The best private villas in Los Cabos come in two forms: resort villas, where you get a whole house with a five-star hotel’s staff and restaurants on the doorstep, and independent villas in gated communities such as Palmilla, Pedregal, Cabo del Sol and Diamante, booked through a specialist agency. For the first, look at Las Ventanas, Chileno Bay, One&Only Palmilla and Montage. For the second, Luxury Villa Collections and Cabo Platinum are the names to know.
Which suits you depends on the group, the length of stay and how much you want the world to come to you. Here is how to choose among private villas in Los Cabos, and how to make a villa week run like a great hotel.
Resort villa or private villa?
Resort villas give you space and privacy without giving up anything. Housekeeping, in-villa dining, the spa, the kids’ club and the restaurants are a short walk or cart ride away, and the staff already know how to look after high-expectation guests. The trade-off is that you are still inside a resort, with its rhythms and its other guests.
Private villas feel more like owning a home in Cabo for a week. You get your own pool, terraces and kitchen, often in a gated community with its own beach access or golf. The service is whatever you build around it, which is why the agency you book through matters as much as the house itself.
The Cabo 100 take: resort villas suit shorter stays and families who want activities on tap. Private villas suit larger groups, stays of a week or more and anyone who wants the trip to feel like home.
The resort villas worth knowing
- Las Ventanas al Paraíso. Villas run from 3,900 to 7,800 square feet, and at the very top sits the Ty Warner Mansion, a 28,000-square-foot oceanfront villa with a 328-foot infinity pool and a personal team of seven that includes a private chef and two butlers.
- Chileno Bay Resort & Residences. Villas come in two- to six-bedroom layouts of 3,300 to 11,000 square feet, many with their own pool or hot tub. The headline is Brisa del Mar, a 24,000-square-foot oceanfront villa with private beach access on Chileno Bay, a Blue Flag beach and one of the calmest on the Corridor.
- One&Only Palmilla. Two four-bedroom villas: Villa Cortez, beside the sea with its own infinity pool, and Villa One, on the highest point of the resort.
- Montage Los Cabos. Standalone, hacienda-style casas with private pools and butler service, on the sheltered swimming bay of Santa María.
For families who swim, Chileno Bay and Montage are the two to start with, because the water in front of them is calm. For a once-in-a-lifetime gathering, the Ty Warner Mansion and Brisa del Mar are in a category of their own, and both should be booked as early as your dates allow.
What separates the top tier: the best villas are defined less by square footage than by what happens around them. Look for a house where the team knows the guest list before arrival, the kitchen is stocked to your list, and someone on the ground can move a boat, a chef or a dinner booking at short notice.
Booking a private villa: the agencies
Luxury Villa Collections takes a curated approach, with a tight portfolio of homes in Cabo del Sol, Palmilla, Puerta del Sol and Punta Ballena. Named homes include Villa Cisne, which sleeps 12, and Villa Las Estrellas and Villa Lucero, each sleeping eight. A concierge team handles activities, restaurant bookings and transport, and a cook can prepare breakfast and lunch at the villa.
Cabo Platinum casts a wider net, with villas in Cabo San Lucas, San José del Cabo, Cabo del Sol, Diamante, Palmilla, Pedregal, Puerto Los Cabos, Querencia and out to the East Cape. Each home is vetted before it joins the collection and given a walk-through inspection before guests arrive. The same team can add private chefs, butlers, crewed yacht charters and private jet travel, with packages built around golf, fishing or weddings.
Which to call: Luxury Villa Collections when you want a short, edited choice of houses in the Corridor’s established neighbourhoods. Cabo Platinum when you want the widest map and one team to run the yacht, the chef and the flights.
Building the service around the house
A villa is only as good as the people looking after it. Three kinds of help make the difference.
A concierge
Pure Cabo is the discreet fixer for villa guests. It can pre-stock the house, arrange in-villa massage, flowers and music, source hard-to-find wines, book restaurants and provide butler service in six- or twelve-hour shifts or around the clock. Its reach runs from Cabo San Lucas and San José to Todos Santos, the East Cape and La Paz.
A private chef
Cabo Private Chef, led by chef Tez Abbott, writes every menu for the client, from Mexican and Mediterranean to Texas barbecue, and can pre-stock the kitchen from a list you return before you land. Plated dinners and tasting menus suit parties of 15 or fewer, family-style meals suit relaxed groups, and cocktail parties with heavy hors d’oeuvres work best for 10 or more.
Transport
Private villas rarely sit within walking distance of restaurants. Arrange airport transfers and a driver for evenings out, so nobody has to be the designated driver.
Questions to ask before you book
- What is included? Daily housekeeping, a cook, a villa manager and airport transfers are sometimes included and sometimes extra.
- What is the beach like? Many villas look over the sea but face water too rough for swimming. If swimming matters, ask about the nearest calm beach.
- How far is it from town? Gated hillside communities are private but can mean a drive for every meal out.
- Who answers the phone at 10pm? On-call support is what separates a good agency from a listing site.
- What are the house rules? Check policies on events, noise and overnight guests, especially in gated communities.
When to book
The best homes go first for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year and the spring holidays. With Thanksgiving a month away, the strongest houses for this winter’s holidays are already being claimed, so if you are still planning, call an agency now and lock in chefs and boats at the same time. Summer and early autumn bring more choice, but fall within hurricane season, so check cancellation terms and travel insurance before you commit.
From a villa week to a home
A great villa week can feel like a trial run for owning in Los Cabos, and for many families it becomes exactly that. If you find yourself checking which community your villa sits in, read our guide to owning in Cabo, explore homes in Pedregal or Palmilla, and browse current listings at Luxury Los Cabos.
