Last minute romantic getaway to Esperanza Resort in Cabo San Lucas

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What do you do when your original plan for an anniversary getaway is looking cool and rainy in June?? Change gears at the last minute and head to guaranteed sunshine and heat!!  We just celebrated our 27th anniversary.  Not being a momentous (5/10) anniversary we had agreed to do something low key and stay at Black Butte Ranch near Sisters, Oregon for a few days of rest and relaxation.  But as the day to leave grew nearer the weather report of 60s and rain was not changing.  We were set to be gone Sunday-Thursday, and the Friday before I said to hubby, “I’ve been watching the weather and it looks grim until the day we leave, what do you think about going to Mexico!” His response was, “Let’s do it!”  We still had our $99 companion fare from our Alaska Airlines Visa so that helped a lot with the last minute airfare.  We had stayed at the Esperanza Resort before but it had been a few years.  However with only four nights available to be gone we decided we would go for the splurge and try to book there.  After checking Expedia, Booking.com, etc. I found Esperanza’s website to have the same prices so I booked directly through them.

Esperanza is a 5* resort and I will admit, quite expensive (though going in the off season helps).  But, just a few minutes after I clicked “reserve” their amazing service began when my cell phone rang.   It was a call from an Esperanza Rep calling to confirm our reservation, find out if we were celebrating anything special, get our sizes for bathrobes and spa sandals, and to help us with anything else we may need when we arrived.  This impeccable service carried on throughout our entire stay.

We stayed in one of their top floor rooms with the palapa roofs, which provide an even more open an airy space then the two floors below.

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The views are spectacular from all of the rooms.

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Second and third floor rooms have outdoor hot tubs and the first floor has a hammock.

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There are also large balconies with table and chairs and a built in bench with comfy pillows.

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The rooms are quite large with king beds, a divan, round table and chairs, big flat screen tv, large closet with a TON of hangers, a toilet closet, two sinks, double showers and bathtub.   The decor is beautiful and serene.

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When you arrive there is no waiting in line to check in.  Our personal concierge, Fernando, greeted us upon a arrival and took us directly to our room.  A few minutes later we were welcomed with chips, salsa, guacamole, colorful macaroons, margaritas and a bottle of champagne and welcome note.

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We had dinner that night in the open air bar where, once again we had exemplary service and a delicious meal, where we started off with a ceviche tasting.

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The bar sits right on the edge with breathtaking views.

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Breakfast every morning is at their main restaurant Cocina del Mar which is under a giant palapa roof and also sits a long the edge with the spectacular views.

They have a great menu with all kinds of juices, smoothies, museli, oatmeal, eggs, breakfast meats, waffles, pancakes, and mexican specialties like chilaquiles and huevos rancheros.

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Breakfast was included for us and we could order anything off the menu we liked.  The only thing we had to pay extra for were espresso drinks.

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Stephen had a deep tissue massage at the spa which he said was fabulous and really enjoyed the private outdoor showers attached to each spa room.

By our second day there everyone knew us by name and greeted us warmly.  The pool/beach area is beautiful with an infinity edge pool and nice beautiful bathrooms nearby.  The service around the pool was excellent (the ahi tuna tostadas delicious) and big padded chairs with towels big enough to cover the entire chair and a comfy neckroll.

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They would come by with complimentary water, popsicles, mini smoothies, back or feet massages during the day.

Everything was absolutely perfect about our stay.  We loved the laid back, casual feeling of the place without any compromise on service.

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We wouldn’t change a thing and are so happy we acted on the spur of the moment to change our plans.  Thinking we may have to make this an anniversary tradition….

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6 responses to “Christmas in Hoi An”

  1. How lovely that you can travel with your whole family! Most teenagers stop going on trips with their parents after a while, but your kids are great! You are very lucky

  2. robyn says:

    hello love your blog thankyou. would you stay near the beach again or in the town. we are hoping to go in january. robyn

    • Judy Gambee says:

      Hi Robyn – glad you enjoyed the blog! Not sure what time in Jan. you are going and if the weather might be slightly better than we had. But I would say, if there is any chance that you might get some beach weather, then I would definitely stay on the beach. We would have enjoyed coming back in the afternoon after our activities and relaxing on the beach. However, if the chance that the weather will be “beachy” is slim I would definitely consider being in town. Not that the shuttle was that much of a pain, but I think it would have been nice to have been able to just walk into town from the hotel. I would pick one with sort of a “resorty” feel and a pool, so if you do get lucky one day with good weather, you can enjoy it right there.

  3. […] Next up Christmas in Hoi An! […]

  4. Rachel says:

    Hello! I have loved reading your travels in Vietnam. My husband (he is from Oregon also!) and I are going to spend Christmas in Vietnam and Thailand. I am wondering if you would suggest spending 4 days in Hoi An, or spending 3 days in Hoi An and 1 day in Hanoi. Do you think it’s “worth it” to even see Hanoi? Or could we just fly in and spend the night to leave the next morning for our cruise? We would be flying to Hanoi on Christmas day so could either spend christmas day in Hanoi, or in Hoi An. I see that you said Christmas Eve is a much bigger deal, which will be fun! But any suggestions on if we should just stay or check out Hanoi for a day? We don’t LOVE cities, and prefer a smaller town experience, but is there anything we MUST see in Hanoi?

    Thanks!!

    • Judy Gambee says:

      So sorry for the late response to this question. The day you sent this we were leaving for a 2.5 week trip to Europe and just did not have a chance to get to it before we came back and got settled in. Even though I was not a huge fan of Hanoi (however, most people are) I think I might recommend going there for the day. Would probably try to book some time with Hanoi Kids so you could see more quickly rather than fumbling with maps, where to go, etc. with such a short visit. If you have something specific that you want to do that day in Hoi An (food tour, bikes, etc.) then I think it would be great to stay there, but if just planning on hanging out another day in Hoi An, I think I might push myself to visit Hanoi.

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