November 11, 2009

LATIN AMERICA | MEXICO | LOS CABOS

Battle for the Beach

By Kate Goodin

Can Cabo’s newcomer grab top honors?

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Three resorts have long volleyed the crown for most luxurious resort on the coast of Los Cabos: Las Ventanas al Paraiso, One & Only Palmilla and Esperanza. From helicopter marriage proposals (Las Ventanas) to celeb chefs (Jean-Georges Vongerichten at One & Only), their creative one-ups intimate the question: How could a newcomer possibly up the ante?

For starters, with a dramatic drive through a torch-lit tunnel. That’s how you access Capella Pedregal, the latest offering by the young luxury brand helmed by former Ritz-Carlton honcho, Horst Schulze. Leaving the tourist hordes behind at Cabo San Lucas marina, you emerge to the sound of silence punctured by the crashing of the Pacific against the sand. Carved into a bluff on the southernmost tip of the Baja Peninsula, Capella is a tiered jumble of hacienda-style suites and villas connected by pathways lined with cacti and agaves.

All 66 guestrooms have their own terraces and infinity-edge plunge pools. globorati’s Capella Room (room 25) had an outdoor fire pit, too. Indoor amenities included a fireplace and a spacious bathroom with soaking tub. For a roomier soak, the hotel offers two large infinity pools. The ocean’s churning undertow makes Pedregal’s beach unswimmable. However, a 15-minute oceanside walk leads you to Cabo’s famous rock formation, Land’s End.

While you’re off exploring, let your personal assistant book you a treatment at Auriga spa. All treatments are taken in lagoon-view rooms, and begin with a sauna, steam and ice-down (the latest rage, it seems). The staff uses herbs grown in the hotel’s own garden to create teas and tonics. That same locally-grown spirit translates to dining at Pedregal — the chefs frequent the local farmers market, and are inspired by traditional Mexican cuisine.

Per Se-trained Marco Bustamante, the executive chef who also opened Capella’s properties in Velden, Dusseldorf and Singapore, now helms the Cabo kitchens, including the main restaurant Don Manuel’s and the seaside grill El Farallon (opening later this month). For breakfast indulge in spiced pecan waffles with mango glaze, and for lunch, head to the poolside bar for crab churros with tarragon and chipotle mayo.

A tip on dinner: when the waiter asks if you’d like to visit su cocina (“your kitchen”), say yes. You’ll be seated at an oversized table overlooking the kitchen, where you’ll be treated to cocktails and amuse-bouches like bluefin tuna tartare with carrot-ginger puree — plus plenty of banter from the working chefs. Don’t get too full, though: there’s chipotle-scented seafood stew brimming with jumbo-sized mussels and shrimp, and a chocolate tasting platter for two (that I was not ashamed to polish off solo). You could stay and have a nightcap, or retreat to your room and raid the welcome gift: Don Julio tequila with fresh lime wedges and sea salt.