2020: what a time to be alive. We have been navigating our way through this year, taking it one day at a time. We’re sure most can agree that this pandemic has had us all feeling stressed, bored, and generally overwhelmed for a multitude of reasons. What we realize we missed in the navigation process was a little self-care. The last time we had taken any extended time off from work for a was our road trip from Denver to the Baja… NINE months ago. It’s hard to believe we have almost a year of Cabo life under our belt.

As COVID halted all of our travel plans to the states — for work, weddings, or just to see friends and family — we decided a staycation was our best option for some R&R. No airport, no rental car, no exhaustion from travel, no stress.

Due to the lack of tourists in town, many of the hotels that recently opened back up have been offering special deals and promotions. We shopped around a bit and settled on Le Blanc Resort & Spa. It was a bit expensive since it was an all-inclusive, however to our surprise upon booking our week, they offered a 2x1 promotion giving us another free week to use before the end of the year. ¡Excelente!

From the moment we stepped foot into the door (and onto the sanitization mat) we knew we had made the right call. The resort, only 20 minutes from our house, was beautiful and we could not wait to explore all it had to offer.

COVID SAFETY

Upon arrival, the bellhop took our temperature and cleared us to enter the resort. Check-in was the most relaxing experience (weird, right?!). We were handed a fancy coconut drink, warm aromatherapy pad for our shoulders, and even fresh flowers.

We could quickly tell we were staying at a place that took COVID measures very seriously — especially when they’re sanitizing their pens before you sign-off on paperwork. All of the staff wore masks and many (including us) would wear them in the common areas when needed.

Our room had a “seal” on the door showing that it had been fully deep cleaned. On the bar shelf was a “Purely Blanc” kit: complete with wipes, hand sanitizer, and masks. The hotel had hand sanitizer stations everywhere you looked and the elevators featured “social distance” bubbles outlined on the floor. While some COVID sanitary measures feel a little over the top, we really hope some of them stick around for the long haul.

OUR FAVORITE THINGS

What we thought may be a con for us turned out to be one of the main reasons we loved our stay: all-inclusive food & drinks.

We tend to get caught up in the whirlwind of decision making that goes into what we want to do and where we want to eat and how much we’re spending once we do it. So in this situation, being that we’ve also already explored our fair share of restaurants in Cabo, it was perfect to have the all-inclusive option with various types of restaurants open on-site to dine at. There was Asian, American, Italian, French, Mediterranean, seafood, sushi, a pizza bar, taco & churro stand, an ice cream cart by the pool & more!

The extremely friendly and attentive staff was another huge pro. They really went above and beyond for us. Have you ever stayed at a resort, told them it was your anniversary, only to find a cheap “happy birthday” banner and a few balloons on your door upon your arrival? Or maybe nothing at all because they forgot? We have.

Le Blanc on the other hand was the complete opposite. They offer a dedicated butler service for the duration of your stay, and they treated us like we were on our honeymoon. By the pool, we always had towels and an ice bucket with cold waters waiting, and rarely a warm beer or empty Aperol spritz in our hands. In the evenings we had surprise bubble baths, chocolates, champagne, fresh hand-cut soaps, lavender-scented pillows — you name it, they delivered. There’s something special about surprise and delight moments that really just make you love a place that much more.

Each time you would say “gracias”, the staff would respond “it’s a pleasure”. They truly seemed to mean it each and every time. Most of them have been out of work for months, so we’re sure they are very excited to be back and around friendly faces once again.

The resort was so relaxing and quiet, due to it only being at 30% capacity per the government mandate. it also was an adults-only resort, which was an added bonus for us, even though we did not realize that when booking. Many of the tourists on site were also a similar age, which was nice to be around as well. Everyone seemed really respectful of the COVID-19 rules and changes, keeping a social distance around most of the resort.

Below are a few highlights from our trip…

SUNRISE views & ROOM SERVICE

ASIAN FUSION FUN

This was our favorite restaurant. They had Chinese-style dishes as well as sushi. Everything was served tapas style which made it fun to try a bunch of different things. We had delicious chilled sake and lychee martinis to go along with our meal. After dinner we had a night cap at the ‘Stage Bar’ where they had a live band playing.

ENDLESS INSTAGRAMABLE DECOR

SUNSET & COCKTAILS

ITALIAN NIGHT & WINE TASTING

Le Blanc offers ‘Blanc Benefits’ that you accumulate per the number of nights you stay that can be traded in for fun experiences or excursions. No surprise we opted for the sommelier-lead wine tasting. It ended up being a private experience within the wine room of the Italian restaurant. We tasted 5 wines across sparkling, white and reds and each one had a delicious food pairing. They let us keep two of the bottles we liked, one of which we enjoyed over our Italian dinner later that evening.

A SUSHI SURPRISE

After going to the Asian restaurant on our first night, we knew we would be back again. We told our friendly waiter, Javier, that we loved sushi and wanted to explore that side of the menu on our next visit. Sure enough when we came back, he hooked it up and had the chef make us a special sashimi and roll platter. It was more sushi than the two of us ever needed in one sitting, but we had so much fun trying the different types of fresh fish that we wouldn’t typically order.

BOTTOMLESS BRUNCHIN’

At the International restaurant, they had a cart that came around during brunch featuring all different types of fresh juices. Green, orange, grapefruit, beet, carrot… they had it all. The best part of the cart was the option to turn those juices into fun breakfast cocktails with champagne or vodka. It’s not a vacation unless you start your morning off with the big 5 — water to hydrate, coffee to wake up, green juice to detox, and champagne with (a little) OJ to start the fun all over again.

RELAXING DAYS AT THE POOL

There were three pools to choose from, with our favorite being the infinity pool on the beach side. The only things closed were the swim-up bar chairs to avoid crowds. We enjoyed most days soaking up the rays and chatting with other guests. Two of the days we peeled out a little early to enjoy the phenomenal resort spa. No photos here …but it was magical. The hydrotherapy experience with cold & hot tubs, saunas, and steam rooms was awesome. We loved it so much we went back and used our other Blanc Benefits for a couples massage which was a great choice.

manta rays & a baby turtle

On our last day we parted ways for the morning. Kyle went to workout and Leigh went down to the beach. She had a quiet few moments sitting, listening to the waves, and thinking of memories with her Dad, as it had been 14 years to the day that he left us.

Amid a break from watching the manta rays jump out of the water, she noticed a baby turtle had popped out of its nest in the sand and was on its journey to the water. She helped flip it over and make sure it go to the ocean safely. We have always wanted to see baby turtles hatch down here, as it’s apparently an amazing experience to witness.

So while it was only one little guy this time, it was a special moment to add to the morning. Later on, we took a beach walk and found amazing rock formations and wild waves crashing into them. It was a fun way to end our last day of the trip.

HASTA LUEGO, LE BLANC!

It’s safe to say we made the most of our staycation. It’s also safe to say we’ll be dieting for the foreseeable future.

As soon as we got home, we got our Kennedy cuddles in, and then immediately booked our free week to use before the end of the year. We’re already counting down the days.

See you for Thanksgiving, Le Blanc!