All inclusive resorts..inspired by Beaches thread

[Rock'n Robin]

Has anyone ever done a family vacation at an all-inclusive resort? The name implies NO extra costs, but other than the souvenir T shirt, are there any $$ surprises?
I had a quote last month for a week at the Beach Club at WDW, including tickets with the hopper option, and it was $3825. For $4049, I can get a deluxe family double room (2 doubles and a pullout) for a week at Beaches Boscubel(in Ocho Rios)! Now I know we'd spend more than $200 at WDW on food and drink for a week, which makes it sound like a deal. The question is, can I give up WDW for yet ANOTHER year, and miss the 50th BDay celebration entirely?
BTW I first priced out the Turks/Caicos Beaches and most of the lower room categories were already sold out for July 8-15, and the least I could spend was a little over $6000. That would have been cool because the kids area is "pirate island" which DS would have loved--but not for an extra $2000!
Robin M.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

We went to FDR in Jamaica (near Ocho Rios) in Jan. Yeah, it was pretty much all-inclusive as they stated--the only thing we found was, they said they included tie-dye. Well, yeah, but you had to buy the shirts to dye. We came home with 9--DD loves to tie-dye--but had we known ahead of time, we would have brought white shirts with us. They also charged $0.50 per shirt above the one per person "included". I figure if that's the best I can complain about, it's pretty good! Side trips off the resort cost, and in this case, they only did things on certain days or times--we opted for different times, so we had to pay for transport--again, this was our convenience as our 17mo passes out when overwhelmed, so we wanted to preserve her nap time.

We found FDR to be ~$2k cheaper than Beaches for our family of 5. Turks-Caicos would have been a couple K more due to flights being less available. I would also mention that food was plentiful, but not fabulous--the "fish fingers" had bones in them, for example. Maybe a little more "island" than I was expecting? But the trip also included a full-time nanny/housekeeper assigned just to us--this was handy with kids aged 9, 7, and 17mo. Mostly, we took turns doing special things with one or two and she would take the other one. We also paid extra for her to stay late for an adult dinner, and she braided my DD's hair one night (she wasn't supposed to, obviously we paid her extra for that).

 

[chrissyk]

We didn't find the food at Sandals (the only all-inclusive we've been to) to be very good. It was like they took your money and then gave you as little as possible for it quality-wise. I wouldn't say that it was inedible, but I would say that it was pretty much cafeteria quality. If you go in with expectations of gourmet food (which a lot of all-inclusives seem to promote in their brochures), then you may be disappointed. If you have more realistic expectations of the food, then you probably won't be disappointed.

We did find the offerings of inclusive water sports/boats to be quite decent, though. Also, we liked that you could go to the other Sandals resorts on the island via bus and use all the amenities there.

 

[Beth76]

I haven't been to Jamaica, but I just got back from an AI in Mexico. Yes, it was pretty much ALL-inclusive. The only extras we had to pay for were for the obvious things: souvineers, excursions etc. Although tips were technically included in the price, many people tipped bartenders and waitstaff. But, that's purely at your own discretion. Hey we even got a few extra days of "free" vacation due to Wilma.

 

[clarabelle]

Several years ago we stayed at the "Windham Rose Hall" in Jamaica.
It was OK. Food was kind of cafeteria like -as posted for another resort.
Ours did not have nannys -but it did have a kids club. The service was good -but not amazing. The drinks were included as well -but they were not very special- kind of weak.
The pools and water slides were wonderful.

 

[chrissyk]

One thing about the included drinks...people REALLY seem to take advantage of this at Sandals. I don't think that the drinks there were weak, because so many of our fellow vacationers spent the entire week obviously bombed. This was only a problem to us with regard to the swim-up pool bar. The drunk people would toss their drink cups, napkins, etc. into the pool when they were done with them If you like to drink, I think that that is where you REALLY get your money's worth at these types of resorts.

 

[noseybuddy]

I haven't been to Jamaica, but I just got back from an AI in Mexico. Yes, it was pretty much ALL-inclusive. The only extras we had to pay for were for the obvious things: souvineers, excursions etc. Although tips were technically included in the price, many people tipped bartenders and waitstaff. But, that's purely at your own discretion. Hey we even got a few extra days of "free" vacation due to Wilma.

What is the name of the AI resort you stayed at in Mexico? Did you like it there?

 

[Miller1412]

Several years ago we stayed at the "Windham Rose Hall" in Jamaica.
It was OK. Food was kind of cafeteria like -as posted for another resort.
Ours did not have nannys -but it did have a kids club. The service was good -but not amazing. The drinks were included as well -but they were not very special- kind of weak.
The pools and water slides were wonderful.

We stayed there as well, and I totally agree with you. The food was very mediocre and drinks were definitely weak. Service wasn't so great either. But I love the pool and the little lazy river raft ride thing. That was nice.

 

[bettyann29]

We visited Sunset Beach Resort in Montego Bay in March.. we actually didnt stay there, but visited while on our cruise.. they sell day passes for cruisers for $20 for adults and $10 for children.. Many people were actually at the resort on vacation.. it is an all inclusive resort.. There were 2 or 3 pools.. one being a swim up bar.. there were hot tubs, ping pong tables, miniature golf, 3 beaches, food included and beverages.. They were in the midst of building a childs water park.. there was also snorkeling and kayaks.. The jerk chicken was delicious.. I have been looking into visiting the resort for 4 days or so.. Everything seemed to be included.. They did have a spa that was extra though..

 

[Beth76]

What is the name of the AI resort you stayed at in Mexico? Did you like it there?

We were at Iberostar Paraiso Del Mar, just north of Playa del Carmen. You know, the place where the hurricane sat for 2 days (only slightly exaggerating). Pre-hurricane we had a really nice time. IF we ever go back, we would probably stay at the Lindo (another hotel in that complex). I liked the grounds better there and it had a nicer clientele.