Just as a single name fails to capture the essence of this varied region located at the southernmost tip of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula (about 800 miles due south of San Diego), it’s also difficult to pigeon-hole Los Cabos, the travel destination. It is a popular honeymoon destination, a retirement community, a terrific choice for a family vacation, a 7-day-a-week, 365-days-a-year nightlife hotspot, and a home for some of the world’s best deep-sea fishing (the Sea of Cortez is a playground for marlin—more than 40,000 are caught each year, many weighing in at more than 1,000 pounds—dorado, yellowfin tuna, red snapper, sea bass and roosterfish).

Oh, and it’s also one of the premiere golf destinations in North America. There are eight championship golf courses in Los Cabos and several more on the way. World-class resorts cater to the traveling golfer. The frequent visitor can choose from a variety of vacation ownership options, and there are a growing number of residential opportunities as well, from luxury condominiums and villas to custom homes.

Join us now for a look at the best of Los Cabos’ fabulous offerings. The Sheraton Hacienda del Mar
Old World Mexico

The Sheraton Hacienda del Mar Resort and Spa is barely into its second decade, but its ambiance dates back centuries—this property has truly captured the essence of Old World Mexico. From the colonial-style tower at the resort’s center to the cobblestone and terra-cotta walkways that wind their way past tranquil fountains and through fragrant and colorful gardens, to the weathered beams and intricate ironworks and the colorful tile flooring, the resort has the feel of an 18th-century Mexican seaside village.

In fact, if you do a bit of exploring around the property’s 28 acres, you’ll discover much that really does date to Old World Mexico. The door to the chapel is more than 200 years old. The Victorian drawing room set in the lobby dates to the 1850s. There’s even a 16th-century Spanish alter on the grounds.

There’s nothing antiquated about the lavishly appointed accommodations, though. Each hacienda-style room has its own private balcony (and many have two) with an ocean or garden view, Jacuzzi (positioned so you can enjoy your view while you soak) and walk-in shower.

The Hacienda del Mar features four restaurants, including Pitahayas, which serves Pacific Rim Cuisine, features one of the best wine cellars in all of Mexico and is the only restaurant in the region to receive the prestigious AAA Five Star Diamond Award.

While the concierge will be happy to arrange a tee time at any of Los Cabos’ public-access golf courses, special privileges are available at the adjoining Cabo del Sol, home to the famed, Jack Nicklaus-designed Ocean Course and the Desert Course, designed by Tom Weiskopf and scheduled to open in November.

If you feel the need to take a day’s break from the golf course, you’ll find plenty of other activities. Favorites include horseback riding, ATV excursions, whale watching and, of course, deep-sea fishing.

After—or in lieu of—a day’s activities, relax in one of the resort’s four pools (the “Infinity Pool” seems to disappear into the Sea of Cortez), have a drink at any of the five bars (the Le Suerte Tequila Bar offers more than 100 brands of the Mexican favorite!) or visit the Spa, one of only two in North America that offer the German “Soft Pack System” which utilizes a variety of wraps—herbal for relaxation; seaweed for detoxification and primrose oil and goat butter for hydration.

For more information about the Sheraton Hacienda Del Mar, call (800) 672-7137 or visit www.sheratonloscabos.com. Cabo del Sol
Living and Playing in the Cape of the Sun

If your visit to Cabo allows for only a single day of golf, make a tee time at the Ocean Course at Cabo del Sol. This 7,103-yard, par-72 Jack Nicklaus design is among world’s most beautiful courses, combining mountain, desert and ocean views. And be sure to save some film in your camera for the last three holes, often described as the finest three finishing holes in golf.

Number 16 is a relatively straightforward, 429-yard par-4 with the Sea of Cortez as a visually stunning backdrop. Favor the left side of the fairway off the tee—the landing area is subtly sloped from left-to-right. No. 17—which is something of a Mediterranean version of the 16th at Cypress Point—is a 178-yard par-3 that plays directly over the beach and the Bay of the Whales. Eighteen also plays along the sea and doglegs slightly right. Favor the left side of both the fairway and green; miss to the right and you may find yourself playing from the beach.

