Diamante: Where Baja Luxury Reaches Its Peak
There are two types of buyers who call me about Diamante Cabo San Lucas. The first has already visited, played the Dunes Course at sunset, had dinner at Nobu, and is essentially looking for confirmation that buying here is as smart as it feels. The second is doing research from the U.S. or Canada and cannot quite believe a community this comprehensive exists on the Pacific tip of Baja.
Both types are right. Diamante is legitimately one of the best-executed luxury residential communities in all of Mexico — and possibly in North America. Here is everything you need to know before making a decision.
- Two world-class golf courses: Davis Love III's Dunes Course and Tiger Woods's El Cardonal
- Real estate ranges from $800K homesites to $8M+ oceanfront estates — with new Baja Point residences from $2M
- Nobu Hotel and Restaurant, a 5-acre Crystal Lagoon, and a private Pacific Beach Club set Diamante apart from every competitor
- Early homesite buyers have seen 80–120% appreciation — the master plan is controlled and will not be overbuilt
- Short-term rental potential: luxury villas command $2,000–$6,000/night peak season
Diamante Overview: The Master Plan That Changed Cabo
Diamante was developed by Cascade Investment (controlled by Bill Gates) through its real estate subsidiary, making it one of the most capitalized private communities in Baja California Sur. The master plan encompasses approximately 1,900 acres of Pacific-front and Sea of Cortez-side terrain at the very tip of the Baja Peninsula.
The vision from the start was a vertically integrated resort residential community — meaning everything from the golf courses to the dining to the beach club to the residential management would operate at a single, ultra-high standard. That vision has been executed with remarkable consistency over 15+ years of development.
The community is gated and guarded 24/7. Access roads are immaculate. Landscaping is deliberately desert-native and dramatic. The overall aesthetic is what I call "elevated Baja" — celebrating the raw natural beauty of the Sonoran Desert and Pacific coast rather than importing a generic tropical resort feel.
The Dunes Course: Davis Love III's Desert Masterpiece
The Dunes Course opened in 2009 and immediately earned a place on Golf Digest's list of Mexico's top courses. Davis Love III worked with the land's extraordinary topography — massive Pacific dunes, dramatic elevation changes, and sweeping ocean views — to create a course that demands strategic thinking without being punishing to recreational golfers.
The course plays 7,050 yards from the back tees across 18 holes. The routing runs along the Pacific coast with several holes offering direct views of the crashing surf below the fairways. The green complexes are large and undulating, typical of Love's design philosophy, and the natural rough is desert vegetation that is visually stunning even when it is eating your second shot.
Non-residents can access the course through the Diamante guest experience program, but membership and homeownership provide priority tee times, significantly lower green fees, and access to the full club experience. For serious golfers, the Dunes Course alone is a compelling reason to own here.
Comparable in quality to courses at Quivira and Cabo del Sol, the Dunes is regularly cited as the best links-style experience in Los Cabos. See our guide to Los Cabos golf communities for a full comparison.
El Cardonal: Tiger Woods's Baja Masterwork
When Tiger Woods Design was commissioned to create the second course at Diamante, the golf world watched closely. El Cardonal opened in 2014 and delivered on the hype — it was named one of Golf Digest's "Best New International Courses" the year it opened.
El Cardonal is a desert parkland course on the Sea of Cortez side of the property. Where the Dunes Course is dramatic and exposed, El Cardonal is more strategic and intimate, weaving through arroyos and native cardón cactus fields (the namesake of the course). The great blue herons and egrets that inhabit the nearby estuary are a regular presence on the course.
The course plays 7,133 yards and showcases Tiger's design sensibility — multiple risk-reward opportunities on approach shots, generous landing zones off the tee, but demanding short games around protected greens. It is simultaneously more playable for high handicappers and more demanding for low ones than the Dunes.
Having two courses of this caliber within a single community is extraordinarily rare. Among all Cabo communities, only Diamante offers this. It is a genuine differentiator for buyers who golf seriously.
The Crystal Lagoon: Swimmable Paradise in the Desert
The Crystal Lagoon is one of the most talked-about amenities in all of Los Cabos — and for good reason. It is a five-acre man-made freshwater lagoon maintained by Crystal Lagoons Corporation's proprietary technology, which keeps the water pristine and swimmable using 100x less energy and chemicals than a conventional pool.
The lagoon offers calm, warm, swimmable water with a real sand beach — essentially a lake experience in the middle of the desert. Residents and club members can swim, paddleboard, kayak, use pedal boats, and enjoy beach lounging without the currents and surf of the Pacific. Families with children particularly love this amenity.
Diamante's lagoon is one of only a handful of Crystal Lagoon installations in Mexico. It functions as both a lifestyle amenity and a powerful marketing differentiator that supports property values throughout the community.
