Ontario-based travel advisor Kayleen Hamelin swapped Mexico's familiar turquoise tropics for the desert-mountain coast of Los Cabos, and what she found there quietly changed the way she recommends travel forever.
At a Glance
Los Cabos' Sandos Finisterra offers intimate whale-watching experiences in November from quiet resort nooks, though the Pacific coast differs sharply from Caribbean beaches—rough surf prevents swimming, and the resort's steep mountain terrain challenges accessibility. The property suits active travelers seeking desert landscapes and excursions, not calm beach relaxation.
The whale watchers bar at Sandos Finisterra was busy. The crowd had gathered, drinks in hand, eyes scanning the Pacific. But just around the corner, tucked into a quiet little seating nook that most guests had walked right past, Kayleen Hamelin and her husband sat almost entirely alone. And then the whales breached. "We could see the whales breaching, because we were there in November, and it was just such a unique experience," Hamelin recalls. "It felt so personal. Just because it was me and my husband." It is the kind of moment that no brochure can manufacture and no algorithm can predict. It is also exactly the kind of moment that reminds a travel advisor why being there, in person, matters so much.
Trading the Tropics for the Desert Coast
Hamelin, who is based in Ontario, is the first to admit that most of her Mexico experience has been concentrated along the country's Caribbean-facing coast. Cancun, Riviera Maya, Tulum. The familiar palette of turquoise water and fine white sand. So when she and her husband booked Sandos Finisterra in Los Cabos through Air Canada Vacations, they were stepping into genuinely new territory, both geographically and professionally.
What greeted them was not what she expected. "I knew that the Los Cabos area was on the west coast and that it was desert," Hamelin says, "but I didn't realize how entrenched into the mountains it actually is." The resort is not simply near a hill. It is built into one, rising in layered tiers up the rock face of the Sierra de la Laguna foothills. The architecture is striking and, in places, deeply unusual. Mountain rock juts through interior walls and even into the resort's bathrooms, a detail that stopped Hamelin mid-step. "The resort was really interesting in that it was layered and in the mountain," she notes. "Even the bathrooms had pieces of the mountain in it." It is the kind of micro-detail that no listing photo quite captures.
The Beach That Isn't for Swimming
The Pacific, it turns out, is a different creature entirely from the Caribbean. The sand at the resort beach is coarse and hard to walk through, and the surf, driven by the open ocean, is too rough for swimming. This was not something Hamelin had fully anticipated, and it is now one of the first things she tells clients. Those wanting a swim need to venture into town to find one of the more sheltered, protected beaches closer to the marina. It is a practical detail, small on paper but significant in practice, and it is precisely the kind of thing that only reveals itself when you are standing on the shore, watching the waves roll in too hard to enter.
The resort itself offers plenty beyond the beach. Adults-only zones sit alongside family areas and dedicated kids' spaces. Activities range from tequila tasting and guacamole-making classes to keychain crafting and T-shirt decorating. Staff, Hamelin says, were attentive and genuinely helpful when guests asked for guidance. "It's being there myself, I can speak to a lot of that," she explains, "and then I've taken a number of videos that I post so people understand what they're getting into." It is a beautiful property, she is careful to note, even if its mountain setting means that renovating the outdoor spaces is a complicated undertaking and some areas show their age.
Beyond the Marina: A Different Cabo Entirely
One of Hamelin's most memorable discoveries came not at the resort but on foot, walking deeper into the town of Cabo San Lucas than most tourists tend to go. The marina strip is polished and commercial, lined with familiar international-facing restaurants and souvenir shops. But walk further, past the tourist-facing zone, and the character of the place shifts. "We found some really unique places in town and sat down and had some tacos at a random little restaurant that was quite delicious," Hamelin says. "But it wasn't overly popularized with tourists, like some of the other spots, because we walked quite deep into town." That willingness to wander, to move past the easy and obvious, is a recurring theme in how Hamelin travels and, by extension, how she advises.
What She Now Knows About Accessibility
The trip also delivered one of Hamelin's clearest professional takeaways, an honest and important one. The terrain in and around Sandos Finisterra is demanding. The hill from the main road to the resort entrance is steep. The resort's vertical layout means significant walking between levels. And while elevators exist, only two operate at any given time. "I now know that Los Cabos is not a place I would recommend for those with accessibility concerns," Hamelin says plainly. For clients who need flatter terrain or easier navigation, she now steers conversations toward other areas along the Mexican Pacific that sit on more level ground.
That experience has expanded into a broader professional habit. "Since going here, I have taken on a larger initiative to find out how many elevators exist, how many floors exist, and how large a complex is, both horizontally and vertically," she explains. It is a methodology born directly from walking those steps herself, and it is the kind of earned insight that no amount of reading destination guides can replicate.
Insider Notes Worth Knowing
For those who do book Sandos Finisterra, Hamelin has a few practical tips that fall firmly in the category of things you would only know if you had been there. The resort's Mexican restaurant, Don Diego, is a beloved on-site option, but during major holiday events like American Thanksgiving, it tends to be transformed into a buffet venue for the celebration. If Don Diego is on your must-do list, check the calendar first. And if a sit-down buffet breakfast is not your style, the same restaurant offers takeout containers each morning, allowing guests to load up a plate and carry it back to their room to eat with a cup of coffee while watching the Pacific roll in below. "You can enjoy a cup of coffee or tea or whatever and watch the waves from your room," Hamelin says, "and have a bit more of an intimate couples or friends experience." Given how that private whale-watching moment unfolded, it is clear that intimacy, the kind that emerges when you step just slightly off the well-worn path, is something Hamelin actively seeks and actively recommends.
Who Should Book It, and Who Should Not
Hamelin is enthusiastic about Sandos Finisterra for the right traveller. Those who are physically active, curious about Mexico's desert and arid landscapes, and drawn to excursions like dune buggies, snorkelling near the famous El Arco rock formation, or whale watching in the winter months will find plenty to love. It is a strong fit for travellers who have done Mexico's tropical coast and are ready for something that feels genuinely different. Those with mobility concerns, or those whose idea of a great beach trip centres on calm swimmable water steps from their sun lounger, would likely be better served elsewhere.
As for what comes next, Hamelin is already looking ahead. A cruise is on the calendar later in the year, and she is planning a return to Mexico, this time heading into Playa del Carmen, further into the Riviera Maya than she has ventured before. "What was on our wish list was having that ability to have a relaxing pool, a relaxing area, and an adults-only experience," she says. "It's something a lot of those I work with are looking for. So I wanted to be able to speak to some of those opportunities." It is, in its way, the same instinct that took her to Los Cabos in the first place: go there, feel it yourself, and come back with something real to offer.
