- Introduction: Hotel Hopping In Amazing Los Cabos
- Review: Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal
- Review: Zadun, A Ritz-Carlton Reserve Los Cabos
- Review: The Cape, A Thompson Hotel Los Cabos
- Review: Four Seasons Los Cabos At Costa Palmas
- Review: Solaz Los Cabos, Marriott Luxury Collection (My First-Ever One Star Rating)
Want to take advantage of Marriott STARS benefits, including a space available room upgrade, complimentary breakfast, a hotel credit, and more? Contact Ford ([email protected]) for more details. He may even be able to help if you already have a stay booked. This is valid for paid stays at BVLGARI, EDITION, Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve, and St. Regis.
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 like. This is one of only two Ritz-Carlton Reserve properties in North America, along with Dorado Beach.
I’ll say upfront that I was very impressed, and that I think this hotel probably has the best “standard” rooms of any hotel in Los Cabos.
In this post:
Booking Zadun, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve
Ritz-Carlton Reserve doesn’t participate in Marriott Bonvoy, so you can’t earn or redeem points for stays here. If you are booking a stay here, I’d highly recommend booking through a travel advisor affiliated with the Marriott STARS program, so you can receive extra perks, like complimentary breakfast, a room upgrade subject to availability, a hotel credit, and more. Since STARS is Marriott’s own proprietary program, these upgrades will typically be prioritized over those through Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts, Virtuoso, etc. Ford is of course more than happy to help with this, and can be reached at [email protected].
Rates at Zadun Los Cabos vary seasonally, and generally start at somewhere around $1,000 per night, which is in line with what the top hotels in Los Cabos charge (this doesn’t include the 34% tax and service charge, which applies at most properties in Los Cabos).
We stayed for three nights, and full disclosure:
- Ford is a Marriott STARS travel advisor, and a couple of weeks before our trip an email went out to all advisors offering a travel agent rate at this property, so we booked that for two nights; this had nothing to do with me, and it was still far from free (it was somewhere around half off the published rate)
- We paid the standard rate for our third night
So while it wasn’t cheap, Ford books a lot of clients in Los Cabos, so it’s always great to see properties firsthand. On top of that, I know many OMAAT readers have been curious to see what a Ritz-Carlton Reserve property is like.
Zadun Los Cabos location
Zadun has a different location than many of the other resorts in Los Cabos. While many resorts are closer to Cabo San Lucas, Zadun is right near San Jose del Cabo. The hotel is only about 25 minutes from Los Cabos International Airport (SJD), and it’s about 40 minutes from Cabo San Lucas.
This hotel is a bit more secluded, but I’d consider that to largely be a good thing. For those looking to dine off property, two of Los Cabos’ most popular restaurants — Acre and Flora Farms — are just a 10 minute drive from the hotel. I’d highly recommend checking out both of those restaurants while in Los Cabos, and you can’t beat the proximity of them to the Ritz-Carlton Reserve.
Zadun Los Cabos property layout
Zadun is set on a 20-acre property, and is built into a hillside. The resort has 115 rooms, but they’re spread out across 42 different buildings, each of which is two stories.
The hotel’s entrance and reception are at the very top of the property, and then there are winding paths leading down towards the pools, restaurants, and eventually all the way down to the beach.
The hotel’s signature restaurant is visible from just about anywhere on property, thanks to the distinctive building that houses it.
Zadun Los Cabos Ocean View Plunge Pool King Room
For our stay we were assigned an ocean view plunge pool king room on the “upper floor,” room #244. This is the entry level room at the hotel, with the “lower floor” rooms considered more premium. The rooms here are ridiculously impressive, and are considered to be the best entry level rooms in all of Los Cabos. Not only are the rooms 750+ square feet, but they feature an amazing outdoor space with a plunge pool.
The rooms can be accessed through the outdoor space, and you need to use your key to open the gate and enter.
The outdoor space was gorgeous — in addition to a plunge pool, there was a dining table with four chairs, two lounge chairs for sunbathing, a daybed, and then another sitting area around the corner.
The views were awesome from this space, especially around sunrise and sunset. Even though this was an entry level room, you still had a view of the ocean.
The indoor space was equally nice, and felt more like a suite than a standard room. The room featured a plush king size bed, a daybed, two chairs and a table, and a desk near the TV.
