For our next hotel in Los Cabos, we decided to check out Zadun, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve property, which opened in late 2019. While I’ve stayed at many Ritz-Carltons over the years, this was my first time staying at a property belonging to the Ritz-Carlton Reserve collection, and I was curious what the experience would be…
Continue reading: Review: Zadun, A Ritz-Carlton Reserve Los Cabos
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Looks lovely, I've always stayed at places in the $200 - $400 range in Los Cabos. I don't usually spend that much unless its an exotic location, African Safari etc. But I do see the value here, at $1000+ and restaurant prices USD $100+ per meal this place probably doesn't get too crowded ever.
Looks like a nice property, but I have a question given the very enthusiastic tone of the review. When you pay $1k+ per night, wouldn't it be fair to EXPECT most of this, as opposed to finding it impressive? Like at that price, I would expect a great room, great dining, great gym and service and would be sorely disappointed if I didn't - as opposed to be wowed by it. Meanwhile if I was paying $500 and getting all that, I would be wowed in the sense that expectations would be largely beat. Hope that makes sense 🙂 .
Zadun is out of this world! My wife and I stayed in August 2020 for 7 nights and were just blown away. Everything you mentioned was true then, and to an even greater extent due to the very low occupancy. We felt like the only guests at the property, given the special touches that they prepared along the way. We stayed at St. Regis Maldives in June 2021 for 7 nights and the properties were roughly equal, with Zadun coming out in some regards actually. We are still dreaming of the ceviche, wood-fire bread from Humo, and Torrejas from breakfast. Zadun is just sublime, with nothing out of place, in our opinion. I was somewhat disappointed hearing your feedback on the room quality at Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos given that we have a 9 night stay coming up in December, but at least am now prepared for a bit of a let down coming from Zadun and St. Regis Maldives quality rooms. Thanks for the great reviews, as always, Ben!
Great review, always wanted to know what a stay at a Reserve property was like. So thank you. Funny to me how hotels that charge $1,000+ per night don't offer the minibar for free. But, the free cabanas were def a nice touch.
Lucky, you are the king of reviews. Great details, lots of pictures, and you cover all the facilities even if you don’t use them. Thanks!
Great review! Looks fantastic. Have only stayed at JW but will have to try this Reserve property next time. Looks like great attention to detail. We have stayed at a Reserve before (Mandapa - Ubud, Bali) and it was the best stay of al our travels. Pool villa by the river at Mandapa was incredible. Beauty of Reserves is the exclusive feel, fewer guests and fewer redemption travelers, as they don’t participate in MR.
This place was to me 10x better than the last place you stayed at. Room was a lot better and the property overall. Yeah, I’ll do a redemption at the last place over even a discounted rate here. I agree with one of the comments regarding the mini-bar charging for booze. At that rate the initial stock should be free. I’ll also agree with the comment that at $1k/night (in Mexico) the things the staff did should be expected. They know that most of their clientele that routinely stay there or at other similar properties are expecting service on par with the rate.
Just curious why you were in an entry level room on a STARS booking when the property was fairly empty?
Looks lovely. Only criticism would be that the view from the room could be better. At $1k/night and for you to call it the best entry level room in Cabo (when you've only stayed at a handful of resorts), the room should really have unobstructed view of the ocean instead of the back of a building with the ocean at a far distance behind it. There are many resorts in Cabo that give you true beachfront views with no obstructions in this price range or lower.
If you could EARN Marriott points at RC Reserves, even if you couldn't redeem them (in order to make the place more exclusive), it would be a very strong incentive to book stays there.
Without that though, it's just another luxury hotel among many - I would still consider staying there, but I feel it's a missed opportunity to differentiate and have a small tie to the Marriott system.
I've booked a few customers here and they love it. I'm doing a personal stay next month.
No mention of the beach not being swimmable? That’s usually something that’s always mentioned regarding Cabo hotels.
@ Marie -- Great point, I updated the post to reflect that. It wasn't an intentional omission, but rather I mentioned it in the intro post and in the last review, so I figured it was well established at this point. But lots of people will stumble upon this review independently, and that's a good thing to point out. Thanks!
@ Eric -- I totally agree. It's one thing not to allow redemptions, but it sure would be nice if they at least allowed Bonvoy members to earn points. Ultimately I'm guessing the fee structure between Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Reserve is so low that there's no budget for that to happen.
@ Luis -- While I haven't stayed at every hotel in Cabo, I have done my research on hotels in the area. If you know of any other true luury hotels in Los Cabos with better entry level rooms, I'd love to hear it.
There's no doubt that there are much cheaper hotels where you could book a premium oceanfront room for under $1,000, but then you're also not getting the amenities of a true five star hotel. I don't think that's a fair apples-to-apples comparison. Just to give an example, Las Ventanas Al Paraiso is arguably the best hotel in Los Cabos, and there the entry level rooms have garden views. So I do think it's noteworthy when an entry level room is this nice.
