March 3, 2018

Review of Marina Fiesta Resort & Spa – Family trip to Cabo

We chose the Marina Fiesta Resort for our family vacation mainly because of its location in Cabo. We wanted to be close to the action with the flexibility to walk into town for shopping and nightlife. Funny thing is, we never actually took advantage of the Cabo nightlight on this trip, but it was nice to know it existed not too far away. We loved that our hotel was located on the marina and also walking distance to Medano beach.

Most of the big resorts in Cabo are located on a beach with no swimming allowed. The undertow is so strong along the coast that swimming isn’t safe. However, Medano Beach (Cabo’s most popular beach closest to town) you CAN swim at, and it was located a 5 minute walk from our resort. We walked to the beach a couple days and took a boat ride out to the arch, but we never actually went swimming there.

When we checked into The Marina Fiesta Resort, we were given a room on the 6th floor with an amazing view of the Marina. My parents were placed on the 3rd floor (balcony shown in the above picture) which was also great! Each balcony at the resort is different and the views are fantastic! There were always little birds coming to say hello and the sunsets were pretty spectacular too.

I was concerned that the pool wouldn’t be warm enough for Hudson, but it was perfect! The pools at Marina Fiesta Resort are Saline, rather than chlorine – which is SO much easier on the skin and eyes. The chairs did fill up early, but we were always able to find a spot later in the afternoon.

There weren’t a lot of kids or babies at the resort during the time we were there, so Hudson was definitely Mr. Popular at the pool! We had the all-inclusive package and enjoyed ordering pina coladas poolside. My favorite is the “BBC” Banana Bailey’s Colado! SO YUMMY!

We loved our nautical themed room. It was quite spacious and even had a kitchen (which we never used because we had the all-inclusive package). There was no bath tub which is okay because luckily Hudson likes having showers too. The room was very clean and the maid service was excellent. Cleanliness is very important to me when it comes to choosing hotels, so this I was very pleased about this. The bed was comfy and the pillows were high quality! For Hudson we brought a travel crib. CLICK HERE to read what else to pack for a vacation with baby!

Another thing that really excited us about the Marina Fiesta Resort was the fact that their All-Inclusive package included dining at restaurants on the marina in the “Golden Zone”. There was a Mexican Restaurant, Sushi & Japanese (with Teppanaki), Italian, Steakhouse, and a seafood restaurant called “Baja Lobster”. You needed to make dinner reservations at some of the restaurants 24 hours ahead, but they were also open for lunch. The Mexican restaurant was always open for breakfast we really enjoyed their Eggs Benedict and Huevos Rancheros. They had a lot of typical Mexican breakfast dishes that sounded very interesting. We also loved the fresh squeezed juice!

The food was very good at all the marina restaurants belonging to the resort. My favorite was Baja Lobster Co. and Presto. The seafood was super fresh (with the daily catches on display) and the quality was great. The pizza, pasta, and salads at Presto (the Italian restaurant) were delicious. We loved the tuna sashimi and sushi at the Japanese restaurant and we wondered why this particular restaurant wasn’t busier.

Baja Lobster Co. was right on the water and often had live music. We always ordered the fresh fish for Hudson with a side of rice. The first time we tried it, it was too salty, so I started ordering it without seasoning and it was perfect. He loved it and I loved the tuna tartare appetizer. My least favorite restaurant was “Jacks” – the pirate themed steakhouse. Other members of our party enjoyed it, but for me it was the only bad meal I had.

We loved our morning walks around the marina. We would normally go for a stroll after breakfast and then put Hudson down for a nap. After his morning nap, we would find a spot by the pool. Then we would decide where to go for lunch and where to dine for dinner. Oh the joys of an all inclusive resort! The Mexican restaurant did a “Tequila Cheese” which they light on fire table-side, it was sinful.

The view of the marina was so lovely. We could watch the fishing boats come and go from our balcony, and we saw so many sea lions. The resort itself was pretty quiet, but there was always so much to look at from above.

One of my favorite features of the Marina Fiesta Resort was their Kid’s Area. It was newly built and just opened when we arrived, which might explain why there was nobody but us using it. They also had a kids indoor play area that looked very good. My only complaint was that the water was too cold, so we unfortunately couldn’t use it much. The main pools were much warmer.

How amazing are these child size lounge chairs and umbrellas!? We couldn’t get over how much thought and detail went into their kids area! Another thing we loved about this resort was how close everything was. Traveling with a baby, it was important that we could quickly go from our room to the pool and back again if needed.

I have read other reviews where people speak about annoying timeshare salespeople. They never bothered us and this was definitely a non-issue at this resort. We did explore their sister resort (10 minutes drive in the free shuttle) “Hacienda Encantada” – which was amazing! We used the pools and had a wonderful lunch and dinner there, which was all included with our package.

The service at Marina Fiesta Resort was very good for the most part. The servers at the poolside restaurant for breakfast were especially friendly. We also really enjoyed Hector, the lobby bartender and Jesus the bellboy. I noticed the resort doesn’t seem to serve drinks past 10pm. There is also a rooftop bar (with jacuzzi’s) which was perfect for watching the sunset!

Traveling with a baby to Mexico was a lot of fun! The resort was pretty well equipped with high chairs at most of the restaurants and Hudson really loved swimming at the pools. The All-Inclusive plan was convenient and good value. One thing we did find rather annoying was having to wait to sign a cheque after each meal or even when just ordering a drink at the bar.

The Marina Fiesta Resort has a concierge in the lobby who can book your dinner reservations or plan activities. They also have a “Marina Fiesta” App for Iphone or Android – which allows you to view the restaurant menus before arriving!

On the last day we found another pool which we unfortunately didn’t know about until we were about to leave. We spent our final day at this pool and it was so lovely and quiet. It seems most people didn’t realize it was there either. Both the main resort pool and this pool had swim-up bars!

Overall we had a great stay at the Marina Fiesta Resort in Cabo. The location was great and the resort was good value for the price paid. The resort was always being “cleaned” and many areas were recently renovated.

From Vancouver to Cabo the flight is only 3.5 hours. It was a perfect sunny getaway just when we needed it most! We flew on vacation charter airline SUNWING, and like always Hudson was a travel pro! READ HERE for Simple Tips for Flying with a Baby.

Cabo was a nice change from our normal family getaway to Maui. Not saying I prefer it (Hawaii is ALWAYS my favorite), however this was a great family vacation in a luxury “boutique style” resort which also offers “All-Inclusive” for convenience! Olé Olé!