There was a minibar along one of the walls — coffee, water, and soda were free, while everything else was available for purchase.
The bathroom area was roughly as big as the rest of the room. It featured double sinks, a large walk-in shower, a soaking tub, a vanity, an outdoor shower, and a toilet.
Toiletries were from Spa Alkemia, which is the hotel’s spa, and were in reusable bottles.
Wi-Fi in the room, and throughout the property for that matter, was fast and free. Housekeeping was provided twice daily, and was always thorough.
So yeah, the rooms at Zadun exceeded my expectations. While there are lots of great luxury hotels in Los Cabos, most have a huge variance in terms of the quality of entry level rooms, including the views, sizes, etc. At Zadun you’re really getting a heck of an entry level room.
Zadun pools
Zadun’s main pool area is roughly in the middle of the property, and it’s elevated above the beach and ocean, so the views are great. There’s one large infinity pool, and then there’s another smaller pool next to it.
There’s even a hot tub with a view!
Zadun has several cabanas, and interestingly they’re available on a first come, first served basis. Other hotels would charge a fortune for these, so that’s pretty awesome.
Down by the beach, Zadun has yet another pool, which is for adults only. This pool is smaller, and also has less seating around it, so will generally remain a lot quieter.
There’s also a lap pool at the gym, which I’ll cover below, as well as another pool at the spa.
Zadun beach
Zadun has a special stretch of beach, given how secluded it is. There’s a really long and quiet beach right at the hotel, and for the most part there are just otherwise some houses along the stretch, so the beach doesn’t feel too developed. We loved being able to walk on the beach in the mornings and evenings, and we never saw anyone else.
For hotel guests there are lounge chairs, umbrellas, etc., and there’s even service at the beach. Staff were super attentive, and when we’d sit at the beach, we were brought a cooler with some waters, and a button if we wanted to order anything.
Note that like most beaches in Los Cabos, this one is generally not swimmable, because the waves can get quite big.
Zadun gym
Zadun has by far the most impressive gym I saw at any resort in Los Cabos. The resort had top of the line cardio and weight equipment.
There was also complimentary vitamin water and granola bars.
Probably most impressive is that the gym had an outdoor lap pool. What a cool feature!
Zadun Spa Alkemia
Zadun has a massive 30,000 square foot spa, called Spa Alkemia. I’ve heard great things about it, but didn’t check it out.
While I’m a huge fan of Los Cabos and generally find the prices to be “fair” (for a luxury destination only a short flight from markets with a lot of concentrated wealth), the one exception is spa treatments. I find that at luxury hotels in Los Cabos you can expect to pay $5+ per minute for an hour-long massage, and at that rate it’s a hard pass for me. It makes a treatment at the Peninsula Beverly Hills look like a bargain, by comparison (this is why I haven’t been commenting on spas much with these hotel reviews).
Zadun El Barrio Restaurant (breakfast & lunch)
Now let’s talk a bit about the restaurants at Zadun. El Barrio is Zadun’s casual all-day dining restaurant, primarily serving Mexican food. The restaurant is almost entirely outdoors, and has great views over the main pool area.
We had breakfast here each morning, and it was one of the highlights of our days. If your rate includes (like booking through Marriott STARS) you can basically order whatever you’d like (you can find the breakfast menu here). The cappuccinos, iced cappuccinos, and fresh fruit juices were excellent.
Then each morning there was an amuse bouche of sorts, which varied by day.
The food we ordered was excellent, from avocado toast, to chilaquiles, to some other Mexican specialties.
We also had lunch at El Barrio on our last day, as we were checking out at around 12PM, but wanted to still eat something. We had two salads, both of which we enjoyed.
Zadun Equis Restaurant (lunch)
Equis is Zadun’s lunch restaurant, located down near the beach by the adults only pool. It serves ceviche and other fish specialties, and on Fridays there’s even a special dinner served here (though we weren’t staying on a Friday).
We had some ceviche here one day, along with some guacamole and vegetables, which we enjoyed.
Zadun Candil Bar & Humo Restaurant (dinner)
The highlight of dining at Zadun is Humo, the hotel’s signature dinner restaurant, and then there’s Candil, the adjacent bar and lounge. The setting here is breathtaking.
