Best Medano Beach Hotels in Cabo San Lucas (2026): 10 Ranked

ME by Meliá Cabo has the highest weighted guest score of any hotel on or near Medano Beach, 9.4/10 across 480 reviews, which puts it #1 by our weighted score. It is adults-only and on the sand, from $365 a night for two. One block back, Medano Hotel and Spa scores 9.2 across 1,121 reviews for $139 to $152 on every date we tried. For five-star on the sand for less, Casa Dorada starts at $167. For an all-inclusive where guests say you can get into the sea, Pueblo Bonito Rose starts at $240.

We ranked the ten by guest score weighted for review volume (the formula is at the end of this guide), using the same rules as our best hotels in Cabo San Lucas guide, and priced every one live for the same stay, two adults for three nights, on five check-in dates from October 2026 to February 2027. Because this guide is about the location, it includes both room-only hotels and all-inclusive resorts, and shows each one's board. The ranking measures guest satisfaction only; distance to the sand and price are covered separately.

Medano Beach runs nearly 3 km along the bay from the marina entrance to the east, and it is not one uniform beach. The stretch you stay on decides how easily you can swim, how far you walk to town, and how loud your evenings are.

The central stretch: the swimming beach

ME by Meliá, Casa Dorada and the two Pueblo Bonito resorts sit on the central part of the beach, and this is where guests describe getting into the sea. A Pueblo Bonito Rose guest called Medano "the only beach where you can swim", and Blanco guests like walking straight from the pool into the water. This stretch is also a walk from the marina and the nightlife strip, and it is where the beach clubs and the water taxis to El Arco are.

The east end: the Riu resorts

Riu Palace Baja California, Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas and Riu Santa Fe sit at the eastern end, on the old road to San José. It is a quieter stretch, but guests at both Riu Palace hotels report they could not swim in front of the hotel, and one recommended water shoes for the coarse sand. It is also farther from town, and guests mention taxi costs.

A street or a few blocks back

Bahia sits a street back on Avenida del Pescador with its own beach club on the sand, and Medano Hotel and Spa is about a block back. Hotel Los Patios and Comfort Inn are about 400 to 450 m inland across the highway at the east end, and Hotel Tesoro is on the marina itself, about 450 m from the sand. They are cheaper, and the beach is a short walk away rather than out the door.

The map below plots all ten hotels. The pins follow our ranking.

ME by Meliá Cabo - Adults Only

Rated 9.4/10 across 480 guest reviews, ME by Meliá is #1 by our weighted score for Medano Beach, an adults-only five-star on the sand with a 9.4 in every category. Guests single out the service and the views of El Arco from the beachfront, and the nightlife strip and marina are a short walk away. From $365 per night for two, rising to $619 in mid-November. The complaints are about price, not quality: one guest quoted $30 for avocado toast, and another reported being charged the resort fee twice. It is not an option for families. We'd book this for a couple who want to walk from their room into the sea.

Medano Hotel and Spa

Rated 9.2/10 across 1,121 guest reviews, Medano Hotel is about a block back from the beach and the highest-scoring hotel here that is not on the sand. It priced between $139 and $152 per night for two on all five dates. Guests score its service, location, amenities and food all at 9.5. The weaker scores are cleanliness and value, both 8.5, and the recurring complaints are noise at night from the bars and the road, slow breakfast service, a pool bar that opens at 2pm, and too few loungers in busy weeks. We'd book this for the best value within a short walk of the sand.

Pueblo Bonito Rose

Rated 9.0/10 across 676 guest reviews, Pueblo Bonito Rose is on the sand in the central stretch, with a 9.8 for location and 9.6 for service and food. Guests describe being able to get into the sea, and they can use the sister Blanco and Sunset Beach resorts. It sells all-inclusive, and on every date we priced the all-inclusive rate was its cheapest board, from $240 per night for two. The rooms are its weak point, at 8.0 for cleanliness and room quality, with guests mentioning musty smells and dated furniture. It has a kids' club. We'd book this for an all-inclusive on the swimming beach.

