Budget friendly Florida (or close by) all inclusive resort

[marius97]

My wife has been hooked by the commercials for Beaches and Sandals Resorts (I forget which is the family one). She wants to do go there because of the ease of having everything there and rarely having to pay for anything else. But the thought of paying to fly the five of us out of the country is quite daunting, not to mention not budget friendly. Are there any good beach resorts like that in the Florida area? We need something family budget friendly and is on the beach.

 

[budbeerlady]

IF there is an all inclusive type place in Florida it will not be budget! There is a reason these places are in Mexico, Dominica, etc. Lower food, drink and labor costs make them cheaper to staff than the United States.

Edited to add: What about a cruise? We either do Disney with the dining plan making it feel all inclusive or we take a cruise. Going out of Tampa or Port Canaveral is pretty easy and airfare can be reasonable. All we have to pay for "extra" are drinks or excursions.

 

[gdulaney]

I'm not sure about the beach part....but I think some "dude ranches" are all inclusive.

Example:
Tanque Verde Ranch, Tucson, AZ
Consistently recognized by the Travel Channel as a "Top Ten Family Resort," Tanque Verde Ranch in Arizona is one of those dude ranches with a spa and tennis court, mountain biking trails and other activities in addition to horseback riding. The Buckaroos children's program is for kids ages 4 to 6, and the Wranglers are for kids 7 to 11; both include riding lessons and daily trail rides, educational nature programs and more. Parents are welcome to accompany their children for activities or retreat to the resort's Sonoran Spa, play tennis or just relax. Families work together in the "Ride and Seek" scavenger hunt that covers the entire 630-acres of the ranch property. Discounts are given for in-state residents visiting Tanque Verde.

 

[Chokky]

Club Med has one of their All-Inclusive resorts in Florida called Sand Piper.
Sand Piper was recently renovated too.

We love Club Med and have been to the two in Mexico which are great.
It may not be super budget by they do offer deals and include All Meals, regular alcoholic drinks, snacks, refreshments, programs and classes for adults and kids.

My kids like going to the programming and we all like taking it easy or staying busy depending on how we feel that day. It is a great family vacation for us.

 

[Anne34]

Club Med Sandpiper in Florida is more expensive than one week in Mexico including airfare. There are many beautiful resorts in Mexico that are absoletely gorgeous!! Lots to do for the family too!! You wil need to get passports if you don't already have them.

We have been to Beaches and I will say that I was underwhelmed. It was a lot more than our normal Mexico/Punta Cana/Jamaica all-inclusive and it wasn't any better. It was good, but not a couple thousand better.

 

[Danibelle]

I'm not sure about the beach part....but I think some "dude ranches" are all inclusive.

Example:
Tanque Verde Ranch, Tucson, AZ
Consistently recognized by the Travel Channel as a "Top Ten Family Resort," Tanque Verde Ranch in Arizona is one of those dude ranches with a spa and tennis court, mountain biking trails and other activities in addition to horseback riding. The Buckaroos children's program is for kids ages 4 to 6, and the Wranglers are for kids 7 to 11; both include riding lessons and daily trail rides, educational nature programs and more. Parents are welcome to accompany their children for activities or retreat to the resort's Sonoran Spa, play tennis or just relax. Families work together in the "Ride and Seek" scavenger hunt that covers the entire 630-acres of the ranch property. Discounts are given for in-state residents visiting Tanque Verde.

This is definitely NOT a budget place. High season double rates range from 605-1100 per day. Additional adults are 175 and additional children ages 4-10 are 99. It is however a highly ranked resort for those who can afford it.

 

[Darcy03231]

While not in Florida - this is a budget friendly all inclusive in New York. We've had many a great family vacation here!

www.rockinghorseranch.com

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

We have been to Beaches and I will say that I was underwhelmed. It was a lot more than our normal Mexico/Punta Cana/Jamaica all-inclusive and it wasn't any better. It was good, but not a couple thousand better.

I have to disagree. We have taken the kids to Beaches Turks and Caicos twice and they have both definetly been one of our best vacations ever.

Beaches can never be used in the same sentence as budget. You're right OP , it is a very expensive trip, and with a family of 5 , it really drives the price up.

If your wife has her heart set on Beaches, skip a year of vacation, save the money and go next year.
Another poster suggested Rocking Horse Ranch. We have never been there but I have done some research and it looks like something my kids would enjoy and we might try it next year. I signed up for their email so they send me notices when they are offering specials.

