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Thread: Anybody done any nice all inclusive vacations?

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    jellybelly's Avatar
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    This is an interesting question as I have never really looked into it so it's cool seeing the answers! Jamaica and Antigua, very cool. I've previously done a mix of more 'world' trips and few countries each time kinda trips and always just went with booking the flight and doing my own thing. For multiple country trips I always play around with the take off points etc and prices, decision was mainly based on that. But one little tip I noticed was through booking.com we found some super nice more fancier accomodations at like over 50% off the original price because they slashed prices closer to the book in date, like a couple hrs through booking.com. I liked booking.com mainly because of most places offering free cancellations up-to certain points.
    Last edited by jellybelly; 05-02-2022 at 08:50 AM.

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    I think it really depends on how much you're willing to spend & what you're looking to do; lounge and/or explore or even go diving.
    Personally, I loved Jamaica - the Grand Palladium was a dream.
    Grand Sirenis in Mexico is another good one.
    Honduras was a good time but for me a large majority of it was because of the sloth sanctuary - Highly recommend. Hecking love sloths.


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  5. #13
    oventoast's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by I_royalty_I View Post
    Sweet deal! I’d say many spots have relaxed the covid restrictions now. Last year, I had to wear a mask everywhere inside and at the buffet for breakfast somebody would walk with a plate and I’d point to what I wanted. Recently, I’d just grab a plate and grab my stuff. It’s definitely much more comfortable to fly without a mask on too.. that was always a struggle.

    I feel like I may have driven past a Riu property while I was down there. It sounds very familiar for some reason. Looks like they have got a bunch of different locations for decent prices, based off their website. I’ll definitely take a note of them and look into them!
    Yeah, the Rius are very hit-and-miss. I have been to a ton because growing up, my parents really liked all inclusive vacations and Riu were always the option that was most affordable without being too cheap. Usually they are a miss and most are probably equivalent to the Sandals you visited if not worse. The only one I would highly recommend is the one in Negril (specifically Hotel Riu Palace Tropical Bay).

    I've pretty much sworn off all-inclusive spots except for a couple because I feel like once you've been to one that you really like, there is no point in switching to a different one and risking it since they're so similar (unless you actually want to explore a diff. country). I feel like I'd rather just do a regular vacation at that point and sight-see, rather than go all-inclusive.

    In December 2020 I went to Hotel Riu Palace Tropical Bay (in Negril) and it was probably the best all-inclusive resort I've been to and definitely the best value for your $ (I think we paid 1,600$ per person at the time, had ocean view rooms, etc. Obviously prices are likely more now). The beach in that area of Negril is amazing - super clean, clear, low amount of waves, weather was always nice (no winds), plenty of natural shade, lots of beach-front activities and things to do during the day. You can walk along the bay (I think its approximately 1.5 hrs from one side to the other) and its very safe, with a nice market along the way. Food was amazing for an all-inclusive too. Evening entertainment was okay(?) I guess, I don't really remember anything standing out too much but they did have a lot of variety.

    The hotel is next to the Hotel Riu Negril (it is on the right side of the bay) and I would stay away from that one. I went there during undergrad because it's significantly cheaper, but the beach is quite dirty, most of the junk blows into that coast of the bay, theres very little shade on the beach, and its also incredibly crowded and a bit lower quality in terms of food etc.

    On the left side is the Royalton and i've never been, but i had a friend visit around the same time and she had good things to say about it (she stayed in the adults-only zone). From the outside in (when we would walk by), it looked even more impressive than Riu Palace, but IIRC they cost about the same so I have no idea if the food and entertainment was actually good or what. The crowd was much younger and more lively so if we were to ever do an all-inclusive vacation again, we *might* go here instead, just because it's hard to imagine it would be much worse.

