It has been said many times, that the European Black Plague of the 14th century ushered in the Renaissance of the 15th century, and the American Spanish Flu of 1918 ushered in the Roaring 20s. In both cases, it is well recorded that after a plague year of dark sociological traumata including disease, and death, comes the dawn: a sense of revival and relief. We are now, on many levels, experiencing such a survivor renaissance – a rebirth-- in luxury travel.
Garza Blanca Resort & Spa Los Cabos is a luxury resort near Los Cabos and Cabo San Lucas – a destination where desert meets ocean. We traveled there in June of 2021, and experienced what could only be called a rebirth of positivity, elation, and happiness; a combination of La Dolce Vita with a few touches of La Vida Loca also. After a year of social and cultural isolation, the Garza Blanca experience, and what we observed in its guests, was an appreciated liberation, with a palpable back-to-normal feeling of remembered luxury travel of past years. There are reasons for this.
First, Garza Blanca Resort is a relatively new property, designed and built by Tafer Resorts, and was opened in October of 2019.
The resort has 8 swimming pools, each with its own identity: a children’s pool, a swim-up bar, a pool with a transparent edge, and an infinity rooftop pool on the roof of the resort. This is the adults-only section.
For those seeking more convenient privacy, the resort guests may enjoy their ensuite private terraces with lounge furniture and large white hammocks. Resting in the hammocks, we could see the ocean, the pools, and hear the happy laughter of the guests below, enjoying the swimming pools, the raw seafood bar, and the plentiful cocktail services. Hearing such happy sounds was a refreshing, again recalled experience of pre-Covid days, more appreciated now than ever before.
But there were two aspects of the Garza Blanca experience that elevated it from the excellent to the sublime, marking a memory of what luxury was pre-Covid, and, thankfully, still is: the resort cuisine and their Spa Imagine.
Executive Chef Carlos Leyva,, Hiroshi Restauarnt
As with most high-end resorts, the restaurants are based on guests’ preferences, suggestions, and the experience of the resorts’ owners. Usually, there are exceptional choices that include fine dining, raw bars, buffets and the like. And Garza Blanca has all this. And more. One restaurant, Hiroshi, with its awards-winning Executive Chef Carlos Leyva, combines the essence of both Japanese and Mexican cuisine. The servings at Hiroshi often combine tastes of sushi with those of Pico de Gallo – co-mingling tastes of the sea with that of cilantro, tomato, and green onion/chive.
Chef Alvaro In The Kitchen, BocadosSTK
And then, there was the artistry of Chef Alvaro Blancas de Ita, the Executive Chef at BocaDos STK, Garza Blanca’s fine dining steak house. Garza Blanca offered a culinary lesson with Chef Alvaro, for those interested and we were.
As we sat not more than 5 feet from the Chef, he explained how he had lived on the Amalfi Coast in Sorrento, Italy, where he learned how to make Pomodoro sauce, a classic tomato sauce made from small Pomodoro tomatoes. He made the sauce, with garlic, and then sautéed some fresh black mussels in the sauce, having us see his processes every step of the way. Again, the balance of sauce, and fresh seafood was perfect – tastes of the sea, with Italian tomatoes and fresh garlic.
Yet, the cuisine is one dimension of the intrinsic luxury of Garza Blanca, and the other is their remarkable spa, on the 9th floor, Spa Imagine.
Spa Imagine Lobby
Spa Imagine focuses much of its therapeutic attention on the Vedas -- the oldest written texts in India. This philosophical dimension relates to the chakras. In Sanskrit, the word “chakra” means “disk” or “wheel” and refers to the energy centers in the body. These wheels or disks of spinning energy each correspond to certain nerve bundles and major organs. To function well, the chakras need to be open, or balanced. There are seven main chakras that run along the spine. They start at the root, or base, of your spine and extend to the crown of your head.
At Spa Imagine, the chakras are combined with favorable treatments to balance the body, mind, and spirit. Along with traditional facials, body wraps, and massage, Spa Imagine has seven signature balancing ritual experiences relating to the seven Chakras. There are Thai, Water Lily, Cacao, Shirodara rituals and others.
In addition to the multiple therapies and treatments, is the hydrotherapy experience, suggested to be used before the treatments and ritual experiences.
This experience allows for the guest to use the large, heated Jacuzzi, then the cold plunge, the warming pool. The intense glass showers, the sauna and the steam room can also be used before therapies. The Hydrotherapy space design is exceptional as the pools are relatively close to each other and with colored luminescent tiles and lights, the experience seems imaginative, and peace infusing. And the exceptional Spa Imagine therapies, and water pools are just a few minutes away from the outdoors seen again after leaving this haven of concord and quiet.
Returning to the happy, lively post-Covid world, where children are playing, the adults are talking in multiple languages, and the music is percussive and mobile, we came to understand what we were seeing: a renaissance of supple, kinetic behavior – a reward for living through the Plague Year, and being revived in a place where luxury is still alive and quite well.
Children's Pool. Garza Blanca.
Sunrise from our Suite, Garza Blanca.
