Beautiful design, delicious food, amazing spas and an eco-conscious commitment to protect nature
Life is a series of moments that stretch into hours, days, months, years. If you have enough good ones, you’ve got a good life. Dunking bread into a cup of cafe con leche on my terrace at Montage Los Cabos, I watch the sunrise over the Santa Maria Bay, on the Sea of Cortez. Clouds ripple and unfold, origami-like, across the sky, in shades of pearl gray, pink and lavender. I turn and walk into my room. When I come back out, it is daylight, and everything is changed. That was a good moment, I thought, before heading to the spa.
My signature “Jewel of Baja” treatment at the Spa Montage Los Cabos, in Baja California Sur, relies on local desert plants. The journey begins with a foot soak—a tincture of detoxifying damiana in agave honey and sage—in an open, airy, wood-slotted anteroom, filled with natural light. Leonardo, who is also a shaman and a gifted healer, then leads me into the spa treatment room. He dry-brushes my body briskly, then applies a light oil and wraps me in layers of warm towels while allowing the nutrients from the plant oils to absorb into my skin. While cocooned, he gives me a facial that starts with a warm mask and ends with a cold stone roller to stimulate blood flow.
After I am unspooled from the wrap, another massage therapist enters the room and I am given one of the most deeply relaxing (four-handed) massage treatments I have ever had. Afterward, lounging outdoors, by a gorgeous, semi-Olympic-sized pool, adjacent to a huge Jacuzzi, I am treated to damiana sorbet, fresh berries, lots of water—and a margarita! Somehow, the combination is perfect. Soon, the spa will feature a healthy organic lunch menu. According to Maxime Cormier, spa and wellness curator, “The biggest organic food production in Mexico is in Baja.” A few minutes later, Leonardo returns and offers some advice: Take good care of yourself, live less in your head and put your heart forward. I am grateful for his insight, because I know he is right.
Mexico is a sunny land, full of warm and compassionate people. Los Cabos, “the Capes,” a tranquil spot with a hardscrabble beauty, is located midway between the
two main towns of Baja: Cabo San Lucas (known for its nightlife), and Cabo San Jose (for arts and culture). Cabo, as this ocean-meets-desert mecca is known, is in the throes of a development boon, with the growth of beautiful hotels like Montage and home developments attracting A-list celebrities.
The first Montage to open outside the U.S., Montage Los Cabos is one of the newest hotels in the area. A few things set it apart right away. Many beaches in Cabo border water that is too rough for swimming, with currents and riptides so fierce they will pull you out to sea. But here, the cozy cove rings one of the few beaches that is swimmable—and where you can snorkel. The food is delicious at both restaurants on property. And, of course, there is the magnificent 40,000-square-foot spa, which is really more of a holistic retreat.
The treatments are divinely relaxing, the staff is loving and attentive and the facilities strike a perfect balance between luxury and comfort. Cormier and Corporate Spa Director Patrick Huey just keep innovating. Aerial yoga, meditation and breathwork classes are coming, along with a stargazing program and full-moon ceremony. A central question that drives them: “How can we share local culture and tradition?” This spring, they are rolling out Montage Expeditions, curated cultural/wellness experiences that will bring guests to remote areas of Baja for unique experiences like “The Path of the Shaman,” or an arts and culture tour of local galleries, with wine pairings and a visit to a local organic farm-to-table hacienda.
My time at the spa floated by. I thought about my cell phone, and my laptop, but not enough to go and get them. Instead, I learned a few things about myself by looking inward, and following my heart. montagehotels.com/spamontage/loscabos