A second course at Cabo del Sol will open in November. The 7,053-yard Desert Course is a Tom Weiskopf design located in the foothills above the Ocean Course. The elevation provides the Desert Course with panoramic views of the Sea of Cortez—you can see the water from virtually everywhere on the course.

The Desert Course has 30 percent more turf and is much more generous off the tee than the Ocean Course. However, the Desert will have plenty of teeth, as is evident at the par-3 16th that plays 235 yards over a canyon (with a bail-out area to the right), and the 432-yard, par-4 18th, where a creek crosses the fairway twice and runs down the left side of the hole before feeding into a lake that fronts the green.

If the Ocean Course’s three finishing holes have you feeling like you never want leave Cabo del Sol, well, you have that option, too. You’ll find a wide variety of residential opportunities in this 1,800-acre, master-planned community, from seaside or hillside custom home sites, to condominiums to 2- to 4-bedroom free-standing villas or patio homes.

The Cabo del Sol community will ultimately include four championship golf courses (including the Ocean and Desert Courses), a tennis facility, restaurants, boutiques and a 24,000-square-foot clubhouse.

For more information about golf and real estate at Cabo del Sol, call (877) 703-4394 or visit www.cabodelsol.com The Westin Regina Golf & Beach Resort
An Architectural Wonder

As you check in to the Westin Regina Golf and Beach Resort, a friendly staffer hands you a margarita. Good thing: You could use a drink as you contemplate your new surroundings. This property is like nothing else in Cabo—or anywhere else for that matter.

The resort is the work of the world-renowned Mexican architect Javier Sordo Madaleno. It’s less a building than it is an enormous work of postmodern sculpture: This sweeping collection of red-stone buildings features striking hot pink, bright yellow and blue highlights and is curved in a crescent shape to face the Sea of Cortez. The buildings’ predominant color matches that of the surrounding hills perfectly and their shape conforms to meet the rock so that it’s virtually impossible to tell where the natural terrain ends and the resort begins.

Unlike many other modern structures, though, the Westin Regina has a warm, comfortable feeling as it blends seamlessly with the natural beauty of the surrounding mountains, sky and water. In every direction, there are archways and open areas of various shapes and sizes, framing the blue of the sea and sky. As the sun moves across the sky, the light pours through these openings, illuminating the various pinks, yellows and blues, and casting unusual shadows across the grounds.

The light, color, shadow and perspective is constantly changing throughout the day and gives one the impression that the building is dynamically interacting with its surrounding environment. The effect is positively stunning and unlike anything you’ve ever experienced. It’s easy to understand why the resort was recently named one of the three most dramatic hotels in the world.

The resort’s interior spaces are just as impressive. Each of the 243 rooms has a private balcony and a commanding view of the Sea of Cortez—in addition to hand-crafted furniture and original artwork.

A quick call to the resort’s golf desk can secure a tee time at any of Cabo’s daily-fee courses, and discounts are available at the nearby Cabo Real Golf Club (a 6,900-yad Robert Trent Jones Jr., design that’s hosted the ’96 and ’99 Senior Slam) and Eldorado Golf Club (a 7,050-yard Jack-Nicklaus design with breathtaking views and seven holes that play alongside the Sea of Cortez).

For a change of pace, the resort’s activities desk can arrange a wide variety of water sports, including fishing, scuba-diving, snorkeling, windsurfing, waterskiing and jet skiing. Back at the resort, you can enjoy one of seven free-form swimming pools, play a few sets on the grass-composite tennis courts or treat yourself to a seaside massage.

For rates, reservations and more information, call (800) WESTIN-I or visit www.westin.com. Querencia
Secluded Luxury

There’s only one private golf club and community in Los Cabos, and it’s a magnificent one. The Tom Fazio-designed Querencia Championship Golf Course is golf on a towering scale.

Located in the desert foothills, Querencia provides panoramic views of the Sea of Cortez. However, the course itself provides the real drama. A blend of desert and traditional golf, you’ll frequently find yourself hitting over or around rugged canyons and arroyos. Cordon cactus and native wildflowers and plantlife add a strong desert flavor, but there are also almost 90 acres of turf. The generous, sweeping fairways have plenty of undulation, but often have flashed up collection areas to keep a well-hit tee shot in the short grass.

