My husband and I stayed here for a week in November of 2009. We have previously vacationed in many locations throughout Mexico, but this was our first time in the Cabo San Lucas/San Jose del Cabo area. We chose this resort based on the reviews on Tripadvisor. Overall, we were disappointed in this resort since most of the reviews gave the property four to five stars. The following explanation describes the good and bad as we experienced it.

THE GOOD

Beautiful surroundings including palm trees, cactus, and red rock cliffs. The architecture of the Westin resort is perfectly done, with the buildings and landscaping blending perfectly with the coastline. Our two-room timeshare unit was nice and included a balcony with a spectacular view of the rugged coastline on the eastern edge of the property. It also included two full bathrooms. Television offerings included a couple of good English-speaking movie channels. The pools were numerous and we enjoyed trying different areas every day. During the winter months, whales can be seen in the distance spouting water and breaking the surface of the ocean water.

THE BAD

Our room was not ready at check-in. Not to worry, we took the time to walk around the resort and grab a bite to eat. By the time we got back to the lobby an hour and a half later, we were told that our designated timeshare unit was ready. But before we could go to our rooms, we had to endure a typical sit-down welcome session which included many offers of discounts (if we were willing to attend a timeshare presentation). Timeshare ownership is fine, and some people swear by them, but my husband and I are not owners and prefer to be able to travel when and where we want. We found the timeshare salespeople RELENTLESS at this resort and after our check-in, we did our best to stay clear of them. We met many nice timeshare owners during our week’s stay, but not one of them were happy with their investment.

The resort is “remotely” located, which means that if you want to leave the resort you have the choice of renting a car, taking a scheduled shuttle to either SJC or CSL ($20-22/couple), or taking a taxi ($20-25 each way.)

The cliff-side architecture means walking around the resort includes steep inclines, declines, and lots of stairs. Even though you can summon transportation, I would not recommend this property to anyone with mobility issues.

The maid service was slow, with our unit never getting done before 3:00 pm. From then until about 8:00 pm, after we returned to our unit from the pools/beach, we were interrupted continuously (every day) by staff wanting to enter our unit with unimportant duties. We finally figured out to just double-lock the doors and not answer, but if you were trying to rest, it would have been impossible.

As is common in Mexico, the mattresses were very firm with no pillow-top cushioning. One day, the water source was being disinfected and we had no usable water for most of the day.

There were a few problems with the pool areas. First, there was little or no beverage service at the pool areas. We adjusted by bringing with us a small soft-sided cooler with ice and a few sodas, but were asked to take it back to our room when a pool worker spotted it. Secondly, each guest can take as many pool towels as they want. Not a problem, you think? The problem we encountered was that many guests loaded up on towels and “saved” chairs they never used. We sat by a pool one day, beginning about 9:00 am, when 75% of the chairs were already saved with pool towels and not one of them was used the rest of the day!

Nightlife was non-existent during our stay. We tried the "Latin Night", where for $40 we were treated to a buffet that I cannot recommend and a few dancing performers. By 9:00, it was over and everyone had left. My husband and I walked to the main lounge of the Westin for a drink, and were the only patrons in the lounge.

This brings us to the quality of the food and prices. My husband and I stocked up with groceries at the Mega grocery store in SJC. We prepared breakfast in our kitchen, and for lunch we would split a sandwich and fries at either Inizio or the Westin cafe. Along with a couple of beers and a bottle of water, the bills were always near $50. I made the mistake of ordering a side of guacamole to go with the “complimentary” chips, and was charged an extra $10. Despite the high prices, the food was mediocre on the property at best. Our favorite meals were eaten at restaurants in SJC and CSL. Especially noteworthy was Alexander’s in the marina area of Cabo San Lucas. Two filet mignons, two fish fillets, four shrimp, and two lobster tails for $65 and delicious! Caesar salad dressing prepared at our table by our waiter, as well as the banana flambé dessert. Yum!!

Back to “THE BAD”, last but not least, was check-out. We were asked to pay our bill the night before our departure to eliminate standing in line on check-out day. Room charges from earlier in the day were not posted yet, and we were unwilling to turn in our safe deposit box key until we were ready to leave, so we were told to come back the next day. We returned the final day to a long line, and then took more time to double-check our charge receipts with the bill. Included in our bill was a valet charge that wasn’t ours (we had not rented a car during our stay) along with a couple of extra charges that the Rainbow Club adds to EVERY bill -- a daily surcharge for maid service, and a “donation” to a local orphanage.

We will not be staying at this property again. There are so many other nice places to stay without the problems encountered here.

An email we received from Club Regina days before our stay augured ill for our vacation week. The email advised we would face construction on site. We envisioned pounding jackhammers, intrusive cranes and flying dust. In reality, the construction proved but interior renovations to a bar; we suffered no inconvenience. The email turned out to be the first of many thoughtful courtesies extended by the staff.

