Courtney FossWe decided to head out on a mini-vacation to San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, for our anniversary this year. It was definitely a great option for us because we got nonstop flights out of Houston that were just over 2 hours long and nonstop. (If you have multiple airports within reasonable driving distance of you, make sure to check them all out for the best deals or most flight options.) I also booked this back in February before everything was opened back up, so I was able to get amazing prices on the flights and at the JW Marriott Los Cabos. We went to Cabo in 2019 for our anniversary trip and stayed at the then Sheraton Hacienda del Mar, but that’s no longer owned by Marriott, so we went with the JW this time (as I’ve said before, we’re definitely Marriott people).
Transportation
The airport in San Jose del Cabo is very easy to navigate. Once you land, you must first go through and get your passports checked. You’ll then hit the baggage claim and then need to go through immigration before exiting. Make sure you have your documents that you received on the plane filled out correctly and your passports out. If you have transportation planned to your destination, DON’T stop and talk to the other uniformed people as you exit. They are usually trying to sell you things like experiences, other opportunities and take up your time – so if you have a plan for your vacation, just say “no thank you” and bypass them altogether. Since it was a short trip, we didn’t check any bags — which is just so much easier and more time efficient if you can possibly get away with it.
The JW Marriott Los Cabos uses Epic Transportation. We called before the trip to set up this transportation, which the JW helps you navigate with the third party company. Please know that you may have to wait once you’re out there with the greeter. It says anywhere from 10 to 40 minutes until you might get picked up…and we waited about an hour and 15 minutes. We also then had to stop at another resort on the way because it was a rideshare option with other people in there with us. Not the best way to start the trip, but what can you do. The trip on the way back was excellent though – the van picked us up 5 minutes early even from the JW Marriott and there were no issues.
Hotel
I can’t say enough good things about the JW Marriott Los Cabos. It was a large resort without feeling too overwhelming, and it was located much further out than other resorts – so overall, it was a tranquil getaway.
We really wanted to go somewhere where we would be able to have some quiet time and the ability to relax rather than having a lot of families and kids running around and screaming. Just knowing what I did about the JW Marriott, I was hopeful that it would be a good fit for what we were wanting. While they said they were at capacity, it definitely didn’t feel full by any means. In fact, I think we saw a total of maybe 10 people on our side of the hotel.
If you’re on an adult trip, here’s a tip: make sure you don’t just check out the adult pool. The adult pool at the JW was always much more crowded than the other pools at the resort. The chairs were much harder to get, as they were filled by mid-morning (though, we always liked going and laying on them first thing in the morning to get the views and relax). Once it started to get crowded, we shifted and went over to the other side of the resort. There were 6 pools on the “family friendly” side, and each time we went into a pool, we were the only people in there. There was even a swim-up bar at one of them – probably the main perk of the adults only pool, so finding it at another one was a great surprise.
The breakfast here was my favorite part. Austin and I love a big breakfast – it’s probably our biggest and most favorite meal of the day. The breakfast buffet at Ua Culinary Artisans is absolutely fantastic. Their offerings included fresh squeezed juice (3 different kinds), an omelet station, pancakes/French toast/waffles, a fresh make your own smoothie station, and other local dishes that were absolutely delicious. We also got cappuccinos and lattes every morning as well. Such a good bang for your buck to get that and definitely worth it if you’re a breakfast person. I had apparently gotten the package that included breakfast each, much to our surprise and delight.
The lunch at Ua was also great! Austin got different tacos every time – his favorite was the shrimp taco – and we loved the crispy avocado and Cajun quesadilla as well. We ended up getting this each day and was the perfect smaller lunchtime/after-swim food.
When I asked Austin what his favorite part of the trip was, he said it was our dinner at Cafe des Artistes. This is a fine dining restaurant on the property (the original is in Puerto Vallarta) where reservations are highly recommended (and I reserved through OpenTable). It is a Mexican inspired French cuisine restaurant, and was just lovely. I got the lobster dish, which was one of the specials of the day, while Austin got the “catch of the day”, which was grouper. Both were outstanding. We finished the day with the “flowerpot” which is a really delicious three-tier chocolate mousse dessert literally in a flower pot. We also got a special presentation since it was our anniversary that included a large sugar sculpted heart and some mini macarons….SO good.
That was our biggest “outing” of the trip – and we didn’t even leave the premises. It was so nice to have just a few days where we didn’t have to go anywhere besides just walking downstairs to sit at the pool. We got our steps for the day in by walking down on the beach or around the resort, but they do also have a nice gym on site.
Overall, I would highly recommend the JW Marriott Los Cabos and I’m positive we will be going back. They have a golf course right next door that is supposed to be really great, so I’m sure Austin’s clubs will be making the trip with us next time.
Other
- If you’re ever going to a resort like this, make sure you put a credit card on file so you can charge everything to the room! I’m sure most people already do this, but the front desk lady said some there don’t…and I just don’t understand why you wouldn’t! It’s so much easier if you decide you want a drink at the pool, need sunscreen at the gift shop, or just don’t want to carry around your wallet everywhere.
- Also carry some cash! This way you can easily tip the transportation, the bellhop or any other staff that helps with anything throughout your trip.
- Try to learn some Spanish (or their language wherever you’re going). The locals definitely appreciate when you at least try to converse with them in their native language. Austin is completely fluent in Spanish (as I often hear on his work calls most days), so it is SO helpful to have him on trips to Spanish speaking countries! And when he starts talking, the people usually look at him in amazement and tell him how good his speaking is…because well, he doesn’t look like someone that would be able to talk so easily in Spanish. I can understand all of it so I often just sit and listen to their conversations – I lost a lot of my Spanish-speaking ability by not using it over the last few years, but I’m determined to freshen it up next time before we go!
- Try to set a budget before you go. Even if it’s a getaway trip where you don’t mind spending, just keep in mind what your goal/plan was so nothing too crazy is thrown at you when you get back to the real world. And pay it off right away! I already paid my card off so that it doesn’t follow you back after the trip – this is something we learned from Dave Ramsey but to me, a trip wouldn’t feel that nice if I had to continue paying for it months after we got home.
- Make sure if you’re going somewhere that you can’t drink the water, you know what their policy on bottled water is. Here it was great – whenever you needed it, you just called the front desk and they sent people up with however much you wanted — make sure to stay hydrated!
- Just make sure you have the idea of your vacation in mind and that everyone in your group knows the plan. We both knew we were going into this as solely a relaxation getaway without any agenda (which is hard for me), so this helped me to realize that I didn’t have to plan or worry about timing of anything and that we could just enjoy and relax.
Hope you’re finding fun places to visit now that things are opening back up!
Courtney