Nobu Hotel & Restaurant: World-Class Dining at Your Doorstep
Having Nobu as your community restaurant is not something most Los Cabos developments can claim. The Nobu Hotel Cabo San Lucas at Diamante is part of Robert De Niro and Nobu Matsuhisa's global hospitality brand, and the restaurant delivers the same standard you would expect at Nobu New York or Nobu Malibu.
The menu centers on Nobu's signature Japanese-Peruvian fusion — the black cod with miso, yellowtail sashimi with jalapeño, and wagyu presentations are exceptional. The setting is dramatic: ocean views, desert landscaping, and the understated luxury that defines the Nobu aesthetic.
Get the Current Diamante Inventory List — Homesites, Residences & Baja Point →For Diamante homeowners, having Nobu as your "neighborhood restaurant" is both a practical luxury and a substantial amenity value-add that supports premium pricing and rental rates. Guests staying in Diamante rental properties cite access to Nobu as a top reason for booking.
The Pacific Beach Club: Cabo's Most Dramatic Stretch of Coast
The Diamante Beach Club sits on a protected section of Pacific coastline that is among the most visually dramatic in all of Los Cabos. The cliffs above the beach frame sweeping ocean views, and the club itself offers beach service, pools, food and beverage, and the infrastructure for ocean activities.
Note: The Pacific side at Diamante has strong surf and is not a calm swimming beach — that is what the Crystal Lagoon provides. The Beach Club is for the dramatic ocean experience — watching sunsets over the Pacific from one of Cabo's most exclusive perches, with cold drinks in hand.
The juxtaposition of the calm Crystal Lagoon for family swimming and the wild Pacific Beach Club for sunset experiences is a design choice that reflects genuine thought about how residents actually want to live. It is one of the most thoughtful amenity plans in any Cabo community.
Diamante Real Estate: What's Available and What It Costs
Diamante's real estate program offers multiple entry points across three primary product types:
Homesites (Land)
Unimproved lots where you build a custom residence. Interior lots start at $800,000–$1.2M USD. Golf-course-frontage lots run $1.5M–$3M. Oceanfront or premier view homesites command $3M–$6M. These lots give buyers the most flexibility to design a bespoke home and have historically offered the best appreciation trajectory for buyers who build within 3–5 years.
Turnkey Residences & Condos
Finished residential product within Diamante starts around $900,000 for smaller condo units and scales to $4M–$8M for custom oceanfront estate homes. The quality of construction and finish is consistently high — no corner-cutting in the finishes or landscaping. Rental-ready units with furnishing packages are available and popular among buyers who want immediate rental income.
Baja Point (New Phase)
Baja Point is the newest development phase at Diamante, positioned on an elevated promontory with 270-degree views of both the Pacific and Sea of Cortez. Residences start around $2M and feature contemporary architecture, smart-home systems, private plunge pools, and high-end appliance packages. This is the most compelling current opportunity at Diamante — early buyers in similar phases at Diamante have seen 80–120% gains within 5–7 years.
For context on how Diamante compares to its neighbors, see our guides to Quivira and Rancho San Lucas — both excellent communities with different price points and amenity sets.
Membership Structure & Club Access
Diamante operates a private club model. Real estate buyers receive social membership automatically with their purchase, which includes access to both golf courses (with priority tee times and resident rates), the Crystal Lagoon, the Beach Club, Nobu dining discounts, and the Club House facilities.
Golf membership upgrades are available for buyers who want unlimited golf access without per-round fees. Initiation fees for full golf membership have historically increased as the community has matured — buyers who purchase real estate now lock in current membership pricing.
Non-real estate memberships are available but capacity is deliberately limited to protect the resident experience. The community manages the membership roster carefully to prevent overcrowding — a quality-of-life commitment that directly supports property values.
Investment Outlook: Why Diamante Holds Its Value
I have watched Diamante's market closely since the community's early years, and the appreciation story is compelling for several reasons that are structural rather than cyclical.
First, supply is permanently constrained. The Diamante master plan has fixed boundaries — it cannot grow beyond its 1,900 acres. As phases sell out, there is no new inventory at comparable quality in the same location. Scarcity drives premium pricing in every luxury market.
Second, the amenity set is genuinely irreplaceable. Two championship courses by Hall-of-Fame designers, a Crystal Lagoon, Nobu, and a Pacific Beach Club cannot be replicated next door. Competing communities offer some of these elements but none offers all of them.
Third, the ownership group's capitalization means Diamante will not be compromised by developer financial distress — a real risk at some other Los Cabos projects. The community will be maintained at the standard it was built to. For guidance on vetting developer quality across all Los Cabos purchases, see our safety guide to Mexican real estate.
