Jerome

“Fantastic secluded beach estate, great for large groups” Reviewed January 3, 2015 NEW

We recently returned from a stay at Rancho de Costa over the Christmas/New Year holiday break. It was a family reunion, so it was a large group of 20 people with several different family units. It was hard to find a place that could accommodate a large group like us with different needs, but this place was perfect. We had a large age range, from 5 to 85 years old. Everyone had a great time.

Rachno is actually two different houses/areas: Villa Marlin is the main area of several connected units with a total of 6 bedrooms. It also comes with a private pool/hottub and a great outdoor seating area to hang out and eat all your meals. About 100 yards away is Villa Langosta, a 4 bedroom house with private outdoor hottub. So, it's a total of 10 bedrooms with both properties. Most of the rooms have king or queen beds, but two of the rooms at Villa Langosta have several twin and full beds, perfect for the kids. Both houses have full kitchens.

Both properties are beach front and have lots of activity options. Literally just steps from a great calm beach, perfect for little ones. There is also a fantastic reef right there where you can snorkel. Very calm and safe. The place has paddle boards and kayaks to rent, as well as snorkeling gear if you don't have your own. The staff also arrange fishing (either small panga boats or larger sport fishing boats) that pick you up right on the beach. Nearby La Ventana is an area known for wind surfing and kite boarding and you can arrange rentals and lessons. There are horse stables nearby and our kids went horseback riding on the beach. There is a large gym and tennis court on the property, and the staff set up beach volleyball for us. We also borrowed a soccer ball and played a little match on the beach with the kids.

This place is secluded, which means it's also a little isolated. It's on Bahia de los Muertos (trying to re-brand as Bahia de los Suenos, for obvious reasons). It's about a 45 minute drive from La Paz and 2+ hours from San Jose del Cabo airport. Fly into La Paz if you can, but Cabo airport was cheaper and had more flights. Rancho de Costa can arrange van transportation ($200 each way) or you can rent a car (it's a safe drive during the day; at night there are hazards like possible cows on the highway and drunk drivers).

We thought the isolation was good as the beach was practically empty everyday. There is a small hotel next door and a few other private homes on the beach, but that's about it. We were a large group and had everything we needed there, so the isolation wasn't really an issue for us. We also used the chef services where they provide 3 meals a day plus all snacks and beverages. You just pay for the food and drink (plus 20% service charge) as well as for the chef services (for 20 people it was $400 per day). Well worth it and the food was great. They can make anything you want and ask you for your preferences, but we just told them to make great local Mexican food (and they delivered!). If you don't go with chef services, either make sure you ask them to buy your food/drink or stock up in Cabo or La Paz before you arrive. There is a small town of Los Planes about 10-15 minutes away that has a small grocery store, but it's no supermarket.

The staff at the estate is great. Very friendly and helpful. There is daily maid service and it seems like there is somewhere there around the clock to help with whatever you need. Having said that, this is not 5 star luxury service where they bring you drinks by the pool or on the beach and cater to all your personal needs. But, it's friendly Mexican help and they try to go out of their way to assist.

The place is owned by an American (Gary Wagner) who has been down in Baja for a long time. We never met him but he was apparently very accessible when we were planning the trip. Bottom line: this was a great family vacation if you're looking for quiet relaxing place and you don't mind the isolation. It's not for folks looking for a crazy Cabo trip with lots of people, restaurants and bars nearby. Highly recommended and we hope to return.