no, Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez It's not like Los Cabos made its name as a celebrity vacation destination. Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pittor George Clooneyor Kim Kardashian.
Los Cabos has been a celebrity haven since the beginning. The first “tourists” only arrived in the 1950s, when the area's first hotel was built. Its owners, couple Abelardo “Rod” Rodriguez Jr. and Lucille Bremer, had ties to Los Angeles and the film industry, and celebs were among the first to stay at the 15-room Las Cruces Palmilla (which has since been renovated and rebranded as the One&Only Palmilla).
Los Cabos' pioneering hotelier had celebrity credentials
Lucille Bremer A celebrity in her own right, she starred alongside Fred Astaire in the 1945 film Yolanda the Burglar. 10 films She was an actress from 1942 to 1948, then married the son of a former Mexican president — a connection that made him a celebrity, too — but Rod was continuing the family tradition by setting speed records in airplanes. Los Angeles to Mexico City Test pilot era.
But among the visitors to Rancho Las Cruces, the first resort town near La Paz, and later Palmyra, were some of the biggest movie and television stars of the time. John WayneBing Crosby, Lucille BallDesi Arnaz, as well as famous novelist Ernest Hemingway and U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Why were A-listers so keen to vacation in this undeveloped coastal region at the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula? The promise of privacy, proximity to Los Angeles and access to private jets no doubt helped. After all, the Transpeninsula Highway wasn't completed until 1973 and the international airport didn't open until 1977. At the time, Baja California Sur was “Airport-accessible” resorts There is a small landing strip and fishing is the main lure.
But it helped that their hosts were also notable, if less so.
Los Cabos is a good place for romance… mostly
Los Cabos has become known as a romantic getaway destination thanks to amenities like couples' spa treatments and beachfront dining, but its reputation was established before those things even existed. It's because of Rolling Stones lead guitarist Keith Richards The event featured model/actress Patti Hansen. Hotel Finisterra (now Sandos FinisterraIn 1983, Mick Jagger served as groomsman for the couple at a Cabo San Lucas wedding at the hotel's Whale Watchers Bar, followed by a reception featuring mariachi music at a local trailer park.
The event had far-reaching effects. Rock star Sammy Hagar heard about it and was inspired to visit the site. Seven years later, he Cabo Wabo Cantina He spent time in Cabo San Lucas with his former Van Halen bandmates. Hagar still goes there every year. Birthday party Since the Cabo Wabo concerts, countless rock and country music stars have played there, discovered Los Cabos for the first time and fallen in love with its charms.
Weddings and romantic getaways continue. Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez They got married in Los Cabos in 2011. Although it wasn't their own wedding, the paparazzi treated it as an event. Adam Levine Flora Farm ( Featured in the Michelin Guide In 2014, he opened the restaurant Flora's Field Kitchen in San Jose del Cabo. Brad Pitt and Jennifer AnistonThe once-married pair “rekindled” their love during a trip to Cabo in 2019. But things didn't work out this time and they soon split. A gathering of strangers.
Meanwhile, love may not have been the primary motivation behind the most famous pop culture moment that happened in Los Cabos, although there was plenty of sex involved. It was infamously leaked Sex Tape The video stars Kim Kardashian and her then-boyfriend Ray J and was filmed at the Esperanza, Auberge Resorts Collection in 2007.
Los Cabos is the perfect place to rest before the big game… Most of the time
Rock stars and movie stars love Los Cabos, and it turns out professional athletes do too. Dallas Cowboys Star quarterback Tony Romo got in trouble in 2008 for visiting girlfriend Jessica Simpson before a crucial playoff game against the rival New York Giants that the team lost, but Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wouldn't have blamed him: He was in Cabo in 1989 when he found out he could buy the team.
It was a successful vacation in Los Cabos. The Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay He met Matt Stafford, who was then the Detroit Lions quarterback. The two hit it off, a trade was made, and the Rams won the Super Bowl the following year. It also helped that Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott asked for a higher salary during a “workout” in Cabo in 2019. He later received a six-year contract extension. $90 million contract The expansion comes after a luxurious stay at Tiger Woods' home in Diamante, a residential development in Cabo San Lucas.
Woods also has business ties with Diamante, having designed two golf courses there. He opened a restaurant there.He is currently working on the third course at Diamante's Legacy Club.
Yes, NBA stars past and present, Michael Jordan To LeBron JamesI also like spending time in Los Cabos. The latter is a big fan of Los Cabos and I love Cabo-inspired Tequila Brandsit's a celebrity vacation treat, and he's not the only one enjoying it.
Los Cabos could be a lucrative investment destination
Sammy Hagar may have initially come to Los Cabos for vacation, but thanks to his Cabo Wabo nightclub and his namesake house tequila brand, the place has also become lucrative from a business standpoint. He has a controlling interest in the tequila brand. US$80 million In 2007 it joined Group Campari.
Actor George Clooney and his neighbor Rande Gerber in the upscale El Dorado neighborhood of Los Cabos have also turned their shared love of tequila into a commercial brand. CasamigosThey $1 billion Sold to Diageo in 2017.
Los Cabos is more of a vacation destination than a business one, but recent increases in luxury hotel and resort prices, combined with the skyrocketing cost of living, make it the most expensive place to visit right now. Where to live In Mexico, Hager and Clooney may have been right.
Chris Sands He is the Cabo San Lucas area expert for USA Today's travel website 10 Best, author of Fodor's Los Cabos travel guidebook, and a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living, Mexico News Daily, and more. He specializes in travel-related content and lifestyle features with a focus on food, wine, and golf.
