Waldorf Astoria Los Cabo Pedregal Review

First Trip Report 

First time guests at this beautiful property. We booked 5 nights at 480K points prior to the devaluation. I am Diamond, and we were upgraded from the King Pacific View to the King Ocean View. The upgrade showed exactly two weeks out from our stay in the app. The room type never changed between then and check in. While not an amazing upgrade, we were thrilled. We spoke with a couple staying in a Pacific View room that said the palm trees really impacted their ability to see the humpback whales. More on the room later. 

Cabo Arrival 

Getting through SJD was a breeze. We used ¿Need A Ride? for transport to and from the hotel. They were at the last umbrella, and were easy to find. They are half the cost of the hotel’s transport. We were picked up in a Wagoneer, complete with cervezas to enjoy during the commute. We had them stop at California Ranch Market, where we bought some liquor, beer, and snacks. In retrospect, this grocery store is so close to the hotel entrance and would opt to just walk to/from to pick up something there rather than pay $30 for a stop. 

Hotel Arrival 

As standard, we were asked at the gate for our welcome drink preference. Margaritas it was – and they were quite refreshing. A great way to kick things off! We met our personal concierge, Hugo, who promptly walked us between the front desk and Agave Study, where we were immediately met with the hotel’s stunning view and humpback whales. I knew it was whale season and that they would be in the area – but not in this quantity. It was a real ‘wow’ factor. Following, we met with Alejandra, walking us through the check in process and escorting us to the room. 

Room 931 

This room is next to the kids pool and above the Beach Club restaurant and Kids Club. At first, I didn’t want to be near them, as we do not have kids and we also don’t want to hear them while on vacation. In the end, it was a non-issue. If you are in the same position, I would not let yourself be concerned. The kids pool was rarely used, and those there were not a disturbance. Clase Azul was back in the room, having been away for what appears to be around a week or so based on other recent reviews. We were over the top happy with the room and view. There was only had a single palm tree blocking some of our view. The plunge pool’s temperature was a happy medium between those of the pool and hot tub. The terrace got afternoon sun, where we typically enjoyed the daily chips, guacamole, and Coronitas. The bed was very, very comfortable. One of the best hotel beds I’ve ever slept on. A minor complaint of the room was that the fireplace did not consistently work. Sometimes it would immediately turn on; others, we would try multiple times before giving up. I did relay this to Hugo, who said they would have someone look at it, but I don’t think they ever did. I stated this issue again at checkout, so if you’re the next guest in 931 – I hope it is fixed for you. Since we had groceries, they offered to send a small refrigerator to the room. This was not another mini fridge, more along the lines of a small refrigerator you might see in a small apartment complete with separate freezer. There was no charge for this option. 

Whale Season

As stated earlier, I was expecting whales. Going in, though, I thought we’d need to vigilantly watch the ocean to see the occasional whale. That was not the case here. It was quite literally whale after whale after whale. They come very close to the shore due to the sheer drop off from the beach. It was calming to watch them swim along the shore, occasionally even sky hopping. At a distance, the real show began. They were breaching often. On our first full day, we watched as a mother and calf (what I presume to be) taking turns breaching. It was as if she was showing her baby how to do it. A site to see. The following day, there was one that tail slapped for what seems to be 20 times. There was steady action all day that seemed to particularly escalate by the afternoon. While the room is to have binoculars (though ours did not), I highly recommend having a set per person. Otherwise, you might be jockeying for a view. We brought two of our own and watched them all day while at the pool. 

Breakfast

We upgraded to the buffet from the continental breakfast each day except for one. I felt it was good value, and we really loaded up. I am a runner training for a marathon and used the proximity of the marina to run. My wife is a yoga instructor, and took Luisa’s class each day (which she says she is a very good teacher). This meant we were at Don Manuel’s for breakfast after 9 am and hungry. The Mexican-inspired offerings and daily specials were unique for each day, all very delicious. By going the buffet route, we didn’t need anything until the daily chips and guac – again why I think it’s good value to upgrade (bill came to $53 each day after 15% service charge). 

The day that we went the continental route was only because we needed to leave for the day at 9:30 am, leaving not enough time between yoga and departure to enjoy the buffet. The hostess did give me a bit of pushback when I asked for the continental breakfast ‘to go,’ stating that we needed to eat it there. When I explained the situation, she asked her supervisor, who gave the okay to package it up for me. It was a variety of fruit, yogurt with granola (I believe the other choices were oatmeal or cereal), and a pastry. Certainly not a small amount of food, but it would have been boring had we went this free route each day. 

On our last day, they gave us complimentary Brioche French Toast. An unexpected surprise and so, so good. 

Housekeeping

The room was serviced twice daily. At check in, they ask for general times which you prefer the room to be cleaned. It worked out well for the most part. There were a few times where we needed the room but they were cleaning. Not a big deal. The mini fridge was stocked well with sparkling water, apple and pear juice, diet coke, coke, and waters. We drink a lot of water, so housekeeping over stocked us with extras by mid-stay without a prompt. 

Nightly turn down service included another thorough cleaning of the room, along with lit candles, and dolces. The staff in this department are hard workers. 

Staff

This is what sets Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal apart from other hotels in our minds. 

We are not uber wealthy, but we have been lucky to have stayed at nice hotels in the past because of my job. I travel for work, grinding out most stays at Hampton Inn level hotels, so many of our nicer stays are on points. Nothing comes close because of the people here. From beginning to end, the staff here were impressive, never missing a beat. If we looked around lost for mere seconds, someone would notice and ask how they could help. They would stop what they were doing to greet you. They remembered you by name. Small things, such as folding your napkin while you were away at the buffet were a nice touch. One day, my wife brought her yoga mat to breakfast, placing it on the ground. When we returned to our table, they had folded it and placed it on a stool. We are not the type of people that expect or are used to being catered to, but these were pleasantries that were nice to enjoy during our stay. They helped to unwind and relax from our normal day-to-day. 

As we know, they will be closing the hotel for renovations for 2.5ish months. We asked the staff about what they’ll do during this time. They said that they’re able to assist with ‘cleaning up’ during the renovations, as well as that they can use some vacation. I suppose it is important for the hotel to do their best to keep the staff, as they are key to its success. 

For tipping, they want US dollars. Just FYI. They reassured me that this is preferred over pesos. 

What I Would Different

I made dinner reservations each night outside of the hotel, none of which were walkable. In retrospect, I should have opted for no set plans. Two of our five nights required Ubers to/from San Jose del Cabo, which is ~45 minutes away. However, there were accidents each trip extending that time. According to our drivers, this was not uncommon. We went to the art walk in San Jose on Thursday and cannot recommend it. It was extremely busy. It took away from the relaxed feeling we had at the hotel. A Christmas gift to my wife was a cooking class at Flora Farms, which we did on Friday. It was well worth it and do recommend it, as well as Acre. Another farm to table restaurant that is much closer to Cabo is El Huerto. The food and service were both excellent and I can see us going back again. 

Conclusion 

To close out this long report, the service, amenities, and design of the hotel have made us already thinking about our next trip. Even at 140K/night, this hotel is more than worth it. They’ve made us repeat guests and I will be feverishly looking for 5-6 nights at the base rate for our next trip!

Some of the outstanding team members that we interacted with include Sa’id, Oswaldo, Jefferson, Hugo, Daniel, Cesar, Hector, Irbin, Alejandra, and Luisa.