Our First All-Inclusive Resort Stay: What You Need To Know
Mexico has always been on our list. And, we wanted to relax and not worry about a thing, not about food, transportation and anything we normally worry about when traveling. This time, we're hopping on a plane for an all-inclusive stay in Los Cabos, Mexico. Home of the most luxurious resorts and one of the safest destinations in the country. Let's go!
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What You Need To Know Before Traveling to Los Cabos, Mexico
Is it worth it to get an all-inclusive stay in Los Cabos?
This was the first question we asked ourselves before booking our trip and it all depends on what you're looking for. We wanted to relax and have some all-inclusive family time so it's a Big Yes for us! However, if you're looking for lots of jam-packed adventures with some nightlife events then maybe Cancun is another great option for you, which is by the way on our bucket list!
Best Time to Visit Los Cabos
It's recommended to visit Los Cabos from the months of May to July. We went in May and the crowd wasn't so bad.
Money Matters: Use Pesos!
We needed some pesos on hand and the money changer at the airport is the only option for us as we're headed straight to the resort. The money exchange inside the airport is less but it’s way better than nothing, but if you’re going downtown maybe they have better rates there. Also, we realized that it’s more effective to carry Mexican pesos when buying items and giving them as gratuities. Most stores and restaurants follow a lower exchange rate for USD so you don’t get your money’s worth. The exchange rate at the airport was 1 USD = 1.14 MXN.
We used our credit card at the resort with an exchange rate of 1 USD = 1.17 MXN.
Beware: At the Airport
After getting your luggage, keep going until you reach the exit door. You’ll be passing by a sea of sharks selling cheaper tours but in that tour, you’ll be visiting a resort where they do hardcore selling of timeshares. People in this area will grab your attention and offer you some alluring promotional tours. Unless you’re interested in getting a timeshare and would want to use your precious vacation hours listening to sales agents- your choice.
One guy caught my husband as we were looking for our exit, he told us he knew about our airport pick-up and guided us to his booth. This is where he forced us to buy his tours and made an unpleasant change in his tone when we didn't seem interested. And as we're about to leave his booth another guy talked to him with the same offer. I was already fed up with what was happening and then this lady approached me saying she could help us find our exit, even grabbed our baby's stroller to direct us to their booth. That was a deal breaker for me! They could have been more respectful and what a way to welcome you to their country. You've been warned, just keep walking straight and just smile.
Outside the airport, head straight to Bay 9 or whichever Bay was assigned for your pick-up. If you want a smoother arrival, request or pay for private transportation ahead of time. We didn’t know we had to wait that long with our baby after we located our bus agent. They escorted us to the van after complaining about how tired we were and that our baby needed some rest.
- Check-in: Royal Solaris - All Inclusive
- Location: Boulevard San Jose Lote #10 Campo de Golf, Zona Hotelera, 00000 San José del Cabo, Mexico
- 5 Days 4 Nights
How To Enjoy Your Stay At Royal Solaris: 10 Tips
1. Upon arrival at the resort
Make sure to confirm your departure pick-up for your last day with your assigned bus company. They will then provide you with the pickup time at your resort. I called Transcabo the next day as we didn't get to see them in the lobby to confirm our date. It's better this way at least you have an assurance they'll pick you up on your last day and then get you to the airport on time.
2. For the Alcoholic Drinks
To avoid watered-down drinks, ask for the strongest drink they have, my bartender offered Long Beach and Long Beach Iced Tea and then I asked for less ice so he knew I wanted it strong. There are two drinks he mentioned that are not on the menu Watermelon flavor with something strong and “Bai bai or Bye-Bye” coz he want me out of his bar for asking something different. Either way, I got my strong drinks.
Los Cabos and Bahama Mama are like ice-blended drinks with a little bit of liquor in them. The Blue Lagoon and the Margaritas were my favorites. When ordering Mojito or any other drink, always ask for less ice so your drink tastes stronger and better.
Bonus tip: Water in the Fridge is Free
You get free two 1 liter water bottles every day which are found inside the small fridge. Call the front desk for a refill, and they’ll send it to your room. We didn’t know this, so we bought bottled water at the resort’s gift shop for 3 USD on our first day.
Stay Hydrated Even If It's Cloudy
Bring some water in the poolside to get hydrated. The heat from the sun can be very dehydrating and that’s really dangerous, especially for kids and seniors.
3. Reserve poolside beach chairs
According to the reviews, we're supposed to get our towels ready and leave them at the poolside to secure a spot near the poolside. We went in May and the crowd wasn’t that bad. I read that some guests would wake up at 7am to put towels on the chairs. I guess this is one of the perks of going off-season, less competition at the poolside. However, after 12 noon I noticed most of the chairs were filled with towels and no one would know if they were even coming back as there was no trace of any human belongings on them.
