May 27, 2009

LATIN AMERICA | MEXICO | LOS CABOS

A Star-Studded Cabo

By Nicole Cotroneo

Swine flu be damned. Turn toward the constellations at the Marquis Los Cabos.

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Bobbing in the rooftop pool of your private casita, you feel a thousand miles away from the tumult Mexico has lately endured — namely swine flu and drug cartel violence. But that’s because you are, literally, a thousand miles down the Baja Peninsula, and dislocated from the country’s central trunk by the Sea of Cortez, at the Marquis Los Cabos resort near Cabo San Lucas. The fishing-and-fiesta town has remained swine-flu free, according to the Los Cabos tourist board earlier this month. But that hasn’t stopped tourism from tanking.

The good news for the intrepid traveler is that airfare to Cabo San Lucas has also plunged (at around 35 percent), and the area’s first-class properties are bending over backward to lure — and reassure — guests back. Through June, the all-suite Marquis is upgrading guests to a private beachfront casita with the new “Hotel with a Heart” package (starting at $594). When you think casita, think crazy amounts of space: nearly 1,700 square feet that opens to a shaded terrace and personal plunge pool (as if the hydro-massage tub wasn’t enough).

This stretch of the Pacific is too fierce to swim, but then Marquis Los Cabos has a sweeping beachside infinity pool. Here attendants serve the freshest poolside eats — forget the burger and go for succulent octopus ceviche and creamy guacamole. Among other dining options, there’s a romantic 20-seat French restaurant, Canto del Mar, where the menu changes every few days. You can top off your meal with cigars and cognac in the adjacent living room-style lounge.

But this is Mexico, after all — and though the ocean here is off limits, the beach certainly isn’t. With toes in the sand and gourmet canapés in hand, you can enjoy the resort’s new “Astronomy Nights” series, which introduces guests to the planets and constellations courtesy two local experts — and their high-powered telescopes. Every full moon night (next one: June 7), the cocktails will flow around a crackling fire pit. And if you’re lucky, you’ll get to see the golden rings of Saturn as you’ve never seen them before.