way OT~ all inclusive resorts

[dancin Disney style]

So I feel need to do something different this summer. Yes, I know blasphemy....I'm not going to WDW. I started looking at going to an all inclusive in either Riviera Maya or Punta Cana. We have done AI before but not in either of these places. I'm looking for any feedback that you may have with regard to the following resorts....
Catalonia Bavaro...PC
Sirenis Tropical....PC
Gran Bahia Principe Tulum...RM
Occidental Grand Xcaret...RM

I have selected these ones on the advice of friends and also from good Tripadvisor reviews.

Some things that are important to us...
clean, modern accommodation
a good variety of restaurants
multiple pools
beachfront
not more than approx. 1 hour from the airport

At this point I've spent WAY too much time on research....have now missed the boat on the good sell offs ....and just want to hear what the awesome Dis'ers can offer.

 

[Ted in Halifax]

I have stayed at Occidential Grand Xacet a few years ago. I found cleanliness average, but okay, a good selection of food and the pool bars good, especially the waterfall bar. Big plus for this resort is the proximity to Xacet Park, where we swam the underground river.... I highly recommend this. I have had bad experiences in Mexico, but not at Occidential. There is Mayan ruins on the site and in the park. The beach is really a cove, but adequate to swim. Just asked my wife, because as a male, I have limited recollection of anything but the pool bar, But she says she loved it .... Decline every invitation to go to the timeshare presentation, even if they offer free park tickets .... They will play good cop and bad cop on you. Just say no .....

 

[minnie mum]

We stayed at the Gran Bahia Principe Tulum a few years ago. DD and DSIL stayed there a couple of years later. We all agree that it was a very good resort. The rooms were very comfortable and clean. Good food. Great bars. Very nice pool. Easy to book trips off resort to the ruins or park. Can't comment much on the beach swimming. We had red flags up all week because of the hurricane that blew through (it was September). DD said they swam from the beach every day, though.

 

[dancin Disney style]

I have stayed at Occidential Grand Xacet a few years ago. I found cleanliness average, but okay, a good selection of food and the pool bars good, especially the waterfall bar. Big plus for this resort is the proximity to Xacet Park, where we swam the underground river.... I highly recommend this. I have had bad experiences in Mexico, but not at Occidential. There is Mayan ruins on the site and in the park. The beach is really a cove, but adequate to swim. Just asked my wife, because as a male, I have limited recollection of anything but the pool bar, But she says she loved it .... Decline every invitation to go to the timeshare presentation, even if they offer free park tickets .... They will play good cop and bad cop on you. Just say no .....

Thanks Ted....friends of mine stayed there a few years ago also and said the park next door was well worth it but didn't say much about the resort.

We stayed at the Gran Bahia Principe Tulum a few years ago. DD and DSIL stayed there a couple of years later. We all agree that it was a very good resort. The rooms were very comfortable and clean. Good food. Great bars. Very nice pool. Easy to book trips off resort to the ruins or park. Can't comment much on the beach swimming. We had red flags up all week because of the hurricane that blew through (it was September). DD said they swam from the beach every day, though.

Thank you minnie...at the moment there is a pretty decent price for the GBP Coba. Since it's all one property I would think it would also be just as good. My only concern is that it's so large and the need for a shuttle to get around.

 

[amberg93]

I've stayed at the GBP Coba in March this year and I loved it. If you're big beach people though, it's better to go for the Tulum because you would need to take the shuttle to get to the beach and it's harder to get there. The Tulum is right on the beach, so that's good but I didn't like the looks of the rooms as much.

I did love the Coba however and didn't find it too big at all. We were in building 30 A, which was very close to both the main pool and the quiet pool and not far from the lobby. The quiet pool was my *favorite* place. You could always find chairs, plus the pool bar was great and it was right next to the snack bar. Plus, if you want to eat at the Japanese restaurant (recommended) it is at the Coba. At the Tulum they have the Don Pabolo (also recommended).

But I would highly recommend Coba just because the rooms were so comfortable and spacious. If you want, I can send you some pictures that we took when we stayed.

 

[dancin Disney style]

I've stayed at the GBP Coba in March this year and I loved it. If you're big beach people though, it's better to go for the Tulum because you would need to take the shuttle to get to the beach and it's harder to get there. The Tulum is right on the beach, so that's good but I didn't like the looks of the rooms as much.

I did love the Coba however and didn't find it too big at all. We were in building 30 A, which was very close to both the main pool and the quiet pool and not far from the lobby. The quiet pool was my *favorite* place. You could always find chairs, plus the pool bar was great and it was right next to the snack bar. Plus, if you want to eat at the Japanese restaurant (recommended) it is at the Coba. At the Tulum they have the Don Pabolo (also recommended).

But I would highly recommend Coba just because the rooms were so comfortable and spacious. If you want, I can send you some pictures that we took when we stayed.

Thanks...more great info.


