JW Marriott Los Cabos Beach Resort & Spa

“To me, being close to nature is the greatest luxury in the world. The design of the JW Marriott is intended to create an intimate relationship with this spectacular natural setting.“ – Jim Olson, FAIA, Design Principal.

The design of the JW Marriott Los Cabos Resort seamlessly blends architecture and art with the site’s powerful desert landscape and an endless panorama of the Pacific Ocean. Though separated from the water by a 35-foot-tall dune, the resort creates an immediate connection from entry to ocean through a horizon-framing main arrival hall and intuitive, adventure-evoking pathways throughout the resort.

The grandeur of the 299-room, 561,000-square-foot resort is honed to an intimate scale starting with the entry hall where a cadence of tall columns inspired by pre-Columbian architecture draws visitors forward. Just past the main entry, two separate infinity pools appear to join, creating a visual connection to the ocean beyond. The horizon takes center stage from nearly every place in the resort. As guests move throughout the property, they are greeted with unexpected views of the water, framed by native landscaping.

“When I first visited the site, I was overwhelmed by the powerful landscape and the ocean that stretched before it. Honoring these elements, the building is designed to dissolve into the landscape, and a series of terraced reflecting pools bring the ocean right up directly to the visitor." – Jim Olson, FAIA, Design Principal.

Smooth concrete and stucco buildings throughout the complex, whose color was derived from the sand of the surrounding desert, were designed to appear native to the site. Open travertine-covered hallways and floors combined with local soil aggregates, further blur the physical boundaries of indoors and outdoors, site and architecture.

Specially commissioned artworks from Mexican artists including Jaume Plensa, Jorge Yázpik, and Sam Falls are woven throughout the interior and exterior spaces of the resort, as well as individual guest rooms.

Olson Kundig:
Design Principal: Jim Olson, FAIA
Principal: Kevin M. Kudo-King, AIA, LEED® AP
Project Manager: Jerry Garcia, LEED® AP
Architectural Staff: Martina Bendel and Jorge Ribera
Landscape Architect: Michelle Arab, ASLA
Interiors: Debbie Kennedy, LEED® AP ID+C, Charlie Hellstern and Cristina Acevedo

Consultants:
Associate Architect: IDEA Asociados de Mexico
General Contractor: Grupo Diestra
Structural Engineer: Alonso y Asociados
Lighting Design: Luz en Arquitectura