4. For Families with Kids
If you have a toddler, bring a beach ball or a floaty to entertain your little one or you can always get one from the souvenir shop but you'll pay a higher price for the convenience.
Children's Club
The children's club offers an indoor play area. The club also offer Babysitting, we didn't get to avail of this service as our little one was too young but all you need to do is just call the front desk for more information.
They also have a different section for the kid's pool filled with colorful paintings and giant statues of cute animals. But that section of the resort has less than 10 beach chairs so it gets full really fast, they do offer normal chairs for the late-comers. There's also a playground and an indoor playroom around the area.
5. Every day Entertainment
We were impressed with the resort's fun activities lined up for the kids and adults. Even thou we wanted a lot of downtime we still don't mind being entertained.
In the morning ...
There are a lot of activities you can do in the morning like Beach Volleyball, Water Aerobics, Zumba, Yoga and Workout Activities at the Gym. For the kids, they facilitate games and handicraft-making activities by the pool too. The free yoga class was my favorite!
There's also a separate adult pool if you want to get away from the crowd.
Live entertainment at night for the kids and adults inside the Tehuacán Theater. There's also live music in the Lobby Bar.
Outside the Royal Solaris Resort ...
There's a good amount of shops and restaurants outside the resort. We even found a massage salon offering 40 USD for a full body massage, way cheaper inside the resort. Also, downtown is just 30 minutes away by taxi.
Food and Dining: Unlimited Meals & Drinks
6. Poolside Options: Snack & Drink
4 Snack Options:
- Hotdog Stand for a tasty hotdog in a bun - We loved this one!
- Las Pergolas for hamburgers and nachos - The nachos were my favorite!
- Sushi Station serves sushi rolls
- Pizzalisima for a variety of pizza's
- Pool Bar for cocktails and drinks
- Beach Bar is located close to the beach
- Lobby Bar also serves drinks and coffee
I would recommend the hotdog stall and the snack bar serving burgers and nachos near the main pool for snacks. The sushi bar and a pizza stall are situated on both ends of the poolside. The sushi bar had its own Mexican fusion and it was really hard to say if it's really sushi they're serving. I saw lots of people enjoying the mixed, maybe it's not for me.
There's a Coffee bar near the Lobby Bar, they also serve Liquor drinks here.
7. Restaurants to choose from:
For Breakfast: Cafe Solaris offers all-day buffet dining
For breakfast, it's always going to be at the Royal Solaris Buffet Hall. I loved their freshly made omelettes and quesadillas! No reservation is needed.
For Lunch: 2 options
- Cafe Solaris has indoor and outdoor dining
- Rosmarinus for an open-air Mexican restaurant near the beach
For Dinner: 4 options and needs reservation
- Marco Polo - serves Italian or Mediterranean cuisine
- Zai Restaurant - offers Japanese, Chinese and Thai food
- Panchos - serves Mexican dishes
- Cafe Solaris - No need for reservation offers an all-day dining buffet, and even has different themes each night.
Take note: Book your dinner reservation on their mobile app to secure your spot.
Panchos Restaurant with Live Mariachi Band
Among the restaurants, my favorite is the Panchos Restaurant, the Mexican-themed restaurant made me feel like I was in Mexico. Also, I find the food here way better than the other restaurants. The Mariachi Band that night sang "Happy Birthday" to our little boy and that made our night even more special.
Zai restaurant looked really elegant, and the appetizers were delicious but the rest of the menu was just ok.
Although the package stated that gratuities were included, some staff members still directly asked for extra tips while we were dining. This made us feel uneasy as if we were being judged based on the amount of money we gave them. Unfortunately, this was the only downside of our otherwise pleasant stay.
Overall, the food is just okay, I expected way too much and I'm also picky. You'll surely enjoy the food if you get the Mexican dishes in the Royal Solaris buffet and reserve dinner at Panchos. If you go for something that is not the country's speciality, you'll have to take the risk.
8. Walk at the Beach
Take note: You can't swim on the beach as the waves are too strong. This is one downside of our resort stay but we knew that before we booked our stay. We still had a great time just walking around the beach. The fine, white sands were easy on our feet and our little one loved chasing the birds here and playing with the sand.
Where to go swimming?
There's a beach called "El Medano Beach", which is 30 minutes away by car from the resort and is safe for swimming. Afterwards, you can go explore downtown before getting back to the resort.
