Last-Minute Getaway: Our Experience at Garza Blanca Resort and Spa in Los Cabos
It was once again that time of year in Seattle when we needed our annual re-up dosage of Vitamin D. In other words, we needed some sun, and we needed it bad. Not only that, we had a huge backlog of work having just completed our TWB Across America road trip (more on that later).
Not surprisingly, a trip to Mexico came to mind as being a perfect getaway option. Specifically, the Los Cabos region, a part of Mexico we had yet to visit. For total transparency, the decision on Mexico wasn’t officially made until re-watching the 1990s classic “City of Angels.” Inspired by Meg Ryan’s character’s unfortunate demise shortly after Nicolas Cage’s character decided to give up eternity to spend with her, our takeaway was… life is too short, so why not go to Mexico (HA!).
With last-minute planning for this “work trip,” we were lucky to find an enthusiastic and hardworking travel agent capable of getting things planned for us within 24 hours… enter Kathy Buckley with Tonic Travels. Kathy provided us with three options of resorts in Cabo San Lucas with the requirements of:
4.5 - 5 stars,
all-inclusive,
(most importantly) A place we could work (free wifi) AND still relax.
Ultimately, we chose the 5-star resort Garza Blanca, located exactly between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo.
The Journey To Garza Blanca: The Flight & Airport Arrival
As most residents of Western Washington can attest, the flight to Cabos is a relatively easy one, with multiple airlines providing direct flights into Cabo San Lucas International Airport (SJD). The length of the flight seemed to go by pretty quickly, though it was about 4 hours. Traveling through customs was a breeze, and the lines went by fast.
Waiting for our transportation to Garza Blanca outside of the Los Cabos airport.
The only issue we encountered was on the way to our pre-booked resort transportation. We almost got scammed by someone “helping” us find where our transfer would pick us up. However, once you walk outside, you’ll clearly see numbers that should be listed on your pre-booked reservation.
TAKEAWAY: Continue to exit through the sliding doors and don’t make eye contact with the dozens of solicitors that WILL try to get your attention.
Resort Check-In:
It took around 35 minutes to get from the airport to our resort at Garza Blanca. Upon arrival, like most resorts, we were met with the option of water, champagne, and a hot towel. Of course, the glass of champagne was the first choice for Marlie. We arrived close to check-in time, which is 4:00 PM. What stood out about our arrival was the efficient check-in process.
Not only were we able to get our room and close the loop on final paperwork, but our meeting with the concierge was pretty easy and informative. And what we most loved about our concierge experience was that they did not overly push the presentation up-sale… remember we were here to get work done.
The Room:
The king sized bed during turndown service.
In our very limited research on the property, we read nothing but great things regarding the room accommodations at Garza Blanca. Still, our room surpassed our expectations. Our one-bedroom suite with a garden view was spacious, clean, and just all-around beautiful. The perfect environment for getting work done. Within the room, there were two full bathrooms, a full kitchen, a king-size bed, with a pull-out couch in the living room, a large balcony with an outside eating area and (Anthony’s favorite thing) a hammock. The room also included other great surprise amenities like a washer and dryer and even a bidet (hehe). Our all-inclusive package included the room mini-bar and stocked fridge that was re-stocked every day… it was like living in a dream.
TAKEAWAY: With room service offered 24/7 and Google Chromecast available, it can be hard not to leave the room.
The Restaurants:
Yes, our room was amazing, but the resort still had plenty of other amazing things to offer outside of that; like the restaurants.
Garza Blanca provides four restaurants on-site:
Steakhouse, Bocados
Japanese restaurant, Hiroshi
Mexican restaurant, Blanca Blue
Italian restaurant, Noi
Eating at Garza Blanca’s Italian restaurant, Noi.
For breakfast, guests are offered a buffet-style option at Blanca Blue, although we never went to the buffet… breakfast delivered to our room was too good to pass up. Though we did breakfast in our room, we definitely got out for dinner. The restaurants we tried were the Mexican restaurant Blanca Blue (nights 1 and 4), the Japanese restaurant, Hiroshi (night 2), and the Italian restaurant, Noi (night 3). Unfortunately, we did not have a chance to try the steakhouse Bocados because it booked pretty quickly. For an all-inclusive, we can say that the food was pretty delicious, and each restaurant offers a variety of dishes. If we had to rank our favorites, we would say Blanca Blue followed by Hiroshi. Noi’s food was a bit salty for our taste, but still, its location on the rooftop was definitely a vibe. As for lunch, we enjoyed it every day at the adults-only pool. Which brings us to our next topic of the property; the pools.
TIP: Make your restaurant reservations in advance of your trip so you're guaranteed to experience all the restaurants you want.
The Pools:
Another great thing that stood out to us at Garza Blanca was the many pool options on the property. There are actually eight pools total, but since the resort is family-friendly, we chose to spend a majority of our time at the rooftop adults-only pool… you know, so we can get some “work” done. This pool was pretty dope, an infinity pool that was heated and overlooked the entire property. There was good music and plenty of seating. We will say that the adults-only pool bar is separate from the pool, and the only swim-up bar is within the family-friendly big pool, which was crowded with a few kids during the time of our visit.
TIP: If you want a seat right by the adults-only pool, plan on getting there no later than 11:00 AM, which is an hour after the pool bar opens.
The Bars & Drinks:
Enjoying cocktails at Garza Blanca’s lobby bar
The pools were not the only amenity that had a variety of great options. Garza Blanca also offered a great arrangement of bars on the property. Outside of the swim-up bar previously mentioned, there are three others that we noticed; the rooftop bar, the lobby bar, and the 360 bar located between the Bocado’s (Steakhouse) and Blanca Blue (Mexican) restaurants. Each bar offered both a cocktail and mocktail menu. Having the option between both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks was another thing that we really enjoyed. And no matter what bar we chose, both options were mixed perfectly and tasted great. Full disclosure, we typically don’t indulge in the mocktails while on all-inclusive resorts, but again since this was a “work” trip it made sense. Our two favorite cocktails were the Fresco and Mezcaltini. As for our favorite mocktail, that was the Fresca. The last thing to point out about all of the bars (and property) was the service.
The Service:
Garza Blanca shines when it comes to its staff (the people). We received friendly service and smiles from everyone we encountered. The daily room refresh and turndown service was another perfect service we really enjoyed. We loved that the bartenders and pool attendants remembered our name throughout our stay (we will admit Señor and Señorita Amor isn’t too difficult to remember, ha). Yes, the people were great! One thing we must note is that the dinner service was a bit slow each night, but the beautiful scenery and attentive staff made that not such a big deal.
Black Traveler Comfortability:
With the great treatment from the friendly staff, our comfort as Black travelers was very high. What also contributed to the high comfort was the fact that we noticed a lot of other Black travelers at this resort. We loved that! Everyone around seemed to be enjoying themselves as much as we were.
Final Conclusion:
In front of Garza Blanca’s famous orange tree
Would we return to this resort? Absolutely! During our time at Garza Blanca, we were able to get our much-needed dose of Vitamin D, as well as get a lot of work done, and somehow at the end of it still returned home relaxed and refreshed. Even though this was our first time staying at a resort that wasn’t adults-only, it still felt like a great option for couples to reconnect.
On our next trip to Garza Blanca, we will probably leave the work behind or maybe we’ll just bring along our cameras and show you our experience firsthand via one of our YouTube episodes.
OTHER POINTS OF CONSIDERATION:
Prior to departure, pay attention to the prohibited items in your carry-on bags. Our selfie stick was confiscated.
Beaches in Cabo are beautiful, but most are not swimmable due to the currents. It was red flag days every day during our stay.
