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Hacienda Encantada Resort: Paradise on Mexico’s Baja Peninsula

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Modern Nomad is a weekly column dedicated to mobile gear, must-see world destinations, tips for life on the road, and traveling better through technology.

Cabo San Lucas. Few Mexican destinations proffer more name-brand travel cache than this city at the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula. And few hotels in Cabo offer more luxury swank and swagger than Hacienda Encantada Resort & Spa. This ultra-luxury beachfront resort consistently tops the Best of Mexico lists of TripAdvisor and Condé Nast Travel, and with good reason.

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Hacienda Encantada is close to the hustle of downtown Cabo San Lucas and the Marina Golden Zone, but far enough removed for guests to relax in relative seclusion. The hotel sits high on a dramatic cliff with panoramic views overlooking the Sea of Cortez. Its 150 hacienda-style luxury suites and residential villas are designed to seamlessly blend into the area’s famously stunning desert-meets-ocean landscape.

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As a true resort, the property offers a wealth of amenities that ensure guests need never leave the grounds throughout their stay if they like. Every guestroom offers a full kitchen, balcony with pool or ocean view, satellite television, Wi-Fi, separate sitting and dining areas, and a spacious bathroom with whirlpool tub. Hacienda Encantada also offers a beachfront restaurant, swim-up pool bar, infinity pool, jacuzzis, water playground area, spa, meditation area, shopping center, and a downtown shuttle.

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For guests looking to splash out, the resort offers a unique Dine Out Privileges Plan. This all-inclusive plan provides full-service dining and drinks at any of the resort’s restaurants and bars. The plan also includes privilege view suites with spacious private balconies, an in-room minibar, late checkout, and 24-hour concierge service. An additional feature even allows a la carte dining at and a complimentary shuttle to a number of offsite luxury restaurants in Cabo San Lucas’ Golden Zone.

The resort is minutes from a wealth of activity opportunities including horseback riding, surfing, kayaking, parasailing, world class marlin and deep sea fishing, championship golf courses, and the shops of downtown Cabo. Of course the real draw is the water, including everything on and in the sea. The Sea of Cortez is one of earth’s most biodiverse bodies of water — a full one-third of the world’s species have been documented here. No trip to Cabo is complete without at least a day cruise around Land’s End — the iconic land formation that marks the meeting of the Pacific Ocean and Sea of Cortez. It’s the ideal opportunity to snorkel or dive one of the world’s best spots for underwater exploration.

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Mike Richard
Mike Richard
Contributor
Mike Richard has traveled the world since 2008. He's kayaked in Antarctica, tracked endangered African wild dogs in South…
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