Nobu vs. Viceroy Los Cabos: Which Should You Book?

Nobu Hotel Los Cabos and Viceroy Los Cabos are the two modern, design-led resorts in Los Cabos, at opposite ends of the corridor. Nobu is in a gated golf community outside Cabo San Lucas, Viceroy on the beach in San José del Cabo. I stayed at both back to back in August 2025, three nights at Nobu and then three at Viceroy, after a week at Nobu over Christmas 2022. Both scored a 7 overall. (Weighing Cabo against Cancún instead? See Cancún vs. Los Cabos.) They’re not the same trip.

The short version: Nobu is the better hotel. Viceroy is the one I’d tell most people to book. Nobu is more refined and more well-rounded, and if I could only stay at one again, that’s the one. But Viceroy is more unique, more romantic, closer to town, and it’s the one the Michelin Guide gave a Key to. For the kind of trip most people take to Cabo, that’s the one.

At a glance

The scorecard: Nobu wins food and, for me, rooms and sleep. Viceroy wins setting, value and the Michelin Key. That last one is interesting: the Guide thinks Viceroy is the better hotel, I don’t, and I understand why. Service is a 6 at both, for different reasons.

Cost

Off-season, in August, they cost about the same. Both figures below include taxes and fees. My Nobu stay came to about $419 a night for one person, room and my share of the food. Viceroy came to about $535, and the room was most of it. Viceroy adds about 35% in taxes and fees on top of the rate, and we ate out in San José most nights, so the hotel food was small.

In peak season it changes. As of October 2026, booking sites put Nobu at around $824 a night in December, and my own Christmas 2022 stay was about $1,174 a night all in. Viceroy’s December rates run roughly $700 to $1,000. Both get expensive; Nobu more so. Full breakdowns in the Nobu review and the Viceroy review.

Food is expensive at both. Nobu’s costs a bit more and is better. If you’re going to spend on hotel food, spend it at Nobu.

The vibe

Nobu is the more refined of the two: spread out, private, a little more mature, inside a gated golf community. It feels like a real vacation because there’s nothing to do but relax. Viceroy is younger and more unique: towers around lagoons, woven nests rising out of the water, rooms that change color, fireworks some nights. It feels romantic, and it’s great for photos.

Location

This is the real decision. Viceroy is in San José del Cabo, about 25 minutes from the airport, and you can be in town for dinner easily. Nobu is about 45 minutes from the airport, outside Cabo San Lucas, and once you’re there, you stay there. If you want to be close to a town, skip Nobu. If you dive, Nobu is closer to the sites.

Neither beach is swimmable, which is true of most of Los Cabos. You’re at these hotels for the pools.

Diving

If you dive, this matters. I did a two-tank dive with Dive Cabo in the Cabo San Lucas Marine Park, out near the Arch, for $150. The shop is at the marina in Cabo San Lucas, by the Tesoro Resort. We were staying at Viceroy, and it was quite far: the dive started at 8 a.m., so we had to leave very early. From Nobu, it’s much closer.

It was my first time diving. Beginners book a beginner option, but in practice you go out together with the certified divers. I was a little nervous at first, but the instructor was calm, explained the technique, and started with what was almost snorkeling before taking us deeper. The other guests were much more experienced, so it felt like private instruction. The instructors speak great English and are very experienced. Visibility was good, with a wide range of fish, and the trip lasts several hours. On our dive we also saw a reef shark, a sea lion and a moray eel. I’d recommend Dive Cabo, and diving in Cabo in general. It’s a great spot.

If you’re staying in San José, book a later slot if you can, or use Dive Cabo’s hotel pickup ($104 from San José del Cabo, per their site). The full day, from finding the shop to what we saw, is in my Cabo diving guide.

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Rooms

Both 7.5, but different. Viceroy’s are the more unique: color-changing lights, an enclosed area at the back with a big sofa that’s basically a bed, and a private tub on the balcony. You don’t see that at many hotels. Nobu’s Deluxe Double is cleaner and simpler, modern, overlooking the pools.

I slept better at Nobu, definitely. It’s very quiet, even right by the pool, and I had no issues on either stay. At Viceroy we moved rooms once because the soundproofing isn’t as good, and the rooftop bar and pool can make the top floors noisy too. If you’re after a relaxing stay, that matters.

Which room to book. At Viceroy, the balcony-tub room, no question: quieter, romantic, and you don’t need the ground floor, where all you see is the water feature and it can be noisier. At Nobu, the Deluxe Double is enough.

