Four years ago I booked a room at this newly opened resort on the pacific coast of Baja. Of course, New York weather in December being what it is, our flight was cancelled, and I sadly had to e-mail Rancho Pescadero and say that I would not be coming…this season.

In the fall of 2014 I re-booked my room, determined to make it to this quiet town south of Cabo.

Some places I have traveled to and written about are magical destinations that need a little help gaining the attention they deserve. That is not the case with Rancho Pescadero; there is a unified pride amongst the guests. I saw it several times during my stay: guests hug the staff, exchange contact information, and always end with — “we will be back very soon.” There are hundreds of reviews on trip advisor, and almost all are excellent.

Rancho Pescadero is a happy place tucked away in the tiny town of Pescadero, 10 miles outside of Todos Santos. There is a rustic elegance, a graceful beauty to it that doesn’t need to be shouted out loud; it softly purrs.

My travel destinations vary but my style doesn’t. I try to seek out places off the beaten path, that pride themselves on local wholesome food and a staff that welcomes you into their world for a few days. I like to go where there is adventure to be found in the surrounding area, whether it is a deserted beach, a colorful town to explore, or art and culture to discover.

This trip delivered on all of these wishes.

During my most recent visit, I was lucky enough to talk with the Owner and General Manager of Rancho Pescadero. Below, you’ll find a little glimpse into their lives.

How did your path bring you to opening Rancho?

My background is in design and merchandising for major retailers.  In the mid 90’s I took a year off between jobs and ended up camping on the beach near the spot where the hotel is located. While I was camping there the land became available, and I bought it thinking that someday I would retire there. Fast forward another year and I was suddenly promoted to the CEO of Gymboree. Long story short – I was a pretty good CEO and was able to assemble a talented team that led the company to success again. All the time I was fulfilling my role as the reluctant CEO I would tell everyone that when I was done at Gymboree I was going to retire to Mexico and build a hotel. It was just a dream to help me balance the craziness of running a public company. I missed the beach.

Did you always want to open a hotel? 

From all my years of traveling I knew what I liked and what I hated about hotels. I wanted warm, personalized service without worrying about getting nickel-and-dimed to death. hat’s why you don’t check in at the front desk, you don’t sign anything, and you don’t have to carry cash. Yoga is free, surfboards and boogie boards and bikes are all free. IAuthentic has always been the most important adjective for me – real, honest and individual.

Can you talk a little about the food? 

I didn’t really think through the food until later — that was the hardest part for me. In the early days I had to cook breakfast on Dora’s day off.  Those poor guests1 There were days when we ran out of everything – eggs, tomatoes, tortillas, bread, coffee – everything. I met some great folks from Sonoma, where I lived part of the year, who brought farm to table cuisine to the hotel. We started growing our own produce and built the garden restaurant in the field. We’ve made lots of progress, but there’s more to come here!