non-DVC vacations

[nunzia]

I have stayed at Iberostar Queztal. Lovely property! Food is fine, the specialty restaurants are very good. All inclusive and, to me, that is the best way to do Mexico. It is NOT cheap to get anything there. The all inclusive includes everything, including alcohol. The only thing that will cost more is motorized boat rentals, para sailing, excursions, etc. Queztal is in Playa Del Carmen, about 40 minutes away from Cancun, MUCH less commercial and gorgeous beaches. I know some people who stayed at a time share in Cancun for their honeymoon and they were stunned at the cost of food and the like and ended up eating at McDonalds most of the time. IMO, a regular vacation (not a timeshare) at an all inclusive is the way to go to Mexico.

 

[bwvBound]

How do you do that with DVC points since you can't deduct the costs and very few employers will reimburse for things you own anyway.

The general answer is that we don't ask for reimbursement for lodging and we don't try to deduct the costs. We consider this a "don't miss" event and are fortunate to have creative methods for managing the (personal) costs.

 

[50 years Too!]

I have stayed at all of the Royal resorts and all of the DVC properties. While the Royal resorts are decorated more sparingly, they are much cleaner than DVC and feature daily maid service. Believe it or not, the service is also much better at the Royal resorts. Head on over to Trip Advisor or sign up for TUG and read the reviews. I'm not alone!

The Royal resorts are also a wonderful family vacation destination. Great service, decent restaurants onsite, and a world class beach (although not as nice as 10 years ago).

Don't get me wrong: Our first preference is WDW and DVC. But a close second is the Royal resorts, followed by the Hawaii Marriotts.

We are thinking about trying for one of the Royals in Cancun. How hard are they to get. Which months would be easiest? Also which one is "best".

Thanks, Deb

 

[TisBit]

We do not limit ourselves to DVC vacations, but also don't designate it as every other year. We purchased last year and banked our points....we are going to DVC with the kids for 10 days with the kids this year, then are looking at another 5 days next October which will put us in the hole a little. In between that we will be going to an all-inclusive Cancun this April we are paying for and will end up in Orlando next year, probably renting a condo for a Conference we want to go to (personally paid, not work related).

It worked out for me to get AP's and be able to use them on three trips to the Orlando area!

 

[Dean]

The general answer is that we don't ask for reimbursement for lodging and we don't try to deduct the costs. We consider this a "don't miss" event and are fortunate to have creative methods for managing the (personal) costs.

I know there has been some talk and confussion on this subject both on DIS and dvctalk in the past year or two. Occassionally companies will do the per diem for lodging but most won't.

We are thinking about trying for one of the Royals in Cancun. How hard are they to get. Which months would be easiest? Also which one is "best".

Thanks, Deb

Which is best is subjective. 3 are side by side, effectively one resort in many ways (Mayan, Caribbean and Islander). The Sands is newer, nicer and closer to the action areas but is a huge resort. The tri-Royals, as many call them, seem to have more character. One thing to note is that the Mayan has a number of units that face the lagoon and many consider them inferior units. We prefer the Sands but we like larger resorsts for many stays. Xmas through mid to late April will be the most difficult, mid summer will also be somewhat difficult. May, Sept, Oct and early Dec will be the easiest. Anytime kids are out of school will be more difficult than many other times. The Royals are some of the resorts where it's not at all uncommon to ask for a 1 BR and get a 2 BR unit.

 

[maciec]

I have stayed at Iberostar Queztal. Lovely property! Food is fine, the specialty restaurants are very good. All inclusive and, to me, that is the best way to do Mexico. It is NOT cheap to get anything there. The all inclusive includes everything, including alcohol. The only thing that will cost more is motorized boat rentals, para sailing, excursions, etc. Queztal is in Playa Del Carmen, about 40 minutes away from Cancun, MUCH less commercial and gorgeous beaches. I know some people who stayed at a time share in Cancun for their honeymoon and they were stunned at the cost of food and the like and ended up eating at McDonalds most of the time. IMO, a regular vacation (not a timeshare) at an all inclusive is the way to go to Mexico.

We don't drink and we only plan on eating dinner out, much like we do when we go to Disney. For us an all-inclusive forces us to eat and drink just so that we get out money out of the stay.....much like getting the dining plan at WDW. I'll report back how my family of 4 spends on dinner. We didn't think Mexico was expensive at all when we went. We found it to be cheaper than Disney. I think how "expensive" something is, is all in what your spending habits are and what you consider expensive. Spending $35 for a steak at the California Grille is expensiveto me, but to my BIL the doctor it's not. IMO your friends didn't do enough research before their trip if they ended up eating at McDonald's a lot.

 

[robhawk]

Since we joined in 2000 we have gone to Disney every other year. This year is our year. We have done Aruba and 2 Cruises.
Having 2 years worth of points allows us to have a 2 bedroom during President's week. Both of our kids can take a friend and MIL & FIL come too!
Every other year keep Disney fresh and more exiting. Good luck!

Rob

 

[Dean]

I have stayed at Iberostar Queztal. Lovely property! Food is fine, the specialty restaurants are very good. All inclusive and, to me, that is the best way to do Mexico. It is NOT cheap to get anything there. The all inclusive includes everything, including alcohol. The only thing that will cost more is motorized boat rentals, para sailing, excursions, etc. Queztal is in Playa Del Carmen, about 40 minutes away from Cancun, MUCH less commercial and gorgeous beaches. I know some people who stayed at a time share in Cancun for their honeymoon and they were stunned at the cost of food and the like and ended up eating at McDonalds most of the time. IMO, a regular vacation (not a timeshare) at an all inclusive is the way to go to Mexico.

