Just returned from Hacienda del Mar
We just spent President's Week in a one-bedroom at Hacienda del Mar, and I was very impressed. I, too was a little worried because of some of the unhappy TUG reviews -- but the resort is really top-notch, and their beach/pool area (where you will spend most of your time, anyways) -- is one of the best in Cabo.
We go to Cabo every February and we have also stayed at Westin Regina (out on the corridor), Playa Grande (near town), and Pueblo Bonito Blanco (where we own). We have also toured many of the Cabo timeshares. We always rent a car, as driving in Cabo is easy, and if you take a timeshare tour, you'll get a week of car rental free, plus other goodies, to boot.
As for the units at Hacienda del Mar, we exchanged into the 1 bedroom 4/6. There are 2 queen beds in the bedroom, and I have to tell you --- those are about the best-quality, most comfortable beds we have ever slept in, in Mexico. Kind of like the Westin "Heavenly Beds" ... I think they are the Sheraton "Sweet Slumber" beds, or something similar. The bedding is very high quality, and the sheets felt like egyptian cotton or very high thread-count. (Both 1-bedrooms at Playa Grande and the Westin were like sleeping on concrete slabs, even AFTER you ask them to put on the egg-carton foam.) I don't like coming back from vacation with back problems, so I see the higher quality beds at the Sheraton as a BIG plus. (But I think they might have been there for only the last year or two.)
Most 1-bedrooms in Cabo have 2 baths, but the Hacienda del Mar does not. When you enter the bathroom from the main hallway there is a large sink area, a glass-enclosed shower, and a toilet behind a lockable door of it's own. There is also an entrance to this same bathroom from the master bedroom, which has a sink/vanity of it's own and a nice deep jacuzzi bathtub. It would have been nice to have more than 1 toilet, but it was not a show-stopper, since we had only our 11-year old with us. She slept out on the convertible sofa in the living room, which was fine for your kids --- but did not look appealing if you were travelling with another couple. It would definately be a case of the have's, and the have-nots. The bedroom feels like a luxurious master bedroom, whereas the living area pullout sofa has the appearance of sleeping-over in someone's living room. It's cramped when the bed is out, and you get to hear the refrigerator breathing like Darth Vadar thoughout the night. But the 1-bedroom units we stayed in at Playa Grande and Westin Regina were the same way --- really just fit for kids in the living room. The Mexican Pullouts that are so hard, you need 2 layers of egg-carton topping to make them sleepable.
As for the pool and beach areas, I now think that Sheraton has one of the best in Cabo. Lots of pools cascading into each other, but all the big resorts have that. What I really liked was the number of umbrellas and palm trees they had. We burn easily, and at most resorts it's not easy to nab an umbrella, or any kind of shade. But Hacienda del Mar had lots of heavy-duty canvas umbrellas at every pool area, lots of palapas on the beach, AND lots of white portable umbrellas they would set up for people on the beach, as well. They had lots of activities for people who wanted activities (pool volleyball, basketball, water aerobics, salsa dancing, bartending classes, bingo, etc. In the middle section of pools there were shallow pools and walk-in pools for the kiddies, where lots of people with toddlers & young kids hung out. Then, the farthest pools were quiet (with colder water -- which kept all the kids away) and ended up being more of an adult-only area.
The Sheraton beach area is really gorgeous, but very different from Medano Beach. Medano Beach is more compact, and more action-packed. But the Sheraton beach is very wide, much more spread out, especially with all the nice palapas. I found it very scenic. Especially, as far as just sitting in the lounge chair, reading a good book, sipping a favorite beverage, relaxing the day away. I would even put the Sheraton beach/pool area ahead of ALL the Pueblo Bonitos - including Sunset Beach, Westin Regina (not enough shade for us/narrow strip of beach), and our former-favorite Playa Grande (can't see the beach well from the pools). But everyone's entitled to their own opinion.
Every resort has it's pluses and minuses. If you want the BEST ocean view from your unit -- choose the Westin Regina -- every unit will have drop-dead gorgeous oceanfront ocean views (but it's WAY out on the corridor). If you want to be able to walk to town, have a gorgeous interior, nice pools, and possibly great ocean views -- Playa Grande would be a good fit. If you want action, action, action-- then you want one of Medano Beach resorts (PB Blanco, PBRose). If you want luxury and pampering, and want to "get away from it all"... PB Sunset Beach would be a good fit.
As for the comment that the Hacienda del Mar is out "on the corridor". After staying at the Westin Regina which is way, way, way out on the corridor --- the Cabo del Sol area seemed fairly close to town. We could drive to Costco in 5 minutes, and the Pueblo Bonito Rose (for "Italian Night" on Fridays -- wow!) in less than 10 minutes. I think the Regina is more like 20 minutes away from Cabo-- a much, much longer drive than Hacienda del Mar.
--- Rene McDaniel
