In late August, in fact for my birthday, I ventured to the southern tip of Baja California for a two night stay at the Hyatt in Los Cabos. About two weeks after I returned Hurricane Odile swept away much of what I had experienced, left guests as refugees and closed the airport. It appears that some people have lost their lives, a tragedy for everyone.

So, I am stuck about whether to write about the visit when so little of what I experienced is there any more, and it is unlikely that anyone will get to visit for some time. The latest estimate is that the airport will reopen around November 25th. The Hyatt doesn’t indicate when they will open.

There is a review on Travel Pulse written by a Travel Agent about their experiences riding out the Hurricane.

What I’ve resolved to do is to write a little about what the visit was like, promise to go back again once repairs are complete, and let you have a little taste of what was a great trip.

TRAVEL TO LOS CABOS

It was a fairly early start for me on the morning of the flight from Los Angeles. American operates a 737-800 at around 0930, and offers a light, continental breakfast. I’ve already said that I think it’s one of the ‘lightest’ I have ever seen!

The flight was uneventful, at just over 2 hours.

ARRIVAL
American uses the new terminal at Los Cabos and we fairly quickly disembarked after the taxi from the runway. There was fun moment when the plane ‘jumped’ and I later found out that the ground crew had forgotten to ‘chock’ the plane properly and the pilot had to slam the brakes on to stop it rolling.
The terminal is pretty modern and after a 5 minute walk to ground floor I was at immigration. No queue I am pleased to say and after 5 minutes I was outside looking for my transport to the Hyatt Ziva.
The driver was there, and we walked to the mini-van for my transfer.

HYATT ZIVA
Hyatt took over this hotel some months ago and people have written about the experience in other blog posts. I was here for only two nights due to flight changes made by American forcing stops in LA in either direction to/from New York. In advance of my visit Hyatt Head Office and the hotel both contacted me to confirm that I was only travelling on my own. The property, being all-inclusive, charges differently based on the number of guests in the room.

Check-in was a breeze, with Diamond Gold Passport members being handled on the opposite side of the reception area from other guests.

Normal Reception:

At check-in my credit card was charged for the full cost of my stay and my return transport to the airport was arranged. I was issued the all important Gold Wristband as a Diamond Gold Passport member.

My room was in the block closest to the Ocean and they had arranged a nice upgrade for me. The agent suggested that I might like to go to the Lounge for lunch.

This was the view from Reception:

ROOM

The room reminded me of the room I had when I stayed at the Intercontinental, San Juan; a property I hated. It’s layout was similar, but being only three doors from the end of the building it was pretty close to the ocean.

Bathroom

Bedroom

The hotel had noted that it was my birthday and had provided some welcome amenities:

The room included a mini-bar which was in the room price:

Views
From the balcony you could see out to the ocean and back to the resort:

From the walkway between the lifts and the room you could see further along the coast as well as the nearby Hyatt Place hotel. (The Hyatt place seems to have been very badly damaged by the Hurricane from the pictures I have seen.)

LOUNGE

The hotel operates a lounge available to Diamond Gold Passport members and those booking their premium packages.

Offering hot food all day it was a great place to pop in to. The staff are lovely, and there is an outside seating area.

The food was really tasty and started off my stay very well. The evening had the same food on, which was a little disappointing so I supplemented it with Room Service, which is also in the room price.

AROUND THE RESORT

The resort is built on several levels with stairs, walkways and lifts interconnecting them.

This is the main building with the steps that run from Reception to the pools. The seating in the water surrounds a fire pit which they light at night.

Views back to the main building

Swim in rooms on the Ground Floor

The inevitable towel reserving of loungers in the best locations:

There is an adults only pool adjacent to the next door resort

Of a night time the property is well illuminated and has a slightly magical air with the waves crashing on the beach.

Sunrise from my balcony

Sunrise from the beach

BREAKFAST

The breakfast offering is in the International Buffet and probably includes the most extensive buffet I have ever seen in a hotel. Everything from the normal buffet breakfast fare through to meatballs, fish and beetroot is available. I couldn’t get pictures of everything!

The staff were pretty friendly but spent their time with those who seemed the better tippers. Not a problem for me.

CHECK-OUT
All too soon it was time to leave and went to Reception to check-out. They hand you a slip which enables you to stay and use the hotel, including the restaurants until 2pm on the day of departure. You hand the slip in to the Doorman on your way off the property.

Overall I really enjoyed my stay. I sincerely hope that all the staff and their families are safe.