Los Cabos Pool Chair Standoff! Should Reserving Lounge Chairs Be Permitted?

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Cabo San Lucas, Mexico – The sun hasn’t even peeked over the horizon, but a silent, determined ritual is underway at many Los Cabos resorts every morning. Figures, cloaked in the pre-dawn dimness, embark on a mission: to snag the best-positioned pool and beach loungers. A strategically placed towel, a casually left book, a lone flip-flop – these are the weapons in the ongoing battle for poolside supremacy. This daily dance, a source of amusement for some and intense frustration for others, has ignited a fiery debate: should reserving lounge chairs be allowed?

For many holidaymakers, waking up at an ungodly hour to “claim” a patch of poolside paradise is simply part of the all-inclusive experience. “It’s a necessary evil,” chuckles one tourist to The Cabo Sun, coffee in hand as he surveys his towel-adorned quarry at 6:30 AM. “If you snooze, you lose, right? I’m on vacation, I want a good spot to enjoy the sun, not be stuck behind a palm tree.”

This sentiment isn’t universal. Others argue that the practice is inconsiderate, leading to rows of “ghost chairs” that remain unoccupied for hours while other guests are left searching for a place to relax. “It’s infuriating,” complains a disgruntled sunseeker. “You see towels on chairs from sunrise, and then the ‘owners’ don’t show up until midday. The resorts should do something about it!”

The “chair hog” phenomenon, as it’s often dubbed, isn’t unique to Los Cabos, but it’s a particularly hot topic in this sun-drenched paradise where poolside relaxation is a key selling point. Social media forums and travel review sites are awash with tales of lounger-related skirmishes, with some guests admitting to moving unattended towels after a certain period, risking a confrontation.

The Towel Game: Resort Policies and Reality

Many resorts have policies, often discreetly mentioned in guest information, limiting the time a chair can be left unattended. However, enforcement can be a tricky and thankless task for staff who are already busy catering to guests’ needs. Who wants to be the “towel police” on someone’s dream vacation?

“It’s a delicate balance,” a resort manager, who wished to remain anonymous, confided to The Cabo Sun. “We want all our guests to have an enjoyable experience. We do encourage guests to be mindful of others, but actively removing personal belongings can lead to uncomfortable situations.”

The result is often a self-regulating, albeit sometimes tense, system where the early bird usually gets the worm, or in this case, the prime sunbed.

Deep Pockets, Guaranteed Loungers? The Ultra-Luxury Escape

But what if you have deep pockets and the idea of a pre-dawn towel dash is your vacation nightmare? There’s a tier of ultra-luxury resorts where the scramble for sunbeds is a non-issue. Take the Grand Velas Boutique Hotel, for example.

The Cabo Sun recently visited and can confirm that there are indeed enough plush beach and pool loungers to accommodate almost every guest at once. Never was there a moment of concern about finding a comfortable spot to soak up the Mexican sun. This abundance of personal space is a hallmark of such high-end establishments, where the experience is curated to eliminate such common vacation stressors.

The Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal is frequently praised for its exceptional service. Their high staff-to-guest ratio means attendants are often on hand to help guests find and set up chairs.

A recent guest review highlighted the “very relaxing experience without the need to compete with crowds of people for dining or pool chairs,” and another specifically praised a poolside attendant for an “amazing experience.” The resort’s own service directory even states a policy that “no guests can pre-reserve beach or pool chairs unless they are being used in person. If items are left unattended on beach chairs, our pool attendants will safely store the items.” This suggests a more proactive approach, at least in principle.

Similarly, Le Blanc Spa Resort Los Cabos, an adults-only ultra luxury all-inclusive, often comes up as a place where the chair challenge is less pronounced. This seems to stem from a combination of ample seating relative to guest numbers and the attentive service of their butlers, who can assist their assigned guests in securing a comfortable spot.

The outcome for many guests is a noticeably less stressful poolside experience. As one review noted, “there are plenty of lounge chairs for everyone! We never saw them all completely full.”

The Great Debate: What’s the Solution?

So, what’s the answer to the Los Cabos pool chair standoff? Should resorts implement and strictly enforce time limits? Should more chairs be provided, even if it means a more crowded poolside? Or is this simply a quirky, albeit sometimes annoying, aspect of resort life that seasoned vacationers learn to navigate?

The debate rages on, as diverse as the tourists who flock to this beautiful corner of the world. One thing is certain: as long as there are pools, sunshine, and a limited number of prime loungers, the early morning towel brigade is likely to remain a fixture in the Los Cabos vacation landscape. Perhaps it’s all just part of the fun – a slightly absurd holiday ritual that makes for a good story when you get back home. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s time for a poolside revolution.

Happy travels and ‘buena suerte’ (Good luck in Spanish), getting that perfect pool chair. 🌴