The Senorita Bonita is a 32' Blackfin that is offered by the Van Wormer resort's Palmas de Cortez operation. First, the good things. Hotel Palmas de Cortez is the nicest of the East Cape fishing resorts. It is located in the town of Los Barriles which is about a 1:45 minute drive from the Los Cabos airport. The hotel and condo/villas are situated along a beautiful white sand beach where the fishing boats pick up and drop of their fisherman from a temporary dock that can be rolled in and out of the surf. The hotel has a nice infinity edge pool and swim-up bar overlooking the beach and Sea of Cortez. The drink and food prices are downright cheap compared to Cabo.
The resort is nice although not what would be considered luxurious by Cabo standards. Last summer we stayed in a two bedroom condo unit that had a nice balcony overlooking the beach. The condo offered two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and a pretty complete kitchen.
The morning ritual of twenty plus boats attempting to pick up their charters at the small dock off the beach was kind of a hassle. Our two days of fishing on the Senorita Bonita were less than memorable. We wanted to target Striped Marlin and were very disappointed that the Captain told us that there was no live bait available and that the water temperatures were abnormally cold for the time of year. We saw countless Stripers over the two days sunning themselves on the surface but they never took a look at our trolled lures and had absolutely no interest in the dead ballyhoo that were tossed at them on dozens of occasions. The captain seemed competent but not all that aggressive about catching us fish. On day one we ended up with a very nice 50 pound Yellowfin tuna and on day two we caught two Dorado in the 35 to 45 pound range. Not the multiple Striped Marlin per day fishing we were expecting!
The most disappointing aspect was the condition of the Senorita Bonita and the tackle. The tackle ranged from average to poor condition. The lines were old and chafed and two of the reels had very rough drags. One of the reels actually seized up just bringing lures in and out! Beyond that, the Senorita Bonita was infested with cockroaches! We noticed several running around the deck and the cabin on the first day. On the second day we opened a few hatches and saw scores of them running around the bilge and the cabinets in the cabin. Having paid extra for a "twin engine supercruiser" this was far from acceptable.
Overall, I give the Palmas de Cortez a "B" as a fishing resort and the Senorita Bonita a "D" as a charter boat. I would give Palmas another try but would have a discussion with the management about the boat and crew prior to finalizing any reservation.
The resort is nice although not what would be considered luxurious by Cabo standards. Last summer we stayed in a two bedroom condo unit that had a nice balcony overlooking the beach. The condo offered two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and a pretty complete kitchen.
The morning ritual of twenty plus boats attempting to pick up their charters at the small dock off the beach was kind of a hassle. Our two days of fishing on the Senorita Bonita were less than memorable. We wanted to target Striped Marlin and were very disappointed that the Captain told us that there was no live bait available and that the water temperatures were abnormally cold for the time of year. We saw countless Stripers over the two days sunning themselves on the surface but they never took a look at our trolled lures and had absolutely no interest in the dead ballyhoo that were tossed at them on dozens of occasions. The captain seemed competent but not all that aggressive about catching us fish. On day one we ended up with a very nice 50 pound Yellowfin tuna and on day two we caught two Dorado in the 35 to 45 pound range. Not the multiple Striped Marlin per day fishing we were expecting!
The most disappointing aspect was the condition of the Senorita Bonita and the tackle. The tackle ranged from average to poor condition. The lines were old and chafed and two of the reels had very rough drags. One of the reels actually seized up just bringing lures in and out! Beyond that, the Senorita Bonita was infested with cockroaches! We noticed several running around the deck and the cabin on the first day. On the second day we opened a few hatches and saw scores of them running around the bilge and the cabinets in the cabin. Having paid extra for a "twin engine supercruiser" this was far from acceptable.
Overall, I give the Palmas de Cortez a "B" as a fishing resort and the Senorita Bonita a "D" as a charter boat. I would give Palmas another try but would have a discussion with the management about the boat and crew prior to finalizing any reservation.
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