I only have an experience with one large resort (Grand Mayan-Puerto Vallarta) so I am curious about this. Why do people prefer these large properties and all inclusives when travelling? I felt like I may as well have travelled to Gulf Shores instead of the pampering of the resort. To me, it does not offer an opportunity to enjoy the culture, cuisine and people of the Country that you are visiting. I travel to Costa Rica frequently and would most likely never consider one of these properties.

What am I missing that makes these resorts so popular?

Where do you stay when you visit Costa Rica? I'm planning a trip now and would like to hear experiences. AirBnB?

One of my favorites is in Matapalo (south of Quepos). The bnb is called el jardin de los monos. It is about 100 yards from the water, with monkeys, iguanas and sloths literally right outside your door. The owners are a dutch family and they are very nice. There are three places to eat there in the town of Matapalo, but we use it as a jumping off point for Quepos (Manuel Antonio), Dominical, Nauyaca waterfall, and Uvita. We will be staying there again this August when we go to see the whales near Uvita.

Usually I book small places off of Airbnb or Booking.com. The goal is to always make it out of San Jose on day one if we fly in there. If we fly in to Liberia, then there are several beach towns close by. My favorite in that region is Playa Conchal. I forget the name of the place we stayed there, but it was a small property as well.

CanyonLakeAgbu said:

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I only have an experience with one large resort (Grand Mayan-Puerto Vallarta) so I am curious about this. Why do people prefer these large properties and all inclusives when travelling? I felt like I may as well have travelled to Gulf Shores instead of the pampering of the resort. To me, it does not offer an opportunity to enjoy the culture, cuisine and people of the Country that you are visiting. I travel to Costa Rica frequently and would most likely never consider one of these properties.

What am I missing that makes these resorts so popular?

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convenience

I once spent 80 hours planning a 2 week European trip. It was a blast and I loved the planning. But, sometimes I don't want to spend a lot of time for a quick beach get away. An all inclusive is super convenient.

Americans are fat, lazy, want to booze it up, and pay one bill at the end.

There you go.

And that's me.

For me/wife- we travel a lot to Mexico - Cabo, Isla, PV, etc. When we go to Cabo (2x yearly) we tend to stay at the same higher-end place. Yes, all-inclusive. For now, we like what they offer- solid service, good food, and amenities. etc. No kids!

When their service starts slipping, I am sure we will move on.

Some people's idea of a vacation is to lay around the pool and not have to think about anything really. AI gives them that. Everything you need is taken care of, so no worries, just relax. It is not my thing, but I have gone to a couple and enjoyed it.

Sometimes people just want to chill and not think about logistics.

I appreciate the input on this. The answers are about what I expected here. None of that sounds appealing to me, but perhaps when I get older, I will feel differently about that.

Ha! I'll get that many hours in researching vacation rentals, food, and flights for a long weekend ski trip to Tahoe.

For good quality AI resorts, I like the consistency and ease when we use them. Cost wise I found you do not save that much by doing it yourself, but I do like the flexibility. When we do an AI, we are usually on the chill mode and will also find time to visit the local towns.

because it's nice to be able to order whatever you want, wherever you go, as much as you want, and pay nothing.

don't have to cook, don't have to pour your own beer.

Nice entertainment at night. Usually like-minded red blooded Americans to talk with in Riviera Maya area (Cabo is cali and arizona runoff mostly).

Plus, Mexico is dangerous, you know?

In all seriousness, it's convenience and efficient. We don't do a week at an AI in Mexico, we usually do 3-5 nights and are out of there.

Matter of fact, we're going tomorrow to Excellence Playa Mujeres. 8:25am flight and I'll be in a pool/on the beach with a frozen drink and 2 shots of Don Julio in my belly by noon. That's hard to beat... You can barely be in Galveston that quickly from here...

I'm sure they're fine. But what I get a kick out of is the people who go to an AI, never leave the resort, then come home to regale everyone about how they "went to Mexico!!"

No you didn't

Sure they did

There have been a few times i have heard the exact same story. I felt like it was a waste.

