One&Only Palmilla

What an amazing experience. The team, chef and staff are amazing. A special thank you to Xihema, Luis, Jonathan and staff. Delicious food and kind beautiful staff and restaurant.

Beware of being overcharged at this hotel. After checking out and receiving a final bill in USD for our four-night stay over the holidays, I saw a higher charge on my credit card. I contacted the hotel and asked them to correct the discrepancy. They replied and said it was due to a preauthorization and that it would be corrected within 5-7 days. Two weeks later, no correction. I contacted the hotel again. No response. I have since contacted the hotel multiple times, and they have ignored every email. Unfortunately, I had to take the dispute to my credit card company. This is an incredibly dishonest and unprofessional way to run an incredibly expensive hotel.

We have been coming to One&Only Palmilla for approximately 10 years, often more than once a year. Over that time, many beautiful new resorts have opened throughout Cabo, and we have stayed at several of them. Yet whenever we compared them, we always came away feeling that One&Only Palmilla was, without question, the best. Sadly, after this most recent stay, I can no longer say that. The grounds remain as lush, beautiful, and impeccably manicured as ever. The property itself is still spectacular, and its setting is difficult to match. Unfortunately, almost everything beyond the grounds appears to have declined significantly. The rooms now feel dated and poorly maintained. In the past, even though the rooms were not the newest in Cabo, they were always kept in excellent condition. That is no longer the case. During this stay, the showerheads barely produced more than a trickle of water, the faucets were loose, and the closet doors were coming off their hinges. We also found a lizard in the corner of the room and ants crawling over the snacks. These are not minor inconveniences one expects at a resort that presents itself as one of the finest five-star properties in Mexico—particularly given the extraordinary nightly rates. The restaurant pricing has also become almost impossible to justify. The package may include complimentary breakfast, but the resort seems determined to make up for it during the remainder of the day. Agua charges prices that rival—or even exceed—those of some three-Michelin-star restaurants, while serving food that is, at best, average, uninspired, and unoriginal. We remember the days when Chef Darbo led Agua, and the restaurant was truly special. The food was creative, memorable, and beautifully executed, while still being realistically priced for the quality and experience. Unfortunately, those days appear to be long gone. The current food simply does not come close to the standard One&Only Palmilla once established, yet the prices have increased to an almost astonishing level. Premium pricing can be justified when it is accompanied by premium quality, attention to detail, and an exceptional guest experience. Here, however, the resort appears to be relying heavily on its name, history, and beautiful location rather than continuing to earn its reputation. Guests should not be paying some of the highest rates in Cabo only to encounter poorly maintained rooms, plumbing issues, broken fixtures, insects around the food, and mediocre meals at exorbitant prices. What makes this especially disappointing is that we are not first-time visitors arriving with unrealistic expectations. We are loyal, long-standing guests who have watched this property at its very best and returned repeatedly because we genuinely loved it. We wanted Palmilla to remain our favorite resort in Cabo. Instead, this stay left us feeling that the property has lost much of the care, refinement, and attention to detail that once made it so exceptional. With so many outstanding new luxury resorts now available in Cabo—many offering newer rooms, superior dining, and a much stronger overall value proposition—One&Only Palmilla can no longer assume that its history and reputation will be enough. The property is in serious need of room renovations, improved maintenance, a complete reassessment of its dining quality and pricing, and renewed attention to the standards expected from a resort of this caliber. After 10 years of loyalty, it is genuinely sad to write this review. One&Only Palmilla will always hold wonderful memories for our family, but based on this experience, it is no longer unquestionably the best resort in Cabo—and at these prices, it may no longer even be competitive with the alternatives.

Great food and services and view!

We heard that this place was now open to the public and decided to have lunch there. Our waitress Diana was probably the sweetest waitress ever. We go to a lot of restaurants and she just gave us incredible service and advise on the menu. She made it wonderful. She even had the chef come out and talk to us as Diana was instrumental in helping my wife for certain gluten allergies and seed oil issues. What a wonderful experience.