Vista Encantada vs Cabo Azul

[ecassidy6]

Debating as to which resort - recommendations?

 

[rpennisi]

Debating as to which resort - recommendations?

If without a car, I would go with Cabo Azul, an easy walk out of the resort, which is beautiful with great suites. You cross the street to several very good restaurants or walk easily to San José for a wonderful small town with restaurants, art, etc.

 

[geist1223]

2nd Cabo Azul.

 

[hurnik]

I've been to both. It depends on what you want. IF you want to walk to downtown (although it's a bit of a jaunt, probably about 1.5-2 miles), and like a smaller resort (but take into account the $60 USD/day resort fee), with a "funky" 2 BR layout (the 2nd bedroom has to use the bathroom in the hallway), and if you like a sandy beach, then Cabo Azul is the one. Very nice resort (not as nice as Vista Encantada, but it's like a 9/10 vs. like a 9.5/10 so small difference, IMO). Staff is VERY good.

Vista Encantada is very very ooh-lala. Grand Luxxe level, IMO. But you'll be on resort or take the shuttle if you want to get to downtown Cabo.

Note that Cabo Azul is San Jose del Cabo so the downtown is a bit more sedate.

Drinks at both resorts are NOT very strong. Unless you use the Piano bar at Vista Encantada and have the AI Premium plan.

Personally I'd be happy at either resort. But if I wanted a nicer beach area, and walk across the street for some tacos or get to downtown, I'll take Cabo Azul.

 

[Eric B]

Cabo Azul is a couple of blocks from Santo Pulpo, a great octopus restaurant, and not much further to Lateral Crudo y Asado, a great taco joint. Haven't been to Vista Encantada yet; we decided to grab a couple of resale weeks at Cabo Azul because we like it so much.

 

[PamMo]

I “own” (they are RTU’s) at Grand Solmar and Playa Grande, which are our favorite resorts in Los Cabos, but we’ve taken family to both Vista Encantada and Cabo Azul. A few times.

Cabo Azul is a beautiful resort, but the view from our 2BR unit, as exchangers, was pretty dreadful. The noise from fiesta nights and the a/c units at the resort next door, meant we never wanted to use our balcony. I really like that Cabo Azul is walkable to many restaurants nearby, grocery stores, and downtown San José. Uber is a cheap way to get around town, if you don’t want to walk. The property is beautiful and the service was very good. I loved the main pool and (unswimmable) beach for walking. The $60+USD/day mandatory resort fee is crazy, though.

Vista Encantada is in the corridor and the resort is huge, so I feel like having a car is almost essential if you want to enjoy/explore the area. If you don’t want to drive in Mexico and spend a lot of money on taxis (due to a deal with the taxi union, Uber can’t pick you up at VE), stay with Cabo Azul - taxis are expensive in Cabo. The suites we had at VE were all 3 & 4BR’s, and they were exceptional. The views from VE suites are all oceanview from their large balconies, with lots of comfy seating, a BBQ, and plunge pool. The service is excellent. A very helpful concierge will be assigned to you. Our car rental was less than the resort fees at Cabo Azul, and if we wanted to go into San Lucas, there was free parking at their sister resort on the marina.

 

[geist1223]

At Cabo Azul we always request a Unit overlooking the Serenity Pools. It is quiet but only a short walk to the main Pool and Beach. We are not folks that enjoy laying around in the sun all day. When we stay in we spend the day at the Serenity Pools. Meals, drinking, visiting. At Cabo Azul many times a partial Ocean View is a horrible location. It is located on the Outside of the Building. So your main Patio` View is the Resort next door (Vidanta on one side and Royal Solaris on the other side) and if you lean out over the edge of the Patio` you can get a glimpse of the Ocean.

 

[hurnik]

Cabo Azul is a couple of blocks from Santo Pulpo, a great octopus restaurant, and not much further to Lateral Crudo y Asado, a great taco joint. Haven't been to Vista Encantada yet; we decided to grab a couple of resale weeks at Cabo Azul because we like it so much.

Ooh, do tell about the resale weeks. Hilton resale? (now that it's part of MAX?) or the DRI resale?

 

[Eric B]

Ooh, do tell about the resale weeks. Hilton resale? (now that it's part of MAX?) or the DRI resale?

One EOY HVC Cabo Azul (old DRI) and one Monarch Grand (also DRI/HVC, of course). Cabo Azul is better for MFs but doesn't have access to discounts when they have them. Both are higher than my bHC MFs, which average $0.13. Both were free. Monarch Grand acts as an EOY.

 

[Tacoma]

Just got back from a stay at Vista Encantada in a 4 bedroom unit. Unit and service were amazing. The only fee I paid was $2.50 a day since I read on here you can opt out of the $19 a day HK fee. They still would have provided HK twice a day but we only asked for cleaning twice. It was a bit hard to cancel cleaning they kept coming by and phoning to see if we wanted a clean but we prefer to not have daily HK and I really don't need the evening turndown. We had a car so had to tip the valet but we just called our concierge and the car was waiting for us. Not being resort people we didn't eat at the resort even once (we did go to the taco restaurant but they had a buffet that night so didn't stay). The room was amazing, every bedroom had an ensuite. The deck ran the length of the apartment and included a plunge pool and a barbecue area with seating for 4. There were 4 comfortable chairs with 2 ottomans but we brought the ottomans from the main bedrooms private deck so we had 4 ottomans as well.

We were told the rooftop pool was rated the 11th in the world for rooftop pools. One view looked north up the coast towards San Jose del Cabo and the other view looked south to Cabo and its famous arch. There was a very cute church at the top of the hill which ran services. Grounds were amazing and there were several other pools. Your concierge sends you a daily newsletter highlighting open restaurants and happy hours.

I have stayed in a 3 bedroom grand luxe in Nuevo Vallarta and the level of luxury is similar. The only thing I liked better at the grand luxe was the beautiful wood deck, at VE it was tile (likely travertine?) I did not like feeling trapped at the GL unit. They made it difficult to leave the property. At least at VE there is a shuttle to Cabo which I believe is $10 per person. Much as I hate renting cars in Mexico it made it easy to go into town for dinner and buy groceries for breakfast/lunch. Unfortunately there was a dump fire which meant for about a day and a half we could not sit on our deck due to the unpleasant burning plastic smell. Without a car I would not stay at the Nuevo Vallarta location again. I refer to it as a 5 star prison. If you don't mind staying at the resort and paying resort prices the grounds were beautiful and the resort shuttles ran regularly to take you anywhere you wanted to go on site. When we visited the lazy river was closed and that also could have made my stay less enjoyable.

I am much more interested in being out and touring around the area than any resort amenities so that is why I prefer VE over GL. Realistically if I go back to the Cabo area I will just stay at the Worldmark resort and walk or uber into San Jose de Cabo as I like it's laid back vibe more than I like Cabo.

 

[easyrider]

We haven't stayed at the Cabo Azul yet but we have stayed at Vista Encantada. The Vista Encantada is newer with a rooftop pool and hot tub area similar but different to the Grand Luxxe Towers roof top pool area. The rooms are opulent. Guests receive free parking at the Fiesta Marina Resort and access to their restaurants.

For us, it would be cool to have a week at both, imo. We did two weeks at VE and have no regrets.

Bill