I'll vacation at an AI enjoying my plunge pool suite and the carefree relaxation a resort can provide. I also will go on vacation where I'm touring on my own traveling all over a region. I enjoy them both.

Different strokes but we get far too much enjoyment from exploring different restaurants and bars. I don't expect we'll ever go the all inclusive route. We usually rent a villa but have done resorts too. I'd loose my mind if I didn't leave the resort.

I think AI resorts make sense when you have little kids or teen boys or are going on a trip with extended family.

AI resorts usually all have kids clubs with lots of activities for young kids. Many of them have nice kiddie pool areas as well.

AI includes all food and drinks which is helpful when you have two or more teen boys in your family.

AI offer lots of different activities and food choices. This is helpful when going on trips with extended family.

In some areas of Mexico and Caribbean, the nicer places to stay happen to be AI resorts. So, we stay at an AI if we want nice accommodations. But, my favorite places to stay in Mexico are La Casa Que Canta in Zihuatenejo and Las Casitas in Akumal and neither are AI.

ChoppinDs40 said:

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because it's nice to be able to order whatever you want, wherever you go, as much as you want, and pay nothing.

don't have to cook, don't have to pour your own beer.

Nice entertainment at night. Usually like-minded red blooded Americans to talk with in Riviera Maya area (Cabo is cali and arizona runoff mostly).

Plus, Mexico is dangerous, you know?

In all seriousness, it's convenience and efficient. We don't do a week at an AI in Mexico, we usually do 3-5 nights and are out of there.

Matter of fact, we're going tomorrow to Excellence Playa Mujeres. 8:25am flight and I'll be in a pool/on the beach with a frozen drink and 2 shots of Don Julio in my belly by noon. That's hard to beat... You can barely be in Galveston that quickly from here...

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825 AM flight from DFW. Landed early. Checked in before noon and had drinks.

Just met some people from North Carolina and within 5 minutes of talking to them "are y'all republican?"

Yucatn is Trump country.

Maybe your AI is, but Merida sure wasn''t.

Eta, you're in Quintana Roo, not Yucatan

Player To Be Named Later said:

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I'm sure they're fine. But what I get a kick out of is the people who go to an AI, never leave the resort, then come home to regale everyone about how they "went to Mexico!!"

No you didn't

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sure they did. Lots of folks have the ability to go on multiple vacations per year. Nice to have one trip per year where the weather is consistently nice, sunny and warm and simply lay by a pool at an AI for a few days in Mexico, Caribbean, etc.

Guess haters gonna hate....

Shake it off.

ChoppinDs40 said:

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ChoppinDs40 said:

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because it's nice to be able to order whatever you want, wherever you go, as much as you want, and pay nothing.

don't have to cook, don't have to pour your own beer.

Nice entertainment at night. Usually like-minded red blooded Americans to talk with in Riviera Maya area (Cabo is cali and arizona runoff mostly).

Plus, Mexico is dangerous, you know?

In all seriousness, it's convenience and efficient. We don't do a week at an AI in Mexico, we usually do 3-5 nights and are out of there.

Matter of fact, we're going tomorrow to Excellence Playa Mujeres. 8:25am flight and I'll be in a pool/on the beach with a frozen drink and 2 shots of Don Julio in my belly by noon. That's hard to beat... You can barely be in Galveston that quickly from here...

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825 AM flight from DFW. Landed early. Checked in before noon and had drinks.

Just met some people from North Carolina and within 5 minutes of talking to them "are y'all republican?"

Yucatn is Trump country.

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Don't want to derail into politics at all… but the last people I want to hang out with on vacation (or anywhere else) are ones that ask me what my political party is (and I'm right of Republican!).


And to answer the OP, I agree with the rest… AI is a different experience and nice when you want to go somewhere 3-5 days and just relax. Different kind of vacation than truly experiencing a location and it's culture.

The same reasons people stay at resorts in the states and all over the world. Convenience, service, and amenities.

bam02 said:

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ChoppinDs40 said:

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ChoppinDs40 said:

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because it's nice to be able to order whatever you want, wherever you go, as much as you want, and pay nothing.

don't have to cook, don't have to pour your own beer.

