All Inclusive Family Resort in Caribbean or Mexico

[Captainkidd76]

Hi all.

Looking to stray from theme parks next summer. I looke din Beaches Turks and Caicos and the price was a bit hefty. So, thinking of maybe Aruba, Bahamas or Cancun. No idea where to start. Definitely want all inclusive, 2 bedroom unit with walk out patio or balcony, good selection of restaurants, good selection of pools (with swim up bar), water sports for 13 year old boys, horseback riding, etc. Any help or suggestions would be awesome. For 4 of us, without airfare, would like to try and keep total under $6K for 7 nights.

Thank you!

 

[sam_gordon]

Hi all.

Looking to stray from theme parks next summer. I looke din Beaches Turks and Caicos and the price was a bit hefty. So, thinking of maybe Aruba, Bahamas or Cancun. No idea where to start. Definitely want all inclusive, 2 bedroom unit with walk out patio or balcony, good selection of restaurants, good selection of pools (with swim up bar), water sports for 13 year old boys, horseback riding, etc. Any help or suggestions would be awesome. For 4 of us, without airfare, would like to try and keep total under $6K for 7 nights.

Thank you!

Can't help you on pricing, but in 2012, our parents treated us and my sister's family to a weeklong stay at Barcelo Maya Palace. We enjoyed it.

 

[Wishing on a star]

While I am not a fan of Beaches, it sounds like what you are hoping for with your family and sons.
If the beach itself is a big consideration, that you simply can NOT beat the beach at Turks and Caicos.
Cancun has so many great All Inclusives. (But I would be picky about which I would stay at there in Mexico) but can often have high surf, and more times than not, for the last year or two, tons of yucky Sargassum seaweed washing onshore has been an issue there.
Eastern facing beaches can be where the Sargassum washes up. Northern facing beaches like Turks and Caicos and 7 mile beach on Grand Cayman will be the most seaweed free. (But, I don't know of a big family All Inclusive at Grand Cayman.)
I am not sure of any resorts that would offer, include, horseback riding. I do know that there is Provo Ponies in Turks and Caicos.
I am not familiar with resorts on other Islands. So I can't give any more recommendations there!
Happy Planning!

 

[skyblue17]

I go to Jamaica annually and I love it there. There is a ton to do around the island (climbing waterfalls, zip-lining, horseback riding). I have stayed at the sister property of the Jewel Runaway Bay and it is great. JRB is the family-friendly version, and it has a water park on site and is close to Ocho Rios and Magic Mountain (where there is bobsledding!) and is right on the beach as well. There's a lot to do in the area! The hotel itself is not massively large but has at least five or six restaurants (I believe the restaurants are the same as at Paradise Cove, the adults only version we stayed at) that includes a buffet, pizza, Japanese and a grill with all your usual staples like burgers, fries, etc.

Let me know if you'd like to know more about the area!

 

[Wakey]

Cancun- a bit like a second world Miami, or a Benidorm with Americans instead of Brits and more agressive merchants trying to sell to you. I would stay on the Yucatan Peninsular any day over Cancun- around Playacar. Lots of good all inclusives there. Couples resort Jamaica had the best food I ever had at an all inclusive but that is not for kids- and I have stayed at (estimate) All Inclusives 20+ times. Dominican Republic has some nice ones. Anything Iberostar or Riu are often pretty good in these areas.

 

[mnrose]

Personally, I'm a big fan of Cozumel...and, sargassum is not much of an issue there. The past few summers, there's been major problems with sargassum on nearly all the Cancun side beaches. Aruba is going to be pretty spendy for all inclusives, and the other issue there is that it is EXTREMELY windy (which makes it a world known windsurfing/kite surfing destination), but may put on damper on other beach activities. When we went, you got sand blasted at the beach, so I ended up hanging by the pool. Cozumel for me ticks all the boxes. I'm guessing you could get a nice all inclusive there for your price point INCLUDING airfare. We typically find prices from Minnesota in the $1500 per person range for a week, including airfare. My personal favorite resort is Fiesta Americana, or it's sister property, Explorean. Explorean in particular might be worth considering as you not only get room, all drink and all food, you also get one excursion per day included, which gives you a chance to explore the island for no additional costs.

 

[stsomewhere]

Have you thought about a cruise? My teens loved cruising, they made friends on board.

 

[Wakey]

Re cruising- I would highly recommend the Royal Caribbean ones that go to Coco Cay- that island (new they spent $200m on it) is phenomenal- my kids loved it.

 

[cedricandsophie]

Personally I hate Cancun. Very touristy, too loud, very Vegas, lots of drunken young and old people at the resorts...too much for us and not a good example for kids., I much prefer Puerta Valletta. Small authentic town, lovely people, decent beach, lots of resorts to choose from. I’d encourage you not to do an all inclusive. It’s so nice to get out into the community to visit different wonderful restaurants and meet the locals. You can always buy tours that provide a number of extra curricular activities for a decent price,

 

[Wishing on a star]

We considered doing a day-pass at that Jewel Runaway Bay resort, wtih the waterslides and everything.
It did look pretty nice!
Not sure if this is what the OP is looking for, but a good suggestion!
Also, if a great beach is NOT a big factor, but an active all inclusive with everything imaginable for the kids/teens and parents... I think you could look at that Moon / Grand Palace resort south of Cancun.