I've been leaning towards the Catalonia because my former babysitter and her husband have stayed there several times. They offered me some excellent advice on both PC and RM. It has actually made the choice harder. Right now I'm comparing flight times to see what best suits us. I don't really care which tour operator we go with....they all have pros and cons.

Stay tuned....a decision should be coming in the next day or so

 

[alohamom]

My two cents when comparing the DR and Mexico-
I have been to Mecico quite a few times and the Dominican twice. Both times in the Dominican I was VERY sick and came home with an intestinal bug that lasted a long time. I loved the beaches in Punta Cana but it wasnt worth it to me to be that sick and for so long after. I highly doubt I would ever go back.

 

[minnie mum]

My two cents when comparing the DR and Mexico-
I have been to Mecico quite a few times and the Dominican twice. Both times in the Dominican I was VERY sick and came home with an intestinal bug that lasted a long time. I loved the beaches in Punta Cana but it wasnt worth it to me to be that sick and for so long after. I highly doubt I would ever go back.

Interesting that you mentioned this. We have stayed at resorts in Mexico and 5 different Caribbean Islands. The only time I was ever ill (and boy, was I ever) was during our DR vacation.

 

[amberg93]

I've been to Punta Cana and Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic, both times stayed at Gran Bahia properties and I never had issues with either or being sick before or during the trip. But we are not beach people and were very careful about the water and even used the bottled water to brush our teeth (same with our trip to the GBP Coba).

Personally, I liked PC a little better than RM because it was a shorter transfer from the airport, in the same time zone that we live in and the flight was shorter. *shrugs*

 

[dancin Disney style]

Thanks everyone for offering your advice. I really love being able to get many different thoughts on the subject.

And the winner is..........Catalonia Bavaro. It is now booked. I chose this one for several reasons. The main one being the recommendation from my sitter. We have very similar opinions of things so I'm sure that if they love it we will too. The other two big reasons were flight times and the transfer time is only 10 minutes (it's the first resort along the beach).

As far as getting sick....I have been sick in the DR before also. BUT, most likely it was my own fault. I was unaware of what coconut milk can do to you and drank many pina coladas daily + sat in the sun + ate too much + drank some more alcohol. We only used bottled water for tooth brushing and were very careful to not ingest any water in the shower. This time around I won't have more than 1 pina colada a day and I'm starting on Acidophilus this weekend.

My sitter and her husband have been to the DR over 30 times and never once have been sick.

 

[amberg93]

Hope you have a great time

And yeah, take it easy on the pina coladas Switch it up some and make sure you use lots of sunscreen and bring lots more.

 

[Ted in Halifax]

Hey dDs, let us know what you picked and how you enjoyed it. Love to learn more about these resorts.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Thanks Amberg. I'm a very fair Scottish girl so sunscreen and I are the best of friends. I had already thought about bringing my usual supply of 3 bottles plus an extra. Actually, that was another reason for choosing this resort....lots of shade at the pool/beach.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Hey dDs, let us know what you picked and how you enjoyed it. Love to learn more about these resorts.

Hey Ted...see above post #10. For sure 'll come back and update after the vacay.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Here's the mini review!

So the vacay was fantastic! I would highly recommend this resort to almost anyone.

The room was large and very clean. We had 2 queens plus a sitting area with loveseat and chair. Large balcony with a hammock. Bathroom had a HUGE tub but the shower was itty bitty. The tub has a hand held shower which in hind sight we should have used. Toiletries were well stocked and we requested extra towels on the first day(with a tip) and had them daily. The mini bar was stocked with water, soda and beer. Again we requested, with tip, extra water and received it daily from then on.

The beach was to die for. Soft, soft pure white sand. Crystal clear, calm water with many tiny fish. Very little sea grasses but what there was was constantly being cleaned up by the staff. Lots of tall palm trees to provide shade along with many grass umbrellas. Beach bar and snack stand, beach spa and numerous activities with the Animation team. Only once did we see a beach vendor and he was very easy going not really approaching anyone.

Pool was very large and had lots of different areas including shady ones. Swim up bar with staff that would just break out in song or dance any time something was played that they liked. I particularly love how they free hand pour the Rum. Again, lots of daily activities with the Animation staff.

The whole resort was very clean and beautifully manicured. The grounds keepers go non stop. Never saw a single piece of garbage.

2 Buffets, a 24hr snack bar, 4 al a cartes. All the food was good. The larger buffet had tons to offer. Not all appealing to me but it was never an issue to find some good to eat. They always had at least 4 made to order options. The one thing that I was not fond of was the fact that since it's all open air there are a lot of birds that come into the eating area. Only once did we see one that got into the closed off food area....the staff was pretty quick to move it out. The al a cartes were excellent. My DD actually said the meal she had at the Italian was "the best meal of her life". A bit of an exaggeration but it was really good, so good that we repeated there a second night and had the exact same meal.

