Mexico
The Art of Living Cabo Style
A milestone birthday draws Ilona Kauremszky into Grand Velas’ world of sculptural design, oceanfront luxury and the restorative power of sound
By Ilona Kauremszky
“Close your eyes. Imagine a tiny spark of light growing warmer. Move this energy and feel a shift as it travels through your body,” motions our wellness instructor. A metal singing bowl sends its oohm out to sea. Then a synthesizer begins pulsing from a portable speaker. It sounds familiar, like the opening of The Who’s “Baba O’Riley.” The wind rises. The surf grows louder. Yet, there’s only calm. For one precious moment, I’m one with the universe.
You’d think it was hocus pocus, but meditation is making its way into luxury travel, with Grand Velas Los Cabos resort only adding it a few weeks before my arrival. It’s mind and body in this sun hub where whales frolic in the sea.
I’ve come to this luxurious sun playground to celebrate a milestone birthday. I read about the accolades—TripAdvisor’s Traveller’s Choice Awards ranks this Mexican resort among its top 10 Best All-inclusive Resorts in the World—and heard that the setting is geared for guests who prefer serenity over loud pool music.
Grand Velas Los Cabos sits along the Tourist Corridor between San José del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, about 20 minutes from Los Cabos International Airport. Located on the rounded nub of the Baja Sur Peninsula in Mexico, an ecosystem is so rich that NASA has declared its ink squid dark skies as some of the best stargazing on the planet. Jacques Cousteau famously blessed the Sea of Cortez as the “Aquarium of the World.”
More recently, Blue Flag, the international body designating clean sparkly beach status in its growing network of beaches worldwide, has added this span of sand, although swimming here is forbidden, and that’s due to the hairy undertows.
Baja’s appeal extends beyond the shoreline. Mexico’s wine scene is gaining international attention, led by the Valle de Guadalupe in Baja California, farther north. The result: award-winning wines are on-site like the big bold Barón Balché “O,” barrel aged for 48 months. On gastron-omy, a Michelin-starred chef orchestrates a 10-course tasting menu with wine pairings and a glass carafe of enriched crystal-infused water that emits positive ions. It helps that Cabo is a fishmonger’s dream; and the region’s produce and herbs flourish year-round.
This past spring, I booked a 4-day beach getaway, with a likeminded soul, my sister-in-law, to Los Cabos for an out-of-this-world renewal birthday celebration. The plan: property-hop from Grand Velas Los Cabos to Grand Velas Boutique Los Cabos, the adjacent adults-only sister resort.
After all, the idea fits the current mood of luxury travel. Virtuoso’s 2026 Luxe Report identifies celebration travel, all-inclusive experiences, privacy and personalized service among the leading motivations. This trip, we hoped, would tick off these boxes.
Now, for some highlights.
Grand Velas Los Cabos
At the entrance, a bronze podium sets the tone with the message: “Let the magic start here,” a motto honouring the late founder Eduardo Vela Ruiz, while a giant sculpture of a magician—by renowned Mexican surrealist artist Alejandro Colunga – teases us for photo-ops.
Whisked through an airy lobby, the magic continues beneath balconies bursting with fuchsia bougainvillea as our personal concierge performs a champagne welcome service fuelled in precision.
If there’s a crescent moon that shimmers into the sea, you’ll find it here. The resort’s sweeping, concave architecture gives its ocean-view suites, a front-row seat to the Sea of Cortez, while white lotus motifs are its trademark. The look even hints at The White Lotus—minus the murders and meddling hotel guests.
Our mornings begin with sunrise yoga on a private terrace overlooking the beach.
Cynthia, our yoga goddess, channels strength and balance into movements that seem to dance with the waves. “There are no classes, only experiences,” she tells me of the resort’s curated activities.
Guests can explore Asian cooking, sip their way through tequila tastings, muddle mint for mojitos, or mix up a body scrub. Or go off-grid, and do absolutely nothing—just lounge poolside, your choice of three—and wait for your pool concierge to refresh your favourite drink. There’s even a personalized chilled water bottle service concierge who arrives with a glass of ice before you even have to ask.
It’s in the infinity pool with a row of Texan teenaged blondes bobbing to and fro atop their paddle boards, where I learn the fine art of mounting a wobbling SUP without making waves. We kneel, extend a leg, and lift off. No music, just laughter and cheers from this spirited chorus line. Then a gong sounds. Not for us, but for a whale sighting.
The resort keeps a large gong on hand for guests to strike whenever a whale appears. Whale season is in full swing. While the gales were too strong, our morning whale-watching excursion cancelled, but that didn’t matter. Instead, we dip into the adults-only pool, scanning the horizon until a luminous blowhole erupts in the distance.
A series of blows ensue—a pod of whales are before us.
By dusk, more magic unfolds. At Velas 10, we dive into the tastes of turf and surf, ordering grouper fish and an Angus beef fillet. The tomahawk Angus steak, a shareable, is easily consumed whole by one guest. “You can have another,” we overhear the waiter declare. Grand Velas Los Cabos makes it easy to stay onsite, as you peruse the menus, each with elevated ambiances that don’t feel overly stuffy, but beach chic. The dining finale, of course, is MICHELIN-starred Cocina de Autor. Seated on the terrace, koi fish in the pond, the night sky splaying its stargazing spectacle, we nudge each other.
Can it get any better than this?
Grand Velas Boutique Los Cabos
The newest Grand Velas in Los Cabos, this is the only adults-only Grand Velas in the company’s portfolio. Located a short walk or golf cart ride away from the sister property, the all-inclusive boutique resort shifts the mood to an even stronger ahhhm.
Designed with a Mexican flair—architect Ricardo Elias created the hanging gardens—the property invites guests to step right outside. Built in a step fashion, every floor shifts your gaze to its cascading fuchsia bougainvilleas, in stark contrast to the whitewashed façade. Below, a jungle of lush green, canopies the lazy lagoon that houses its own prized coi fish.
The art of living really occurs for us at the SE Spa. Here, the emphasis shifts from doing more to feeling more. No rushing from one appointment to the next. No alarm clock dictating the morning. Just a little space to breathe, listen and reset. It’s the moment you finally stop checking the time, and return to your centre.
Travel Planner
For more information on Grand Velas Los Cabos and Grand Velas Boutique Los Cabos, visit loscabos.grandvelas.com and loscabosboutique.grandvelas.com
