This resort is exactly as the reviews depict. It is very nice and new. There are some issues with some of the services, but overall, the staff and resort are worth the money. We stayed for 7 nights (Jun 27-Jul4). Whole family went along, wife and 3 kids. We had a 2 bedroom suite in the main building. We learned that aall 2 bedroom units are in the main building, which is too bad. TThe noise is excessive at times within the building. The last night we were there, they had a very good 80's band come and play. The problem is that they played in the main building and every room there was exposed to the loud music. We went to our room at 11 to put the kids to bed, but the music was so loud in our room that we could not hear each other speak. The band played until 1 am and the kids were up the entire time.

The kids enjoyed the resort and pools and my 5 year old really enjoyed the kids club. There are not a lot of activities for the kids.

Overall, the resort is better suited for couples or groups of adults. We used the gym and it is very nice, but small. The spa is extremely over priced, as we went to another 5 star property for massages at half of the price.

We purchased a vacation ownership when we first visited Cabo. It is beautiful. Can't wait to go back. We have it for 2 weeks a year. Everyday I dream of Casa Dorada.

My friends and I stayed at Casa Dorada for a week and it was absolutely fantastic. The suite was immaculate, stylish, and always kept clean. It also had an amazing view of the whole beach (see photo). From the hotel it's only a short walk to any restaurant, bar, or shop that we wanted to go to and it was really easy to plan our daytime activities right from the hotel (not to mention the convenient on-site Budget rent-a-car representatives).

The beachside brunch buffet was a daily godsend after nights out on the town. The food was delicious and it was not expensive relative to other options (the Office, which is highly rated, was more expensive, less tasty, and had less selection).

The staff were always friendly and helpful -- the daytime events coordinator was particularly fun and energetic.

In my opinion, this is a great hotel for any type of vacation -- family, friends, honeymooners etc.

The negatives were:
1) Mango's, which is on the beach in front of the hotel, is kind of loud, but it's a trade off with the great location. Being on a nice beach with lots of activities to partake in is good enough reason to endure a little noise.
2) No real grocery store nearby. There is a little mart where you can pick up some supplies, but we found it best to rent a car for a day and go to the Cabo Walmart (i know, sad) and stock up. The refrigerators and cabinets in the kitchen will have no trouble fitting all the cheap supplies you get at Walmart.

All in all, I highly recommend Casa Dorada and can't wait to return.

About us:
We traveled to Casa Dorada as a family of three, my wife and my 2 year old son. My wife and I have traveled around the world extensively staying in mostly smaller boutique none chain hotels.

Location:
The Casa Dorada is located on Mendano Beach and probably has one of the best locations if you want to be in the action. It is the third hotel from the marina going down from Medano beach. The Office, Mango Deck and some other nice beach restaurants are right next to the hotel if you want to another choice in food, also it is very lively there as well, for a younger , or young at heart crowd. Getting to the center of Cabo where all the shops are is pretty easy, about a block of road to the marina is under construction, but not bad at all. You can take an alternate route to the center and also pass along the way a sort of a bus stop, where it the Collectivo buses can take you to Wal-Mart to do some food shopping, which cost about $1.00, just look on the bus windows that say “Wal-Mart”

Facility:
Overall-
The grounds and the building are very new, so some of the greenery is still newly planted. The hotel lobby has one of the best views looking out to the arch. Actually if you look from the street through the lobby to the arch, it is very dramatic view.
The décor is similar to a “W” type of hotel, very modern and contemporary.
Yes there is noise through the hallways, but I think all hotels in Cabo and for the most part in Mexico have tile floors, in Casa Dorada’s case all the floors have beautiful Travertine tile throughout.
Rooms-
The room we stayed at was a deluxe room, with 2 full beds although a little lumpy, and a small kitchette fully stocked with all the amenities to do simple cooking. For us it was fine, there was a brand new LG 32”flat screen LCD TV and plenty of storage space, it did lack a table to eat, but was fine for us. The bathroom shower/tub, had a floor to ceiling clear glass partition, in which you can see the arch, and surrounding harbor. It was probably the best view I have ever seen from a bathroom, even when sitting in the toilet the arch and harbor can be seen, it was magnificent. By the way the toilet had a soft-close seat just like a high end TOTO toilet, it was a nice touch.
Dining-
We mainly ate at the pool restaurant during the day, then grab a bite to eat some where in town or at one of the nearby beach restaurants, or even just cook something in our room.
Regarding the pool restaurant, it was actually very good they have there normal fare of food, that is typical Mexico, but I would have to say that once ordered the food came out lightning fast. We usually just went right to bar to make our order. We did eat at the 12 Tribes restaurant, and it was pretty good, they did over cook my tuna steak, but cooking tuna can be tricky. I would recommend at least one meal from there, at least to get a great view during dinner.
Service-
The service for what we experience was fine, the waiters at the pool and at the restaurants all spoke English and were very attentive. As I wrote before we mainly went to bar/restaurant area to order our food/drink, it was almost always not crowded and it was nice to talk to other guests and staff there.
There is also a Kids Club room where you can leave your kids while you have dinner or lounge by the pool, it was a nice service, they give you a pager to contact you for anything.
Pool/Beach:
There where three pools, a kiddy pool and two large pools, about 4’-6” deep, they seem to be cleaning them all the time, and most of the time not busy in the water. There was a nice 8” shallow ledge on each end of the pool where my son could play in the water or just lay in the water.
The beach was really nice too, the area for Casa Dorada, had day beds and nice chaise lounge chairs on one side of the stanchioned ropes, if you don’t want vendors coming up to you every 5 minutes.

Tips:
First a word about the time share pitch, we we’re asked right after check it to go with a one of the nice representatives to “get your welcome package”, we knew that it was really code for “Time Share appointment scheduling” So being with my 2 year old we kindly said no, we’ll have to get to you later. After a few calls to the room they eventually stopped. But if you are in to hear the pitch, you probably get a free breakfast and a tour of the hotel, for most of a morning that is what we saw.
Having a kitchenette was really helpful when you have a 2 year old, there was a nice little mini-super Mercado on the corner, next to the ME, which had just about everything from beer to milk. If you wanted more food you could go to the Wal-Mart, by taking a taxi or Collectivo bus or go into town go to the local super Mercado.
Lastly, as far as the Airport Transfer, I highly recommend TransCabo, you have to make reservations over before you go on the internet, and carry your voucher upon arrival, they have the best rates, and guarantee a 3 stop max, our return trip to the airport, was only us, they’ll even stop on the way to get some cold beers if you want.