mexico all inclusives

[ma-skis.com]

Hey, thinking of taking the family to mexico to take advantage of an all inclusive, has anybody been down there with their family and would make some recommendations for which hotels or places would be ideal for younger kids around age 4

[SeeBass]

Royal De Cameron-Puerto Vallarta

Very affordable many Canadians and plenty of other children.

There are nicer resorts and in better areas but the price is very good and it is a good safe introduction to mexico.

[bluejays]

I've been down with the family last Christmas and New Years, and will be going back again this year as well. Cancun is probably not the best place for kids in general because of the party crowd, but Mayan Riviera is just an awesome relaxing place. Much better bang for the buck. We stayed at Grand Palladium.

[drewboy12]

Go to Dominican or Cuba. My two cents.

[ken0042]

I have to agree with Drew. The level of service in the Dominican was superior to Mexico. Pretty much due to the only thing in either Cuba or the Dominican to drive the economy is tourism, whereas Mexico being in a situation where it isn't nearly as 3rd world; you find people less eagar to please.

[wpgflamesfan]

Originally Posted by fotze

I have heard the opposite, especially with Cuba. You will have places filled with decrepit russian clunky air conditioners.

That and the food is not as good.

[Diemenz]

Head to New Providence in the Bahama's

Good food great people and if you stay in Nassau at Atlantis your kids will have more to do then they could ever imagine. Also you don't have to be scared to leave the resort like you do in Mexico.

It might be more cost effective to stay at another resort and just head to Atlantis however as they really overprice the nightly rates at Atlantis.

[getbak]

Are All-Inclusives really worth it?

I'm going to Barbados in a couple of weeks and had the option of doing All-Inclusive or not, and I chose to not do it because the extra cost was quite a bit more, and obviously, is only good when you're eating and drinking solely at the resort. I don't plan on sitting inside that little compound the whole time, so it seems like I'll be spending out of pocket for a lot of meals anyway.

[drewboy12]

Originally Posted by getbak

Are All-Inclusives really worth it?

I'm going to Barbados in a couple of weeks and had the option of doing All-Inclusive or not, and I chose to not do it because the extra cost was quite a bit more, and obviously, is only good when you're eating and drinking solely at the resort. I don't plan on sitting inside that little compound the whole time, so it seems like I'll be spending out of pocket for a lot of meals anyway.

Barbados is one o the most expensive holiday destinations regardless of how you do it.

Depending how you plan on spending your vacation. Usually an all inclusive is worth it, but it depends where you are going, and what you plan on doing. Places in the Caribbean, or Mexico you will be able to barter prices on anything. So all those "hotel discounts" on activity's and touristy stuff you can get the same. just got to be weary of getting ripped off from non legit places.

[Jodester]

I have taken my family to both the dominican and to mexico (mayan rivera). I would say that the service was much better in dominican, especially with the children.
The big problem in the dominican were the roads, and time to get to some of the resorts. Huge pot holes, more like craters in the middle of the roads. They may have fixed the roads within the last 2 years but i doubt it.
Overall i would say punta cana in the dominican was better than puerta plata and over all both were better than the mayan riveria. Just make sure you go to a 4+ star resort or your meals will end up repeating too much.

[Jodester]

Originally Posted by fotze

I should try the Dominican some day. I am just so sketched that it is on the same island as Haiti. Can't put that out of my mind. Haiti is number two after North Korea for places I wouldn't want to ever visit.

The fist time we went there, there were armed guards at the end of the beach on either side of the resort makings sure nothing happened to any of the guests.
It is so far away from haiti, nothing to worry about.
Really sad as you drive through the country side to see the extent of the poverty. I hear they pay their workers pennies but at least give them quarters to stay in.

[Northendzone]

we stayed at the gran bahia principe in the myan riviera in april - i would rate the place as ok. our kids were 4 & 7 the things i did not like about it were:
- our resort was a couple of minutes away from the beach - we had to take a tram
- the beach itself was very rocky - compared to cancun
- we never really left the resort - so i got tired of the food, but the kids loved it
- it was pretty much a full day of travel to get to and from there - the bus ride seemed very long....

[Jodester]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

we stayed at the gran bahia principe in the myan riviera in april - i would rate the place as ok. our kids were 4 & 7 the things i did not like about it were:
- our resort was a couple of minutes away from the beach - we had to take a tram
- the beach itself was very rocky - compared to cancun
- we never really left the resort - so i got tired of the food, but the kids loved it
- it was pretty much a full day of travel to get to and from there - the bus ride seemed very long....

We stayed at the same resort. But at the one by the beach. I went around on those trams and yeah that would not be great to have to do that every day. The resort by the beach was a little more expensive but worth it.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

we stayed at the gran bahia principe in the myan riviera in april - i would rate the place as ok. our kids were 4 & 7 the things i did not like about it were:
- our resort was a couple of minutes away from the beach - we had to take a tram
- the beach itself was very rocky - compared to cancun
- we never really left the resort - so i got tired of the food, but the kids loved it
- it was pretty much a full day of travel to get to and from there - the bus ride seemed very long....

I stayed there in April and thought it was awesome. You must have been at Coba? I was in Tulum and we were able to walk to the beach without question. I hadn't been to an all inclusive before, but the beach seemed good to me. The travel was a bit to get there, but a lot of the others were just up the highway from there, so it didn't seem like you were saving a lot of time unless you were right in Cancun (not interested at all in that personally) or Playa Del Carmen.