Nice entertainment at night. Usually like-minded red blooded Americans to talk with in Riviera Maya area (Cabo is cali and arizona runoff mostly).

Plus, Mexico is dangerous, you know?

In all seriousness, it's convenience and efficient. We don't do a week at an AI in Mexico, we usually do 3-5 nights and are out of there.

Matter of fact, we're going tomorrow to Excellence Playa Mujeres. 8:25am flight and I'll be in a pool/on the beach with a frozen drink and 2 shots of Don Julio in my belly by noon. That's hard to beat... You can barely be in Galveston that quickly from here...

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825 AM flight from DFW. Landed early. Checked in before noon and had drinks.

Just met some people from North Carolina and within 5 minutes of talking to them "are y'all republican?"

Yucatn is Trump country.

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Don't want to derail into politics at all… but the last people I want to hang out with on vacation (or anywhere else) are ones that ask me what my political party is (and I'm right of Republican!).


And to answer the OP, I agree with the rest… AI is a different experience and nice when you want to go somewhere 3-5 days and just relax. Different kind of vacation than truly experiencing a location and it's culture.

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It wasn't an intrusive question… I likely embellished. The point being… high end riviera maya resorts are, in my experience, full of more like-minded people than Cabo or Hotela Zona Cancun resorts. Either way… we love it down here for what it's meant to be.

Don Julio margs and Carajillos by the bushel for me.

Summary of this thread: all inclusive resorts are for people who talk Trump at tiki bars and follow Texags threads on Day 1 of vacation.

ATM9000 said:

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Summary of this thread: all inclusive resorts are for people who talk Trump at tiki bars and follow Texags threads on Day 1 of vacation.

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Bingo.

Gotcha. I do agree with your point.

CanyonLakeAgbu said:

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I only have an experience with one large resort (Grand Mayan-Puerto Vallarta) so I am curious about this. Why do people prefer these large properties and all inclusives when travelling? I felt like I may as well have travelled to Gulf Shores instead of the pampering of the resort. To me, it does not offer an opportunity to enjoy the culture, cuisine and people of the Country that you are visiting. I travel to Costa Rica frequently and would most likely never consider one of these properties.

What am I missing that makes these resorts so popular?

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My real answer is there's room for both. And it isn't just an American thing. All inclusive is wildly popular globally with everyone.

We usually do an all inclusive trip once a year. They are easy, relaxing and plenty of easy entertainment for the kids too so you are pretty much guaranteed every day nobody in the family leaves a day disappointed or grumpy. Small but important one for me… I absolutely love not having to carry my phone and wallet around every where too. It's weird, but I find myself most checked out from my phone and such when I do an all inclusive because it just sits in my room safe all day. You can't really do that if you are running around finding stuff and places every day.

Have always preferred to get immersed in the location and stay somewhere not all inclusive, but now that I'm disabled, all inclusive is a lot more alluring. Not having to stress about leaving the property and getting around sounds a ton more relaxing!

This is why

As far as sheer relaxation and recuperation from the grinds of life, I don't think there is any better vacation than an all inclusive resort. There's no worries about any incremental cost of anything. If you're traveling with extended family, there's no need to expend effort coordinating schedules. There's times I want a different type of vacation, but for just recharging, it's the best.

TriAg2010 said:

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As far as sheer relaxation and recuperation from the grinds of life, I don't think there is any better vacation than an all inclusive resort. There's no worries about any incremental cost of anything. If you're traveling with extended family, there's no need to expend effort coordinating schedules. There's times I want a different type of vacation, but for just recharging, it's the best.

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Don't get me wrong, I absolutely agree there is value in a mindless vacation.

But I've been to a few AI's, and every time I just think to myself I would have rather done a staycation at a badass hotel in town. I can lounge at that pool, drink better drinks, go to better restaurants, drink better wine, etc. and it would likely cost less.....

Now, that being said, these were all before I had my son so now that my life is a little more hectic with a 2.5 year old maybe I'd have a different opinion.....

And on that note, to the poster who said it's because of kids clubs, I disagree. Aren't the majority, or at least a good chunk, of AI's adults only?

Sounds like you need to do better research of which resort you choose before going there.