Krystal Grand Los Cabos
Krystal Grand Los Cabos is a large all-inclusive on the Sea of Cortez at the San Jose del Cabo end of the corridor, in a desert-meets-ocean setting that looks nothing like a Caribbean resort. It is a value-tier property rather than a luxury one, and it is honest about what it is: four pools including an infinity pool over the sea, seven dining areas, a spa and a well-equipped gym, two towers of rooms called Altitude and Palmilla, and swim-out suites at prices the boutique Los Cabos hotels do not come close to. The site has changed hands and brands repeatedly over the years, which is why stale pages elsewhere online still advertise programmes and pool layouts it no longer runs.
Traveler Insights
Pros
- +Swim-out suites let you step from your terrace straight into water, which ends the morning lounger scramble. Read the category carefully though: the ocean-front swim-out suites in the Altitude Tower are 70 square metres with their own private pool, while the garden-view swim-outs are 53 square metres and open onto a shared pool.
- +Four pools, two for families and two for adults only, so you can self-sort instead of negotiating quiet time around children's programming. One is an infinity pool looking out over the Sea of Cortez, and the adults-only pool has its own Oasis Bar.
- +Seven dining areas give a week real variety: Ayami for Asian food with teppanyaki tables and show cooking, The Grill for steaks, Hacienda El Mortero for contemporary Mexican, Restaurante O for buffet breakfast, lunch and themed dinners, Risotto for Italian, Surfos Snack Bar for burgers, ceviche, pizza and fish tacos, and Take a Bite in the lobby for coffee, sandwiches and desserts.
- +Reservations are only required for the teppanyaki tables at Ayami, so the rest of the lineup is walk-in, which is unusual at this price and a relief if you hate planning dinners on a schedule.
- +Both a spa and a proper gym are included. Eternity Spa does massages, facials, manicures and pedicures and couples treatments, and the gym is kitted out with free weights, benches, treadmills, ellipticals, upper and lower body machines and a Smith machine.
- +The location in San Jose del Cabo at km 29 on the Transpeninsular highway is genuinely convenient. The resort puts the airport about 20 minutes away, and the town's historic centre and gallery district are a short drive rather than the long corridor haul the Cabo San Lucas resorts require. The Thursday evening art walk there runs in season and is worth one night off property.
- +Kids and teens both get something. Kamp Krystal runs supervised activities for ages 3 to 10, including mini yoga, language classes, sandcastle contests, drawing, board games, pool games and dance lessons, and Adventure Friends is the teen programme.
Cons
- −Guests through February and March 2026 repeatedly described a generator running loudly enough to stop them sleeping, with power problems that left some rooms without air conditioning for up to two days, plus a sewage smell around parts of the resort. This is the most serious recent complaint and it is worth asking about your room's location when you book.
- −The buffet draws steady criticism. Several 2026 guests reported birds and flies getting at the food and slow restocking, and a mid-2025 guest put it bluntly that the buffet was terrible. The a la carte restaurants outperform it, which means the meals you eat most often are the weakest.
- −Wear and tear shows in places. Recent guests have flagged rusty loungers, upholstery on room sofas and chairs needing redoing, rough towels and tired rooftop bar furniture. No renovation later than the 2017 expansion could be documented.
- −Altitude Club's service is the recurring letdown rather than its rooms. Guests who paid for the tier describe the concierge and butler element as inconsistent to absent, and one 2026 guest reported inconsistent access to the Altitude pool itself.
- −The Sky Lounge, one of the main reasons to buy Altitude, is out of service on Tuesdays and Sundays and opens only from 3pm to 10pm. It is adults only, so Altitude families cannot all use it.
- −A lot of the dining and bar lineup carries a service subject to availability note on the resort's own pages, which lines up with guest reports of venues being shut without warning, so do not count on any single restaurant being open the night you want it.
- −Swimming in the sea in front of the resort is not something guests recommend. The hotel publishes no swimming guidance either way, but the San Jose del Cabo hotel strip is known for steep shore break and strong undertow, and guests consistently treat the beach as for walking and the pools as for swimming. Reaching reliably calm water means a drive down the corridor toward Cabo San Lucas.
- −Some things that feel like they should be included are not. Room service carries a surcharge, and so does the Take a Bite coffee shop. The resort's own pages disagree on room service hours, listing both 24 hours and 7am to 11pm, so confirm at check in.
