Los Cabos, Mexico, is largely back in business after hurricane

The southern tip of the Baja California peninsula looks good and lively these days, but let me remind you how bad it was.

Hurricane Odile struck Los Cabos late Sept. 14, howling at 125 mph. It killed at least five people and forced the evacuation of about 30,000. It tore off the roof of one airport terminal, shattered countless windows, flooded the desert with rain and high tides and scattered red roof tiles along the 18-mile tourist hotel corridor between the population centers of Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo.

The damage was worst near San José, but the entire region was crippled, with looting for days and power and water outages for weeks. International flights didn’t resume until Oct. 8. Many of the area’s most luxurious hotels are still closed, including Esperanza, One&Only Palmilla and Las Ventanas al Paraíso.

Yet today, if you wander the Los Cabos area (population 238,000), you see gorgeous beaches, stark desert and business as usual — the bathers and vendors on Medano Beach, the creamy sand and fresh-scrubbed rock formations at Land’s End, the cruise ships looming in the deeper water, the water taxis puttering in the shallows, the marina touts hawking fishing expeditions, the mariachi struggling to be heard above Mick Jagger on the sound system.

At the far quieter Bungalows Hotel in Cabo San Lucas, a family business where I stayed in early February, all 16 guest rooms are in service after many repairs, the pool is full, the bougainvillea is in place and general manager Erik Alonso is once again hugging guests each morning as they arrive for breakfast. There’s still a missing palapa to replace on the upstairs deck, Alonso said, but since he reopened, business is running ahead of the previous year.

Within a few weeks of the hurricane, “downtown looked like nothing happened,” Alonso said.

As I headed out on the peninsular highway to San José, I saw more reconstruction and boarded-up doors as well as dozens of workers swarming the walls and roofs of the Hilton, the Hyatt Place and the Dreams Los Cabos Suites, all expected to reopen in coming months.

As February began, about 20% of the 14,000 hotel rooms in Los Cabos were still out of commission, most of them in and near San José. With some exceptions, such as the Resort at Pedregal, which reopened Jan. 31, the fanciest hotels seem to be reopening at the slowest pace.

“It was the fishermen who came back first,” said Tracy Ehrenberg, owner of Pisces Sportfishing in the Cabo San Lucas marina. Even though the company’s boats have been forced to launch from a different dock since Odile, “we are very, very close to last year’s numbers.”

Pisces’ luxury yacht rental income so far in 2015 is down 20% from last year, Ehrenberg said, but its sportfishing income is ahead 8%.

If you’re accustomed to spending less than $400 per night, you need not worry about delaying your Los Cabos plans. The sand, surf and desert scenery are as enticing as ever — fish jumping, zip-lines singing, restaurants serving, airport operating. Two new golf courses opened in December: Quivira Golf Club (designed by Jack Nicklaus) and El Cardonal at Diamante (designed by Tiger Woods).

If you’re accustomed to spending more than $400 a night on lodging, however, you may have a harder time finding an available room before June.

Overall, Los Cabos Tourism’s commercial director, Julieta Hernandez, estimated, hotel rates are largely unchanged from last year’s average rate of $225 a night. With 20% of the hotel rooms out of action, beaches and sidewalks are less crowded, and vendors are competing for fewer customers.

“We got a really good deal on this,” Betty Ostlie of Fargo, N.D., told me one afternoon as she collected a fruity cocktail at the swim-up bar of the beachfront, all-inclusive Holiday Inn Resort in San José.

She and her husband had come to celebrate their 40th anniversary. They’d had some doubts, because the resort’s largest pool and many guest rooms were still being repaired. But those worries fell away, she said, as hotel staffers decorated their room with flowers and left towels that were folded to look like swans. (The resort’s room rates for mid-April begin at $219 a night for two, all meals, drinks and taxes included.)

A tip: Whatever you’re paying, be sure to call the hotel’s front desk in advance for a detailed facilities report, not a call-center representative two time zones away.

And just because you see rubble or rebar doesn’t mean it’s hurricane damage. For all the area’s natural wonders, most city blocks of Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo have never been particularly lovely.

