I know this is a Cancun board and I planned to tell everyone how great The Royal was and all about our trip to Cancun. However, Dean changed all that. So I was posting this somewhere else and thought I's post it here as well. Overall Cabo was great- just different. The bars were great- again different. I felt most at home at another Groupo Anderson places El Squid Roe. It was a lot like Frogs. Nothing like Dady O or CoCo Bongo though. They did have a lot of great outdoor bars and clubs which was cool. Anyway here it is. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My wife and I traveled to Cabo after we had changed our travel plans from Cancun due to hurricane Dean. Since this was our first time to Cabo and with only a day to prepare, we decided on The Riu Palace since it offered the convenience of an AI while being fairly close to town. I will preface this review by stating that my wife and I have traveled a bit, and also dine frequently at 5 star restaurants. That being said, we enjoyed the Riu for what it was, an inexpensive AI. Our stay was 8/20 to 8/25/2007. Upon arrival, we must have been extremely lucky as we were next in line for check in. Since we transferred our reservations last minute in house through Liberty Travel I was worried that they wouldn’t have our room ready. After a few minutes of going back and forth, the man at the front desk told us they found a room for us. I was prepared to drop a $20 to get a better room but before I knew it, we had our bracelets, keys, and safe lock and we were taken immediately to our room 4166. The room was on the side furthest from the construction over looking the sea and a large sand dune. We had some issued with the safe (it was stuck closed). We called the front desk and a maintenance person was up with in 5 minutes to fix it. TRIP REPORT: Day 1- We arrived in Cabo with no problems, actually 20minute early. Immigration and baggage claim were a breeze. See above for check in and resort info. Lunch, then swim up bar for many drinks. Head back to the room at 7:30. Wife doesn’t make it out for dinner with me. We had a great first day and looking back, our only night in the room before 12. Day2- Up at 7 for breakfast. Get our towels and claim our spot. We took a walk to the Marina, which was a great workout. Got back, relaxed a bit. Played and won a Hold’em Tournament. We had lunch and then went to the lobby to meet our friends who where checking in that day. Once they are settled in back to the swim up bar for more fun and drinks. Back to the room to relax and then off to dinner at San Jose. After dinner we had a few drinks at the outside bar and then hopped in a taxi to Cabo Wabo. What a great time and great drinks. The cover band was great and the DJ played decent music between sets. Our wives (and those looking on) loved dancing on riser and the bars. We head back at 2:00 for a drink at the hotel and a quick dip in the pool util security told us we had to get out, and then bed. Day3- Breakfast was a little later today (9ish) and what a difference. The buffets were not as filled as the previous morning. We made a mental note to try and hit breakfast earlier. After a walk to Medano Beach, we relaxed by the pool for a few hours. Lunch at San Jose which was had an Italian theme for lunch. Afterwards we took another taxi to Cabo Dolphins. It was really clean and well run. While we were waiting, they brought cool towels, which was nice. The waiting area felt like a spa and with the water falling over the edge of the tank, it was actually very soothing. Back to meet out friends in the swim up bar pool for a few drinks and then off for some pool volleyball. A lot of fun playing today with the exception of a guy on the other team who constantly held his toddler son up at the net during serves. Irresponsible IMHO. Back to the room to get ready. Dinner at the buffet which was again decent. Tonight we went on the Bar Hopper and met up with 2 other couples from the Riu. We expected a small taxi to pull up. We were really surprised to see a huge tour bus pull up. It was about halfway filled with people dressed as comic heroes with the females of the group in much less then you would expect. We had a Corona on the bus ride to the Marlin. It seemed like the party started when we arrived there. There were a few families there who quickly left when they saw what was about to happen. Lots of games, and shots happening. Now I was used to Cancun shot girls and their whistles, but they usually would take no for an answer. Not here. They literally forced Jell-O shots into people’s mouths. Nuts. Off for a brief stop and a drink at the Hard Rock but due to some lewd behavior of the Desire group and the fact that there were many people still eating dinner there, we were hurried out to out next stop- El Squid Roe. For those who have never been to Cabo, its much like Senor Frogs (same group owns them). Lots of dancing on the tables, and behind the booths. The MC really gets involved here from his Substitute Pimp stand. After many more drinks and shots we are off to The Zoo Bar. This is where things are a bit fuzzy. Zoo Bar is a nice club with cages for people to dance in and a VIP lounge. We spent most of out time in here and it