The course stretches to 7,070 yards and meanders over 320 acres, with virtually no visual interruption from the residential sites. It’s a feast for the eyes that includes four distinct landscape environments: desert, enhanced desert, oasis and garden zones, with all plantlife native to the environment. You begin play in the desert environment; gradually, color is introduced and then intensified so that the visual effect peaks on the closing holes.

While it’s difficult to identify favorites among this collection of gorgeous golf holes, the 552-yard par-5 fourth qualifies. The green is reachable with a big drive, but anything hit left will flirt with a deep arroyo.

Providing a dramatic backdrop to the green is the Sea of Cortez. No. 6 is a demanding par-4 at 439 yards, but if you hit a solid drive down the right side of the fairway, you’ll be staring down the pin. If you don’t, you’ll be extremely fortunate to walk off with par. Another beauty is the shortish 164-yard, par-3 14th. The green sits atop a bluff that rises out of a canyon—if you miss, miss right.

Like the golf course, Querencia’s residential community is also built on a grand scale. Querencia’s Estancia homesites lie on plateaus (with views of the Sea of Cortez) among more than 840 acres of rolling hills. The lots range from a half-acre to several acres and the custom homes are anticipated to range in size from 3,000 to 20,000 square feet.

Also available will be sumptuous two-, three- and four-bedroom Querencia Villas, as well as three- and four-bedroom Haciendas Both will feature fabulous views of the course, the mountains and the Sea of Cortez.

To learn more about Querencia’s membership and residential opportunities, call (888) 346-6188 or visit www.LosCabosQuerencia.com. No Trouble in this Paradise
Near Puerto Vallarta, Paradise Village Leads a Burgeoning Golf Boom

While Los Cabos’ status as the golf capital of Latin America is unquestioned, Puerto Vallarta is quietly making a few waves of its own on the western coast of mainland Mexico. And the comprehensive resort community of Paradise Village is leading the charge.

Located on a private,12.5-acre tropical peninsula in Nuevo Vallarta—just 12 miles from Puerto Vallarta—with the Pacific Ocean on one side and a private marina on the other, Paradise Village is almost entirely self-contained: It has its own medical facility, architects, construction company, car-rental facility, marina and fleet of fishing boats—it even owns most of the water sports operations. By keeping everything in-house, Paradise Village is able to keep a tight rein on quality control.

Designed to capture the feel of ancient Mayan architecture, the Paradise Village Resort and Spa features 475 well-appointed suites, panoramic views of the Pacific and two lagoon-style pools complete with rocky grottos, cascades and a Mayan-inspired temple.

Virtually every aquatic activity you can imagine, including deep-sea fishing for Marlin, Dorado and Sailfish, kayaking, windsurfing, parasailing, snorkeling and scuba diving. Tropical river excursions depart daily from the marina—you’ll glide past crocodiles, sea lions, pelicans and other exotic waterfowl. One boat is a replica of the African Queen.

The Paradise Village Spa is one of Latin America’s finest, and consistently ranks among the top 20 in the world. While a full array of massages and services are offered, the spa is probably best known for its hydrotherapy treatments.

As for the golf, well, you’ll know you’re in for something special from the moment you drive through the mammoth Mayan arches—complete with two live Bengal tigers that reside in the dramatic stone structure!—on your way to the Paradise Village Golf and Country Club, a recently-opened 7,162-yard, par-72 Robert von Hagge design. It has extremely wide—but highly contoured—fairways that make the course very forgiving off of the tee, while 10 lakes will keep you on your toes.

Paradise Village boasts a collection of fine, challenging holes. The 620-yard par-5 finisher will make you earn your 19th-hole refreshment, for example, but the one you’ll remember most vividly is number 6, a 185-yard par-3 to an island green. If a 185-yard forced carry is too rich for your blood, don’t worry: You have six other tee boxes from which to choose.

The Bengal tigers also stand sentinel to the gated resort community of 1,200 wholly-owned estate homes, townhouses and condominiums, all built around the golf course. This new resort community complements the existing luxury condominiums and 3,200 Marina Villas. There is also a wide variety of timeshare options. In fact, the vacation ownership component has received the Interval International Five Star Award for overall quality.

To learn more about the wide variety of vacation and ownership opportunities at Paradise Village, call (800) 995-5714 or visit www.paradisevillage.com.