Casa Dorada Los Cabos

Rated 9.0/10 across 537 guest reviews, Casa Dorada is five-star on the sand from $167 per night for two, the lowest five-star price on the beach. It scores 9.8 for service and location. It also sells an all-inclusive plan, but that cost about $200 a night more than its room rate, and with restaurants on the doorstep we would book it room-only. Guests mention hot open-air public areas, an ageing building, noise from the party strip in street-side rooms, and a hard sell from the tour desk.

Hotel Los Patios

Rated 8.9/10 across 525 guest reviews, Los Patios is the cheapest hotel here at $54 to $73 per night for two with breakfast, about 400 m inland across the highway at Km 4, near the east end of the beach. One guest described a seven-minute walk to the beach. It scores 9.9 for service and 9.4 for value and food. Cleanliness is its weakest score at 7.9, and guests mention highway noise, worn fixtures and the need for taxis into the centre. We'd book this for a budget base within walking distance of the sand.

Bahia Hotel & Beach House

Rated 8.8/10 across 410 guest reviews, Bahia is a boutique hotel on Avenida del Pescador, a street back from the sand, with its own beach club on Medano. Guests praise the concierge, Bar Esquina and touches such as rosé on arrival, and food scores 9.2. From $214 per night for two. Room quality and amenities both score 8.1. Guests say sound carries through the open hallways, and one warned against March, when spring breakers fill the building. We'd book this for a stylish small hotel with beach club access, outside spring break.

Pueblo Bonito Blanco

Rated 8.4/10 across 672 guest reviews, Blanco is on the sand next to Rose and sold all-inclusive, from $254 per night for two but $810 on our February date. Guests like walking from the pool into water they can swim in, and they can use Rose and Sunset Beach. Cleanliness and rooms both score 7.7, with guests describing a dated building, weak air conditioning and a pool that needed cleaning. Rose scores higher and was cheaper on four of our five dates, so we'd book Rose and choose Blanco when it is full.

Riu Palace Baja California

Rated 8.4/10 across 1,778 guest reviews, this is the adults-only Riu, on the sand at the east end of Medano and sold all-inclusive. From $300 per night for two, but $850 on our mid-November date, one of the widest swings here. Guests praise the staff and evening entertainment, and criticise inconsistent food and low-end spirits. One guest said they could not swim in the sea in front of the hotel. We'd book this for an adults-only all-inclusive, accepting that the central stretch is the better swimming beach.

Comfort Inn & Suites Los Cabos

Rated 8.1/10 across 305 guest reviews, Comfort Inn is a breakfast-included hotel at Km 4.1, about 450 m from the east end of the beach. One guest put it five minutes from the centre and the beach, and location scores 9.5. From $60 per night for two. Cleanliness scores 7.0, the lowest category score on this page, and guests describe dusty rooms, housekeeping that had to be requested, a basic breakfast and poor WiFi. We'd book this only on a tight budget.

Hotel Tesoro Los Cabos

Rated 8.2/10 across 1,944 guest reviews, Tesoro is the most-reviewed hotel on this page, on the marina itself about 450 m from the beach. Guests love the marina-view balconies, and one said they would not choose a room without one. It is walkable to the marina restaurants and town, from $101 per night for two. Cleanliness and rooms both score 7.5, and guests mention noise from the bars behind the hotel, narrow stairs to some rooms, and maintenance. We'd book this for a marina view and walkability on a budget.

• Swim in the central stretch: Guests describe getting into the sea in front of the Pueblo Bonito resorts, and report rough water in front of the Riu resorts at the east end. Check the flags on the day wherever you stay.
• It is the busy beach: Beach clubs, vendors, water taxis to El Arco and the nightlife strip are all here. Guests at Medano Hotel, Casa Dorada, Bahia and Tesoro mention noise at night.
• Spring break fills it in March: A Bahia guest warned against March specifically. Our Cabo in March guide covers what to expect.
• Walk to town from the centre, taxi from the east end: The central hotels are a walk from the marina; guests at the Riu resorts and Los Patios mention taxis.
• Check the board: Five of the ten sell all-inclusive. At Pueblo Bonito Rose the all-inclusive rate was the cheapest board, while at Casa Dorada it cost about $200 a night more than the room.
• Getting there: Medano is about 35 km from the airport in a straight line. Our Los Cabos airport transfer guide compares the options.

