OT - All-inclusive options?

[gottalovethem]

Anyone been to Riviera Maya? Do you have a family-friendly all-inclusive you recommend? Anywhere else?

Thanks!!

 

[jackie101]

We stayed at Dream Tulum without the children but they had a great children club & we thought our children would love it. I would go back with the children

 

[maps]

Last year we stayed at the Occidental Xcaret with our 2 kids 7&8. We all had a great time. The beach was a man made lagoon so we didn't have to worry about the current.

The pools were awesome and the hotel is next door to Xcaret Eco Park and they include admission to the park in the hotel package.

That was our first experience with an all inclusive and we are hooked. It was our best vacation so far.

 

[adventure_woman]

Ahh....to be back there again. We went in July (yes - it was hotter than all get out!). We stayed at the Grand Palladium Colonial. LOVED IT! I did a lot of research before - it was me, hubby and DD2. Below is a website which will give you additional information. One of the sellers for me - they have their own water filtration, so it was even safe to drink the water out of the faucets!! (Especially didn't want my 2 yr old getting a stomach bug). They also have a huge beach - part is gorgeous SOFT white sand, the other part is rocky where you can snorkel off of it. (After reading reviews on trip advisor, a lot of the resorts had 'rocky' beaches, not what I was picturing so I was very picky about the beach). I'm hoping to go back maybe next year.

http://palladiumaddict.net/MRP/Files/SiteDirectory.html

 

[GreyGooseCosmo]

My family loves Beaches resorts in Jamaica (the one in Turks and Caicos is on our "hit list"). A little more expensive than Riviera Maya, but:

1. No tipping allowed!
2. They have great kids programs.
3. You can drink the water. LOL

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

My family loves Beaches resorts in Jamaica (the one in Turks and Caicos is on our "hit list"). A little more expensive than Riviera Maya, but:

1. No tipping allowed!
2. They have great kids programs.
3. You can drink the water. LOL

Agreed! Plus we've been to the Beaches in Turks and Caicos with the kids twice and its even better than Jamaica.

 

[jmommy]

We went in March with our 2 daughters--ages 12 & 9. We stayed at the Barcelo Maya Tropical. There are several Barcelo properties all together. The beach was wonderful!! They have great pools, lots of kids activites, and it is all inclusive. This was great for the kids because they could go get drinks, snacks, ice cream, etc anytime they wanted and we didn't have to always have cash to hand out. I read many reviews about AI resort food being terrible, but we were very pleased with this resort. They also had shows every night...we enjoyed having a later dinner, then going to the shows...but my girls were old enough to stay up late. It was a wonderful trip--hope to go back soon, but the girls have chosen to go back to Disney this year. This resort was very close to the Mayan ruins in Tulum and not far from the eco park Xel-Ha. Only down side was that it was quite a drive from the airport in Cancun--took about 1 hour 20 minutes. Hope this helps. You will have a blast!!

 

[VeroBeachGirl]

What a timely thread! I'm booking Beaches Turks & Caicos today for a Spring Vacation today. I've been to an all inclusive before dd was born and it was the most relaxing vacation ever! We went to Secrets Excellence in Riviera Maya. It was beautiful and I've heard all of the secrets/dreams properties are very nice. Check Trip Advisor for some opinions of your specific resort. The guest pictures there are always more telling then hotel promotional photos.

 

[An_Island_Girl]

We just returned from the Iberostar Maya and highly recommend it!
The hotel has it's own wave pool, lazy river, kids club (which our DD4 adored!) water sports, activities, great shows, a merry-go-round, a shopping mall on property... the list goes on! There was so much to do, it was wonderful.

Definately check out the Iberostar company, as we have been to their resorts in Mexico, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic. Our favorite is definately the Mexico complex though.

 

[carj]

Can I ask how much some of you paid for your all-inclusive trips? I was browsing the Beaches site and 4 nights came up at $4700 for our family of 4, and that was WITHOUT airfare! That seems really expensive to me. I was looking at mid-June.

 

[maps]

If you go to travelzoo there are a bunch of cheap all inclusives listed. I was looking at one in Cancun--it's brand new and up to 3 kids are free. Cost for one week all inclusive was $1400.

 

[VeroBeachGirl]

Beaches is about 650 a night for the lowest room for us and our honeymoon was close to the same. It is a lot of money, but we do have a wonderful time. Good Luck!

 

[gottalovethem]

Beaches is on my dream list, I'd LOVE to go there! We are checking pricing on Ibostar. Thanks for all the suggestions!!

 

[Darcy03231]

Here's another vote for the Iberostar Resorts. We have a great time!