In general the staff were really good...fun and nice. They work way too hard. We would have a server at breakfast maybe at 8am and then see the same one at dinner after 7:30pm. We had the same bartender every day at the pool bar which was open from 8-6 and then he would be in the lobby until after we left which would be around 10 or 10:30. Amazing that a $3 daily tip got us incredible service from this guy. He would start pouring when he saw us walking towards him. I would say that 50% of the staff were outstanding, 25% very good and 25% just average or less. Rarely, did a staff member pass us without saying hello or some other form of greeting. No issues at all with speaking English....if you try a little Spanish they will try really hard with the English. Most of them have great English though.

The timeshare guys were also really nice, a little chatty but pretty easy. They offered, we said no thanks, and that was the end of it. One guy sent us on our way with a 'god bless your family'. Pretty much the same story with the excursion guys. They were a little more chatty but no pressure. We found that if you were walking with a purpose they didn't even bother.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

I didn't want to hijack this thread but I'm wondering what people's thoughts are on all inclusive resorts. One of my brothers has said a few times that he would like to get married someday at one but I really don't care for them and I don't really like the idea of forcing people to go somewhere if they don't want to just because you want to get married there?

To me I just don't really see any enjoyment in one I don't golf and I'm not really into sitting in bars all day and the idea of sitting by a poll or on a beach isn't my idea of a vacation. So what else is there to do at one?

 

[Ted in Halifax]

dDS ... great report. Every so often we opt out of Disney and need another place to land.

 

[dancin Disney style]

I didn't want to hijack this thread but I'm wondering what people's thoughts are on all inclusive resorts. One of my brothers has said a few times that he would like to get married someday at one but I really don't care for them and I don't really like the idea of forcing people to go somewhere if they don't want to just because you want to get married there?

To me I just don't really see any enjoyment in one I don't golf and I'm not really into sitting in bars all day and the idea of sitting by a poll or on a beach isn't my idea of a vacation. So what else is there to do at one?

In my experience when people plan destination weddings the invites are always made in such a way that you attend if you can...not that you must. I have friends that have had 40-50 guests travel with them and also friends that have had 6 guests travel. Granted when it's your sibling it's a little different.

Most resorts offer as little or as much as you want to do. Yes, generally, you go to relax at the beach or pool but there are lots of other things to do. You can also take offsite excursions which are always plentiful. We were offered approx 10 different ones last week. We took none and just stayed at the resort. Normally, we like to be go go go on vacay and the idea of spending a week laying by the pool was a bit of a worry. It turned out to be fantastic.

The excursions are things like....horseback riding, zip lining, dune buggies, city tours, cultural attractions. They all vary be destination. Punta Cana offered an ocean spa day...litterally a spa out in the ocean, a stingray swim encounter place, several different boating trips....catamarans, pirate adventure , deep sea fishing, etc., dune buggies out of the beach, segway beach tours. And the list goes on. I think really there is something for everyone. A few years ago we took a city tour in Puerto Plata and saw some local culture, an old fortress(several hundred years old), a rum factory, cigar production, amber jewelry being made, had an authentic lunch and finished the day at a beach/market area. I think this trip was only about $50/person and well worth it....the lunch was the best meal I had that whole week.

I think when it comes to a destination wedding trip if you can afford to go you just go and embrace it. Even if it's not something/someplace you would ever do/go. How could it be bad when it's with friends and family and for a wedding?

 

[SydneyFalco]

I didn't want to hijack this thread but I'm wondering what people's thoughts are on all inclusive resorts. One of my brothers has said a few times that he would like to get married someday at one but I really don't care for them and I don't really like the idea of forcing people to go somewhere if they don't want to just because you want to get married there?

To me I just don't really see any enjoyment in one I don't golf and I'm not really into sitting in bars all day and the idea of sitting by a poll or on a beach isn't my idea of a vacation. So what else is there to do at one?

I'm not quite the beach-sitting or pool-sitting type either, and yet I have grown to really enjoy the all-inclusive vacations the wife and I take. In the seven or so years we've had the cash to spend on vacations, it's pretty much worked out to be: all-inclusive one year, WDW the next.

We've been to Punta Cana, DR, twice -- both times at the Bahia Principe Ambar (which is now out of our price range). We've been to Mexico once (she's been twice) -- at the Iberostar in Varadero. And we're going to Cuba next year.

I don't play golf, and I'm actually teetotal, but I still enjoy myself. I pack the iPad up with books, I bring my sketchbook (I draw), and I break up my days by lounging with the wife part of the day, walking part of the day, swimming, cooling off in the quieter areas and reading. There's no doubt about it: you have to be willing to decompress and enjoy the nothingness of it all.

 

[Cottager]

Let's face it. If you're here on these boards, it means you enjoy the Disney Park vacations which are typically "active" rather than "relaxing". Wherever I travel, I tend to turn the vacation into a Disney-like vacation planning meals and including as many excursions as I can to keep busy. Any savings with the all-inclusive deal with meals and drinks included is lost on the added cost of the excursions.

I burn easily in the sun so laying on a hot beach is not my thing. Also, I like to keep my mind busy on vacation. If I try to relax and take in the moment...I immediately start to think about my stressful job at work. So, silence is not golden for me.