We had dinner here one night, and it was one of our favorites while in Los Cabos, both in terms of the food and service (you can find the Humo dinner menu here). Truthfully, though, we had so many amazing meals in the area. Dinner service began with warm bread, a dip, and some beans.
To start we had the Pacific tuna Nikkei and a salad.
Then for our main courses we had one salmon and one totoaba dish, both of which were excellent.
Then for sides we had roasted sweet potatoes and squash.
We were brought some candies at the conclusion of our meal.
Zadun service
I was curious to see what service would be like at Ritz-Carlton Reserves, and how it would compare to the Ritz-Carlton service standard. Well, I was pleasantly surprised — the service had elements of the Ritz-Carlton service philosophy, but felt elevated.
On the most basic level, all staff were genuinely friendly, enthusiastic, and eager to please. Service in Los Cabos is incredible in general, so obviously it takes a bit more to “wow” than just being friendly.
Specific to the Ritz-Carlton Reserve’s service philosophy, each guest is assigned a “tosoani,” intended to be a single point of contact. As it’s described, they’re more of a “dream keeper” than a “butler” (okay, admittedly this is all a bit cheesy, I’m just passing on how the concept was explained to us).
We were assigned two different tosoanis during our stay, and they were both extremely friendly and attentive. That being said, maybe I’m in the minority, but as a concept I prefer having a number I can text 24/7 where I always get an immediate response, like at the Waldorf Astoria. I just find it’s easier, because no single point of contact will otherwise always be available.
One of the highlights of service at this hotel is how they seem to constantly want to surprise guests. Reading TripAdvisor reviews before my stay, I couldn’t help but notice how so many people pointed out how special surprises were prepared for them during their stay.
Do some staff here just spend all their time trying to surprise guests? Well, I think the answer is yes. For example, we would take Winston on early morning beach walks, and then sit on some beach chairs for a bit.
The staff noticed this, so on the second day when we returned from our walk, they set up a dog bed, a dog bowl, some water, and some bones for Winston (which even had a sticker with his name on it!). How cute!
Similarly, when we had dinner at Humo, we were also brought out the below dog-themed desserts, with a picture of Winston.
When we left the resort, they even prepared Winston some sort of a collar with a bowtie — LOL!
Basically this hotel seems to zero in on what people are enthusiastic about, and then create surprises around that. Admittedly the hotel was really empty when we were there, so I imagine this doesn’t happen quite as consistently during peak season, but it does seem to be a theme.
Bottom line
We loved our three night stay at Zadun, which is the first Ritz-Carlton Reserve property we stayed at. In particular, we loved the huge and beautifully appointed entry level rooms with plunge pools, dinner at Humo, the quality and size of the beach, the gym, and the service.
If you’re looking to do some luxury hotel hopping in Los Cabos, then I’d seriously consider spending at least a few nights at Zadun. It’s a shame that the Ritz-Carlton Reserve brand doesn’t participate in Marriott Bonvoy, but otherwise the pricing is competitive with other top hotels in Los Cabos.
If you’ve stayed at Zadun, or another Ritz-Carlton Reserve property, what was your experience like?
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!
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@
Today I am happy to announce that the RESERVE Brand will be part of Bonvoy!
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.
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.
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.
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!
Great review as always Ben. Top marks for the abundance of sunset pics too :-)
Are there Villas at this resort or just individual hotel rooms? also ???club floor?
As someone leaving in the Mediterranean area, I wonder how different is Los Cabos from the Greek islands (besides food and such of course).
Marriott basically sold the Ritz Carlton name because these properties are not connected.
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
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.
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!
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?
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.
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...
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.
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!
I've booked a few customers here and they love it. I'm doing a personal stay next month.
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.
@ 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.
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.
@ 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...
@ 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.
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.
Just curious why you were in an entry level room on a STARS booking when the property was fairly empty?
@ 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). :-)
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...
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.
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.
@ RB -- Have heard great things about Mandapa, hope to check it out some day!
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!
@ Hepworth -- Thanks for the kind words, I really appreciate it!
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.
@ Alonzo -- Yeah, there's not always a logical connection between price and what's included for free, sadly. Heh.
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...
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!
@ 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.
Thanks Ben, safe travels!
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...
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 :) .
@ 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...
Totally makes sense! Thanks for responding as always!
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.
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.