“Three things make Los Cabos stand out,” said Rodrigo Esponda Cascajares, managing director of the Los Cabos Tourism Board, when asked what makes Los Cabos an ideal incentive destination for groups.
“First, the nature,” he started, pointing his index finger up and motioning toward the bright blue sky and palm trees just outside his office window. “We have a nature combination you will not find anywhere else: the ocean, the desert and the mountains. We have very low humidity, very mild weather.
“When you go to a destination and you have to stay inside because the humidity is too high, there are mosquitos everywhere, you cannot plan activities that get you in contact with nature, with the identity of the place you are visiting,” Esponda Cascajares continued. “You are missing it.”
The second thing that makes Los Cabos stand out, Esponda Cascajares said, is the quality of services and amenities the destination offers that are “noticeable from the moment visitors arrive” at Los Cabos International Airport (SJD) in San José del Cabo.
Transportation is seamless in Los Cabos and air accessibility is high. Many high-end properties are within 30 minutes of the airport, and airlift from the U.S. has expanded with direct flights from Nashville and Oakland, California, that began operations in March, and a new flight from Ontario, California, is scheduled to take off on its inaugural flight July 4.
“We have 32 cities from the United States that have nonstop flights to Los Cabos,” Esponda Cascajares said. “We used to have 18 or 19 cities, but in the last four years we’ve been adding more and more.”
Last on Esponda Cascajares’ list, but certainly not least, is Los Cabos’ hotel and resort scene.
“The lodging that we have is very competitive in all the segments. We have a product that is very solid in what they are offering,” he noted. “We have meeting capacity and venues for incentive groups that want to have a meeting in the morning and then go out and do activities. Our hotels offer a very good composition of quality food, good locations, good facilities, very well-communicated teams and services.
“I think we have some of the most exciting openings in terms of hotels in the Americas right now, too,” Esponda Cascajares added, highlighting three that are nearly ready to open.
The 197-room Park Hyatt Los Cabos had its soft opening this month and is already accepting reservations for stays starting in June. Amanvari will open this year in Baja’s East Cape on the edge of the Sea of Cortez, offering an intimate and private escape with 22 rooms. On the opposite side of the Pacific, St. Regis Los Cabos at Quivira will open this year and offer 99 guest rooms and the 25-room St. Regis Residences.
“These three properties reflect the avant-garde positioning in the luxury segment that Los Cabos has in three unique and totally different environments,” Esponda Cascajares said.
And there are even more where those came from. Following are three group-friendly resorts in Los Cabos that deliver all the luxurious amenities and activities that make incentive programs seamless and unforgettable experiences.
[Related: Celebrating 30 Years With Los Cabos’ Terramar DMC]
Le Blanc Spa Resort Los Cabos
Described as “the pinnacle of elegance” on its website, Le Blanc Spa Resort Los Cabos is an adults-only, all-inclusive beachfront resort located on the Tourist Corridor and almost directly between Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo. The 369-room property opened in April 2018, overlooks the Sea of Cortez and features 14,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space.
“Le Blanc Spa Resort Los Cabos provides the perfect balance of relaxation and sophistication, making it an excellent reward for high-performing teams,” said Alejandra Perez, director of sales, meetings and incentives for Le Blanc Spa Resort Los Cabos.
The resort is home to one of the largest spas in the destination, Aura Los Cabos, and offers complimentary hydrotherapy for all resort guests. The spa’s treatment menu offers “Aura Signatures” that incorporate natural elements to improve physical and spiritual well-being, including an 80-minute Aura Massage, 80-minute Detox Experience and 80-minute Pitaya Wrap.
“It’s not only to use spa facilities like a sauna or steam room or pressure shower—it’s more than that,” Perez said. “We usually assign a spa butler. They will give you a locker and they will let you know every step to follow. They’ll offer amenities in the sauna, where they give you cucumbers and a fresh towel. In the steam room, they’ll give you a facial mask. It’s a journey, and it’s a really great experience.”
All guests can enjoy butler service, which is included in every room category at Le Blanc Spa Resort Los Cabos. The property also has seven restaurants and an infinity pool overlooking the ocean, and resort guests are encouraged to take advantage of Los Cabos’ natural surroundings through organized experiences and excursions such as sailing to Los Cabos’ emblematic arch.
“We are in the desert, too, so we have activities like ATV tours, camel or horseback riding,” Perez said. “We always try to offer experiences for guests to see what they can do in the destination.”
Le Blanc Spa Resort Los Cabos will play host to our Meetings Today LIVE! Corporate/Incentive event October 19-22!
“Attendees coming to Meetings Today LIVE! can look forward to an unforgettable experience with us—luxurious accommodations, world-class dining, relaxing at the spa and taking advantage of our hydrotherapy facilities in their free time,” Perez said. “We offer the engagement, networking opportunities, all the activities we are going to plan for them. It will be a really great experience.”
[Related: Join us for Meetings Today LIVE! Corporate/Incentive in Los Cabos!]
Grand Fiesta Americana Los Cabos All Inclusive Golf & Spa
Located in an exclusive gated area in Cabo del Sol, Grand Fiesta Americana Los Cabos All Inclusive Golf & Spa has been a fan-favorite since it opened in the ’90s. It’s a rare property, said David Manzella, senior VP of MICE sales and marketing for Posadas, because unlike most other resorts located on the Tourist Corridor, Grand Fiesta Americana Los Cabos All Inclusive Golf and Spa is set back from the highway, offering a mountain view on one side and the Sea of Cortez on the other.