The practical experience splits sharply between the physical product and the way it is run. The a la carte restaurants earn real praise, with Ayami's teppanyaki, The Grill's steaks and Hacienda El Mortero's Mexican cooking the venues guests single out, and only the teppanyaki tables need a reservation. The buffet is the weak link, criticised for basic food, slow restocking and, in several 2026 accounts, birds and flies around it. More seriously, guests in February and March 2026 described a generator loud enough to prevent sleep and power problems that left rooms without air conditioning for as long as two days, alongside a sewage odour in places. Altitude Club is worth buying for the ocean-front suites and the Sky Lounge view rather than for service, which guests describe as inconsistent, and the Sky Lounge itself is closed Tuesdays and Sundays.
This suits travelers drawn to the dramatic Baja landscape who want a pool-centred all-inclusive at a sensible price and who understand before booking that this is not a swim-in-the-sea resort. The San Jose del Cabo gallery district and historic centre are close enough for an evening out, and humpback season in the Sea of Cortez, roughly December through April with January to March the peak, brings whales close enough that ocean-front guests report seeing them from their balconies. Spend up to a Hyatt Ziva or a Grand Velas if consistent service is what you are buying. Stay here if the swim-out suite, the pool split between adults and families, and the short hop to town are what matter, and go in knowing the maintenance and service reports are mixed.
Common Questions
Can you swim in the ocean at Krystal Grand Los Cabos?
Is the Altitude Club upgrade worth it?
What are the kids and teens clubs called, and what ages do they take?
Is the food any good?
When can you see whales from the resort?
Where is the resort and how long is the airport transfer?
Restaurants (5)
| Type | Restaurants |
|---|---|
| Buffet | Restaurante O |
| Mexican | Restaurante Hacienda El Mortero |
| Italian | Risotto |
| Asian | Ayami |
| Steakhouse | The Grill |
From the resort's own dining pages. Only restaurants the resort lists are shown. All are covered by the all-inclusive rate, per the resort.
What's nearby
Medano Beach30 min drive · 17 mi
Palmilla Golf Club7 min drive · 2.7 mi
Santa Maria Beach30 min drive · 13 mi
30 min drive · 18 mi
San José del Cabo4 min drive · 2.3 mi
San José Estuary5 min drive · 2.5 mi
More things to do (24)
- Chileno Beach · beach15 min drive · 9.8 mi
- Playa del Estero · beach11 min drive · 4.5 mi
- Monuments Beach · beach30 min drive · 16 mi
- Sunset catamaran cruise · excursion30 min drive · 18 mi
- Snorkel cruise to Santa Maria Bay · excursion30 min drive · 18 mi
- Club Campestre San José · golf4 min drive · 2.1 mi
- Costa Azul Beach · beach5 min drive · 1.0 mi
- Misión San José del Cabo · historic site5 min drive · 2.9 mi
- Acapulquito Beach · beach6 min drive · 2.9 mi
- Cerro de las Chivas · viewpoint6 min drive · 3.5 mi
- Sea turtle release, San José del Cabo (July to December) · wildlife6 min drive · 2.9 mi
- Wirikuta Desert Botanical Garden · nature7 min drive · 3.5 mi
- Palmilla Beach · beach7 min drive · 2.6 mi
- Puerto Los Cabos Marina · marina8 min drive · 3.9 mi
- Cabo Real Golf Club · golf13 min drive · 7.1 mi
- Puerto Los Cabos Golf Club · golf20 min drive · 6.4 mi
- Cabo del Sol Golf · golf25 min drive · 13 mi
- Cabo San Lucas Natural History Museum · museum30 min drive · 18 mi
- Marina Cabo San Lucas · marina30 min drive · 18 mi
- Glass-bottom boat to El Arco and Lover's Beach · excursion30 min drive · 18 mi
- Snorkeling at Pelican Rock · excursion30 min drive · 18 mi
- Sportfishing charter · excursion30 min drive · 18 mi
- Iglesia de San Lucas · historic site30 min drive · 18 mi
- Cabo San Lucas · town30 min drive · 19 mi
Amenities
Style & Rooms
Room upgrades
Seaweed & sargassum
Cabo San Lucas is not a sargassum destination.See the month-by-month guide →Google Reviews★ 4.2 · 9,434 reviews
“Krystal Grand Los Cabos is an amazing place, especially for families. So much fun to be had and the staff are all so nice and welcoming. Cesar from the Risotto restaurant made our last night a great one. He took the time to get to know us, gave us so...”
“We had the most amazing time! Aquarobics in the pool with Vanessa was SO fun. Carlos always took great care of us at the bar. We also had an amazing time with Urias the DJ on the beach! All the staff are amazing and the beach was incredible. I would...”
“Krystal grand is a great place, it’s next to a beautiful beach, the service was great, the food was amazing, and everyone was very friendly. Food: Buffett is very convenient and basically open all the time from 7AM to 10PM. However the breakfast and...”
