All-Inclusive Caribbean Resorts - on a budget

[caribear]

Not Disney related, but I was hoping you all could help! My husband and I are looking to get away this summer for a little vacation while the kids have some summer fun with grandmas and aunties. We are looking at all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean....can be Mexico, Punta Cana, etc. The resort does not necessarily need to be adult only, but we are looking for something nice, but also budget friendly.

There are just so many out there...and we do not have that much time to make a plan and book a reservation. The plan is to go for 4 nights and keep it under $2000 total. Flight will either be out of Orlando or Tampa.

Any recommendations would be great!!! If you have been to an all-inclusive in the Caribbean please chime in!! Thanks!!

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

We went to the Punta Cana Princess in Punta Cana, DR for 5 days in December for our 25th. It is an adults only all inclusive. The rooms were nice and recently redone with living room suites, Jacuzzi tubs, nice tile showers. The food was good. We heard many guests that had stayed at other DR resorts say the food at the Punta Cana Princess was some of the best they'd had. The service was excellent. The resort is nice, beachfront (beach is gorgeous), well kept and small (very walkable, no trams needed). It has a very tropical feeling.

It was $1750 total for 2 people including suite, flights, transfers to and from airport, all food and alcohol. We thought it was a great bargain for what we got. We booked through Travelocity and used a $100 off coupon.

Punta Cana Princess is not super ritzy like the huge Iberostar Grand with marble columns, marble tables, and crystal chandeliers everywhere. PCP is small, very tropical, has great service and has a very loyal repeat visitor fan base. AND it is budget friendly. You should check it out.

 

[westcoastfldisneygirl]

We stayed at Dreams Riviera Maya this past Dec-Jan on a family vacation and it was great. It was the right distance to Cancun IMO. We were there over New Years and had a blast. The restaurants were amazing and so were the pools. It was a beautiful resort.

Also, super random, but the showers were AMAZING! They were huge and awesome!

ETA: I flew direct flight to Cancun from MCO.

 

[Alexle2007]

We (DH, DS9 and I) are going to Punta Cana for 9 nights in June. We are staying at Bahia Príncipe Esmerlda for $2250. It got great reviews when I was looking online for resorts. I booked directly with Bahia Príncipe since it was cheaper and they offered free transfers.

 

[shoney]

I love the Mexican Riviera Maya area. Tons of resorts at any price point.
I would go to sites like www.cheapcaribbean.com or www.allinclusiveoutlet.com and plug in your dates. See what comes up in your budget.
Then get a "short list" of resorts that appeal to you.
Post here and on tripadivsor's forum and ask for pro's/con's.

One thing about that area in Mexico is that the beaches may or not be the best. If you are pool people, that may not matter and you will get a nicer resort.
I have found that all beaches have great soft sand it is the water clarity and rocks in the water than can make or break it.

If you are on a budget and only going for a few days, location may not make a difference since you would not likely be leaving the resort.
If you are plannning on excursions than it may.

 

[tinkerone]

We once stayed at the Occidental Grand Xcaret Resort http://www.occidentalhotels.com/resort/occidental-grand-xcaret and it was amazing.
It is right beside the Xcaret Echo Park http://www.xcaret.com/ and at the time of our stay the tickets were included with the rooms. There is a man made river that connects the hotel to the park and you just get on one of the little boats and go on over. Its also not far from The shopping district of Fifth Avenue (suvie shopping) and the ferry to Cozumel. Tulum is in reach as well.
For us, the trip was amazing and the Xcaret Echo Park was the topping on the cake.

 

[mikehn]

I did a ton of research on tripadvisor and watched a ton of youtube videos. Heading to my first all inclusive this summer at Hyatt Zilara in Cancun. Good luck in your search.

 

[caribear]

Thank you so much for all of your replies/suggestions!! I am going to look into the resorts mentioned! I definitely would like soft sand and clear water at the beach.....plus good food and a tropical surrounding. It just seems like there are so many choices! Thanks again!

 

[Alicia87]

Hubby and I have been travelling to Riviera Maya Mexico for the past 10 years and we always stay at Catalonia Royal Tulum. CRT is an all inclusive, adults only resort with approximately 210 rooms. The beach is absolutely amazing, a couple of years back, they were filming a Corona commercial there (on the beach). We normally go for two weeks in June for about $3800 for both of us.

 

[tzolkin]

We once stayed at the Occidental Grand Xcaret Resort http://www.occidentalhotels.com/resort/occidental-grand-xcaret and it was amazing.
It is right beside the Xcaret Echo Park http://www.xcaret.com/ and at the time of our stay the tickets were included with the rooms. There is a man made river that connects the hotel to the park and you just get on one of the little boats and go on over. Its also not far from The shopping district of Fifth Avenue (suvie shopping) and the ferry to Cozumel. Tulum is in reach as well.
For us, the trip was amazing and the Xcaret Echo Park was the topping on the cake.

This board is never good for my budget. Now I have to plan a trip here

 

[Alexle2007]

This board is never good for my budget. Now I have to plan a trip here

I was thinking the same thing! That resort looks really nice!

 

[tinkerone]

I was thinking the same thing! That resort looks really nice!

This board is never good for my budget. Now I have to plan a trip here

I will say, we have been to a ton of All inclusive resorts and this was one of the best. It truly is amazing and was worth every penny.
The Xcarat Echo Park is, in it self, worth the price.

 

[shoney]

I was under the impression that the Xcaret Grand didn't really have a beach. Just a tiny manmade cove. Is that true? That could be a deal breaker for me.

 

[caribear]

We once stayed at the Occidental Grand Xcaret Resort http://www.occidentalhotels.com/resort/occidental-grand-xcaret and it was amazing.
It is right beside the Xcaret Echo Park http://www.xcaret.com/ and at the time of our stay the tickets were included with the rooms. There is a man made river that connects the hotel to the park and you just get on one of the little boats and go on over. Its also not far from The shopping district of Fifth Avenue (suvie shopping) and the ferry to Cozumel. Tulum is in reach as well.
For us, the trip was amazing and the Xcaret Echo Park was the topping on the cake.

I looked that one up prior to writing my post....and it does like nice. It appears Occidental sold all of their properties to Barcelo Resorts...so I am not sure if anything has changed. The Xplor Park looks awesome!

 

[tinkerone]

I was under the impression that the Xcaret Grand didn't really have a beach. Just a tiny manmade cove. Is that true? That could be a deal breaker for me.

It was a cove and it wasn't HUGE but it was a beach and it was plenty big enough that it was never crowded. They had the big poster beach day beds there as well.
Check out this video from youtube. It shows the beach area several times.

 

[Traveling on cc points]

The palace resorts in Cancun are awesome. They have several resorts including adult only resorts. When we went, I booked through a member on ebay. It was around 2,000 for the week (not including airfare) I highly recommend the beach palace if you like smaller resorts and the moon palace if you like bigger resorts.
For me personally, I like the feel of a smaller resort but you may have a different opinion. Have fun planning!!

 

[danielw888]

We really enjoyed the Excellence Punta Cana. Its a great adult only resort with 7-8 nice restaurants to pick from, and top shelf drinks. We went last October and got 6 nights for $1400. We used southwest points to book flights, which ended up costing us $60/person in taxes.


If you have decent credit, and are good with credit cards, you could sign up right now for a southwest card, hit the min spend quickly, and get the points in time for a trip this summer. They fly to Punta Cana, Nassu Bahamas, Jamaica, and Aruba. With getting your flights for cheap you can open up a lot of really night resorts and keep the budget under 2k.