“It really sets up a sense of arrival for the attendees—and our whole complex, which consists of the Vacation Club on one side,” Manzella said. “We have the Grand Fiesta Americana, which is obviously the main focus, and we also have a Live Aqua Private Residences, with 35 residences.
“A lot of times, that works really well with incentive programs because they’ll put the CEOs up there. They’ll put the award winners at the Live Aqua property,” he continued. “It’s a really, really elevated, five-diamond, five-star type of experience, and of course, they have access to the Grand Fiesta Americana Los Cabos.”
The hotel itself offers 249 guest rooms, while another 275 villas are available as part of the Vacation Club.
“We sell it as a 525-room hotel because we can take larger groups and utilize the villas,” Manzella added. “And if you include all the meeting space, we have about 15,000 square feet of actual indoor function space, not counting all the outdoor areas.”
In 2024, the resort opened SOMMA Wine SPA, “the only spa in Los Cabos that incorporates the healing benefits of wine in its treatments,” according to the resort’s website. The spa has 14 treatment rooms, an ocean-view gym, sauna, steam room, vitality pool and ice therapy as well as spa therapists who are experts in using a range of fine wine oils in relaxing and restorative treatments.
“In all the treatments, we’re utilizing wine extracts, antioxidants—it’s just amazing,” Manzella said. “It’s capped off with a beautiful glass of wine. You get to relax in your robe, and it is truly beautiful. It’s definitely one of the luxurious things we encourage in all our incentive programs, adding that wellness component.”
Manzella said Grand Fiesta Americana Los Cabos All Inclusive Golf & Spa will be undergoing a multimillion-dollar guest room renovation soon, but as of late April, a timeline had yet to be confirmed.
“Coming soon,” Manzella said again. “Coming soon.”
[Related: Day-Trip Excursions for Groups Meeting in Coastal Mexico]
Solaz, a Luxury Collection Resort, Los Cabos
A premier luxury resort and architectural gem, Solaz, a Luxury Collection Resort, Los Cabos spans 34 acres at the union of Baja’s most coveted destinations—Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo—and was designed by award-winning Sordo Madaleno Architects “as a contemporary, free-flowing sculpture and tribute to Mexico’s rich history,” according to the resort’s website.
“He’s actually quite famous,” said Diana Navarro Romero, group sales manager for Solaz. “If you have a chance to investigate him, you’re going to discover a lot of great work the firm has done. Even if people don’t recognize the name when they are here on property, they always like to hear—especially when they see something so beautifully designed as this resort—that it is actually a Mexican talent behind it.”
Solaz, a Luxury Collection Resort, Los Cabos offers 145 guest rooms on the hotel side, including 31 suites and Villa Solaz, which is equivalent to a presidential suite and consists of four bedrooms. The property features 20,000 square feet of total meeting space, including an indoor conference center with floor-to-ceiling windows and an 11,000-square-foot oceanfront event deck with views of the Sea of Cortez—making Solaz Resort the largest meeting and event space in Los Cabos.
The property is also home to five restaurants with gastronomic offerings based around ingredients such as fresh products from the Sea of Cortez and local organic orchards such as Migriño and Miraflores.
“We also have a museum on property, and it’s one of my favorite things I like to tell people about,” Navarro Romero said. “We’re the first hotel in Mexico to have a museum, really. It’s not like a natural history museum with three floors or anything like that, but I think it’s the perfect size for the guests that come here. It doesn’t have any additional cost, so we consider it part of the amenities.
“Guests can just walk around, learn about the history of la Baja—not just from Los Cabos, but from the entire peninsula,” she added. “We have a whale [skeleton] as well. It tells you the story of la Baja, the people that first came here, a little bit about the conquest time, as well as the nature in these areas. And our concierge can assist with a guided tour that can last 20 minutes to two hours.
“There is a story to tell in every corner of the hotel,” Navarro Romero said. “That’s something we love.”
[Related: Unique Approaches to Beach Meetings in West Coast Destinations]
Across the Coast: Grand Palladium Vallarta Resort & Spa
Travel southeast across the sea, from Los Cabos and the tip of the Baja California Peninsula to the west coast of Mexico, and you’ll find the Grand Palladium Vallarta Resort & Spa nestled on the beaches of Punta de Mita.
The 514-room property sits 19 miles from the Licenciado Gustavo Díaz Ordaz International Airport (PVR) in Puerto Vallarta and offers two flexible event venues, refined a la carte restaurants, diverse show-cooking menus showcasing global cuisine, and Zentropia Palladium Spa & Wellness.
“Meeting planners are often pleasantly surprised by the versatility and integration of Grand Palladium Vallarta Resort & Spa’s event spaces with the resort’s laid-back yet elegant atmosphere,” said Zoe Lara, senior vice president of sales and marketing, Americas for Palladium Hotel Group. “They particularly appreciate the flexibility of the venues, which can be customized for a variety of events, from intimate boardroom sessions to large-scale conferences.”
Lara said planners also point to the resort’s ability to integrate teambuilding activities and recreational opportunities into incentive programs and schedules as a standout feature, offering the ability to combine professional and leisure-focused activities and amenities in an ideal balance.
“Additionally, planners love the location along the Pacific coast,” Lara said, “offering breathtaking views and a serene environment that helps inspire creativity and collaboration during meetings and events.”
