Review: Four Seasons Los Cabos At Costa Palmas, Mexico (Secluded Luxury)

Great review! Great series of reviews actually. To me I would want to be at a resort that makes me want to stay there.

Nice review and looks like my choice should I decide to go to that area. Any hotel that has Milos, my hands down favorite restaurant group in the world, is a winner to me.

Wait, YOU swam in the ocean?

In other news... This looks both beautiful and relaxing. It'll be a shame when the area gets fully built-up, but it's close to heaven right now. The beach is jaw-dropping.

Ben, how was your dirty martini?

I don’t think a 4 Seasons review is appropriate for Boarding Area as they don’t have a decent loyalty program.

Wow, simply stunning. I’ve never had interest in Cabo before, but you’re making me really want to go.

This looks INCREDIBLE.

I gotta ask though - do people really think blocking off every other treadmill is going to stop the spread of covid? When people are panting and heaving in the gym? Give me a break.

It's all Covid theater like most things.

Great Review! I was so impressed that I jumped onto the FS site to check rates (w/ the intention w/ booking w/ Ford later)....Least expensive rate was $1700/ni for the nights we were looking for! Then there was a 15% service charge, 16% VAT, and then a 3% state tax. The total? $2200/night! I've never seen a 15% service charge before for a hotel...hope that's not the new trend. This was their explanation...

"Service Charge
A taxable Service Charge of 15% of room rate will be applied to all reservations. This charge is in addition to the room rate per night. This charge is intended to cover a portion of costs associated with our employees."

My reaction? C-ya!

Slightly off topic, but now that I started watching HBO's "White Lotus" it's what I think about when I read about a Four Seasons or a plunge pool. It's filmed at the FS Maui. Recommended if you want to see people go out of their way to not enjoy their vacation at a fancy resort.

Looks absolutely stunning. Wish I could afford this 🙂 .

The resort looks empty - how crowded was it?

Great review but this actually seems like a really sad place. Beautiful location, sure. But the idea of staying at a massive property with very few surroundings options is pretty disappointing. Looks like sleep away camp for boring corporate types and their not so well behaved offspring. Not a lot of soul in those walls. For $2,000 a night there are literally hundreds of places in Greece, Japan, Paris or even Bali that I would much rather go. Yes, Mexico is so so close for many readers but that to some degree just validates that easy is being valued over good. Property should have 1/3 the number of rooms and had some vision for how to link with local environment beyond offering $16 dos equis at the bar.

Excellent review. Hadn't thought about going to Cabo, but now I need to add to my list! Thanks!!

Hi Lucky, I love your trip reports, especially staying at Cabo right now and staying at Zadun, JW Marriott and Zadun last August.
This year we are staying at the Chileno Bay Resort and the O+O Palmilla.
Therefore I am wondering , why you are always writing, there are no swimmable beaches in Cabo.
Both resorts have a swimmable beach and offer Water sports activities like Paddle Board, kayaking, snorkeling ( at Chileno Bay Resort) and Hobiecat sailing ( at One and Only).
So Water sports activities are not exclusively possible at the Four Seasons.
Just for your information.
Maybe these resorts don‘t pay a net commission to Travel advisors 😉 ?

Reminds me of Nobu - eerily quiet, devoid of life, and literally nothing of interest. 4S Punta Mita is far more appealing to me.

@ Steffi -- Thanks for the comment. Hah, has nothing to do with commissions for Ford, virtually all hotels pay similar commissions. To be clear, I wasn't intending to suggest that all beaches in Cabo aren't swimmable, but rather that most aren't. It's good to know about a couple more that are, so thanks for the heads up.

@ Miamiorbust -- You make a totally fair point, but I also think it's important to recognize that many people do value "easy." Can you get better value for your money by going to somewhere like Bali? Of course. But there are also people who value their time more than money when it comes to vacation, because they have very little time off. It's why hotels in close proximity to New York and California (which have high concentrations of wealthy people who don't get a lot of time off) can charge a huge premium.

Regarding the surroundings, maybe I didn't do it justice. Yes, the immediate area is still being developed, but there are some small towns with locals (not at all tourist oriented), and there are even some beautiful springs and waterfalls. There are also fun day trips you can take, like when we went swimming with whale sharks (or rather Ford went swimming with whale sharks, and I stayed in the boat).

@ Andrew -- I go out of my way to take pictures without people in them, to respect their privacy, which is why hotels always look so empty in pictures. I'd guess the hotel was somewhere around 40% full when we stayed, give or take. Even so, it felt really quiet, given how big the property is.

Some people value time more than money. Those destinations require much more time to get to for the typical Cabo consumer (which is West Coast, California money).

Any sort of distancing definitely helps, even if it is minimal. And whatever makes people feel safer is a pro especially when there is essentially no con to what they’re doing. It’s not like this is going to cause long waits for a machine or anything. So gladly would prefer to not have to work out directly next to someone, COVID or not.

wtf is boarding area

Just like the >600K dead Americans... just for show.

it's so funny to see some polar opposite opinions in the comments. Just shows you that not everyone is the same. This place looks absolutely amazing to me. Need to find some discount rates and make it happen at some point.

Seems like you are missing a section on "how too get there" or "how we got there from Los Cabos". That would probably be very helpful for your readers. Did you rent a car, or take an Uber?

Great review, nice property. Good luck getting a room there for $900. They usually start around $1500, plunge pool rooms and suites even more. Then you have Mexico's tax at 31-34% on top of that price, which you did not mention, but complained about in your Solaz review.

There's an AMAN going up there, and the town will start to develop. More boutique resorts and rentals. You're also really close to Los Barriles, which is a really cool chill town. Four Seasons is known for putting properties out of the way. That way you're locked in a little more and do everything at the property, especially eating and drinking.

Ben, another 10/10 review.

I have one question. Are there elevators in the individual little buildings that house the rooms and suites? My wife has knee arthritis and steps are a problem for her.