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This Zadun, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve Review is from our recent visit to the resort, and includes our photos and video of an Ocean View Plunge Pool Ground Floor Room, the swimming pools, beach, and spa. We'll cover Humo Restaurant and El Barrio in a separate post. Zadun opened in late 2019, soon after the Four Seasons Los Cabos on the East Cape, and these are the two newest luxury resorts in Los Cabos.
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Zadun, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve Location and Check-in
We arrived in the afternoon and were met by our Tosoani (butler) who offered us cool towels before taking us in a golf buggy to our room for in-room check-in. During the golf buggy ride, he stopped frequently to give a detailed tour of the property, and I had to politely ask him to stop and take us directly to our room, since we were tired. This in a nutshell encapsulates much of Zadun service: well-meaning, but rather rote and not intuitive, in contrast to the Four Seasons, where we were asked if we'd like a tour or to be taken straight to our room. Whereas new Four Seasons staff are generally given the opportunity during their training to be Four Seasons guests, so as to personally experience luxury service, it doesn't seem as though Zadun staff have had that opportunity.
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Ocean View Plunge Pool Room Ground Floor
The entry level room at Zadun is the Ocean View Plunge Pool Room Upper Floor, and thanks to our STARS benefits, we were upgraded to an Ocean View Plunge Pool Ground Floor accommodation. Since both have ocean views and private plunge pools, what's the difference between the two?
The upper floor room is slightly smaller at 750 sq. ft. (69 sq. m.) vs. 807 sq. ft. for our ground floor room; much of this has to do with the larger outdoor terrace of the ground floor, which not only has a dining table and two lounge chairs by the plunge pool, but also a day bed and additional seating:
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Ground floor accommodation also enjoys an outdoor shower, in addition to the indoor bathroom with its rainfall shower and soaking tub.
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The king bed was comfortable for me, although my husband definitely preferred the bed at Four Seasons Los Cabos.
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Since I'd mentioned we were celebrating a family member's birthday, the resort festively decorated the room with balloons and a Spanish birthday greeting. What impressed us most, however, was the fantastic chocolate birthday cake, which is easily one of the best hotel birthday cakes we've ever tasted. Unfortunately the first version contained an allergen so we couldn't enjoy it, but the F&B team made a replacement cake the following day that was allergen-free.
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Coffee from the in-room Nespresso machine went perfectly with the cake; there was complimentary milk in the mini bar, which was a nice touch since sometimes hotels only provide shelf stable artificial creamer. There's also Dammann Freres tea, an excellent choice, although sadly we never received the hot water kettle that we requested from our Tosoani (butler) during our check-in.
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Zadun Swimming Pools and Beach
Zadun's main swimming pools, including a lap pool, are located by the El Barrio restaurant, with plenty of loungers around them. There's also a jacuzzi there.
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There's an Adult Pool area one level down that overlooks the beach:
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For those who love the ocean, something to keep in mind is that Zadun, as with most luxury resorts along the main Los Cabos resort corridor, doesn't have a swimmable beach. The beach is great for walking or running along, but you shouldn't get in the water as there's a steep drop-off and strong rip currents are possible. This is in contrast with Four Seasons Los Cabos, which does have a swimmable beach.
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Here's our Zadun, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve video review:
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Alkemia Spa
Alkemia Spa is open 8am-6pm daily. Unfortunately the spa pool and lounge areas aren't available unless you've reserved a treatment, unlike at the Four Seasons Los Cabos, where these facilities are open to all resort guests.
The changing room showers and a communal lounge area are open air, a great feature for those concerned about indoor spaces during the pandemic. The large spa pool offers ample opportunity for social distancing.
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Here's a spa suite and couple's spa treatment room:
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STARS Benefits for TravelSort Clients
It's best for us to reserve Zadun for clients with STARS benefits rather than Virtuoso, because STARS includes complimentary roundtrip airport transfers, compared to just a one way transfer for Virtuoso:
- Private roundtrip airport transfers
- Priority for a one category room upgrade
- Daily breakfast for two at El Barrio, or via in-room dining
- $150 resort credit once per stay
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The Verdict
Highlights for us at Zadun were the beautiful Ocean View Room with private plunge pool, the delicious birthday cake, dinner at Humo Restaurant, and the Torrejas at breakfast. Detractors were the lackluster butler service (no follow-up on three of our queries, until we called), mediocre (except for the Torrejas) breakfast at El Barrio, some ants in our room, unswimmable beach, and the fact that guests can't use the spa pool or amenities unless paying for a treatment, unlike at the Four Seasons where the spa vitality pool is open to all resort guests.
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