Groups Of Friends Flock To This "Elite" Shared Vacation Home In Cabo San Lucas, And After Staying There Myself, I Can See Why

Well, folks, summer is here. And what better way to kick off summer than heading to the beach? If you ask me, there's not much that beats it. And while I haven't seen many beaches worldwide, I've yet to meet a seaside I didn't like. So when I was offered a trip to a stunning house in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, that was overlooking the ocean, I didn't hesitate to start packing my bags.

While I am not someone who can normally afford an entire house on my vacation without splitting the cost with friends, this time, I was somehow lucky enough to be given the opportunity to stay in one of Vrbo's homes of the year.

While each year's locations differ — and most are predominantly in the United States — this year's list had homes in Mexico and the US Virgin Islands. I was offered a comp'd two-night stay in one of these homes for editorial consideration. While I would have been over the moon to stay at any of them at no personal cost, I had my heart set on the home in Mexico, which you can see below, for obvious reasons.

So, when I found out I would actually be able to head to the location in Mexico, I packed my bags and headed to Cabo San Lucas! It's a short two-hour flight from Los Angeles.

When checking out the listing ahead of time, I started sweating when I saw that the average price per night was $2,600 (and that a daily butler was included! omg?). For just two people (my boyfriend and me), this is a ridiculous amount for me to imagine spending (because I could not afford it, lol). But the 10,975-sq.-ft. home boasts 5 bedrooms and 5+ bathrooms, making it a spot that at least 10 people could comfortably reside in.

So, without further ado — and I can't believe I am about to embark on this journey with you because I still can't believe this actually happened in real life — here's my experience staying at Casa Acantilado in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, for my 33rd birthday.

Before I arrived in Cabo, I received the following email from the concierge service included with the booking of this house (a service called Cabo Platinum). This service is not affiliated with Vrbo but is part of the experience for anyone who stays at this property. I found out during my stay that the house has a full-time staff (a concierge, a butler, a chef, and a cleaning staff that comes in and out). I was asked for my service requests for things like "activities desired (yachting)" and pre-arrival provisioning. I had never experienced anything like this before. Yachting?! Provisioning? What is this, one of my favorite Bravo shows Below Deck?

Here's a preview of the pre-stock grocery list I was asked to fill out (if I wanted provisioning). It's optional, but I ended up requesting a few things because I wasn't sure how close we would be to grocery stores or restaurants. The house is obviously beautiful, and we were there for basically one full day (and two nights), so I wasn't sure I would want to leave.

And here's a look at some of the other additional services the house offers (at an extra cost). You could hire a private chef for up to 25 people(!!). I actually did end up choosing to hire a private chef for my birthday dinner; more on that later.

You could also request the butler stay around for eight hours a day and even hire in-villa masseuses. I did not request the services of a butler — I can't even imagine what that would be like — but I did decide to hire a masseuse for my birthday. As you can see, for a 60-minute massage using two hands, it cost me $130 USD plus tip.

Now, on to the actual house! We arrived on Sunday afternoon, and I was immediately blown away. The house is actually located in the Pedregal area of Cabo San Lucas, and the house is in a hillside gated community. It's right next door to the Waldorf Astoria. And when they said it was a "cliffside villa," they were not kidding. The trek in the car to get up to this house was intense. Originally I thought we may be able to walk into town from the house, but I quickly learned that while it may be possible, it would entail a serious uphill hike which I doubted I was physically equipped for.

Here's a shot of the driveway leading up to the house. I know you can't entirely tell in this photo, but it was, well, really steep and literally built into a cliff.

Upon arrival, the house concierge and butler greeted us. They carried our luggage to the main bedroom, and I immediately regretted showing up in sweatpants and lowly Asics sneakers. I had never been inside a house like this in my life, and it genuinely took my breath away.

Upon entry into the house, you are greeted with multiple doors and a peek of lovely landscaping.

From there, you enter a gigantic living area with a stunning view of the endless blue ocean. Writing this now, I realize I never once even sat in this seating area, but in my defense, this home had approximately 2,300 places for my butt to sit.