@ Peetyrd -- It was a travel agent rate, so while it came with breakfast, it wasn't actually a STARS booking (in the sense that there was no upgrade or hotel credit). 🙂
@ Alonzo -- Yeah, there's not always a logical connection between price and what's included for free, sadly. Heh.
@ Ernad -- Happy to hear you had an amazing stay as well, and enjoy the Waldorf Astoria! The rooms definitely aren't as nice, but the service is great as well.
@ Clem -- Fair, though unfortunately a lot of hotels do disappoint. Just to give one example, the base rates at the Waldorf Astoria were actually higher than here, and I'd say those rooms don't particularly "wow," and that these rooms were significantly better. Or there's Solaz, which I'll get to in a bit. While not $1,000+, they were trying to charge $700+ per night, and what an experience that was...
Gran Velas has been the #1 rated hotel on TA in Los Cabos pretty much since they opened. Their entry level rooms are over 1000 sqft and offers unobstructed ocean views. While it doesn't have the plunge pool and as much outdoor space as Zadun, I would argue it's a "nicer" room. Design is subjective, but just taking into account the size of the room and the view, it's a better entry level room.
Really enjoy your site and reviews! My wife and I stayed there end of October 2020, it was at 33% capacity then, felt like we had the whole place to ourselves, but could see even at full capacity how the place would not feel crowded. It was also their 1 year anniversary and you could tell its a well-oiled machine going above and beyond what you expect. Everything you wrote about--the rooms, the food, the service, the scenery--100% agree. We also went to the One&Only (had just reopened) and Rosewood (was only half open but charging similar rates for much less offerings at the time) for dinner, and saw the grounds. Both are very nice but all the local drivers and non-hotel affiliated people said Zadun is the new king of the area, Four Seasons is a close second but for the location.
If you pay with a marriott credit card at a ritz carlton reserve, do you earn 6x points? or do they not participate in the loyalty program even for that?
Lucky,
Another wonderful resort review; thank you! In particular, we always appreciate your photos of gym and menus. One suggestion/critique of your review (and the hotel gym)...Technogym is not "top of the line" gym equipment! I dread walking into hotel/cruise ship and seeing this cheap stuff. Better than nothing, though!
Can't wait to see your review of The Cape. We have a stay booked for October. Hope it's glowing because everything else is booked solid!
Everyone I know who has stayed here puts Dorado a bit above it - mostly because of the beach and the location is just unrivaled (also closer to get to from East Coast), but this is a fantastic property.
While this certainly is a handsome resort, I can never fathom going to Cabo and not doing all inclusive, but I guess I'm just some poor pleb
Yes, I can confirm that you will get 6x points on your card (I have the Ritz card).
Also, FWIW, I agree that the resort is beautiful and the food/service at Humo was excellent, but honestly I found the overall service (particularly at breakfast and lunch) lacking in many ways and the Tosoanis (butlers) were nearly useless. The Reserve in Thailand is a much, much better hotel with impeccable service.
Marriott basically sold the Ritz Carlton name because these properties are not connected.
Sorry Ben, but the VIEW from the rooms at WA Pedregal are far more impressive than the view from the rooms at Zadun. While Zadun seems very modern & designed beautifully, it doesn't feel very authentic to the area at all.
It reminds me a bit of the Nobu in Cabo that is so very plain, wooden, and boring ... almost soulless, to be frank.
As someone leaving in the Mediterranean area, I wonder how different is Los Cabos from the Greek islands (besides food and such of course).
Are there Villas at this resort or just individual hotel rooms? also ???club floor?
Lucky, could you please comment on traveling to Mexico with Winston? What type of paperwork was required, what was the airport experience like, which airline did you fly, etc. Thank you so much!
Was it hard to bring Winston to Los Cabos? Did you have to go through many hoops? We were thinking of taking our dog down to this hotel and were curious about Mexican customs. Thanks.
I’m booking a 4 day trip with my husband at the beginning of September and it will be our first time in Cabo. We are trying to decide between the Waldorf Pedregal or Zadun.
Thank you so much for this review! My fiancé and I just booked the Zadun for our honeymoon in October for 6 nights and are excited for the tranquil surroundings and luxury experience. Question: For the regular King rooms, are the upper or lower rooms better and why? Also, will they accept Marriott gift cards for stay, restaurants, spa, golf? We requested Marriott gift cards as wedding gifts and are hoping to be able to take some of the edge off of our overall cost.
Thank you for this review! I'm scheduled to visit here in November and your information and details really helped. One question please, are the pools heated? I've stayed in a couple resorts in Cabo where they weren't and it was way too cold and unfortunate. Thanks again for putting this together@
Are you still helping with the Marriott STARS program as linked in this post? I emailed @fordbtravel.com bc we are planning on staying at this resort in a couple months but haven't heard back. Is this something [email protected] can help with? Thank you!