Rock around the dock
Mexico’s Baja peninsula – the long pointy bit to the south of California – is where wildlife meets sealife meets nightlife... and you can enjoy it all at the Hard Rock Hotel Los Cabos
Let the good times roll, the drinks flow and the music rock. It’s party time on the edge of the world. By mid-afternoon guests are knocking back cocktails as classic tunes and the thunderous crash of ocean waves on unspoiled sands fill the air. Behind them, here at the tip of Mexico’s wild Baja peninsula, are towering mountains, giant cacti and dried-up river beds. In front is nearly 8,000 miles of the Pacific… next stop, Taiwan. Los Cabos’ fabulously hot climate, golf courses, sea fishing, surfing and scuba diving make it a magnet for tourists, and although the Hard Rock Hotel only opened in the summer it is raising the bar for all-inclusive sunshine breaks.
Like the guitar amp in genius rockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap, it is already going up to 11 – thanks to its friendly staff and excellent hospitality.
Arriving after a 14-hour flight via Mexico City, the loud reggae/latin music from one of the pools certainly put me in the mood to party.
But the hotel’s size, design and fine sound systems mean peace and quiet, or a spot where they were playing your kind of music, is always just around
the corner. And when, like mine, your sleek suite has a pool on a terrace overlooking the sea, you can always call room service for supplies and throw your own private function.
Aside from the bedroom and stocked fridge, it had two bathrooms, a lounge and a dining area all in tasteful browns, golds and blues reflecting the views outside.
Particularly rock ’n’ roll was the grey and white mock snakeskin headboard and the wall print featuring lyrics from Old Man, one of my favourite Neil Young tracks.
Equally impressive were the hotel’s restaurants – the sophisticated Mexican Los Gallos, the friendly Italian Ciao, and the spectacular Zen, a teppanyaki place with a cutlery-juggling chef cooking at a hot plate.
But my favourite was Toro, which serves delicate starters followed by deliciously tender steak washed down with a smooth cabernet sauvignon.
The hotel has a busy programme of activities, including cooking lessons, music shows, yoga and parties, and if you want to recharge your body instead of your glass, a trip to the Hard Rock gym or the Rock Spa is your best bet.
Putting yourself in the expert hands of a masseuse, such as Patty, for 50 minutes is an excellent way to feel serene but energised... and ready to roll again. Hard Rock not only plays a lot of music, it also gives you the chance to make your own. You can borrow a Fender guitar to practise, or perhaps just pose, in your own room – or even record a track at the Music Lab.
I’m still waiting for the phone calls from record labels after our six piece’s tequila-fuelled versions of Oasis’s Wonderwall and the more rhythmically challenging Shake It Off by Taylor Swift. The sound engineer was moved to tears – of laughter – by our performance.
But in the words of Steppenwolf ’s Born To Be Wild, it was time to head out on the highway, lookin’ for adventure. And what came our way was an exhilarating zip-lining experience, criss-crossing a mountain canyon.
Guests at Hard Rock are given excursion credits and they are well worth it. After a briefing by the staff at Cabo Adventures, we were kitted out and driven up a dirt track to the starting point.
Wobbly bridges, a Tarzan swing, abseiling and rock climbing followed in a build-up to the
Go on a luxury sailing trip from Cabo, past jagged rock arch, to calm Santa Maria Bay
ultimate thrill: the longest and fastest zip line in Mexico. With goggles on, strapped into a harness and facing down, I felt powerless to do anything but enjoy the Superman ride, flying down the three quarters of a mile run over treetops at 60mph.
Back on the ground there were more thrills. Wearing green bandanas over our mouths to keep out the dust, we fired up our electric 4x4 all-terrain Polaris vehicles for an exciting, noisy drive over crooked, bumpy tracks. Fortunately I’d listened to the instructions to watch out for the cactus and the cows...
There was no problem with the former – although you would not want a cardon cactus landing on you. They are the tallest in the world, reaching 60ft and weighing up to 25 tons.
Cows were a different matter. I had to brake hard to avoid one youngster which calmly wandered in front of me.
Cabo Adventures also offers luxury sailing trips from Cabo San Lucas, past the peninsula’s jagged rock arch, to the calm Santa Maria Bay in the Sea of Cortez.
After a steady motor through the seas, with snacks and drinks on the way, the bay was a perfect spot for paddleboarding and snorkelling.
Going under, even so close to shore, was like diving into a giant aquarium with butterfly, angel, parrot and puffer fish patrolling the waters and feeding off the sea bed.
Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, a green-shelled sea turtle swam beneath me and off into the distance.
For a less active excursion, visit the pretty, slow-paced colonial town of Todos Santos on the Tropic of Cancer.
Here coloured bunting decorates the streets and shops sell painted traditional ceramics, such as lavishly decorated cups celebrating Mexico’s Day of the Dead.
There’s even a Hotel California and, across the road in another nod to rock legends The Eagles, a bar called Tequila’s Sunrise.
Here owner Emmanuel, aka Mr Margarita, makes his prize-winning damiana margaritas in front of you.
Great show, even better drinks. Not cheap at $10, but more than one may make the afternoon a write-off.
The Hard Rock at Los Cabos had been a blast. If only the final lines from The Eagles’ classic Hotel California had been true and I could have checked out any time I liked... but never leave.