Here's a more up-close shot of the view you're greeted with from the living room. I mean? I am almost at a loss for words.

Here's a wider angle shot of the living/kitchen area.

In the kitchen area, I was slightly embarrassed to see the provisions I had requested beforehand. As a reminder, I was here for basically one day and had no idea what to stock, so I asked for Sprite, some wine, water, Doritos, and watermelon — the necessities!

Lara Parker

*Not that it matters, but the beer was provided by a driver we hired during our time in Cabo. If you're ever in Cabo, I highly recommend Felipe for airport transportation!

I also got two packs of Chips Ahoy! cookies and two blueberry muffins. Because we got such few things, our groceries were around $75 out of pocket (mainly because of the two bottles of wine).

Off the kitchen and living room was a massive dining area that comfortably accommodated up to 10 people. Our concierge seemed amused that it was just the two of us. A few weeks before, they had hosted a bachelor party for nearly 20 people.

Off the dining area was this seating area around a large TV. Once again, this was a space we never needed but admired nonetheless.

The house also came with its own gym, of course.

To get to the main bedroom, there were stairs down from the living area, and this was the view that greeted us on our way down. The lower level of the house also had another bedroom (which we never used) and a garage space.

While the entirety of this house was incredible, the main bedroom was truly something. We spent a lot of our time in this space because it came with its own private balcony that was legitimately inaccessible for anyone else as it was (you guessed it!) built into the cliffside. The only way to get to this balcony was through the main bedroom. At night, we slept with the screen doors open to the sounds of waves crashing. I can't imagine a better white noise.

Here's a wide-angle shot of the private balcony. This balcony also had steps leading down to another little private seating area.

Lara Parker

Here's the additional private seating off the main bedroom. If I had a serious complaint about this house, it would be that you can't actually access the beach from the house. This is probably for the best, because the beach that it is above does not allow any swimming whatsoever. In fact, signs around the area ask people to avoid becoming a statistic (as in, another death). The current and riptides at this particular beach area are widely understood to be dangerous, even to those who consider themselves strong swimmers. We never actually stepped foot on the beach or felt the ocean water while at this villa, but we could hear and see it at all times from almost every room in the house.

Just for good measure, I took a shot from the little stone private seating area, looking up at the house from below. One of my favorite things while staying at this house was sitting on the cliffside and listening to the waves crash. I also got to see several lizards!

Now, for the rest of the main bedroom. It featured a king-sized bed (can you imagine if it was full-sized? lol) with a direct view of the ocean, a gigantic bathroom, and a walk-in closet.

Lara Parker

As for the main bedroom's bathroom, I thought it was just ok in terms of design — though I do love a double sink — but I was thrilled to see that it came equipped with a giant bathtub with (again, you guessed it!) amazing views of the ocean and a window that opened completely so that you could immerse yourself into the sounds of waves crashing. However, when I tried to use the bathtub, it didn't work! The water did not get hot, and to avoid wasting water, we stopped trying after about 10 minutes of tinkering. I would have asked the concierge for help, but it was later at night when we tried to use it, and ultimately, we left the next day. It could have been a user error, but I do know my way around a bathtub.

Here's a look at the main bedroom's huge walk-in closet featuring my clothing. The closet also had two robes hanging for guest use, and if you know me, you know I freaking love a white fluffy robe.

Lara Parker

Before we move on to the pool and the rest of this beautiful house, I wanted to share a look at one of the guest suites. They were lovely in their own way, but we never used them at all. Casa Acantilado is composed of two separate buildings attached via the pool area. This guest suite was located in the second building, off the pool area.

Lara Parker

The concierge asked us when we arrived if we would be ok with the staff turning off the air conditioning in the four other bedrooms that we would not be staying in, and we, of course, said yes. While we were obviously allowed in any of the rooms, it felt unnecessary to potentially make a mess by spending time in the various other guest suites, but I did peek in to take some photos for you. While not every one of the guest suites featured ocean views like the main bedroom, the view wasn't exactly what I would call "ugly." It looked out over the cliffside community.