Reminders: Protect your skin and the ocean
Choose coral reef-safe or biodegradable sunblock to protect the ocean and your family. This type of sunblock has no added harsh ingredients for your body and you’ll feel great for protecting the environment and doing your part. Also, make sure to reapply sunscreen every two hours to avoid any sunburn. Check out Reef Repair: Coral Reef Compliant Sunblock
9. Tours: Outside the Resort Premises
We booked our tour with Royal Solaris and chose the “Land’s End Tour with Glass Bottom Boat” which includes Round-trip transportation, The famous Arch Tour, Sea Lion's Colony, Pelican's Rock, Lover's Beach, and Tequila Tasting.
Tour price: 65 USD for each person
Tour pick-up time selection: 9:50 AM, 12:50 PM and 2:50 PM
Pick-up time of choice going back to the resort: 1:15 PM, 3:30 PM and 5:00 PM
We chose 12:50 PM for our pick-up time and 5:00 PM to go back to the resort, which gave us enough time to roam around the Marina area and buy some souvenirs nearby.
Walking around the marina, here, you can check out a few restaurants and a nearby shopping mall. Check out our favorite Polarized Sunglasses: US I CANADA
Tequila Tasting
There were 8 of us inside the van with three little kids, two passengers were picked up from another resort. The driver drove us around downtown and the Tequila Tasting was our first activity. The guy briefly explained the process of making tequila and then a short tequila-tasting session.
Afterwards, we went straight to the Marina where were given 30 minutes to roam around. It was too short for us so we just used that time to put on some sunblock and bought a drink from a convenience store. Choose coral reef-safe or biodegradable sunblock to protect the ocean and your family.
On our way to our boat!
Boat Tour
The boat tour lasted more or less than 30 minutes. There were 8 adults and three little kids in the boat. Our boat tour was really short, we went in May and the waters were a bit strong especially near the end as that’s where the Pacific Ocean meets the Sea of Cortez.
A famous beach where you can go swimming.
Pelicans Rock
We didn’t stop anywhere, the boat passed by the first spot near the “Pelicans Rock,” literally just a tall rock where the Pelicans hung around. Then close to that rock was another rock where we found one sleeping sea lion, I guess the colony was not on shift that day.
Lover’s Beach
Next, we passed by “Lover’s Beach,” where our driver mentioned it's a special place as that’s where you see the land and sea meet each other.
“The Arch" - the most iconic place in Los Cabos!
Lastly, we sailed to the most iconic place in Los Cabos, “The Arch,” this is where the great Pacific Ocean meets the Sea of Cortez. The current is very strong here, make sure to hold on to your kids while taking pictures. Our boat tour took photos of us at the Arch with a professional camera, with a price of two pictures for 20 USD and all 13 pictures for 30 USD.
The famous Arch Tour
Please...
Remember to choose coral reef-safe or biodegradable sunblock to protect the ocean and your family. Your sunblock has to be mineral-based and non-nanoparticles as it is toxic to marine life.
10. For souvenirs
At the resort, the fridge magnet was around 6 USD and the Los Cabos shirt was 17 USD. It’s expensive inside the resort, but if you’re planning to do any tours and include time to go get some souvenirs you might as well get it outside the resort.
We got our souvenirs from the Marina after our Boat trip activity. We found “Caboland” at the end of the port and they had a wide selection of items at an affordable price. We bought a men’s straw hat for 23 USD, two big colorful cloth bags for 20 USD each and a fridge magnet 3 for 14 USD.
Caboland
Location: Centro, 23450Centro, 23450 Cabo San Lucas, B.C.S. Cabo San Lucas, B.C.S Centro, 23450 Cabo San Lucas, B.C.S., Mexico
If you still need to buy any souvenirs, the airport has souvenir shops too. We found out that they have better deals compared to the resort. It’s way cheaper and of better quality. We purchased a big, durable jute bag for 12 USD at the airport.
Take note: Overpriced food at the airport
Try to eat before leaving the resort. We got some tacos at the airport and we almost paid 70 USD, they have a very low exchange rate. We only ordered three tacos each and bottled water, but paid way too much for it.
Overall...
As someone who is a picky eater, the food wasn't to my liking. However, the service at Pancho's restaurant was exceptional. The nachos, in particular, were incredibly tasty! Despite some issues with our room, the front desk was prompt in responding and even upgraded us to an ocean view room. The staff's care and concern for my family were deeply touching and made our trip even more special. They went above and beyond to meet our needs, making our stay a pleasant experience. The resort had everything we needed, and the boat tour just outside the premises was a delightful addition to our trip.
Also check out: How to Survive A Flight with a Toddler: Tips for First-Time Parents
For my next adventure, we're going Camping in Ventura County, California - a weekend getaway not so far away from Los Angeles.
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