Fact file
Property: Chileno Bay Resort & Residences
Location: Tourist Corridor, Mexico
Key count: 163 keys – mix of hotel rooms and villas (one- to six-bedrooms)
Room: #3101, Ocean View Room
Visit: 20 August 2023 (2 nights)
Background:
LATTE joined a quartet of highly experienced Australian luxury travel advisors in Los Cabos, post Virtuoso Travel Week in Las Vegas, all of whom are first-time visitors to the destination, travelling as a guest of Los Cabos Tourism. We’re exploring some of the 14 Virtuoso Preferred properties in Los Cabos, under the expert guidance of Gate 7/Los Cabos Tourism’s Paola Zevallos.
Getting there:
We take the only major coastal road, Federal Highway #1, west about 30 minutes from El Ranchito in San Jose del Cabo to Playa El Chileno, reaching the gated community of Chileno Bay Resort & Residences. We pass the entry to a dozen other hotels and resorts along the way, all on the coast side of the road, each with extravagant entries, inviting green grassed lawns and palm tree-lined driveways. This stretch is known as the ‘Golden Zone’ from a tourist perspective, with most of Los Cabos’ prestigious hotels and resorts found in this locale.
The arrival:
I can’t recall ever arriving at a hotel or a resort before and being greeted at reception with a drinks cart, with options of Mexican beers and cartons water, all ice-cold! The red trolley, named ‘Tony’, carries a trademark surfboard motif that is carried throughout the resort. It is a beach resort after all.
Bags unloaded and checked-in, Chileno Bay Resorts’ Sales & Conference Services Coordinator, Monserrat, has us loaded into carts and escorts us for the two-minute (if that) drive through the resort to the Sky Villas – an absolutely astounding four-bedroom accommodation where we join the resort’s chef for a cooking class, overlooking the Pacific shores at the tip of the California Baja Peninsula. More on that below.
The room:
Our room is located on the first floor and offers a vast wraparound balcony, providing views overlooking the resort and out to Chileno Bay where multi-million dollar luxury superyachts have dropped anchor to enjoy the calmer waters of the nearby cove, as threatening grey clouds loom.
The room is bright and light with huge ceilings and cascading sheer white curtains in front of floor-to-ceiling windows, flanked by plantation blinds, and white linens. There’s a real beachy feeling to the room, not only in the aesthetic but by the surrounding tops of palm fronds outside. Two striped single-seat armchairs with a dark wooden coffee table provide a space for relaxation, though the balcony is of greater appeal with its all-weather outdoor setting, in the shade of the intense end-of-summer Los Cabos weather.
The bathroom is overly generous in size, with marble tiles on the walls and blue and white ceramic tiles running from the entry, through the shower, beneath the bath and up the wall, and topped with a painted blue rooftop. There’s a wooden bench seat and stool, along with a ladder-style towel rack. The vanity itself has dual heads, but a linked basin with only one drain. I struggle to find the cool water setting on the indoor shower, so take sanctuary in the adjacent open-air, outdoor shower – where the cold water is a welcome relief.
A side note: while on assignment, LATTE requires a desk to work from – to keep the travel industry abreast of the latest luxury travel news around the world, of course! – which this room lacks.
A brief word to my concierge and within an hour a desk with an armchair arrives, a hidden powerpoint in the corner of the room, beneath a rug is sourced for my power board, and from his pocket, Chileno Bay Resort branded notepad strategically placed on the paper holder. That’s impressive service!
The class:
Our first ‘taste’ of Chileno Bay Resort & Residences begins with a cooking class with Juan Pablo Loza, Director of Culinary Experiences at the resort, his understudy, Chef Eliana Godinez, and kitchen aids. We learn the fine intricacies of how to make the perfect guacamole and follow Chef Loza, step by step. One of the trade secrets is the sequence of when ingredients are combined to ensure the perfect avocado-based dip.
Under the direction of Chef Loza, Chef Eliana prepares a salivating ceviche based on sea bass cured in citrus, and a radiant base of vegetables (served on lightly fried tortillas) which has us all coming back for more. We enjoy these freshly prepared dishes on the balcony of the Sky Villa, along with grilled shrimp Ajillo style and melted cheese, and for those with iron-clad tastebuds, there’s the spicy Habanero sauce to top it off (!) and other local delights with our new Mexican friends.
This kind of dining experience is available for VIP clients visiting Chileno Bay Resort & Residences.
Where, and what, to eat:
The three restaurants on-site include the open-air Comal which plates up Latin American-influenced cuisine whilst overlooking the Sea of Cortez. I dine here twice for breakfast and once for dinner.
The Smoked Romaine Lettuce with crispy tortillas, lemon, tomatillo and honey is a taste revelation and I take Monserrat’s excellent recommendation of Short Rib ‘Doraditas’ with Chihuahua cheese, beet slaw and lemon confit, which comes in threes, has me craving more. I somewhat reluctantly skip past the duck, grilled snapper, grilled octopus and braised short ribs – all sounds amazing – and chose Chef Loza’s signature dish here: Comal chicken with wild mushrooms, kale and jus.
I’m also fixated on the side dish of “Life Changing Corn Purée” of charred corn and coconut milk. As a corn-ivore I’m more than happy with the dish, but I’ve witnessed no metamorphosis… yet.
For breakfast, I go well beyond my normal staples of cereals and toast and elect, for the first time ever, try Steak & Eggs, purely to have a crack at the cactus. I ask for the smallest possible option and it’s all divine, but I’m no cactus convert. The Chileno Breakfast includes a huge selection of self-served dishes as well, from baked goods and pastries, to fruits and yoghurts. I find the coconut yoghurt and freshly diced mango too hard to resist. I’ve tried repeating the same relatively simple dish at home, but it’s not the same. And the Cinnamon Iced Coffee also gets a tick here.
We also have a fabulous dining experience at Yaya Restaurant Chef Eliana heads up. Our menu of Mediterranean flavours keeps flowing with the Yala Sampler and shishito peppers; mezze, mixed salad with bacon and egg, Meyer lemon, Gorgonzola and tomato; Serrano ham, Gorgonzola and guava pizzetta; prawns, snapper, sea bass and black garlic, cauliflower purée and book choy; and a selection of eight sumptuous vegetable and grain dishes, of which the charred cauliflower + tahini + pesto is an absolute hit. (Don’t miss it.) Rounded off with skillet s’mores of homemade cookies and oozy marshmallow!
TNT is a relaxed taco and tequila bar/shack that’s perched overlooking the resort’s private beach and pool deck. The menu here has something for even the fussiest of eaters, over lunch and dinner. It’s a chilled-out venue, catering for guests relaxing by the pools.
Spa:
THE WELL at Chileno Bay is the resort’s spa and wellness centre and part of a chain through the Americas with locations in New York, Miami and Costa Rica.
The location features a sacred Bath House, Nap Garden and Reflexology Pool, along with outdoor treatment rooms. I have the space virtually to myself before and after my deep-tissue massage, and try out the sauna, shaved ice bath and salt room. It’s my first ever salt room and, in general, I can’t say I’m sold on the experience. The ice plunge pool here is much more to my liking, especially in the climes of Los Cabos in summer.
Highlight:
Without a doubt, the Sky Villa. This level of sophisticated accommodation is something I’ve not seen before in a luxury resort. Available in three-, four- or five-bedroom rooftop variations, these accommodations feature fully equipped kitchens, ample indoor and outdoor communal spaces and expansive rooftop terraces with a private pool and fireplace.
One of the spacious rooms we explored featured two twin beds separated by a ladder leading to dual perpendicular bunks, meaning the one room alone could fit, with comfort, six guests.
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