Instead of construction, we enjoyed invariably friendly staff, awesome crashing surf, amazing coastline views and a spacious and well appointed two bedroom suite. The suite consisted of three adjoining units: a center "studio unit" with a kitchenette (refrigerator/freezer, microwave, toaster, blender, coffee maker, two electric burners, dishwasher and a full set of pots, pans, utensils and place settings), a dinette, a living room, a full balcony (with sofa, chairs and table) and a 3/4 bath and two flanking "bedroom units" with king bed, in-room jacuzzi, sitting area with table and chairs, night stands, and 3/4 bath. Each of the three units had a flat-screen TV, a safe and plenty of closets and drawers. From our balcony, we enjoyed shooting stars by night and spouting whales and leaping fish by day. The only glitch we noticed in the units: the sofa in the center unit is not a sleeper, so the center unit would not sleep anyone comfortably if used as a studio.

The units hang on a cliff-face. All enjoy spectacular ocean-front views; most mandate walks up and down ramps and stairs. We had no trouble walking and did not use the ubiquitous, complementary golf carts during our week. Anyone in a wheelchair (or having to push a wheelchair), however, could not easily negotiate this resort. Even the golf carts looked like they involved a climb to enter/exit and many of the units (and all the beaches) have flights of stairs from the access roads.

The week we stayed, Club Regina and the Westin were well into divorce proceedings. Club Regina guests can still use the Westin facilities, but must now pay daily fees if they use the gym, the tennis courts or the parking. We had a rental car, but (along with scores of other guests) parked for free on the side of the resort access road. Fortunately the red paint on the roadside curb is merely festive decoration; no one got a ticket and no one got towed.

Driving on the corridor, around San Jose and through Cabo felt like "Mexico Lite." Driving was a tad more thrilling than in the US, but necessitated no encounters with dirt roads, corrupt Federales or plodding burros. The main highway through the corridor between San Jose and Cabo was first-rate for a non-toll road in Mexico.

Renting a car made our stay much more enjoyable. The Club Regina/Westin/Grand Regina sit in isolated splendor on their beach; if pool and bar and beach are not to be your total vacation, you will want to get a least several miles off-site . The beach at the resort is unsafe for swimming. A well maintained public beach at Chileno (swimming, snorkeling, umbrellas, shade trees, showers and toilets) sits about half-way to Cabo. The restaurants at Club Regina and the Westin all charge resort prices. Both Cabo and San Jose feature a full range of restaurants and cafes. At the high end, El Chilar offers innovative Mexican cuisine, an impressive wine list and romantic ambience for much less than in LA (and an order of magnitude less than at the Westin). In the medium range, Baan Thai features an exciting Mexican-Thai fusion and Apostolis serves memorable Mediterranean seafood. At the cheap end, saunter into just about any crowded taqueria and order what most locals are eating. The Chostomo Burritos chain also offers scores of can't-miss plates. The Mega supermarket in San Jose stocks everything needed for cooking breakfast, lunch or dinner in the kitchenette. We particularly enjoyed the pre-made moles (grab a mere seventy cents worth from one of the vats, simmer chicken, steam rice, microwave vegetables and enjoy a family feast) and the live-that-day but dirt-cheap tuna fillet (I marinaded and seared ours, but you can ask the fish monger to cut a "sashimi grade" block from the fillet if you can't stand even a few minutes of cooking ). If you elect not to check luggage, the Mega also sells sun-block, bug spray and just about any other high-volume liquid, gel, aerosol or paste the TSA will not allow you to carry on-board your flight to Cabo.

We all plan to return to Club Regina Los Cabos and give it our highest recommendation. We also highly recommend renting a car. We advise against taking just a "studio" unit and caution that this resort does not appear wheel-chair friendly.

We spent a week at the Club Regina next to the Westin Cabo hotel. Great Architecture.
Had an ocean view, one bedroom unit, one of the best ever. Simply beautiful and outstanding.
There were 9 pools, although only one with stairs suitable to enter for my handicapped wife.
Drinks are approx. 10 dollars! But we found the clubs restaurant Inizia wonderful. A contemporary design, view of the ocean (a whale did swim by) and the food reasonable and great. We paid $32.- for two Fajita luncheon and drinks. The portions were such that we had another meal the following day!
Again, an incredible, beautiful place but do not go to it if you have to push your partner or in this case my wife around in a wheelchair. There are too many steps, place is anything else but handicapped friendly.
There is golf-cart transportation and one of the best overall services we have ever had the pleasure to experience - and we travel a lot.

This was our third stay at this place and we loved it. The staff seemed even nicer and friendlier than in previous years. We swam in the ocean in front of the Westin, snorkeled at Cabo Pulmo and at Chileno Beach. Loved the jacuzzi at the Westin at night. So relaxing. My husband did the zip line tour recommended at Xplora at CR. Amazing--he loved it. This year we decided to rent a car from Dominic at $300 for the week. What a great deal. His assistant met us at the airport, and walked us to our car right in the terminal. We were out of the airport in less than 5 minutes with no surprises, no extra charges. Just parked it in the terminal when we departed. Totally smooth. WIFI in club lobby, and I also managed to get it at one of the club pools. We can't wait to go back!