got really crazy. After more tequila and margaritas we are round up for our return trip back to the Riu (2:30 or so). Day4- Breakfast not quite as early. Actually almost missed it as I misplace my safe key. I called down to the front desk. They told me to come and get a new one. They said that maintenance would have to drill out the old one. Well we were on our way for a snorkeling trip and all of our stuff was in the safe. I explained that we needed to leave in 15 minutes. He said no problem and I headed back to my room. The maintenance man was there in minutes and took car of our problem. By the way, I expected to get hit with a 100-200 dollar charge but when check out time arrived I was told that we had no charges. Very nice. Off to the marina for snorkeling. Not a bad experience but definitely a let down as compared to Cancun. It seemed that everyone was in the same area (like 7 boats). Whereas, in Cancun there are a number of areas that each group uses. Trip back to Marina was nice with a nice lunch. From the Marina we walked to Medano for a little swimming. Decided to take a water taxi back to the Riu. Had a nice system on board so the girls got to dance a little are we traveled. Getting on and off of these boats was an adventure near the Riu due to the waves and he rip. We grabbed a quick snack and then went to play some pool and beach volleyball for 2-3 hours while my wife recharged for the night. It seems as a large group of American guys showed up today with a funnel and loud mouths. They made us embarrassed to be Americans. Catcalls to my wife ended when I walked with her. Our friend nearly got into a fight when a few of these guys said some pretty nasty things to her while they were walking holding hands. What a mess. Dinner tonight at Mikasi (see above). After dinner drinks at the Los Cabos bar where we meet up with another couple. A tequila with sangrita and we head of to La Pacha (the hotel club). Not a bad place with decent music. The DJ played anything we requested. A short night tonight and we are in our room by 2ish. Day5- Our last full day. Early breakfast. Problem with the pool today. Seems as though the group that I mentioned above through a lot of stuff into the pool and off of their balcony. The activity pool was closed for the day and no space available at the other pool so we found a spot over looking the sea. Met up with our friend and decide it’s a nice day for shopping. We actually took a glass bottom taxi for a tour of El Arco, the sea lion colony, lovers beach, out to the Pacific, and to the Marina. Very nice little side trip. Hit the market for a few things and then back to the Riu for a few hours of beach volleyball. We rested for a bit, then got ready for dinner. Dinner tonight was at Lorenzillos. We had a great table overlooking the Marina. We started with the king crab legs, a couple of different salads, shrimp cocktail, and some soups. Dinners were Halibut, Halibut and lobster tail, Angus and Lobster tail, and coconut shrimp. Everything was wonderfully done and tasted great. From here it was off to Cabo Wabo for a couple of drinks. The band, while good, was playing the same set list as before. We head out to Squid Roe for a few yards and shots and our second wind. The wives were having a great time dancing on our table. Cell phones and cameras are out everywhere snapping pics. We head back to La Pacha at 1ish and meet up with our new friends. After closing the disco, our wives come up with the great idea of heading out to the Zoo. We get there around 2:15 and are there until 4:30ish. Lots craziness, body shots on the house thanks to the wives fine dancing in the cage. Day6- A struggle to be up to pack and breakfast. Bags down to the lobby and enjoying the last minutes of Cabo. My wife seems to be falling asleep no matter where we are. The shuttle ride back to the airport is uneventful. Check in for our flight, oops our bags are over. Another fine. Flight back with Continental was great except that we had a connection in Houston. Not fun when you have to go through immigration, customs, get bags, rechecked them, and rush to the gate with 5 minutes to spare. All in all in was a great trip and Cabo was a pleasant surprise. Did we like it? – Yes. Will we go back?-of course-BUT not until we get to our original destination of Cancun. Pictures will follow soon.
Nice report, thanks for posting - it's always good to see comparisons of different places in Mexico. I cant blame you for switching at the last minute. In the end Hurricane Dean was nothing here but obviously you didnt know that at the time you had to make a decision. That's a real shame about a group of loudmouths having such an affect they had to close one of the pools down. I'm surprised they werent kicked out of the resort. This one was moved to Free for all as it's non Cancun related, but I think it's probably better suited to those reading about Cancun rather than the news, jokes, sports and chat threads in Free For All, so I'll move it back
Sounds like a great trip. Thanks for sharing it with us. I'm sure it will be very helpful for some on here who are thinking of giving Cabo a try. It's someplace I definitely wnat to visit and your report makes me want to all the more.
