Budget travellers wishing to stay at upper scale beachfront resorts in Cabo San Lucas should consider Hotwire. This is an inexpensive option for those who are flexible on the hotel brand and exact location. Because of Hotwire’s no-cancelation and no-change booking policy, bidding travellers should be prepared before they book.
Are Hotwire Cabo San Lucas Hotels Right For Your Vacation?
I did a lot of research before booking my Hotwire Cabo San Lucas hotel. I checked 4 main sources: Hotwire, Priceline, Expedia (and other regular travel sites), as well as VRBO and AirBnB.
- Priceline: Priceline’s Name Your Own Price is great for bidding travellers who want rock bottom prices. Especially with the little loophole that lets you rebid without having to wait 24 hours, you can bid low and work your way up through rebidding to ensure you are paying the absolute lowest price available. The only problem with Priceline is that it does not tell you the hotel amenities. In other words, you have no way of knowing if your hotel is on the beach or 10 minutes walk to the beach. For a beach vacation, I would strongly recommend avoiding Priceline for this very reason.
- Hotwire: Hotwire is a good choice for booking beach hotels such as Cabo San Lucas. Like Priceline, reservations are non-refundable and you don’t know the name of your hotel until after you pay. However, the advantage of Hotwire is that you at least know what amenities you are getting at your hotel. For example, I was looking for a hotel that had a 1 bedroom with a kitchenette, free parking and wifi, and that was on the beach. Your criteria may be different, but at least you know what you’re getting into ahead of time.
- Regular travel sites like Expedia: I searched the majority of sites out there. Their prices were all more or less the same, and unremarkable compared to Hotwire.
- VRBO and AirBnB: These sites offer accommodation units that are “rent by owner”, with the vast majority being timeshares or units that are owned outright by individuals who are not using their unit at the time.
Prices vary from site to site, so I always recommend checking multiple sources. For me, Hotwire was the right choice and offered the right price at the time I was booking. I received the Welk Resort in Cabo for just $100 USD per night. I spoke to others at the resort who thought they were getting a ‘deal’ at double the price I paid.
Hotwire Cabo Hotel Zones
On Hotwire, you do not know the exact location of the hotel, just the general vicinity or ‘zone’ in which the hotel is located. There are 4 Hotwire Cabo San Lucas hotel zones.
- Cabo San Lucas: This zone covers the heart of Cabo. This is where the action is. If you want to sleep in the action, this zone is for you. After exploring the area, I recommend avoiding this area unless you really want to be a short walk (or stumbling distance) from your hotel. The Marina area of Cabo is nice to visit, but I would not recommend making this your accommodation spot.
- Cabo San Lucas East: This zone, just east of the town of Cabo is great. There are some nice hotels along this stretch of Medano Beach, and it provides a good balance between proximity to Cabo (a short $6 taxi ride), and a good fun atmosphere, yet you can still enjoy a beachfront property and oceanfront views. Just one word of caution when booking here. As with all Hotwire Cabo San Lucas hotels, ensure the hotel is on the beach (aka “beachfront”) and not “near the beach” or “near the ocean”.
- The Corridor: The Corridor has arguably the best resort hotels and beaches, but you’re in the middle of no-mans-land. You’re not within walking distance to anything, so book here only if: (1) you want to spend a lot of time at your resort; (2) you don’t mind $15 taxi rides everywhere you go; or (3) you will have a rental car. Rental cars are cheap in Cabo, but beware of the scams they try to pull.
- San Jose del Cabo: This bidding zone has a lot to offer. If you want access to a nearby town with shops and restaurants but the Senior Frogs crowd isn’t your thing, San Jose is a good alternative. This laid back town offers a good mix of higher end restaurants and shops as well as taco stands and souvenir shops. Again, just make sure that if you’re booking your Cabo area hotel on Hotwire that its “beachfront” property.
Revealing Your Hotwire Cabo San Lucas Hotel
Hotel Deals Revealed has recently started curating a list of hotels known to be available on Hotwire in the great Los Cabos area. The list is small at the time of writing but gives an indication of the type of hotel you can expect to get when booking on Hotwire.
The list of Cabo San Lucas hotels available on Hotwire is entirely crowd sourced by travellers, and we rely on travellers to take a moment to add to the list by posting the details of what hotel they got on Hotwire (or Priceline).
Travellers using Hotwire or Priceline can also pose questions in Hotel Deals Revealed’s forum for better bidding. Over 20,000 members are happy to help with whatever question you have about Hotwire Cabo San Lucas hotels or elsewhere.