Cabo San Lucas’ Medano Beach, also known as Playa El Medano, is home to the resort destination’s sun-kissed sand and one of the area’s most swimmable beaches. It boasts crowds of fun-loving tourists and locals, along with plenty of shoreline bars and restaurants.
Located smack dab in the middle of this beach paradise is Melia’s ME Cabo, a 162-room oasis of chic, clubby vibes and activity — for example, a DJ booth occupies the top of a swim-up bar, and tunes are spun day and night.
The property, fresh off a $16 million upgrade, looked like a scene straight out of HBO’s television series “Entourage” during its official grand reopening bash — dubbed “The Rise of the Phoenix” — on June 4. While there, I spotted slinky female dancers on platforms; celebrity models Charlotte McKinney and Chantel Jeffries; an elaborate LED-illuminated catwalk; giant video screens; and a GoPro-equipped drone hovering overhead.
The party also served as a preview of ME Cabo’s Blue Marlin Ibiza Los Cabos poolside beach club, which will become a permanent on-site fixture in late November.
The newly invigorated party atmosphere followed a relatively quiet period for Los Cabos after Hurricane Odile ravaged the Baja California Peninsula in late 2014. A renovation period followed, and the 9-year-old ME Cabo, formerly Melia Cabo San Lucas, has since emerged with clean, contemporary design in place of its previous faux Mexican hacienda-style architecture that featured thatched roofs and amber brick grounds. Now, thanks to local architects Patricia Rios and Leonardo Diaz Borioli, in addition to Mexico City-based interior designer Alejandra Contreras, ME Cabo looks every bit the edgy five-star property.
The most efficient route from the lobby to my suite was a walk through the new white-and-powder-blue-painted grounds. The path weaved around and between two pools and passed a poolside restaurant/bar and an entrance to the beach. From the property and its many daybeds, the ocean view is simply stunning and features luxury cruise ships framed by the iconic El Arco De Cabo rock formation in the Sea of Cortez.
My room, a Power Suite, featured sliding glass doors and a couple of chairs on an outdoor wooden deck facing the pool. Room design is minimalist: tan marble floors, white furnishings, a wall-mounted flat-screen television and a single piece of quirky artwork. The reinforced glass proved soundproof enough during the day, although the Blue Marlin amplifiers cut right through in the evenings.
Groups looking to splurge for a more private experience should consider the $10,000-per-night Suite ME. The 5,360-square-foot suite comes equipped with a sundeck, an outdoor shower/hot tub, a recording studio/DJ station, superb views and about every amenity one can think of.
On my first morning, I unwound at ME’s 7,000-square-foot Yhi Spa, which includes an authentic temazcal sweat lodge, treatments incorporating Mayan and Aztec techniques and dashes of Asian decor for Zen-like measure. I followed my spa visit with an early lunch of sashimi at the poolside restaurant, Beach Club, which will be branded by Blue Marlin Ibiza in November.
The hotel’s all-new dinner-only restaurant, TullPu, specializes in Peruvian cuisine and pisco sours. Its creamy quinoa dish incorporates goat cheese and truffle oil, proving addictive enough to order twice. Craft cocktails at the adjacent Rose Bar, which features its own devoted menu, are excellent and can be savored in a members-only Sub Rosa lounge upstairs.
While pet-friendly, ME Cabo isn’t for small children. The crowd is decidedly partiers, ranging in age from 20 to 50.
The Details
ME Cabowww.melia.com
