Tee Off in Paradise: Quivira Los Cabos Golf Resort

I live in Carlsbad, about a mile from the Pacific Ocean, so summers aren’t so bad. But occasionally, it’s nice to detach from smart phone and laptop screens, politics and freeway traffic and head south of the border.

Lately, my favorite summer place to relax, restore and explore has been Los Cabos, Mexico. A magical place where the desert meets the Pacific Ocean. I’ve visited several of the fabulous resorts lined up along the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula, but I’ve never found one I liked more than Quivira Los Cabos. This luxury residential golf resort community is home to two stunning Resorts – Pueblo Bonito Pacifica and Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach.

I visited Quivira on a recent press trip and discovered the bliss of a new lifestyle club created for Pueblo Bonito resort guests and Quivira residents, the Q Life.

GOLFING THE Q LIFE

The Q Life aims to inspire residents and guests of Quivira to seek new ways to enjoy a healthy, well-rounded lifestyle. It’s built around four pillars: wellness, culture, cuisine and social. I arrived late on a Thursday night from Tijuana through the Cross Border Xpress on a Volaris flight, I dove right into the wellness portion of Q Life with a relaxing five-hour round of golf at the semi-private Quivira Golf Club Friday morning. 

The Course

For Americans, relaxing and five-hour golf rounds usually don’t mix. But rounds are managed a little differently here. Four “comfort stations” are strategically sprinkled around 18 holes, offering players a chance to pause or reset their round several times. The spectacular course designed by Hall of Fame golfer Jack Nicklaus starts at sea level, scales cliffs, spans canyons and arroyos and meanders through dunes and deserts. 

First Things First

Before teeing off, I met my playing partner Gerardo, an accountant from Tijuana, and stopped off for a coffee and a cinnamon pastry at the first comfort station. The most remote and striking comfort station is perched atop a cliff, overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the sixth hole. The five-minute climb from the fifth green winds up the side of a mountain along a narrow cart path.

The small restaurant offers tacos, chips, sandwiches, fresh fruit and desserts. The bar has an abundance of high-end Tequila, an assortment of Mexican beers, sodas and bottled waters. With no group pressing us from behind, we had time to sit and enjoy delicious fish and carne asada tacos while sipping on ice-cold Modelos.

The dog-leg left par-4 sixth and the par-3 seventh hole are two of Quivira’s most challenging and scenic holes: they play directly into a stiff breeze and sit nearly on top of the Pacific Ocean.

I hit two perfect shots on the sixth hole and had 25-feet for birdie. Naturally, I three-putted for bogey. But it’s hard to get too steamed when you pick your ball out of the hole and see nothing but waves crashing onto the white sand below. The round ended just after noon, but not before Gerado and I hit one last comfort station, washing down ham and cheese croissants with a shot of tequila.

Golfing in paradise is magical, but pricey. Green fees range from $306 to $465, depending on the season. The course is available only to Pueblo Bonito resort guests and Quivira homeowners. It won’t be long before golfers will have two courses to play at Quivira. Ground has already been broken on another Nicklaus course.

THE HEIGHT OF RELAXATION

Quivira staff told us that living life at your own pace is the real beauty of the Q Life. So I decided to slow it down almost to a complete stop with a deep-tissue sports massage at the heavenly Armonia Spa. The massage was so relaxing, I nearly fell asleep three times during the 50-minute treatment that seemed to hit every achy part of my body. But the sauna and an invigorating dip in the cold plunge pool snapped me back to reality.

Other Q Life activities include yoga at the beach, crystal healing, mountain biking and guided walks.

PACIFICA RESORT

Situated on a mile stretch of pristine beach on the Pacific Ocean just 15 minutes from downtown Cabo San Lucas, the adult-only, 201-room Pacifica resort is a peaceful and romantic retreat that offers full-service amenities and facilities, including four restaurants, the Armonia spa, a large pool with a swim-up bar and a butler. Our butler managed our check-in and check-out in no time. He also arranged dinner reservations and spa treatments, reserved prime spots at the pool and kept our mini bar stocked with our favorite specialty items.

The Towers at Pacifica has 47 rooms and suites. Guests enjoy oceanfront VIP Lounge privileges with breakfast, lunch, and sunset hour food, drinks and snacks. We took advantage of the VIP Lounge, eating two delicious breakfasts. I’m still dreaming of my Cajeta (Mexican caramel) brioche with caramelized apples, berries and vanilla creams and toasted pistachio. 

For the fall season, ocean view and oceanfront deluxe rooms at the all-inclusive Pacifica start at $325 a night. Rooms at the nearby 749-room all-inclusive Sunset Beach resort, geared more toward families, start at $273 per night for a junior suite ocean view room.

THE CUISINE

It makes sense that cuisine is one of the Q Life’s four pillars. It’s hard to beat the quality and diversity of restaurants within the 1,850-acre resort. During our three-night stay, we were lucky enough to dine at Peninsula and Pescados, located at the Pacifica resort, and Quivira Steakhouse at the Quivira Golf Club.

Peninsula

Peninsula is a sophisticated gourmet restaurant featuring regional Baja cuisine. It sits on the far west side of the Pacifica resort, next to the Pacific Ocean. We loved the sweet pea soup and truffle oil, the beets and mile rosa salad and the pan-seared sea bass with organic vegetables.

Pescados

Pescados, located next to the pool, wowed us with its array of sushi plates. We had two favorite dishes: the tuna spicy wonton with avocado, crab, pickled onions, spicy mayonnaise and serranito sauce and the sashimi pescados with tuna, salmon, and macha-ponzu sauce.

Quivira Steakhouse

The elegant Quivira Steakhouse sits just off the first tee with spectacular views of the Pacific. We were blown away by roasted broccoli cream soup with potato croutons. Another highlight was the main course, a totoaba fish cooked in organic black ash with cauliflower puree and wild mushrooms. Who knew organic black ash could be so tasty?

GETTING THERE

Accessing Los Cabos is easy and inexpensive via the Cross Border Xpress in Otay Mesa. For $23 you cross the border, go through customs and airport security and arrive in 15 minutes at the remodeled Tijuana International Airport. Street parking, reserved and valet parking are available at CBX, as well as public transport and shuttles (read more here). 22 million passengers have used CBX since opening eight years ago.

Round trips for the two-hour flight from Tijuana to Cabo start at just $250 on Volaris Airlines. Upon returning to Tijuana, we made it off the plane, across CBX’s pedestrian bridge and into our car on the U.S. side in under 15 minutes. 

Disclaimer: This post was written by Dave McKibben for San Diego Explorer. As customary in the travel writing industry, the hotel stay, green fees, activities, restaurants, CBX, and flights were hosted. This has not influenced the author’s opinion of these experiences.

Last Updated on August 6, 2024 by Maria Haase

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