Good times roll at Rock star bar
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 waves on unspoilt 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’s 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 last 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 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
JON BIRD gets the party started in Los Cabos where a new hotel is proving a big hit with luxury-loving music fans
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 a lounge, two bathrooms and a dining area all in tasteful browns, golds and blues reflecting the views outside.
Particularly rock ’n’ roll was the mock snakeskin bed headboard and the wall print featuring lyrics from Old Man, one of my favourite Neil Young tracks.
Equally impressive were the hotel restaurants, the sophisticated Mexican Los Gallos, the friendly Italian Ciao and the spectacular Zen, a teppanyaki place with a cutlery-conjuring chef cooking at a hot plate.
But my favourite was Toro, serving 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, but if you want to recharge your body instead of your glass a trip to the gym or the spa is your best bet.
Putting yourself in the expert hands of a masseuse, such as Patty, for a 50-minute massage 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 the music labels after our six piece’s tequila-fuelled versions of Oasis’swonderwall and the more rhythmically challenging Shake It Off bytaylor Swift.the sound engineer was moved to tears – or 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 Cabo Adventures’ staff 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 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