Los Cabos Travel Guide: Where to Stay in Los Cabos

This Summer we took a family trip to Los Cabos. We stayed at two different luxury hotels during our 10 day trip – Montage Los Cabos and Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal. That said, I’m writing this Los Cabos Travel Guide comparing the Montage vs. Waldorf Astoria. If you’re considering where to stay in Los Cabos, you’ll want to read this.

Spoiler alert: This Los Cabos Travel Guide isn’t going to choose a clear winner between the two luxury hotels. That’s impossible. Many people have asked me which hotel is best and there’s no way to choose just one. I was happy to be able to experience both so here’s what I liked about each.

Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal

Scenery

We started our vacation at The Waldorf Astoria Pedregal. The scenery there is rugged and grandiose. Think huge waves crashing onto steep cliffs. Our room had an oceanfront view and while the waves are incredible to see and soothing to hear, their sheer size and swell make the beach un-swimmable. So if you want to spend time on the beach in Los Cabos, you won’t be able to do so at The Waldorf which is something to consider when deciding where to stay in Los Cabos.

Service

Like any Waldorf property, the service at The Waldorf Astoria Pedregal is an impeccable five-star experience and staff could not be friendlier or more accomodating. From the arrival drinks to the in-room amenities, they leave no stone unturned. Pool service was equally impressive at the beginning of our stay but later in the week as staff changed over it became less attentive. It was still wonderful, just less so compared to earlier in the week.

Accommodation

The rooms at The Waldorf Astoria Pedregal are more traditionally appointed with marble and dark wood. Every room has an oceanfront view and offers a private, heated plunge pool on a spacious balcony. As a family of three we had plenty of space to move around and fit a crib for our daughter. The gym was large and had complimentary chlorophyll water. I took a lovely Hatha Yoga class that I highly recommend.

Pools

There are three pools at The Waldorf. Two family pools and one adult pool with a swim-up bar. The family pools are on the far end of the resort. One has a waterfall and the other is an ocean-front infinity pool. We spent all of our time at the family pools since we were there with our toddler. While I thought the Waldorf was very kid-friendly overall, they lacked pool toys for kids.

Food

I enjoyed the food at The Waldorf. There are two main restaurants on site where we had lunch daily and dinner on our first night, but breakfast truly blew me away. They had a full breakfast buffet with everything from pastries, to eggs made to order, green juice and fresh fruit. They even offered traditional Mexican specialty items. I looked forward to breakfast every morning. However, skip the $17 matcha latte from the on-site coffee shop.

Perhaps our favorite restaurant of the trip was the third restaurant that’s on site but more upscale and requires a reservation – El Farallon. The food, the scenery, everything was a 10 out of 10. Whether you’re staying at The Waldorf or not, this one is a must-visit in Los Cabos.

Montage Los Cabos

Our stay at The Montage Los Cabos was equally as relaxing and incredible, but slightly different. For the sake of this Los Cabos Travel Guide and helping someone to decide where to stay in Los Cabos, here’s a comparison.

Scenery

We also had a beachfront view at The Montage but the property itself is set further away from the shore so you can’t hear the ocean like you can at The Waldorf. The scenery at The Montage is desert-chic with beautifully-landscaped grounds. The beach there is swimmable, but it’s a public beach and the inlet is a popular place for the party boats to dock. The hotel offers kayaks and snorkels for guests’ use. We spent one day at the beach and opted for the pool the rest of the time. There was some construction going on nearby that we could hear and see from the pool during our stay.

Service

While the service at The Waldorf was top-notch, I loved the personal attention we received at The Montage Los Cabos. There were several personal touches for kids also like a personalized pillowcase, balloon and a toddler-sized robe. The concierge greeted us upon arrival with the most delicious smoky grapefruit margarita and surprised Valentina with a motorized car full of stuffies from which to choose. He arranged dining reservations, car transfers and even checked up on us during the day at the pool.

That said, toward the end of our stay and even though he transitioned us over to his colleague for his days off, a couple of things fell through the cracks.

Accommodation

My husband preferred our room at The Montage over our room at The Waldorf. It had a more modern, minimalist feel that he likes. Similar to the Waldorf, the bathroom and balcony were spacious. The Montage didn’t have a plunge pool but it did offer an outdoor shower. The gym was steps away from our room and definitely more updated at The Montage. There are infused waters and snacks galore for your post-workout enjoyment too.

Pools

There are two large pools at The Montage and one smaller adult pool with a swim-up bar. We stayed mainly at the larger pool because it was less populated, had steps and a more shallow entry. Although my daughter didn’t use ut, there was also a kiddie pool close to it and lots of pool toys. The pool service was good and we looked forward to the daily afternoon homemade paletas.

Food

The food was good, but I wasn’t as impressed as I was at The Waldorf. Breakfast was a la carte and we mainly ended up ordering grab and go options from the cafe on site rather than sitting at the restaurant. We ate dinner there on three nights of our stay between the two on site restaurants.

See below for other restaurant recommendations in Los Cabos.

Los Cabos Travel Guide Recommended Restaurants

In addition to El Farrallon which was one of our favorite restaurant experiences of the trip, these are some of the other restaurants we visited during our Los Cabos trip.

El Huerto: This is a a gorgeous farm to table restaurant that has a playground for kids. We had a date night here but I highly recommend it as a family spot too. Unlike Flora Farms, it’s easy to get to and has a more personal feel rather than being a “destination.” We met a family at La Dolce Cabo (see below) who recommended it to us.

Flora Farms: The infamous farm to table restaurant in Los Cabos, this has become somewhat of a “destination” for tourists. I think it’s lost the quaint vibe it used to have as it felt crowded and the service felt rushed. We were familiar with Flora Farms because we held our wedding reception there 7 years ago. Since we were going back to visit, we decided to do a family photo shoot there with our daughter.

La Dolce Cabo: We were skeptical but ended up loving this family-run Italian restaurant. The family we met who recommend El Huerto was back for a second time during their own trip. Servings were plentiful and are the owners’ family recipes. This place is casual but friendly and the food was delicious!

Manta: This restaurant at the Thompson Hotel is trendy and the food is inventive. The views are unbelievable especially at sunset but I was underwhelmed by the food. If you don’t have to take your kids here, I wouldn’t.

Ruby’s: While the service is a little slower than at the resorts, we had a leisurely breakfast in San Jose at Ruby’s. Get the strawberry croissant!

Finally, we had a fun experience swimming with dolphins in Los Cabos. It was close to the Waldorf and a quick morning excursion. Great for kids and adults.

Check out my Instagram for more photos from our trip.

Looking for some of my past travel guides? Here are a few of my favorites: 

Tulum Travel Guide: Kid-friendly Tulum
Our South Carolina Family Vacation 
Our Big Island Babymoon
Napa Valley Travel Guide
Bermuda Travel Guide