[wpgflamesfan]

They've become super-expensive now but if you can find a good deal (like I have in years past) the Palace resorts are pretty good. I'd never pay the full price though.

[Thor]

Cuba has extremely friendly people, the staff are usually very nice but due to the relaxed nature of the Cuban people you'll find service isn't what you'd expect in say Mexico; not because they don't care but its just part of their culture. Cubans are so awesome, you'll forgive them for not rushing to bring you your drink or food.

Yes food is the only real complaint about Cuba, the embargo makes for problems and if food is a big reason for your travels avoid Cuba.

Dominican, especially Punta Cana with its amazing beaches is a great destination, however you can end up with somewhat hit/miss service, I don't agree that you'll find better service in these places over mexico. I varies a bit in all countries.

Mexico is awesome, if you're able to afford it go to the mayan riviera , Cancun is a bit more of a party place depending where you are at, and the beaches are eroded in most places to a point of being rather sad.. I'd highly recommend the Barcelo Maya, and the newer part if you can afford it.. The resort is HUGE, has some of the best beach in the mayan and because of its size its hard to be bored if your kids are with you, lots of pools, bars, restaurants and plenty of kid activities. This hotel even has a long standing fan home page that has tons of info: http://www.unofficial-barcelo-maya.com/site/

As far as what to expect, 5 stars in Mexico is something you can be pretty confident in, Cuba you tend to knock 1 star off on the ratings you see in brochures, online ratings tend to skew to being too critical of everything so you might want to remember than when reading online comments, usually not a great indicator unless its overwhelmingly negative.

Dominican I'd suggest in order Punta Cana as the best place to go (Barcelo beach/golf/garden/palace resort is amazing, HUGE and lots to do, great for families,) Puerto Plata next, usually inexpensive in comparison, the beaches aren't as nice but its a fun place for sure.. The last is the long stretch of beach near the capital, Santiago.. It tends to attract alot of Europeans and honestly while there are some nice gems in that stretch, most of it isn't worth going to. Since I brought up Europeans, I found in my trips to Dominican that you'll find a ton of them, which is nothing like Mexico where you usually find mostly english speaking guests.

As for all my clients in the old days I always said, the only way to be a good traveller is to be patient, not get upset over little things like not enough towels, leaky AC or things that you sometimes run into. Some people are way to picky and lack patience for traveling to the 2nd and 3rd world; so go to have fun and don't go looking for reasons to get upset.

[wooohooo]

Originally Posted by SeeBass

Royal De Cameron-Puerto Vallarta

Very affordable many Canadians and plenty of other children.

There are nicer resorts and in better areas but the price is very good and it is a good safe introduction to mexico.

I just came back from there... the food wasn't all that great. Entertainment was pretty good but there are a lot of locals there too so they spoke a lot of Spanish which was difficult at times. The accommodations there are very clean but definitely not 4 stars that they say on expedia. Not even a damn alarm clock, TV's are old, and there's not a tub to soak in. Also no sauna's, steam rooms etc... pretty basic place but for the price it's hard to complain. And just as a whole, I don't find Puerto Vallarta all that amazing... the beaches were nothing special and same with the overall area. But if you do choose to go to Puerto Vallarta, go to the Adventure Tour. By far the best excursion I have ever been to. And don't get it from your hotels. Hotels charge about $98 USD, whereas you can bargain it down to about $80 USD.

Heard Mazatlan was amazing... I liked my time in Cancun a lot better.

I went to Cuba 2 years ago and that was probably the best trip I have ever been to. Food is a little bland but everything else was amazing. Great history, lots to do... can party a lot if that's your thing. Also the beaches were fantastic. Water was extremely blue and sand was awesome. Definitely going back to Cuba sometime in the near future before it becomes Mexico 2.0.

[bubbsy]

Valentin Imperial in the Mayan riviera was wicked.

However, it's a couples resort....

[SeeBass]

Originally Posted by wpgflamesfan

That and the food is not as good.

Yeah I agree with Cuba if you go anything under a 5 star the food is disgusting.

The Sandals has good food but of course no kids allowed

[SeeBass]

Originally Posted by wooohooo

I just came back from there... the food wasn't all that great. Entertainment was pretty good but there are a lot of locals there too so they spoke a lot of Spanish which was difficult at times. The accommodations there are very clean but definitely not 4 stars that they say on expedia. Not even a damn alarm clock, TV's are old, and there's not a tub to soak in. Also no sauna's, steam rooms etc... pretty basic place but for the price it's hard to complain. And just as a whole, I don't find Puerto Vallarta all that amazing... the beaches were nothing special and same with the overall area. But if you do choose to go to Puerto Vallarta, go to the Adventure Tour. By far the best excursion I have ever been to. And don't get it from your hotels. Hotels charge about $98 USD, whereas you can bargain it down to about $80 USD.

Heard Mazatlan was amazing... I liked my time in Cancun a lot better.

I went to Cuba 2 years ago and that was probably the best trip I have ever been to. Food is a little bland but everything else was amazing. Great history, lots to do... can party a lot if that's your thing. Also the beaches were fantastic. Water was extremely blue and sand was awesome. Definitely going back to Cuba sometime in the near future before it becomes Mexico 2.0.

I agree with your review of The Royal De Cameron it really is all about the price and I would say the food is ok for the price but I havent been there in 10 years before the expansion.

I also agree with Thor's review of the Barcelo great for families. But I am more of a west coast Mexico fan as I prefer to avoid the East coast yanks and canadians and we dont have kids.

More of a condo guy myself and eating with the locals.