Back in Business After Hurricane Odile

The human spirit, it seems, knows no bounds. Only 17 days after Hurricane Odile – a Category 4 storm packing torrential rain and winds of up to 125 mph – slammed into the popular beachfront resort town of Cabo San Lucas on Mexico’s Baja Peninsula last September, the unshakable community was back in business.

Thanks to a huge and immediate local and global relief effort, the international airport, cruise port, marina, fishing charters, beaches, and some stores and restaurants were fully operating again, along with the town’s vital clean water and power supplies.

Fast-forward four months and Cabo and its alluring waterfront hotels, resorts and private vacation homes are all now welcoming visitors once again, largely as if nothing had happened.

“There is still some work to be done,” local resident Rob Sanchez told Ocean Home, “but we are well on the road to recovery. This is a town with a real sense of community and purpose, and many areas are now looking better than they did before the hurricane.”

One of the many luxury properties helping to lead the charge is the beautiful Hacienda Beach Club & Residences – occupying a prime position on Cabo’s main Medano Beach – which re-opened less than five weeks after the storm.

With surprisingly minimal damage, other than broken windows and debris, this exclusive private beach club and residential community were fully operational by Oct. 15, with owners and vacationers returning in steady numbers through the winter season.

And who can blame them? Perched on 22 acres of direct beachfront, with an array of luxurious accommodations, dining, spa, sightseeing and leisure activities, Hacienda offers a world-class residential and vacation experience for owners and guests.

A stroll from Cabo’s bustling town center, the community comprises 109 homes in three distinct styles: 81 spacious ocean view resort residences, ranging in size from one to four bedrooms; 12 four-bedroom penthouses with panoramic views of the Sea of Cortez; and 16 detached, two-story beachfront villas featuring four bedrooms and four-and-a-half baths.

The community’s current real estate inventory includes 23 beachfront villas, resort residences and penthouses for purchase with prices ranging from $545,000 to $5.7 million, which come with year-round access to all of Hacienda’s resort-style amenities. There are also 28 residences in the current vacation rental pool with rates ranging from $575 to $4,000 a night, including daily housekeeping and access to the community’s beach club, fitness center, spa, and dining outlets.

Each home varies in size, facilities and outlook – the beachfront villas enjoy uninterrupted ocean views while the penthouses sit atop four- and six-story buildings and have panoramic elevated outlooks – but all deliver the relaxed and upscale Cabo lifestyle.

The residences are also exceptionally well-equipped with gourmet kitchens, washers and dryers, designer furnishings, satellite TVs, high-speed internet, and other modern conveniences.The residential interiors also vary, with many owners opting to decorate and furnish to their own tastes, but most successfully blend the essence of old Mexico and contemporary coastal living, with high-quality finishes including wood beamed ceilings, granite counters, stone flooring and classic Mexican ceramic tiles.

One of Hacienda’s most beautiful penthouses was designed recently by Olivia Aldrete, one of Mexico’s leading interior designers, who added a stylish and contemporary Mexican flair to the home while retaining an ocean-breezy ambience so essential to the property’s beachfront location.

“We did something totally practical and relaxing,” she says. “By using neutral and beach colors and textures, and simple but modern furniture, we gave the penthouse a new and fresh feel.”

Aldrete has since worked on another family home at Hacienda, and hopes to do more designs there this year.

All of Hacienda’s accommodations have spacious outdoor living and dining spaces, featuring a whirlpool tub in each of the resort residences and penthouses, and a private, heated infinity edge pool and spa in each of the beachfront villas.

As comfortable as the luxe accommodations are, most owners and guests spend their days enjoying Hacienda’s sun-splashed facilities. The fully staffed Beach Club, fringed with palm trees and colorful bougainvillea, forms the centerpiece of the property featuring a multi-tiered swimming pool and the popular Palapa Bar.

Authentic Mexican food plays a key role at Hacienda Beach Club & Residences, with an extensive menu of classic dishes and high-octane cocktails served in the indoor-outdoor Cocina y Cantina.

The adjoining thatched-roof beach bar also serves up jaw-dropping views of Medano Beach and Cabo’s iconic Land’s End rock formation jutting out into the sea.

Serious pampering can be found in Hacienda’s full- service spa with four treatment cottages delivering health and beauty treatments steeped in Mexican traditions.

For the more active, an array of land and water activities is on offer from yachting and deep-sea fishing to wind- and motor-powered water sports with the major focus on the bustling beach and bay.

A quiet word of caution: Try to avoid major holidays and school vacations when the main beach turns into party central and pretty much rocks until well after sundown. The local authorities enforce a 10 p.m. noise curfew, but don’t plan on turning in early before everything goes quiet.

Away from the beach, Cabo is a thriving town by day and night. In the evenings, check out Bar Esquina, an upscale restaurant, bar and lounge; Mandala Night Club for late music, and Nowhere Bar in the marina area , which are all walking distance or a short cab ride from Hacienda.

Cabo San Lucas is about a 40-minute drive from San Jose del Cabo International Airport – serviced by almost 30 direct flights from North American cities – and Hacienda’s full-service concierge can arrange transfers to and from the airport.

TODOS SANTOS

The Next Wave

If you want to explore further afield, Todos Santos is a charming and unspoiled coastal fishing village and beach town, about 45 minutes north of Cabo San Lucas. The beautiful and intimate town has only a handful of hotels, restaurants and shops, but is quickly becoming a go-to destination for an affordable and relaxed cultural and artistic escape. Todos Santos will also soon be home to Tres Santos, a new village-style community that will embrace the historic town with upscale residences, a boutique beachfront hotel, an organic community garden, farm-to-table restaurant, and an international research and education center for Colorado State University. It is being built by Mexico-based MIRA Companies, an affiliate of the Denver-based Black Creek Group. The first set of residences will be ready by fall 2015, and the entire community is expected to be fully complete and operational by fall 2016. tressantosbaja.com