Review: Montage Los Cabos for Families

Tucked in a sheltered bay, surrounded by beachgoers on white sand and diners enjoying alfresco seafood, I could be forgiven for lapsing into moments of believing I was summering in the Mediterranean. Maybe the Algarve in Portugal, or Menorca in Spain.

But actually, I was in Los Cabos, a place I’ve been many times, but never quite like this. At Montage Los Cabos, the draw is the iconic location in the Twin Dolphin community at Santa Maria Bay — plus countless amenities perfect for families.

I imagine my kids — ages 17 months and 4 years old — were having their own lapses into magical thinking. Like when we arrived, and a seemingly unmanned toy monster truck dramatically exited the hotel’s front doors and drove up to them. But this was not just any electronic car. It transported a trunk full of stuffed animals — blue whales, gray dolphins, speckled turtles and more — available for their choosing.

And when we got to our suite, a man carrying balloons was waiting outside, ready to deliver two giant glass jars filled with cookies on beds of pink sugar “sand.”

One of our Montage hosts, Carlos, was also somehow already there, beating us from the entrance where we had met him. He specialized in the art of practical magic, making traveling with two little ones a more seamless experience.

While he and his partner, Briseth, did check on us in person multiple times throughout our stay, we mostly connected through text message, allowing me to change plans, schedule activities and fine-tune my stay with ease.
For example, after both kids went to bed, I texted my hosts for earplugs and voila, they were delivered — and no one knocked on the door or rang the doorbell, just as I asked.  

And when my 1-year-old spiked a fever mid-trip, I asked about medical services, and within 20 minutes, the resort’s nurse checked his oxygen and temperature, giving us peace of mind. Knowing that we were being looked after in case anything went wrong kept us calm and cool — a feature of both the hotel’s service and design.

Guestrooms

Two-story buildings clad in stone and wood feature flat rooflines and house about four guestrooms each, keeping a low profile that doesn’t detract from the surroundings. Relying on elevated materials like travertine, desert landscaping, a minimalist approach and a muted, earthy color scheme, nature shines and the overall result is one of tranquility.

The resort offers 122 guestrooms and 52 rentable residences. Our 1,645-square-foot Ocean View One-Bedroom Suite featured two floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors — one from the bedroom and one from the living room — so we had easy access to our oversize terrace, where we ate buttery croissants, chocolate-chip pancakes, burritos and avocado tartines for breakfast. Room service staff transported our morning lattes in S'well bottles so they would be piping hot upon first sip, one of many small but meaningful touches during our stay.

The room also features 1.5 bathrooms, an outdoor shower and a living room complete with a sofa bed that could be closed off with a sliding door.

The Pools, Cabanas and Beach

The two-tier pool scene offers an adult infinity pool and a swim-up bar perfect for older families, couples and friend groups (all of which were spotted). Kids are welcome on both levels, though pool staff instructed families that the lower level was for more mellow family swimming.

This is also the location of the poolside cabanas, each complete with their own private pools, a cooler filled with beverages, a cabana butler, a tapas tasting, a bottle of Champagne and even bottles of misting spray and Coola sunscreen. Here, my family and I spent nearly an entire day dipping in and out of our pool, emerging for treats such as sliders, fries, quesadillas, homemade s’mores ice cream sandwiches and various complimentary bites offered by staff, such as pineapple skewers dipped in coconut and frozen watermelon-and-lime juice.

The higher level never got wild either, though all kids were having a blast thanks to wide pools with large baja steps ideal for little ones who can’t swim.

A sandy area complete with shovels and buckets sits atop a shallow kiddie pool, making it the perfect place for families to post up for sand play and cooling dips — it was also an ideal set up for building my daughter’s vision for a sandcastle complex, which relied on a constant supply of wet sand.

This is a generous amenity for a resort that already features one of Los Cabos’ best swimmable beaches — a rarity — and plenty of beach activities, from snorkeling to Sea-Doos, thanks to the on-site Compass sports and recreation program. Guests can even get PADI certified here.

The Restaurants

Traveling with youngsters means we were reaching for the resort’s excellent room service and poolside and beachfront eats, as well as the grab-and-go espresso drinks and smoothies available at Paletas. That allowed for a variety of options, fortunately — even a smoked salmon and labneh bagel breakfast from Marea restaurant while my kids played in the sand. But my favorite culinary moments at Montage were our sit-down dinners at Talay and Mezcal.

Nearly 60% of the diners who eat at Talay each night come from outside the hotel — not for its ocean views, since there aren’t any — but for the unforgettable Thai cuisine by chef Marc Narongchai. A former pop-up food truck at the hotel, Talay proved to be so popular it became a resort mainstay, serving elevated takes on classic choices such as tom kha soup, papaya salad, green and yellow curry and dumplings in a vibrant, lush setting.

And the excellent service staff didn’t bat an eyelash when both my kids were melting down in the summer heat and humidity, quickly delivering popsicles and a full set of crayons for them, and refreshing cocktails in tiki mugs for us.

Mezcal, which recently received acknowledgement in the Michelin Guide 2025, is equally unmissable, but totally different than Talay with winning views, live music and upscale Baja cuisine presented in innovative and beautiful ways. I enjoyed a theatrical Cozobi "Zapotec God of Corn" mezcal margarita, served in a bed of dry ice, along with fresh cornbread and spicy-mole-infused bread complemented by smoked butter.

Other standouts included barbacoa mushroom tacos and roasted sweet potato, accompanied by a delicious red berries mole, fermented pear and charred onion puree.

Paintbox Kids’ Club

While Mezcal was delicious for the whole family, our daughter only joined us for our dessert of churros. That’s because it was our last night at the Montage and she insisted on spending most of it at Paintbox. She loved to visit the on-site kids’ club every day for its toy collection, dance parties, room-service meals and especially its arts and crafts programming, from making slime and her own pinata-style purse to painting a flowerpot and a treasure chest. 

Though the club is officially for kids 5 and up, they offered to trial her before accepting her since she’s potty trained. Our son also loved visiting the kids’ club one day, though we had to get a babysitter to supervise him. The club is offered from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. all week, and on Fridays and Saturdays, it offers a Children’s Night Out until 10 p.m., all for a fee.

While I had a lot of grand ambitions for the three hours my husband and I had without both kids — maybe a yoga class, or a visit to the spa — we ended up unable to move from our beach chairs, transported by the view in front of us.