I heard about it years before I first made it there. A beach paradise framed by turquoise waters and hulking, golden desert rocks, a place for spring breaks and bachelorette parties, where, if the early ’00s MTV reality series “The Hills” was to be believed, tequila shots and “drama, drama, drama” ruled. Cabo. Those in the know simply referred to it as Cabo.

But there is a different kind of Los Cabos, an artful destination for discerning travelers that can be as laid back — or “turnt up,” as they say — as one desires. Of course, this sea-flanked strip of Mexico on the southern tip of the Baja peninsula has always been about more than getting drunk and testing friendships, but recently, a variety of high-end destinations have emerged to cater to the type of crowd that appreciates modern design, farm-to-table meals, and sipping drinks as opposed to drinking shots .

In July, Montage Hotels & Resorts opened an expansive, 122-room property on Santa Maria Cove. It’s one of the few swimmable beaches along a 20-mile strip called the Corridor. Alan Fuerstman, the founder and chief executive of the Montage, spent 14 years searching for the ideal place along the peninsula to open a resort. “You used to have to go to Hawaii for the kind of beach experience we offer,” he said.