The BCS state government's tourism infrastructure investment plan and the ongoing expansion of Los Cabos International Airport further support long-term demand for premium properties in the corridor.
How to Buy at Diamante: Process & Due Diligence
Purchasing real estate at Diamante follows the standard Mexican foreign ownership process. Since Diamante sits within Mexico's Restricted Zone (within 50 km of the coast), all foreign buyers use a fideicomiso trust. Our complete fideicomiso guide explains the process step by step.
Closing costs at Diamante typically run 4–6% of the purchase price and include acquisition tax, notario fees, trust setup, and title insurance. I strongly recommend title insurance for all Diamante purchases — it is available from major international underwriters and provides peace of mind for a fraction of the asset value. Our 2026 closing costs guide covers every line item.
The due diligence process should include: reviewing the current homeowners association (fideicomiso) documents, confirming membership inclusions in writing, verifying any construction timelines and milestones if purchasing pre-construction Baja Point, and engaging an independent Mexican real estate attorney.
I work directly with Diamante's sales team and can coordinate introductions, arrange site visits, structure offers, and ensure the full due diligence process is executed correctly. Reach out through the contact page or use the link below.
Schedule a Call to Tour Diamante — I'll Arrange Site Access & Current Pricing →Ready to explore other top Cabo communities? Compare Diamante with Pedregal for a different elevation and marina proximity, or see the full Los Cabos neighborhood guide for a comprehensive overview of every major community.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the price range for real estate at Diamante Cabo San Lucas?+
Diamante offers a wide range of property types. Homesites (land only) start around $800,000–$1.5M USD for interior lots and reach $3M–$6M for premier oceanfront parcels. Finished residences and condos start near $900,000 and top-tier custom estates with ocean views sell for $5M–$8M+. Baja Point residences — the newest phase — are priced $2M–$5M.
Who designed the golf courses at Diamante?+
Diamante has two distinct championship courses. The Dunes Course was designed by Davis Love III and opened in 2009 — it is consistently ranked among the top 10 courses in Mexico and is celebrated for its dramatic sand dune topography and Pacific Ocean views. El Cardonal was designed by Tiger Woods Design and opened in 2014, making it one of Tiger's most acclaimed designs. It plays along the Sea of Cortez side.
What is the Crystal Lagoon at Diamante?+
The Crystal Lagoon is a man-made, crystal-clear freshwater amenity spanning nearly 5 acres within the community. It is maintained using a proprietary eco-technology that uses minimal chemicals and energy. Residents can swim, kayak, paddleboard, and enjoy beach-style recreation in calm, swimmable water — a feature that differentiates Diamante from virtually every other Cabo community.
Is there a hotel at Diamante Cabo San Lucas?+
Diamante does not have a traditional hotel on-site, but it is home to the Nobu Hotel Cabo San Lucas, one of the most celebrated dining and hospitality brands in the world. The Nobu Restaurant serves world-class Japanese-Peruvian cuisine and is open to both residents and outside guests. The community also operates the Beach Club and Club House for residents.
Can I rent out my Diamante property as a short-term rental?+
Yes. Diamante allows short-term vacation rentals, and many homeowners actively rent their properties on platforms like VRBO and Airbnb. High-end villas at Diamante command nightly rates of $2,000–$6,000+ during peak season (November–April). Some owners use Diamante's own hospitality management program for concierge-grade rental management.
What is Baja Point at Diamante?+
Baja Point is the newest residential phase within the Diamante master plan, positioned on a dramatic elevated promontory with panoramic Pacific and Sea of Cortez views. Residences are designed as contemporary architectural statements with full smart-home integration, private plunge pools, and direct golf course frontage. Pricing starts around $2M and these properties are expected to appreciate significantly as the phase sells out.
How far is Diamante from Cabo San Lucas downtown and the airport?+
Diamante's main entrance is located on the Corridor (Highway 1) approximately 7 km west of the Cabo San Lucas downtown marina area — about a 10-minute drive. Los Cabos International Airport (SJD) is roughly 45–50 minutes east of Diamante, passing through San Jose del Cabo.
Is Diamante a good investment compared to other Cabo communities?+
Diamante has shown consistent appreciation since launch, with early homesite buyers seeing 80–120% gains on premier lots. Its combination of two signature golf courses, the Crystal Lagoon, Nobu, the Pacific Beach Club, and a controlled master plan makes it one of the most defensible luxury assets in Los Cabos. Comparable communities — Querencia, Chileno Bay, Costa Palmas — have all posted similar trajectories.
Aaron Cuha
Real Estate Advisor & Los Cabos Market Expert
Real estate advisor and founder of Living In Cabo. 15+ years helping families navigate complex real estate decisions. Strategic partner with Ronival — Baja's largest brokerage.
