It’s only fitting that the inaugural blog post for Avantia Luxe is about one of my very favorite places – Los Cabos. My family and I returned to Los Cabos for the second year in a row for spring break. While a lot of people think of “Cabo” as a party destination, and it can certainly be that if you choose to engineer it that way, the destination is so, so much richer and layered than that. We obviously love it as a family getaway, and it’s also a fabulous spot for all manner of adult escapes including couples, golf trips or girls weekends.

This year, we stayed at one of the grande dames of resorts, the One&Only Palmilla. We adored this property. It’s one of the larger resorts in the area, and we loved that about it. It felt spacious and like its own destination. It is lush and verdant, and it has a traditional Mexican hacienda vibe with painted tiles and red tile Spanish roofs; I would not characterize it as glitzy or chic but approachably high end and classic.

The service at One&Only Palmilla is top notch. Every single resort employee was gracious, kind, helpful and greeted us with genuine smiles. Our butler Francisco stood out in particular. While it’s standard for a butler to check in daily, his service was special. To illustrate just one example of his thoughtfulness, our daughter lost a tooth while we were there, and he arranged for a visit from the “Mexican tooth fairy”, which was something that neither she nor we will ever forget, and touches like these are what set resorts apart.

To me, the most impressive feature of this resort is the number and quality of restaurants. There are four restaurants to choose from for dinner, and each are impressive in their own right. Agua is the open air oceanside restaurant with elevated Mexican cuisine with a focus on seafood. We enjoyed the queso fundido mixed tableside, and after a successful deep sea fishing trip, the chef prepared our fresh catch three different ways. Suviche is a lovely sushi restaurant with stunning floor to ceiling windows overlooking the ocean, and Seared is their signature Jean Georges steakhouse with an intimate feel and amazing food as to be expected. For us, the standout was the Japanese restaurant Hoshi, where we enjoyed a fabulous omakase meal (we took advantage of the onsite babysitting service that night, another perk of the resort). Most of the fish featured was local catch, and every dish was beautiful in addition to being delicious. A la carte ordering is also available but this was one of the best omakase meals I have ever had, and I highly recommend it. I would also recommend a stop at Hoshi’s bar beforehand to enjoy their cocktail list.

If you continue reading my blog posts, you’ll see that my love of good food is a theme. Be it street food or Michelin starred, if it’s good, I’m happy.

Given the variety of restaurants onsite, you certainly don’t need to leave Palmilla for dinner. However, I wanted to experience more during our visit, so we had two dinners off property. The first was at Acre, a very cool resort north of the tourist corridor. While the ride there can seem a little odd as you’re driving on bumpy dirt roads through very uninhabited-looking land, it’s worth the journey for the very cool vibe and farm fresh food. If you are traveling with a little one(s), as we were, the restaurant didn’t have very many families – it was definitely geared more toward adults but there is an animal sanctuary on property with visiting hours from 8 am – 3 pm which could make for a fun day outing. Perhaps pair a late afternoon animal sanctuary visit with an early dinner at nearby Flora Farms, another must visit in the same area, which is more family friendly.

Our other offsite dinner was at Don Sanchez, in downtown San Jose del Cabo. Every Thursday evening in San Jose, there is an art walk with several lanes of local artists and various vendors set up. In addition to walking through the vendor stalls, it’s well worth your time to stroll through the many high quality artisan shops and art galleries in the neighborhood with items from home décor to bath products to clothing, and many more. Don Sanchez is conveniently located a short walk from the main square where the art walk is set up. Seating is in an outdoor covered patio, and we found the service delightful and the food phenomenal. The tableside Caesar salad preparation was a fun display, and the wine list is surprisingly expansive. Next to Hoshi, this was our favorite dinner while in Cabo.

Beyond the incredible food, Cabo is brimming with options for everyone. It’s a golfer’s dream, with more than a dozen top notch public golf courses, and several resorts are able to secure tee times at spectacular private golf courses where you’re likely to see a celebrity or two. Water sports are another top activity. Sport fishing is a lot of fun but ensure your group can handle some waves. The water isn’t particularly rough but those with sensitive stomachs may want to exercise caution. We enjoyed a really fun day where we caught several marlin (catch and release only). While we weren’t there during tuna or wahoo season, we chose to take home one of our catches – a skipjack – for the chef to prepare back at the hotel. Catamaran cruises, scuba, kayaking, and snorkeling are all popular as well.

Whale watching is a seasonal favorite; humbacks pass through the area between December and March, and seeing these playful giants repeatedly leap out of the water is a natural phenomenon that I feel fortunate to have seen firsthand. We were lucky enough to witness an incredible breaching show from a mother and calf right from the pool deck at One&Only Palmilla; no special excursion necessary.

Beyond the complimentary whale watching at Palmilla, the warm hospitality, beautiful grounds, comfortable rooms, and fantastic restaurants, other standouts to us were the kids club, KidsOnly, and the Forbes five star spa. KidsOnly had incredible programming, and our daughter came home each day with sincerely cool crafts that she was proud of, as well as genuine warmth and smiles for the camp staff which was even better. The spa was a dream. I was lucky enough to go by myself for one afternoon, and then I returned with my daughter for a spa day as well. They have a select number of treatments available for children aged 4-15, which cannot be found at all area resorts.

Another post coming on other resorts we visited while in Los Cabos but fair to say that One&Only Palmilla was incredibly special and we really, really loved our week there. We would return in a heartbeat.