    Shortly after I went to Riu Palace in Aruba. It was good too but I probably wouldn't go back. It was a bit more expensive than Negril but virtually the same experience in terms of food, entertainment. It only had slightly more negatives in terms of the beach being really crowded and windy. I went to Aruba before and didn't do all-inclusive (I stayed at the Marriott) and it was a much MUCH better experience in terms of food, entertain and came out roughly similar in price (though didn't drink as much) and I'd probably do that again instead of going all-inclusive

    I also wouldn't really recommend these:
    - Excellence Playa Mujeres (rooms had bedbugs or cockroaches or something, although the rooms were REALLY nice/new/swanky which was disappointing; food was mediocre)
    - Anything in Cuba (pretty much not much to eat here, but I guess if you don't care about food I'd recommend the Royalton there)
    - Dreams Los Cabos (it was mediocre for the price, virtually no evening entertainment compared to other places in the area)
    - Coconut Bay Beach Resort & Spa in St Lucia (they were very stingy with water and other basic necessities lol)

    A few friends of mine recently came back from Turks and Caicos and really enjoyed that!

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    Quote Originally Posted by jellybelly View Post
    This is an interesting question as I have never really looked into it so it's cool seeing the answers! Jamaica and Antigua, very cool. I've previously done a mix of more 'world' trips and few countries each time kinda trips and always just went with booking the flight and doing my own thing. For multiple country trips I always play around with the take off points etc and prices, decision was mainly based on that. But one little tip I noticed was through booking.com we found some super nice more fancier accomodations at like over 50% off the original price because they slashed prices closer to the book in date, like a couple hrs through booking.com. I liked booking.com mainly because of most places offering free cancellations up-to certain points.
    Thats what I’d really like to do. Some of the Caribbean islands can be a little sketchy so I wouldn’t wander too far out of the resort. Europe would be awesome to visit and I’ve seen some pretty good deals out there - but I’d need 2 weeks off work to properly soak it all in with the travel added on top of it. We’ve put that down as a future endeavor.
    Last year we did both book surprise trips which was awesome. She took us to Arizona and we did a bunch of hiking and the Grand Canyon. I took us to the NE United States. Flew into Maine and drove down to Rhode Island with stops in each state along the way to do some cool stuff.
    I feel like there’s literally a million places to explore. It just sucks when the bank account yells to stop and leave it alone for awhile haha

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Nattiee View Post
    I think it really depends on how much you're willing to spend & what you're looking to do; lounge and/or explore or even go diving.
    Personally, I loved Jamaica - the Grand Palladium was a dream.
    Grand Sirenis in Mexico is another good one.
    Honduras was a good time but for me a large majority of it was because of the sloth sanctuary - Highly recommend. Hecking love sloths.
    Our honeymoon cost more than I’d care to admit lol - but it was so worth it. You only go on one, if you’re doing it right I suppose. I want to hit a grand palladium next, I think that’s where I’m leaning. The one I went to was awesome, and they are a bit more affordable than the sandals spots.
    I did the TLS Coral, or something like that in Cancun, but I’d love to try their spots in Jamaica, it’s perfect down there.

    ---------- Post added at 04:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:24 PM ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by oventoast View Post
    Yeah, the Rius are very hit-and-miss. I have been to a ton because growing up, my parents really liked all inclusive vacations and Riu were always the option that was most affordable without being too cheap. Usually they are a miss and most are probably equivalent to the Sandals you visited if not worse. The only one I would highly recommend is the one in Negril (specifically Hotel Riu Palace Tropical Bay).

    I've pretty much sworn off all-inclusive spots except for a couple because I feel like once you've been to one that you really like, there is no point in switching to a different one and risking it since they're so similar (unless you actually want to explore a diff. country). I feel like I'd rather just do a regular vacation at that point and sight-see, rather than go all-inclusive.

    In December 2020 I went to Hotel Riu Palace Tropical Bay (in Negril) and it was probably the best all-inclusive resort I've been to and definitely the best value for your $ (I think we paid 1,600$ per person at the time, had ocean view rooms, etc. Obviously prices are likely more now). The beach in that area of Negril is amazing - super clean, clear, low amount of waves, weather was always nice (no winds), plenty of natural shade, lots of beach-front activities and things to do during the day. You can walk along the bay (I think its approximately 1.5 hrs from one side to the other) and its very safe, with a nice market along the way. Food was amazing for an all-inclusive too. Evening entertainment was okay(?) I guess, I don't really remember anything standing out too much but they did have a lot of variety.