 

[Captainkidd76]

Re cruising- I would highly recommend the Royal Caribbean ones that go to Coco Cay- that island (new they spent $200m on it) is phenomenal- my kids loved it.

I don't think I could do a cruise. I know everyone says you don't spend much time in the room, but even sleeping in there, with 3 other people, I would feel too clasutrophobic. I saw Disney's cabins were larger but I'm not spending the money that they ask.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Just a thought. Not to push cruising.... But, I wouldn't put three other people in one cabin either!!! If you have any curiosity or interest at all, have you looked at pricing for a balcony and an inside across the hall.
Only one bathroom for 4 people just isn't working for me!
Sometimes you can look for Obstructed Balcony category cabins, that really are not directly obstructed.
In your situation I would probably prefer an All Inclusive vacation! Even though I do enjoy being out on the water on a cruise.
It sounds like that is what you are looking for.

 

[maxaroni]

Cancun- a bit like a second world Miami, or a Benidorm with Americans instead of Brits and more agressive merchants trying to sell to you. I would stay on the Yucatan Peninsular any day over Cancun- around Playacar. Lots of good all inclusives there. Couples resort Jamaica had the best food I ever had at an all inclusive but that is not for kids- and I have stayed at (estimate) All Inclusives 20+ times. Dominican Republic has some nice ones. Anything Iberostar or Riu are often pretty good in these areas.

Gotta ask, which Couples did you go to? We’ve been to Couples Negril 5 times and totally agree, their food is awesome. The best for an AI by far. This year we also took DS26 & his fiancée. They loved it. They are going to Aruba for their honeymoon but had a blast at Couples.

 

[cvjw]

We have been to multiple all inclusive resorts in the Caribbean and Mexico. Beaches, Turks and caicos is the nicest family all inclusive we have ever stayed at. Getting a 2 bedroom unit there would way more than your $6000 limit - you might could stay close to your budget with a regular room.

We will no longer visit Mexico, Jamaica Or the Dominican Republic. We just don’t feel safe there as a family.

We are big fans of cruises now. No way we would put 4 people in one cabin. We get 2 cabins on our Disney cruises for our family of 4. If money is an issue, look at 2 cabins on another cruise line.

 

[nkereina]

I think Beaches is the only true, designated "family" resort chain in the Caribbean. While other brands like Riu, Barcelo, Iberostar, Bahia Principe certainly welcome families (aside from designated adult properties), they don't necessarily cater to them the way Beaches would. If Beaches are outside of the budget, I would also recommend a cruise. Royal Caribbean would be great for 13 year olds and you can do all the excursions listed at almost any of the ports of call.

 

[Darcy03231]

We like the Iberostar resorts. We've found them to be family friendly with good food and a nice selection of included activities.

Keep in mind when comparing prices that Beaches includes a lot of activities that other all-inclusive resorts don't so factor in what you might spend at another resort to pay for those activities.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Of the three, I'd pick Aruba. But it isn't for everyone. If you're looking for Party life up and down the beach, it's probably the worst of the three. There are a few clubs, but that's about that. It's also a desert environment rather than tropical But it's well south of hurricane ally and the risk of one during hurricane season is almost nonexistent. ALMOST. The beaches are great, the people are great, crime exists but it isn't near what the other two places have. The drawback is you won't have nearly the excursions you can do on Aruba that you will Cancun and they don't have nearly the coolness. I mean we're talking a shipwreck vs the American Pyramids.... Also, you can still find an isolated beach somewhere in the Bahamas. But that isn't the case with Aruba. There are none. But they're not over crowded or anything. You can get just about any food you like on Aruba but the local scene is different than most of the Caribbean. So if you're into typical local food found most places you're probably not going to get a good cross section of that there.

 

[Captainkidd76]

Thank you so much for all the great advice. Geez, I thought Disney was expensive. I guess when you break it down, price is pretty close, but it's very overwhelming to see the grand total.

 

[Cindy's Mom]

I don't think I could do a cruise. I know everyone says you don't spend much time in the room, but even sleeping in there, with 3 other people, I would feel too clasutrophobic. I saw Disney's cabins were larger but I'm not spending the money that they ask.

get two cabins, if budget allows, get two adjoining balconies or as someone else said, and inside and a balcony. On paper, its a grown up with a kid in the cabin, but you can sleep wherever you choose. We do adjoining/connecting and just keep the inside door open. Kids will make friends because its the same group of people for the entire week, as opposed to a land vacation where people come and go every day.

ETA: We too strayed in 2013, and haven't been back to WDW, cruising is where its at for our family.

 

[sam_gordon]

get two cabins, if budget allows, get two adjoining balconies or as someone else said, and inside and a balcony. On paper, its a grown up with a kid in the cabin, but you can sleep wherever you choose. We do adjoining/connecting and just keep the inside door open. Kids will make friends because its the same group of people for the entire week, as opposed to a land vacation where people come and go every day.

ETA: We too strayed in 2013, and haven't been back to WDW, cruising is where its at for our family.

Regarding the bolded, Royal will allow you to put two minors by themselves in a cabin provided it's next to or across from a cabin with the adults.