The Call Of Los Cabos

At the bottom of the Baja, Mexico’s prime getaway destination is hot – in more ways than one

- Lark Gould

The Baja Peninsula is that jagged arm that juts south into the Pacific from the crowded borders of California. At its southernmost tip are the rockin’ town of Cabo San Lucas and its art town neighbor of San Jose del Cabo.

Together they comprise what is widely known as Los Cabos and in many ways, the two destinations could not be more diverse. But the twin towns are held together by a steady stream of visitor traffic flowing from one town to the other in a 20-mile coastal byway of hotels and resorts fondly tagged “The Corridor.”

For Hollywood glitterati and West Coast boardroom titans, the sun-drenched breakers of the Baja are a mere two-hour private jet tootle from Santa Monica. But the luxury of Los Cabos is also readily accessible to those of us in the rank-and-file as well, thanks to easy commercial jet hops from a variety of US destinations.

Currently, eight US-flagged airlines and assorted Mexican and Canadian carriers link the US and Canada with Los Cabos International Airport (SJD). Southwest is the latest entrant to come on line with a popular non-stop from and Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Delta and United are also busy expanding their service to Los Cabos, possibly as a response to all the luxury hotel and resort expansion busily percolating along this strand.

The lively line-up of luxury lodging along the Pacific and Sea of Cortez beachfronts of Los Cabos runs the gamut of mid- to luxury-class budgets. Think adult all-inclusive, such as Secrets and Marquis, or such five-star citadels as the One&Only Palmilla, the Resort at Pedregal, Rosewood’s Las Ventanas al Paraiso, and Auberge Resorts’ La Esperanza.

All in the Family

Tucked into this cast of luminaries are some family-owned hotel complexes that whisper luxury rather than shout it and put it in reach of a wide range of pockets.