Each person must make their own decisions. It's not that uncommon to be able to get an AI, air and hotel for the cost the air would be otherwise. But there are few places where I'd do so and the food would have to be far better than fine for me even to consider it. But then again we don't drink to speak of which is about the onlly way to come out on an AI option. We found Cancun to be inexpensive to Moderate in 2000 and we're from an area where Orlando and HH seem expensive. I'd also hate to miss the better restaurants in the area. Same for Puerto Vallarta.

 

[TisBit]

Each person must make their own decisions. It's not that uncommon to be able to get an AI, air and hotel for the cost the air would be otherwise. But there are few places where I'd do so and the food would have to be far better than fine for me even to consider it. But then again we don't drink to speak of which is about the onlly way to come out on an AI option. We found Cancun to be inexpensive to Moderate in 2000 and we're from an area where Orlando and HH seem expensive. I'd also hate to miss the better restaurants in the area. Same for Puerto Vallarta.

We are doing our AI with friends who wanted to return to the same resort. I think the AI is pretty expensive (I relate it to DDP ) especially for how we normally vacation. We don't eat three meals a day or drink a lot, so I don't think we will necessarily break even if we did it on our own. But, similar to DDP, I just look at from a convenience point of view....all of our activities, tours and food will be included, so I am trying not to worry about the price (all though it keeps popping into my head that it seems really expensive).

 

[justjudy]

This September will be the first time since we bought DVC (in 2002) that we will be doing a non-Disney, non-DVC vacation. Instead, we will be taking a cruise to Alaska. Next September, however, back to the AKV.

 

[nunzia]

They absolutely didn't do any research. They were told the condo was a honeymoon gift and understood it was all inclusive which it wasn't. They don't have much money, so McD was their only choice.
I don't feel we ate that much at all while at Iberostar, or drank much either. I felt the food quality was assured on property and felt confident in that. As for drinking, a drink in the lounge before dinner, or wine with dinner, or a coco loco at the show. No fumbling for payment or seeing if anyone took dollars or thinking about exchange rates. It wasinteresting that places would take American but change was pesos. I just felt that, for us, personally, all inclusive in Mexico was the way to go. We would never buy a dining plan at Disney, we don't eat enough to justify that and am frankly too cheap. But it was very nice to just know we didn't have to think about food choices, not just for meals, but other times as I have a low blood sugar issue and need to eat more often than some. It was great to be able to get some crackers and cheese, or an ice cream cone on the beach without having to have money with me. The rooms all had refrigerators and were well stocked daily, there was room service. Our cost for 2.,including all airfare, transfers, seven nights and all food and drink was $3,000. The water was filtered at the resort, no problems there. We also were upgraded to the presidential suite with my brother and sister in law, so had a villa overlooking the ocean. Great place.
I understand it isn't for everyone, but I was just suggesting options and my opinion. I also found the are to be much less commercial than Cancun.
Again, just interjecting our experiences.

 

[Dean]

We're not huge MX fans but have gone a couple of times. I enjoy investigating which are the best restaurants and trying many of them out as they seem to meet our needs. We don't like being off property and having to make a decision to pay extra for meals already paid for or go back to the resort for meals. For those 2 weeks with 2 one trip and 4 another, we spent less than you for one week including air but we did use FF miles for part of the air. We ate in some fabulous restaurants.

Interesting they thought at was AI and wasn't, I wonder what they were thinking? Did they think all MX resorts were AI or just miscommunicate with the giver?

 

[nunzia]

We're not huge MX fans but have gone a couple of times. I enjoy investigating which are the best restaurants and trying many of them out as they seem to meet our needs. We don't like being off property and having to make a decision to pay extra for meals already paid for or go back to the resort for meals. For those 2 weeks with 2 one trip and 4 another, we spent less than you for one week including air but we did use FF miles for part of the air. We ate in some fabulous restaurants.

Interesting they thought at was AI and wasn't, I wonder what they were thinking? Did they think all MX resorts were AI or just miscommunicate with the giver?

Well, to be honest they are very young and a little dingy and I think it was probably miscommunication with the family member who gave it to them. Also, it was in Cancun proper, and I'm sure there were probably alot of choices but I'm sure the McD felt comfortable to them. (after experiencing Juaraz, you too would be cautious ) We did notice that the McD was higher priced than in US.
I think where part of this perception, on my part anyway, of MX being so expensive away from the AI resorts is that, living so close to the border, we remember the day when it was very cheap to cross the border and get anything you wanted. Those days are long gone, and in the tourist areas I'm sure it is even worse. A tin of Pringles cost 4 dollars at our resort..it reminded me of Disney
I'm sure there are alot of wonderful restaurants in Mexico, but again, with my past Juarez experience, I was leery of going off site much, and where we stayed, about a 10 minute cab ride from Playa del Carmen, you were pretty isolated, which I totally enjoyed. My one foray in Playa reminded me of Juarez and I couldn't get back to the resort fast enough. I don't like people trying to con me into their stores and wanting me to play the talk the price down game. Alot of resorts along the beach, but everyone had their own beach area and stayed to it.
I would do Iberostar again, I think that was my initial point.

 

[JimC]

Is there anyone out there that banks their points one year and chooses to pay out-of-pocket for non-Disney non-DVC vacations?

We haven't joined DVC yet but seriously considering it. All this talk about the market makes me uneasy but I already don't have the best financial picture anyways. We were originally considering doing an all-inclusive in Cancun at the end of the year. Saw the offerings DVC has for Cancun and the all-inclusive seems nicer.

Opinions welcomed!

We do not bank, but we own Marriott Vacation Club for non-Disney vacations.