Thanks to galloping growth and lax government regulation since the peninsular highway was built in the 1970s, the area has always had plenty of potholes, half-completed buildings and improvised infrastructure. I stood at the corner of Benito Juárez and Constitución in Cabo San Lucas, wondering whether the twisted street signs were hurricane damage. (Later I asked Erik Alonso. He wasn’t sure either.)

Of course, you’ll find charm and grandeur too. In the exclusive Pedregal neighborhood of Cabo San Lucas, I arrived at the recently reopened Resort at Pedregal through a torch-lighted tunnel, then stepped out to its El Farallon restaurant, which clings to a cliff side and offers jaw-dropping Pacific views. A chef showed off the day’s catch while a violinist played.

At the end of a dirt road outside San José, Flora’s Field Kitchen serves organic meals on an idyllic patio with dangling blown glass and “the amazing Alba, world famous typewriter poet,” ready to versify on request.

Meanwhile in Wild Canyon, an adventure park at the end of the dirt road between San José and Cabo San Lucas, eight zip-lines, a bungee-jumping rig and other attractions are back in use after frenetic reconstruction.

“The hurricane? You want me to cry?” said León Robles, owner of Wild Canyon. Though the park structures’ foundations held, “80% of our infrastructure [above ground] broke or fell or was damaged somehow.” Its 1,082-foot-long wooden suspension bridge, which had opened nine months before, was mangled “like something in an Indiana Jones movie.”

Moreover, Robles said, his insurance did not cover weather damage to structures. Facing about $1 million in damage and lost revenue, he said, he and his workers had no choice but to rebuild and reopen as fast as possible. By mid-November, the zip-lines were running. By late December, the suspension bridge was open.

Apparently, the fast work gave Wild Canyon an edge over competing attractions. So far this year, Robles said, his business is up 30% from 2014.

Times seem to be tougher among the water taxis. Capt. Armando Ramirez, a 10-year veteran who came to Baja from Sinaloa, estimated the business is down 30% from last year. Arturo, another veteran water taxi worker who declined to give his last name, thought his shortfall was more like 50%.

But Cabo is still Cabo. As Arturo’s boat neared Lovers Beach, an amorous couple in the bow mixed a batch of Cognac-and-Red Bull cocktails and handed out plastic cups so all aboard could drink a toast to nothing in particular.

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If you go

THE BEST WAY TO LOS CABOS, MEXICO

From LAX, Alaska, American and United offer nonstop service to Los Cabos, and US Airways, American, Virgin America, Delta and Aeromexico offer connecting service (change of planes). Restricted round-trip airfares begin at $388, including taxes and fees.

WHERE TO SLEEP

Resort at Pedregal (formerly the Capella Pedregal), 1 Camino del Mar, Cabo San Lucas; (844) 733-7342, https://www.theresortatpedregal.com. Dramatic setting. Large, luxurious rooms, suites and casitas. Rates begin at about $800 a night, excluding meals.

Bungalows Hotel, Camino Charros, Lienzo Charro, Cabo San Lucas; 011-52-624-143-5035, https://www.thebungalowshotel.com. A homespun 16-unit family operation with warm welcome, pool, tasty breakfasts and good prices. Rates typically $135-$215, including breakfast and taxes.

WHERE TO EAT

El Farallon, Resort at Pedregal, 1 Camino del Mar 1, Cabo San Lucas; 011-52-624-163-4300, https://www.theresortatpedregal.com. This is the resort’s casual restaurant, but I’d recommend it for a special occasion. Check that ocean view. Main dishes about $45.

Flora’s Field Kitchen, Las Animas Bajas, San José del Cabo; 011-52-624-355-4564, https://www.flora-farms.com/#!field-kitchen. Idyllic patio in an artsy farm compound a few miles outside San José. Dinner main dishes, $10-$26.

Mi Casa, Cabo San Lucas; 011-52-624-143-1933, https://www.micasarestaurant.com.mx. Food is fine, but the spectacle is memorable. It’s a massive space with bold colors, Old Mexico theme, patio and several dining rooms. Dinner main dishes about $12-$23.

TO LEARN MORE

Board of Tourism of Baja California Sur, https://www.visitbajasur.travel/en/

chris.reynolds@latimes.com

Twitter: @mrcsreynolds