Beach get-away–First time for all-inclusive?
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I have a couple days off next week and with the bone chilling cold overtaking, I’ve considered getting away for a last minute beach vacation. I’ve never done an all inclusive type thing, but getting away from three days on a beach seems like it may be good. Nothing but relaxing with a good book near a pool or beach.
It seems I could book a place with airfare from midwest for around 900-1200 a person for 4 nights which would give three full beach days. Will I be disappointed? Maybe I just need to keep my expectations low?
4 nights with flight at all inclusive for ~$1k, yes i would keep your expectations very low.
Some all-inclusives are great. Some are not. Do some research before you book it. They are certainly convenient, not having to think about the cost of everything you consume. Almost universally, the food at an all-inclusive is not as good as a non-all-inclusive resort of similar quality. Just my experience. If you just want to sit in the sun and read a book and don’t care about that, it sounds pretty awesome to me. Makes me think I should do the same…
There’s some great all inclusive resorts and then there’s some that aren’t. Usually, low price points should come with low expectations.
“But investing isn’t about beating others at their game. It’s about controlling yourself at your own game.”
― Benjamin Graham, The Intelligent InvestorJust did a massive amount of resort research this week. Staying at Majestic Colonial in Punta Cana-check it out!…amazing reviews all around and all inclusive. A lot will depend on how far you are flying from, and remember this is peak resort season.
I looked at at least 20 places, and the cheapo resorts had complaints of gross food and rooms and food poisoning…do not cheap out on all inclusives offshore!
What resort is it?
I hadn’t really picked a resort, I had just typed dates into the vacations section on Delta Airlines and that’s sort of the range of prices I got. Maybe since it’s high season anything good is picked over?
What resort is it?
I hadn’t really picked a resort, I had just typed dates into the vacations section on Delta Airlines and that’s sort of the range of prices I got. Maybe since it’s high season anything good is picked over?
There should be some good ones left. I’ve been to a handful of all-inclusive resorts. Some are terrible and some are really good as others have said. I always looked at the restaurants/menus at the resort and the amenities, but I liked having stuff to do. Poor alcohol choices can break a trip, but that’s hard to research ahead of time. Just read a bunch of reviews if you’re investigating a place. They’re a little like physician reviews…some people are just crazy and there’s no pleasing them ever.
We did the Bahamas last year around this time. Just keep in mind that while the sights are beautiful and the sun is warm, the water is still a little chilly. 😉 The farther south you travel, the less that’ll be a worry.
All inclusives are hit and miss for us, and usually miss. We hate Sandals more than it probably deserves, but the hatred is real. Secrets is meh, and we’ve never been, but have heard good things about Breathless (which does have a property in Punta Cana).
One I can recommend is “Beloved Playa Mujeres” in Cancun. That place does all inclusive right. Not cheap, but not too bad either, and flights to Cancun should be reasonable. Best shower I’ve experienced in one of these, which goes to show what I look for in places like this.
Done a couple of all-inclusives with my family, my thoughts….
a. Resorts have different clientele, so if you are single going to the family resorts may not be a good choice.
b. Go to a well-rated resort. Makes a huge difference in food choices/quality. Bring a shirt/jeans for the ‘formal’ places in the resort. We use apple vacations and stuck with the 5 or 6 golden apple resorts.
c. Never ever ever attend/go to a time-share/fractional ownership pitch; they lie about how much time it takes and time is the most precious commodity on vacation.
d. Beer choices and quality will be limited basically regardless of where you go.
One I can recommend is “Beloved Playa Mujeres” in Cancun. That place does all inclusive right. Not cheap, but not too bad either, and flights to Cancun should be reasonable. Best shower I’ve experienced in one of these, which goes to show what I look for in places like this.
I second Beloved Playa Mujeres. Wife and I honestly lucked into this placed when we were trying to find a honeymoon spot. We were pretty limited in terms of timing so we ended up with Cancun based on the fact flights were daily with Delta. We booked resort & air travel (first class; only time in our lives) combo on expedia for 5 nights at $4,000. Parents insisted on picking up the tab as a treat (I think as a token of appreciation for my wife’s dental school and living costing her dad much less than her brother’s pharmacy education did). Somehow, we got a free upgrade when we got there
Beloved Playa is not in the middle of all the other hotels. The resort is just the right size, and all of the workers were extremely pleasant. Just look around for a cab or shuttle to get you to the hotel since it’s a little ways away and they don’t have their own. We absolutely loved the place.
Earn everything.
Southwest vacations offer good deals too. I’ve been to three outside Cancun which were reasonably priced and very nice. I always check reviews and book adults only. As others have mentioned the food isn’t comparable to your favorite upscale restaurant but at all places it was good and certainly plentiful.
Key Price factors
1. Alcohol. We’re tea-totalling type folk so that’s a primary cost factor
2. Timeshare presentation. Up to you if you want to sequester/subject yourself to this type of unique torture. —NEVER say yes. look distracted/annoyed/unintentive/phone.
3. Airfare. If Chartered — good luck. Common carrier is a must for us.
4. Hotel — finally it’s the hotel and service+food itself.
Go for it. It does not have to be an all inclusive, by the way.
I’d recommend Playa Del Carmen. A lot to do and good value for your money.
4 nights with flight at all inclusive for ~$1k, yes i would keep your expectations very low.
Actually we did exactly this once and managed to make it incredible. Flew to Jamaica on SW points (managed to do enough credit card churning to get a companion pass) and used the Hyatt Rewards credit card with the two free nights at any property deal. That includes their all-inclusives (Zilara & Ziva), so we stayed at their Rose Hall property (which was brand new at the time) and it was amazing. Awesome food, gorgeous property. We still dream about the unlimited jerk chicken at the shack on the beach. We actually only used one of the free nights, because they had a buy 2 nights get one free deal. So our total for a 4 night all-inclusive stay came out to $1200.
Obviously this wasn’t a last minute thing, though.