The ten hotels priced between $54 and $850 per night for two adults on a three-night stay, across five check-in dates from mid-October 2026 to mid-February 2027. Each figure is the hotel's cheapest board, before the local taxes and fees the booking site adds at checkout.

Under $160 a night: a short walk from the sand

Hotel Los Patios from $54, Comfort Inn from $60, Hotel Tesoro from $101 and Medano Hotel from $139. None is on the sand; all four are within about 450 m.

$165 to $300 a night: on the beach

Casa Dorada from $167, Bahia from $214, Pueblo Bonito Rose from $240 all-inclusive and Pueblo Bonito Blanco from $254 all-inclusive. This is the cheapest way onto the sand, and it includes the two all-inclusives on the swimming stretch.

Over $300 a night

Riu Palace Baja California from $300 all-inclusive and ME by Meliá from $365. Both swing widely by date: ME reached $619 and Riu Palace Baja $850 in mid-November.

When to book

Mid-December was the cheapest of our five dates at six of the ten, and mid-November or February the most expensive at nine. The budget hotels barely moved. Our month-by-month guides, starting with Cabo in December, cover the weather and crowds behind those prices.

• Pick the central stretch if swimming is the point: ME by Meliá, Casa Dorada and the Pueblo Bonito resorts are on the part of the beach where guests describe swimming.
• A block back saves money: Medano Hotel scores 9.2 from $139, against $365 for ME by Meliá on the sand.
• Ask for a quiet room: Guests at several hotels here mention late-night noise from the bars and the road. Rooms away from the street help.
• Go all-inclusive only where it is cheap: At Pueblo Bonito Rose it was the cheapest board; at Casa Dorada it added about $200 a night. Our Cabo San Lucas all-inclusive guide compares the plan at every resort, and our San José del Cabo all-inclusive guide covers the resorts at the other end of Los Cabos.
• Use the beach as your base for the water: Water taxis to El Arco and Lover's Beach leave from Medano. Our guides to snorkeling and a sunset cruise cover the trips worth booking, and parasailing flights launch from Medano Beach too, compared in our Cabo parasailing guide.
• Plan the rest of the trip: Our guide to the best things to do in Cabo San Lucas covers what to book around a Medano base, and our is Cabo San Lucas safe guide covers the area.

Most lists of Medano Beach hotels include anything with "Medano" in the address and never say which part of the beach you can swim at. This one measures each hotel's distance to the sand, uses verified guest reviews and live prices, and reports what guests say about the water in front of each hotel.

We started from the properties our reservation system lists within 500 m of Medano Beach, measured in a straight line to the shoreline from the marina entrance to the east end. We kept hotels and resorts with a guest score of at least 8.0 and at least 300 verified reviews, lowering that to 200 for five-star properties, and removed hostels and duplicate listings. We then required live rates on at least four of our five dates, on any board, since this guide includes both room-only hotels and all-inclusive resorts. That left eleven, and we rank the top ten. Riu Santa Fe placed eleventh. Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas, on the sand at the east end, returned rates on only three of our five dates this time, and Villa del Palmar returned none. Villa del Arco (9.2 across 182 reviews) and Villa La Estancia (9.3 across 132) fell below the review floor.

How the ranking is calculated

The order is set by a formula, with no editorial adjustments. It uses two inputs only, guest score and review count; distance to the sand, board type and price shape what we say about each hotel, not where it ranks. Each hotel gets a weighted score:

Weighted score = (reviews × guest score + 300 × 8.8) ÷ (reviews + 300)

Every hotel starts as if it already had 300 reviews at a baseline score of 8.8, and its real reviews pull it away from that baseline. This is the same formula and baseline as our other Los Cabos hotel guides.

Pricing was checked across five check-in dates in September 2026 and reflects two adults for three nights, before the local taxes and fees added at checkout.