    The hotel is next to the Hotel Riu Negril (it is on the right side of the bay) and I would stay away from that one. I went there during undergrad because it's significantly cheaper, but the beach is quite dirty, most of the junk blows into that coast of the bay, theres very little shade on the beach, and its also incredibly crowded and a bit lower quality in terms of food etc.

    On the left side is the Royalton and i've never been, but i had a friend visit around the same time and she had good things to say about it (she stayed in the adults-only zone). From the outside in (when we would walk by), it looked even more impressive than Riu Palace, but IIRC they cost about the same so I have no idea if the food and entertainment was actually good or what. The crowd was much younger and more lively so if we were to ever do an all-inclusive vacation again, we *might* go here instead, just because it's hard to imagine it would be much worse.

    Shortly after I went to Riu Palace in Aruba. It was good too but I probably wouldn't go back. It was a bit more expensive than Negril but virtually the same experience in terms of food, entertainment. It only had slightly more negatives in terms of the beach being really crowded and windy. I went to Aruba before and didn't do all-inclusive (I stayed at the Marriott) and it was a much MUCH better experience in terms of food, entertain and came out roughly similar in price (though didn't drink as much) and I'd probably do that again instead of going all-inclusive

    I also wouldn't really recommend these:
    - Excellence Playa Mujeres (rooms had bedbugs or cockroaches or something, although the rooms were REALLY nice/new/swanky which was disappointing; food was mediocre)
    - Anything in Cuba (pretty much not much to eat here, but I guess if you don't care about food I'd recommend the Royalton there)
    - Dreams Los Cabos (it was mediocre for the price, virtually no evening entertainment compared to other places in the area)
    - Coconut Bay Beach Resort & Spa in St Lucia (they were very stingy with water and other basic necessities lol)

    A few friends of mine recently came back from Turks and Caicos and really enjoyed that!
    Lots of good info in here. I’ve got a bunch of notes written up in one of my books about places we’ve been or want to go. Gonna take a few quick notes about some of these you’ve mentioned. It’s crazy how many different options there are, when you only really see the big ones advertised around.
    $1600 for an all inclusive, ocean view isn’t bad at all. The week in Jamaica at sandals was about $5k total, overlooking the pool and two butlers who handle a lot of stuff for you. It’s nice, but I can’t justify spending that much again when I’ve seen the other options out there. Plus, most of my friends probably wouldn’t consider unless it was a bit cheaper.

    Its funny you mention St Lucia was stingy with some of the basics. How were they able to be stingy with water? Did they cut you off after you took too long of a shower? Haha
    What's my definition of success?
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    re St Lucia - sorry, I meant drinking water. They suggest you don't drink anything but bottled water but they only provide 2 bottles per room per day. Was not very nice haha

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    Quote Originally Posted by oventoast View Post
    re St Lucia - sorry, I meant drinking water. They suggest you don't drink anything but bottled water but they only provide 2 bottles per room per day. Was not very nice haha
    ohhh gotcha, that makes more sense. I thought they were like rationing shower time haha
    Thats definitely why I prefer all inclusives, just bring me all the shiiiiit as I need it please. We went to Vegas last year, stayed in the Bellagio.. my dumb self had never seen a mini fridge where when you move an item it charges your account. So we got to the room and I was scoping it out. Checked the view, the bathroom, all the good stuff. Went to the fridge as was mine blown. They had all the drinks you could want, chilled snacks, chilled liquor too! I started pulling it out to show my wife all the crazy things we had in there. Next thing ya know, I check out and see the bill haha. Needless to say, they fixed it and I learned a lesson.
    What's my definition of success?
    Creating something no one else can
    Being brave enough to dream big
    Grindin' when you're told to just quit
    Giving more when you got nothin' left

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