Hotel & Beach Club El Ganzo

What Hotel El Ganzo is

Hotel El Ganzo is a 70-room, adults-only boutique hotel at the mouth of the Puerto Los Cabos marina in La Playita, the old fishing village on the east side of San José del Cabo. It opened in 2012 as an art and music hotel rather than a resort: artists in residence paint large murals across the building and every room has a piece by one of them, and musicians in residence record in a studio hidden under the lobby floor.

The building is white and low, with a rooftop infinity pool facing the marina, a spa with a hydrotherapy circuit, a quieter second pool, and a private beach club on the far side of the marina that guests reach by boat. In 2022 it became the first hotel in Mexico certified as a B Corporation, and in 2025 it relaunched its restaurants under chef José Luis Hinostroza.

The hotel is a stay, but it is also one of the more useful day-pass options in Los Cabos, since both the rooftop and the beach club sell passes to non-guests.

Who is behind it

The hotel was designed by Pablo Sánchez Navarro and has run a formal residency programme since it opened. On the music side, the residency invites musicians to stay in exchange for a recorded El Ganzo Session and concerts for guests and the local community. Names the hotel lists include Khruangbin, Julieta Venegas, Natalia Lafourcade, Parcels, Kings of Convenience and L’Impératrice; press coverage adds Anderson .Paak and Thievery Corporation. Visual artists in residence have included Pedro Reyes and Aldo Chaparro.

The kitchens are led by José Luis Hinostroza, born on the San Diego and Tijuana border. He was kitchen manager at Alinea in Chicago at 21, worked under Jordi Roca at El Celler de Can Roca in Spain and at The Bazaar by José Andrés, then joined Noma in Copenhagen and the Noma Tulum pop-up. In 2015 he opened Arca in Tulum, which is recognised by the Michelin Guide Mexico and listed among Mexico’s 50 Best Restaurants; its bar was number 27 in The World’s 50 Best Bars 2025. He took over El Ganzo’s food programme in 2025.

Awards and press

• B Corporation certification (2022), the first hotel in Mexico to earn it, with a B Impact score of 92.4.
• Forbes (September 2025): feature on Hinostroza’s new culinary programme, calling the hotel a creative epicentre in Los Cabos.
• Listed by Condé Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure in their Los Cabos hotel rankings.
• Ganzo X (2022): ten-year anniversary festival headlined by Khruangbin, Quantic and Pachyman.

How a visit works

You can experience the hotel three ways: an overnight stay, a rooftop day pass, or a beach club day pass.

• Rooftop: a solar-heated infinity pool of about 187 square metres with a glass-walled jacuzzi at its edge, Bali daybeds, a swim-up bar and the rooftop restaurant. The menu is Hinostroza’s: shrimp tostadas, yellowtail tiradito with fermented tomatillo, rib eye with oxtail carnitas, mezcal cocktails and Baja wine. Adults only, 18 and over.
• Beach club, El Ganzo de Playa: a boat takes you from the hotel dock across the marina to a stretch of sand described as one of the only swimmable beaches in San José del Cabo. Loungers, umbrellas, showers, kayaks, paddleboards and snorkel gear, plus a wood-fired grill serving octopus al pastor tostadas, aguachile and the catch of the day. Children allowed with an adult.
• The Restaurant: the ground-floor dining room serves breakfast, lunch and dinner to guests and outside diners. The hotel announced a new fire-based outdoor kitchen for autumn 2025.
• The studio: the Underground is not a public attraction. You can see the trapdoor in the lobby lounge, and if a resident musician is playing an El Ganzo Session during your stay, guests are invited.

What I saw when I filmed

When I filmed in the summer, the murals covered almost every surface I walked past, the glass jacuzzi hung over the marina, and the trapdoor to the studio sat right in the lobby floor. The beach on the far side of the marina was calm enough to swim.

What it costs

Passes are priced in US dollars at the front desk; food, drinks and rooms are charged in pesos or dollars at the day’s rate. Figures below are from the hotel’s own FAQ and rate pages in 2025 and 2026.

Item	Price
Rooftop pool day pass, adults 18+	80 USD, about 1,500 MXN, with 70 USD returned as food and drink credit
Beach club day pass, 15 and over	50 USD, about 950 MXN, with 40 USD credit
Beach club day pass, children 6 to 14	25 USD, with 20 USD credit; under 5 free
Standard ocean-view room, per night	about 199 to 264 USD depending on season and sale
Full breakfast in the restaurant	about 300 to 500 MXN, about 16 to 27 USD per person
Pet fee, one animal per room	100 USD plus tax

The rooftop pass effectively costs 10 USD if you spend the 70 USD credit on food and drink. Local residents get 15 percent off food. Prices change with the season and with events, so confirm at the desk on the day.

How to book

• Rooms: book on elganzo.com for a 10 percent direct-booking discount, or by phone at +52 624 104 9000, WhatsApp +52 1 624 191 0806, or toll-free from the US at 855 835 4269. Check-in from 15:00, check-out at noon.
• Day passes: sold only at the front desk, subject to availability. Passes are not sold in advance online by the hotel; arrive at opening time, 11:00 for the rooftop and 10:00 for the beach, especially on weekends and during events.
• Restaurant: outside diners can reserve The Restaurant through OpenTable under “Restaurante @ El Ganzo” or by phone.

Getting there

• Address: Boulevard Tiburón s/n, La Playita, San José del Cabo, Baja California Sur 23403, Mexico.
• Neighbourhood: La Playita, the old fishermen’s wharf beside the Puerto Los Cabos marina, about 3 kilometres east of San José del Cabo’s centre and art district. A taxi from the centre takes about 10 minutes.
• From Los Cabos International Airport (SJD): about 25 to 30 minutes by taxi or pre-booked shuttle.
• From Cabo San Lucas: about 40 minutes by road along the corridor.
• Parking: the hotel has on-site parking for guests and day visitors.
• The beach club is reached only by the hotel boat from the dock, not on foot from the lobby.

Before you go

• Adults only for stays and the rooftop. Bring children only to the beach club, and only with an adult.
• Passes sell out. They are issued at the desk on the day, so come early on weekends and during the Ganzo Fest or residency weekends.
• Hours are short. The rooftop closes at 19:00 Monday to Thursday and 20:00 Friday to Sunday; the beach club closes at 18:00. Plan sunset drinks for the rooftop, not the beach.
• The studio is not a tour. You see the trapdoor; the room itself opens only for sessions.
• Pair it with La Paz. If you are driving north, Orchid House Baja in La Paz runs a similar day-pass model on a former presidential residence. See my Orchid House Baja review.
• Check the hours before you go. The hours on this page come from the venue’s public listings, which drift, so confirm on Google Maps or the venue’s own channels before a special trip.

Watch the visit

The reel above is the short version of the visit, from the trapdoor to the rooftop. For the full list, open my Baja California map or browse the rest of the Baja California recommendations.