Pools and setting

Nobu has some of my favorite hotel pools anywhere: large, spread out, winding past the rooms, never too crowded, with free cabanas and fire bowls at sunset. Viceroy’s pools are fine, but the setting is the thing: the nests, the water, the lights, the night walks, the fireworks. Viceroy gets the higher setting score for being more unique and more romantic. Nobu gets my vote for actually spending the day by the water.

Food

Nobu, clearly. Expensive, but memorable, especially Ardea. The Nobu restaurant itself is very expensive, but with the setting over the ocean it’s worth it for a special occasion. At Viceroy I only ate at Dahlia, which wasn’t memorable and was still fairly expensive, and I didn’t try the restaurant in the nest.

But the food question is really a location question. Viceroy’s own food is worse and it doesn’t matter much, because San José del Cabo is right there with far more variety; La Lupita, a really good taco place, is where I’d send you first. At Nobu the food is better, and you’ll eat it every night, because you’re not really going to leave.

Service

A 6 at both, in different ways. Nobu has a butler and a WhatsApp line, so on the surface it’s a little better, and I’d give it the slight edge for that. Viceroy has nothing like it. Neither is a hotel where the service is the reason to go.

Value

Viceroy edges it, 7 to 6.5, mostly because the room is a little cheaper and it has the Michelin Key. But if the hotel is the vacation, rather than a base for San José, Nobu gives you more for the money: better pools, better food, quieter rooms.

Who should book which

Book Viceroy if you’re a younger couple who wants something unique and romantic, you want to eat in San José del Cabo most nights, and you’d rather be 25 minutes from the airport than 45. That’s most people going to Cabo, which is why it’s my default recommendation.

Check rates at Viceroy ↗

Book Nobu if you want the better hotel: to relax at the resort, use the pools, eat at the restaurants and not go out much. Families, couples who want quiet, and divers.

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Skip both if you want a truly high-end hotel with great service. Both are nice; neither is that. For that, look at One&Only Palmilla, the old-money cliffside resort near San José that’s been drawing celebrities since the 1950s, or Las Ventanas al Paraíso, Rosewood’s resort in the corridor. I haven’t stayed at either, so no scores, but each holds two Michelin Keys to Viceroy’s one, and they’re roughly double the price. And skip both if you want cheap or all-inclusive, especially with kids. For that, the one that keeps coming up is Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos, an all-inclusive in San José near the airport with a kids’ club and its own mini water park. I haven’t stayed there either.

Split the trip

Do what I did: three nights at Nobu, then three at Viceroy, and keep that order. At Nobu it’s a real vacation: you stay in, use the pools, eat at the hotel. By the time you’re ready to go out more, you’re at Viceroy, next to town, and we were out almost every day. That’s also why we barely tried the food there, and maybe part of why I rate it lower. The drive between them is 45 minutes to an hour.

I rented a Jeep for the six days, about $195 a day, because I like to drive, and I wouldn’t do it again. It’s expensive, there’s no reason to leave Nobu, and at Viceroy you’re already close to San José, with complimentary bikes for nearby spots. Take a transfer between the two and Uber the rest.

My verdict

I’ve gone back and forth on this. Objectively, Nobu is the better hotel: a little more refined, a little more well-rounded, a more exclusive-feeling setting, better pools, better food, and rooms I slept well in. If I could only stay at one again, it’s Nobu, in the off-season, when the price makes sense.

But the hotel I’d recommend more often is Viceroy. It’s more unique, with the color-changing rooms, the nests and the fireworks; it’s more romantic; it’s close to San José; and it’s a little cheaper. The Michelin Guide gave it a Key and not Nobu, and while I’d score them the other way, I can see what the Guide saw. Most people going to Cabo want what Viceroy is. If that’s you, book it. I’d stay there again too.

Read the full reviews: Nobu Hotel Los Cabos and Viceroy Los Cabos.

FAQ

Nobu or Viceroy Los Cabos, which is better?

Nobu is the better hotel: more refined, better pools and food, quieter rooms. Viceroy is the one I’d recommend to most people: more unique, more romantic, close to San José del Cabo, and it has the Michelin Key.

Which is closer to the airport?

Viceroy, about 25 minutes. Nobu is about 45.

Can you swim in the ocean at either?

No. Neither beach is swimmable, like most of Los Cabos. Both are pool hotels.

Which is cheaper?

About the same off-season, around $400 to $550 a night all in for one person. In December, Nobu runs higher, around $800 or more a night for the room.

Which has better food?

Nobu. Ardea and the Nobu restaurant are expensive but memorable. At Viceroy, eat in San José.

Which has a Michelin Key?

Viceroy has one. Nobu doesn’t, as of 2026.

Should I split a trip between them?

Yes. Nobu first to relax, then Viceroy to go out.