 

[mjkacmom]

While not in Florida - this is a budget friendly all inclusive in New York. We've had many a great family vacation here!

www.rockinghorseranch.com

This is less than a 2 hour drive for us, but I don't consider it budget. It was fun, but it's pretty dated, and it ended up costing us a few thousand for about 4 nights or so.

 

[Darcy03231]

This is less than a 2 hour drive for us, but I don't consider it budget. It was fun, but it's pretty dated, and it ended up costing us a few thousand for about 4 nights or so.

I'm sorry to hear that. We haven't been in a number of years (my kids are now all adults - so it's been about 8 years - longer than I thought), but when we went it was definitely reasonable and we had a great time.

 

[stsomewhere]

What about a cruise? They are some great deals out there!

 

[Anne34]

I have to disagree. We have taken the kids to Beaches Turks and Caicos twice and they have both definetly been one of our best vacations ever.
Beaches can never be used in the same sentence as budget. You're right OP , it is a very expensive trip, and with a family of 5 , it really drives the price up.

If your wife has her heart set on Beaches, skip a year of vacation, save the money and go next year.
Another poster suggested Rocking Horse Ranch. We have never been there but I have done some research and it looks like something my kids would enjoy and we might try it next year. I signed up for their email so they send me notices when they are offering specials.

I have heard that Beaches Turks & Caicos is quite a bit nicer than their places in Jamaica. We have stayed at other Jamaica resorts and really felt there wasn't a whole lot of difference except included waterskiing, snorkling. Not worth the extra couple thousand for our family of 5. Turks & Caicos with airfare from Chicago would be close to $10-12k for our family -- we can do two vacations for that. Definitely not budget like the OP was looking for.

 

[NotUrsula]

Look at the Bahamas. It is only 65 miles off the coast of Florida, and deals abound because it isn't really tropical and thus has a shorter season that does not include the depth of winter.

You could always drive as far as Dallas or Atlanta and fly from there if you had to; there are a lot of specials to the Caribbean out of Atlanta and Dallas.

 

[Nayan]

How about Disney's Vero Beach Resort?

 

[blessedby3]

If you want all inclusive, I think your cheapest option would be a cruise

 

[nobellybutton]

There are several places in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico....I would check Apple Vacations I have bento the Dominican Republic 3x's and we've paid for a family of four about $2000-2500 all inclusive, not including flights. And we'll be going to Riviera Maya next July, costing about $3200 for the all inclusive.

 

[taymorel]

When I was planning our all inclusive vacation the club Med resort was the only one I found in Florida. So we decided to go to the Dominican Republic. From Atlanta it is only a 5 hour flight and the flight and resort only cost us $2400 for 3 people. They have some good all inclusive deals there, in Mexico, and Jamaica. ArubA also has some decent prices.

 

[reginaastralis]

We've only peeked a few times, but there were some decent deals on all inclusive places on Groupon awhile back. We ended up going to Vegas because I didn't have a passport, but there were a couple that caught my eye.

 

[sookie]

I have heard that Beaches Turks & Caicos is quite a bit nicer than their places in Jamaica. We have stayed at other Jamaica resorts and really felt there wasn't a whole lot of difference except included waterskiing, snorkling. Not worth the extra couple thousand for our family of 5. Turks & Caicos with airfare from Chicago would be close to $10-12k for our family -- we can do two vacations for that. Definitely not budget like the OP was looking for.

We went to Beaches and it was crap. Spent 11k. I would never go back and I tell everyone I can about it. Do. Not. Spend. Your. Money. On. That. Sort. Of. Vacation. When. You. Can. Get. Better. Elsewhere. We had been loyal sandals customers beforehand. Never again.
Honestly, we have switched to the Palace resorts and had just as good a time. Apparently the RIU resorts are good too. If you are looking for an adult only resort, Palace resorts has Le Blanc in Cancun, Mexico. They are wonderful - all inclusive, and even your spa services, up to a point, are included. Can't beat that.

 

[sookie]

We've only peeked a few times, but there were some decent deals on all inclusive places on Groupon awhile back. We ended up going to Vegas because I didn't have a passport, but there were a couple that caught my eye.

They had a seal for Sunset at the Palms (I think that is the name) in Jamaica, which is supposed to be a WONDERFUL resort. I wanted to pull the trigger but didn't since we were going to Le Blanc. I would have done it though!