Now, for what I consider the main event: the POOL. As mentioned previously, this house does not actually provide access to a beach, so this pool/hot tub combo is the spot for lounging. And lounge, I did.

Here are even more views of the pool. I mean, it was a really picturesque pool. If you think this is a lot, just imagine how many photos I have of this pool taking up space on my phone. And no, I will not delete them.

Lara Parker

Off to the side of the pool was another dining area with a mini kitchen for meals poolside.

Lara Parker

And this was the hot tub, which was basically an infinity hot tub. I did use this several times. I really cannot emphasize enough how much I enjoyed sitting in this hot tub, looking off into the abyss, and contemplating the meaning of life.

There was also an outdoor shower, which I sadly did not get around to using!

The home also has its very own sauna! While I never used this — I swear, I thought I would have more time to do all of these things — I did go inside and take a picture of the incredible view it offered.

Lara Parker

On Monday, our full day at the villa and my birthday, I spent the day relaxing by the pool, thinking about how lucky I am to be in this villa and experiencing these views. Several times, my boyfriend and I would stop, look at each other, and have a moment where we were like, "I can't believe we're here."

Since I was staying here on my actual birthday, I hired a private masseuse to come to the house, which the house concierge set up for me. She arrived promptly at 11 a.m. and gave me one of the best massages of my life. I am not someone who regularly gets massages — though I would if I could — but I have had my fair share of massages over the years. I struggle with terrible TMJ and neck and back pain from living with endometriosis and adenomyosis. I was coming off my period while I was at the house, and my body was struggling; the migraine was forming by the time she arrived. The massage was incredibly painful in the best way, and I only wish I lived closer so that I could see her again. My tension headache was gone afterward.

After a legitimately perfect day lounging around the pool, listening to the sounds of the ocean, it was time to get ready for the other treat I bestowed upon myself: a dinner made by a private chef! As the sun began to set, we prepared for our 7 p.m. dinner and decided to sit outside.

The chef offers several different menu options — a few of which you can see below — and choosing which menu I wanted for dinner was one of the hardest decisions we made on this trip.

However, I ended up going with the "Cielito Lindo" menu because I am absolutely obsessed with tortilla soup, and I wanted churros! Here's what our dinner setup looked like as well.

The meal was absolutely incredible. No part of me thought it wouldn't be. This meal was another "pinch myself" moment where I couldn't believe this was happening. Not to harp on that too much, but I do recognize how privileged I am to be able to spend my birthday in such a beautiful place. I try not to take it for granted. Below is the tortilla soup and churros with mezcal chocolate dipping sauce. Best tortilla soup I've ever had.

Lara Parker

While we only hired the private chef for one meal, the concierge said that some of the groups they host are so big that they have two private chefs cooking three meals daily. Now, that's luxury. As a reminder, the cost of a dinner for one to four people (there were two of us) from the private chef was $130 + the cost of groceries. The groceries for our meal ended up being around $44. So, all in, this five-course meal cost us $174.

This was my first experience having a meal prepared for me by a private chef, and I could not stop thinking about how much it felt like I was a guest on Bravo's Below Deck. I even caught myself saying, "Compliments to the chef!" more than once. But seriously, compliments to the chef!! This food was so good.

As the meal winded down, I knew my time at Casa Acantilado was ending, and I tried to soak up every last moment, including this beautiful sunset.

While I will likely never be able to return with just my partner and me — because $2,600/night is certainly out of our price range — I could totally see trying to come back with 10–20 of my closest friends (if I had this many close friends lol!). Casa Acantilado was a slice of paradise that I feel genuinely fortunate to have experienced. I still find myself thinking about the feeling of falling asleep in that main bedroom, with the screens open to the sounds of waves crashing. I am unsure if I believe in heaven, but if I did, I think it would be similar to this.

If you (and, like, 15–20 of your closest friends) want to inquire about booking your own stay at Casa Acantilado, you can do so here.

Note: BuzzFeed was provided this trip free of charge, though we were under no obligation to provide a positive review.