Lifestyle, Mexico, North America, Travel

Hotel Review: The Cape, a Thompson Hotel

Ah, Cabo San Lucas.  The most relaxing trip of our married life so far!

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For us, it was important that wherever we stayed on this trip be a convenient, beautiful and relaxing place that we didn’t have to leave if we didn’t want to.  This is contrary to our usual travel habits (we usually barely spend any time at the hotel), but we had gone on a variety of exhausting whirlwind trips and were ready for something chill!

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The Cape, a Thompson Hotel was definitely one of the most beautiful resorts we’ve ever stayed at without it being too pricey.

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We actually went from one Thompson property (the Thompson Toronto) to another (The Cape, a Thompson Hotel)—not because they sponsor our travel (although we wish they did!), but because both properties had a discount we could afford on the weekend we were visiting, while still providing us with a luxury experience.

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If you want details on our trip to Mexico, check out my post here.  For the Cape Hotel review, keep reading!

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FIRST IMPRESSION / SERVICE

We arrived to the hotel in our rental car, and immediately were greeted by a friendly staff member who took our bags for us.

 

Walking down to the hotel entrance, we were taken by the unique, modern building that stood before us.  And the giant driftwood whale.

 

Upon entering, we had to stop and catch our breath a moment when we saw the beautiful property: positioned perfectly on the beach with a stunning view of El Arco Cabo San Lucas, waves crashing on the shore, beautiful pools and a terrain of palm trees and cacti everywhere.

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We checked in, and everybody was incredibly kind and provided us with a delicious ice cold cider.

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We then went up to see our room and take it all in!

THE ROOM

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Location

A really nice thing about this property is that literally every room has a view.  The rooms face the ocean and have a lovely balcony to spend time on, complete with a couch swing.

 

The property itself is a 15-20 minute drive from the main Cabo San Lucas town, so it’s close enough to get around to other things with a taxi/car, but still far away enough to feel like a private getaway. If you are looking for a place to stay that’s walking distance from town, however, this is not for you.

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Amenities

Our room had a lovely King bed and fun robes/slippers for us to wear.

 

We had two separate shower heads (you know, for when you think, “Gee, I wish I could have alternating temperatures/water pressures on me right now.”) in the bathroom, and even had a fun copper-colored bathtub.

 

Wifi was a little tricky to figure out here initially, but once we went down to the front desk they helped us get all set up on our devices.  Pro tip: If you’re trying to connect and it’s not loading, try going to CNN.com.  Once connected, the Internet was high-speed and covered most of the extent of the resort grounds.

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THE FOOD

We really enjoyed the meals we ate here, as well as the view that accompanied those meals!

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The Ledge

This contemporary Mexican restaurant was our first spot where we grabbed a late lunch upon arrival.  We had the restaurant entirely to ourselves, which felt incredibly relaxing and romantic.

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We opted to sit outside, where we had a lovely view of the ocean and the Arch.  We started our meal with white sangria, which they brought in adorable champagne glasses.

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I was pleased to see that everything on the menu indicated whether it was gluten-free.  We ordered Baja’s Fish Ceviche Tostadas (with guacamole, carrot, cucumber and Cholula sauce) and Slow Roasted Duck Tacos (with soy-tamarind marinade and celery & sweet pepper salad).

 

All restaurants on the property use Tamari (gluten-free) soy sauce in their cooking, which I was very excited to hear!  It’s often very difficult for me to find places that do, even in Los Angeles.

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Manta Restaurant

We had dinner at The Cape’s signature fusion Japanese-Peruvian-Mexican restaurant our first night in Cabo.

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The thing that stands out most about this restaurant is THE VIEW.  We were seated at the perfect table overlooking the ocean and the Arch, and watching the sunset was positively breathtaking.

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The staff was all incredibly helpful, and very accommodating of my gluten allergy.  There was a dish we wanted that was made with flour tortillas, and they willingly swapped it out for corn for us.

 

They also were willing to take pictures for us whenever we asked (and would offer even when we didn’t!).

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We ordered Beef Yakitori with spicy Ponzu Sauce, Black Miso Fish Tacos, a mushroom taco dish and another beef dish (alas—don’t remember the names and can’t find an updated menu online!).

 

We also tried some Asian-inspired drinks (yuzu and shiso-infused)!

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Overall, this was an incredible experience.  The food here was very good—not excellent—but quite tasty and 100% worth the view.

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Glass Box

The Glass Box is a beautiful piece of architecture, and one of the first things you notice when you walk into The Cape.

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We didn’t stop inside here until our last day, when we grabbed a quick coffee before heading out.  It’s certainly a nice place to hang out, and the coffee is decent.  They also have pastries (we didn’t get any), and at night the café doubles as a bar.

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THE PREMISES

Had to add a section for the general hotel property, because man, this place was gorgeous!!  We honestly could have stayed here for a week and never left the property.

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There are two gorgeous pools—one is an infinity pool that has a swim-up bar.  Oh, it also has lounge chairs IN the pool!  The bar at the pool makes a great piña colada, and they also kindly have sunscreen tucked away in case you forgot to bring your own!

 

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The other pool is a smaller, unmanned one hidden between rocks under The Ledge restaurant.  We spent a good amount of time here as well!

 

The lobby area is also great fun to spend time in.  We played a fun game of pool together while looking out over the Pacific Ocean.

 

In the evenings, they will often have a band in the lobby playing music.  Sometimes it’s jazzy, and sometimes it’s rock classics.  The hotel definitely has a young vibe, but we saw people of all ages there!

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We also took some evening and morning strolls along the beach.

 

It’s a gorgeous view, but the hotel staff recommends that you do not go in the water as the waves are quite rough and it’s primarily surfers who are out there.

 

We did not wander into the ocean, but we walked along the shore and admired the surfers’ skills from afar.

 

The hotel lobby also has a gift shop, which sells souvenirs as well as travel essentials.  My poor sunburned husband was able to find a honey cream here that helped him a lot.  There is also a rooftop bar that often hosts events at night—we didn’t make it up, but it seemed like a very popular place to be!

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MEANINGFUL EXTRAS

This seems to be a staple for many luxury resorts in Cabo San Lucas, but we were brought up a complimentary “tequila amenity,” which turned out to be an entire bottle of tequila (we were barely able to make a dent in it!) with lime and salted chili dried mangos.

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(Note: They did forget to bring this up until the second day when we asked for it—no big deal, but just remember to ask about it!)

 

CONCLUSION

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Overall, this hotel is a beautiful, relaxing and easy place to stay that is filled with charm and breathtaking views.

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The staff are all incredibly friendly, helpful and speak phenomenal English.  We truly enjoyed our stay at this beautiful place, and would return in a heartbeat!

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