This cold weather has me dreaming of beaches and frozen drinks...
DH and I are considering taking a trip sans kiddos in the spring. We've never done an all inclusive and the thought of minimal planning sounds nice.
So tell me about your favorite all inclusive resort(s) and why you'd recommend it!
Re: NBR: All Inclusive Resorts
I've never been to one but my friend swears by Sandals in Aruba.
You might want to check out the honeymoon board on TK. There are lots of AI reviews there.
A couple of years ago, DH and I got a great last minute deal on bookit.com for an all-inclusive. It was an El Cid in the Riviera Maya. I don't think I'd go to Mexico right now, but we LOVED it. We were even saying we should have honeymooned there.
We only left the resort one day and that was to go over to Cozumel and snorkel. The food was good, the service was excellent (people bring you drinks on the beach whenever you need them) and it was just so relaxing. They had activities--a luau type show one night, snorkeling, a catamaran trip, deep sea fishing (that was extra $) and we enjoyed all of it. I would definitely do it again and we plan to, eventually.
I'm jealous. I love this cold weather but I've been dreaming of another AI resort trip for a long while now! :-)
Like pp stated, I don't know that I'd want to go to Mexico right now, but we loved the El D or ad o Ro yale in Riviera Maya.
Here is a link.
Nice, clean, relaxing resort with spa facilities. Fun entertainment at night. Drinks brought straight to your palapa on the beach of crystal blue water. What is not to love?
We went to Mexico in May of 2010, and I didn't feel unsafe. We stayed on the resort, though.
And AIs are awesome! I SO want to go!
Not sure of your budget, but we did all-inclusive in St Thomas USVI for a wedding a couple of years ago. I LOVED IT!!
We stayed here... Sugar Bay Resort and Spa. At the time, it was owned by Wyndham and it doesn't look to be the case anymore. So, I am not sure how much may have changed.
I second the Excellence Riviera - we went there for our honeymoon and it was awesome. We paid for the "upgraded" room (I forget what it's called), but you have your own part of the beach roped off and you have premium liquor in your room and access to a VIP lounge with snacks and good drinks. And the French Restaurant there is AMAZING. We ate there three nights, I think, and it's only because we found it on our third night. The ash-covered goat cheese and port on the dessert cart is to die for.
ETA: It's called the Excellence Club. You also get upgraded room service breakfast, which was awesome in the mornings when we just wanted to lounge in the room and look out at the ocean.
Another vote for the Excellence Riviera. It's my absolute favorite place in the whole world. We went in May and it was just perfect. I have nothing to complain about at all. We were on a budget so we stayed in the cheapest room that they have and it was very impressive to us. I have pics at home if you're interested. We stayed for 5 night I think and it was barely over 2K including airfare. The food was great, the people were so friendly and I never felt unsafe at all.
Now I want to go back.