Lodge, Lake Tahoe (2 weeks)
Marriott Ko Olina, Oahu, Hi. EOY
UVC, Villa del Arco, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.EOY
No, we have never been there. It looks beautiful. We have a week banked through II and we were looking to trade for something in October or November. I realize it is kind of last minute. Any suggestions of which resort and what is the deal with the all inclusive part when you are trading into the resort?

When looking at Cabo for trades you need to pay attention to location. On Interval they show Los Cabos (the Cabo most people think about) and San Jose Los Cabos in the same list. But SJLC is about 20 miles up the coast from the true Cabo San Lucas. We have never stayed in SJLC but have friends that love it. Our preference is to be on Medano beach and be able to walk to the Marina and downtown area, or take a water taxi to Lover's beach or Pelican rock.

We also own points with UVC which is Villa del Palmar and Villa del Arco, and have stayed at both, and we have traded into Casa Dorada Medano beach before. I would recommend any of those 3 if you want to stay on Medano beach. I just checked availability in Cabo for both Oct. and Nov. using our deposited 2018 1BR week at Timber Lodge (great trading power) and there are really very few units other than studios available (unless that is what you are looking for...we do not like them ourselves).

As far as AI, UVC offers 3 day packages. So you can stay on resort and use any of the bars/restaurants at VDA or VDP for those 3 days and then leave the resort other days for trips into town or the marina to sample the local food.

Steve
 

rpennisi

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I second whitewater's recommendation of Sunset Beach. While Pueblo Bonito at Sunset Beach offers AI, we have stayed there twice (RCI trades) and will go back again hopefully in three years (they have a 1 in 4 rule), we haven't used AI.
This year they opened The Market which offers lots of food choices at reasonable prices.
 

davidvel

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You should search the Mexico forum for all inclusive. It is roughly 90-100 per person, per day, with kids about half of that. Teenagers usually pay full fare, but can't drink (until 18). This is about $300 for a family of four every day. Beer in Cabo is about $2 bottle. Breakfadts run about $10. In local restauants you can get full lunches with alcohol, for under $15/person. Fresh fish meals (where you literally see them walk the fish off the boat minutes before preparation), for $20.

With AI you are stuck with the resort restaurants, that do not compare to the local restaurants. We did eat a few mwals at the resort, but these were never more than about $40-50 per family, including drinks.

We have been to Cabo with other families, some of whom drink a lot.None of us have ever averaged $300/ day on food and drink.
 

geist1223

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We always stay in San Jose del Cabo not Cabo San Lucas. It is not so crowded or noisy. On Thursday nights from November to May San Jose del Cabo has an Art Walk in the evening. You can swim with the Dolphins in the San Jose del Cabo Harbour. Much better than swimming in a large concrete pool. Cabo Azul is is a beautiful Resort. You do want a partial ocean or pool view. It is about a mile from down town San Jose del Cabo an easy walk. It is under a mile to the large grocery store - use to be called Mega Foods. Any activity you schedule will normally provide round trip transportation from and to the Resort. Hotel California and Todos Santos is a waste of time. Swimming with the Whale Sharks in La Paz is awesome though expensive. If you snorkel there are 2 ways to do it. Tour group which means being transported to and from Cabo San Lucas. They do provide food and drinks. Or if you have your own gear and a rental car you can drive to Chileno or Santa Maria. They are beaches on the Corridor between the 2 towns. This is what we do. We get to the beach about 8am. No waves, no wind, and no tour boats. Costco is by Cabo San Lucas. We have had inexpensive but good food at some hole in the wall places. If you decide to go on a sunset cruise - food and drink included - check out the Company. Some are pretty crazy party boats.
 

PamMo

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For trading through Interval into Cabo San Lucas, Casa Dorada on Medano Beach would be a very good choice, right in the center of the action on busy Medano Beach. You can walk to lots of great restaurants and beach bars from there. It is not a mandatory all-inclusive resort.

Villa del Palmar and Villa del Arco are farther down Medano Beach from town, but both are very nice resorts. V. Del Arco is more upscale, but double-check all-inclusive requirements. I've seen some VDA units require A-I, some didn't.

For a quieter lux experience, I'd choose Grand Solmar at Land's End. The studios are quite large (700+sf), with a separate BR, dining area, big balcony overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and decent kitchen (no oven). The 1-4BR's are fantastic - if you can get one! Solmar Beach and Land's End are stunningly beautiful, and an easy walk to the marina and downtown for shopping/restaurants. It's not a mandatory A-I resort.

Fall is great for sport fishing in Cabo, and the multi-million dollar Bisbee fishing tournaments are held in October - it's a fun time to be down there!
 
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easyrider

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We own UVC which includes the Villa del Palmar Cabo and Villa del Arco. Trades into both of these resorts are not good because the owners inventory are the better rooms. Most complaints are about room location. AI is only mandatory with getaway inventory in II. Exchanges are AI optional last I checked.

PB Sunset Beach has a huge inventory but even so, the room assignment is the biggest complaint regarding exchanges. I have been able to score decent rooms through exchange at this resort. I don't think this would be a resort I would choose for my first visit to Cabo. Maybe one of the resorts closer to town.

Bill
 

vlapinta

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Thanks for all your help. From reading above I am going to put requests in for Cabo Azul, Casa Dorado on Medano Beach, Villa del Palma, Villa Del Arco and Grand Solmar.
 

dmiller1

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We own a Marriott timeshare and were looking to trade into a resort through II in Cabo. Are all of the resorts all inclusive? It looks like the fees in other areas for the all inclusive are pretty expensive. I would appreciate any info on this. Also which resort is in a good location. We will be traveling from NJ.
We own at the Grand Solmar and Cabo Villas. I wouldn't do an AI in Cabo just because it is so much fun and more reasonable to eat at the restaurants. We are from Philly and have been there many times. The Grand Solmar is not on a swimmable beach but the resort is wonderful. Cabo Villas is on Medano Beach which is a swimmable beach. You will have fun!
 

vlapinta

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dmiller1 We are from the NJ shore. We can fly out of Newark or Philly. Can you tell me how you find the best way to get there? Which airline ect
I think I'm taking Grand Solmar off my list. A swimmable beach is a must for us
 

vlapinta

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Does anyone know about the Westin? I was reading an old thread and it looked like it just reopened. Is the Westin in a good location? Swimmable beach?
 
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buzglyd

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Medano Beach is about it unless you stay up in San Jose.

The beaches in Los Cabos are nothing like Cancun if that’s what you’re hoping for.
 

jlp879

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Thanks for all your help. From reading above I am going to put requests in for Cabo Azul, Casa Dorado on Medano Beach, Villa del Palma, Villa Del Arco and Grand Solmar.

I would remove Villa del Palmar from this list. It is not nearly as nice as the others and I see it often sitting as available inventory in II on a regular basis. If you request it, you'll probably get matched to it soon. You'd be much happier with the other choices.
 

vlapinta

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I removed Villa del Palmar. I put in a request for just Cabo Azul, Casa Dorado and Villa Del Arco. Thanks for everyone's help and I will keep my fingers crossed
 

davidvel

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I removed Villa del Palmar. I put in a request for just Cabo Azul, Casa Dorado and Villa Del Arco. Thanks for everyone's help and I will keep my fingers crossed
There are 4 Casa Dorada's in the greater Cabo area. Make sure you put in
Casa Dorada at Médano Beach, Code MBE.
 

klpca

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I would consider adding Grand Solmar to your list. It is a beautiful resort, even nicer than our Marriott's, imho.
 
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