About

100_1195Hello world travelers and armchair travelers as well!  My name is Margaret Tess, and welcome to this site dedicated to all-inclusive resorts in Cancun and the beautiful Riviera Maya.  I have been interested in travel and wanted to see the world since the age of 16 when I began working at a travel agency.  The funny thing about travel is that the more you see and experience, you always seem to want more–at least that continues to be true for me.  Although I am still working towards my goal of seeing the world, I have been to various wonderful destinations over the years including western European countries, Egypt, Greece, Turkey, mainland China, Hong Kong, various Hawaiian islands, twelve Caribbean and Mexican Riviera cruises and counting, and all-inclusive resorts in Jamaica and Mexico.  I experienced my first all-inclusive resort back in 1992 (Sandals Negril) and got hooked on the ease of the entire vacation–never having to keep a mental track of expenditures, never having to keep a purse or wallet handy, and never having to monitor what other family members were spending.  When I first stayed at an all-inclusive resort in Cancun, I was struck by the beautiful beaches and turquoise Caribbean Sea and have been coming back ever since.

This site is divided into several sections–general information and a brief video about each resort are listed in the categories under the large picture at the very top of each page (Home, About, Cancun Resorts, Riviera Maya Resorts, etc.).  You can also read my Resort Reviews with pics I have taken and my most recent resort experiences.  Don’t forget to check out my resort videos I have posted here as well as on YouTube under the name of “all inclusivegal”.

Have fun exploring this site, and please feel free to give me any feedback about the information presented here.  I realize the resort industry, particularly in this part of the world, is continually changing, so keep us all informed with the most recent information from your own travels!

19 thoughts on “About

  1. I am traveling to Cancun Dec 11 through 14..its my 30th birthday.. Any all inclusive you can recommend with good food near the beach and won’t break my budget than x

    • A few budget-friendly beachfront all-inclusive resorts would be Flamingo Cancun (all-inclusive optional), Barceló Tucancun Beach, Barceló Costa Cancun, while a step above pricewise would be Golden Parnassus (adults-only and can be a fun resort), or Crown Paradise Club Cancun. Have fun!

    • Jean: I originally booked Now Natura with the resort last May 2019. Yesterday I was contacted by AMResorts saying I needed to be moved (my original reservation was Feb. 26-March 1) since the opening had been delayed to March 1, 2020.

  2. Hi we are planning a trip to Breathless Riviera Maya Cancun next week and we were wondering if you have heard of any damages or issues there. Thank you In advance.

    • Sara: The last I read was that while the resort is open, there has been some minimal damage which may affect some of the amenities (food related) as well as some of the swimup rooms. The beach has been affected with some exposed rocks at the shoreline–a natural occurrence with a hurricane where the surf takes out a lot of sand.

  3. I am looking at going to an all inclusive with my husband and four teens in early fall. I’m very overwhelmed by the amount of information, rates, inability to book for six people in one room ( we’ve done two connecting rooms before with three peeps in each, totally good with that.), but my Biggest hangup has been rooms for four people have two double size beds. That dynamic doesn’t really work for a married couple and four (adult size) children. Please help?! Thanks so much, in advance!

    • Kira: I don’t know what your budget is, but here are a few ideas which may help narrow your options and make it easier to choose. Here are the all-inclusive/all-inclusive optional resorts I know of which will easily accommodate your party. Villa del Palmar Cancun (all-inclusive optional), Generations Riviera Maya, Grand Residences Riviera Cancun, Omni Hotels Resorts and Villas (book only the villas). Start with these; I believe they all offer suites with multiple bedrooms and should offer enough room for your party. If you need any other recommendations, let me know.

  4. I am so overwhelmed with choices and in a bit of a rush and cant seem to get through the hundreds of options.
    I am wanting to gift a shorter 5 night honeymoon for my niece for a mini-moon, in october, and my son just came back last week from the new Barcelo Riviera Maya – and learned a few things, yes about the construction, that there are 2 levels of all inclusive didnt know about which meant that on arrival day at 11pm due to the 3hour ride from cancun- they only had one option to get food and that was to go take two buses to another property to the sports bar (they had been traveling since 5am) and the food there he said was horrific. All other outlets he tried and was great.

    So for my niece – wanting the following
    a) not to have to deal with the traffic too much – as they will be coming from California and have to change planes already and leaving at 5am
    b) beautiful beach without the seaweed
    c) great high quality food and premium wines included
    d) air conditioning and ocean view – either a swim up, or private plunge pool would be nice but not necessary
    e) not feel too crowded – and i don’t have any idea of the areas at all
    f) adults only preferred but not mandatory
    g) to be able to keep under 2500.00 for the 5 nights.

    Suggestions really appreciated

    • Here are some choices within the Hotel Zone (and north as well) since you don’t want them to deal with a long shuttle ride–Sun Palace, Secrets the Vine, Turquoise Tower or swim-up room at Hyatt Ziva Cancun, Atelier Playa Mujeres (great food here), or the new Planet Hollywood if they want something with more fun options. The prices may slightly exceed your limit, but these are high quality resorts. You could also check out Majestic Elegance Costa Mujeres, it is a lot of concrete but it has some awesome room choices.

  5. Hi Margaret! I stumbled across your website today as I’ve started a search for an all inclusive stay for the latter part of December 2023. I really like the site, this is great information and very informative. Thank you for your work here! Along those lines I wanted to see if you had any recommendations for an all inclusive in either Cancun or the Riviera Maya area. We are a family of four with two kids in their young 20’s. We enjoy the pool and the beach and a good meal. Any recommendation for a property that’s very nice, a good level of service that isn’t too expensive? I realize kind of broad parameters here but I’m looking for any insight you might have on a standout property that won’t cost us a fortune. Please let me know what you think and/or if I can provide any additional information to help you point me to a recommendation. Thank you in advance Margaret!

    • Hello Jeff: Sorry for the late response, I have been out of town for several days. Here are my recommendations–Riu Palace Las Americas would be an excellent choice since it is adults-only and walking distance to famous clubs for your 20 yr olds. Second recommendation would be one of the Barcelo resorts in the megaresort called Barcelo Maya Grand Resort. You have Barcelo Maya Beach, Barcelo Maya Caribe, Barcelo Maya Colonial, Barcelo Maya Tropical, or Barcelo Maya Palace. Part of the same megaresort would be Barcelo Maya Riviera, that one is adults-only but would be more expensive. This megaresort has just about everything you could want for a vacation, plus you can take a quick taxi ride across the main road and tour several cenotes for extra vacay fun! Hope this helps.

  6. My family will be visiting the Riu Palace Las Americanas. 3 of us are arriving together but my 24 year old daughter will be arriving on a different flight a few hours later. I plan on using a private transfer service for the 3 of us arriving together. From a safety perspective, would you recommend my daughter use the resort transfer service, a private transfer service even though she would be the only one in the van, or should one of us stay at the airport for 3 hours until she arrives so she doesn’t have to transfer alone? My daughter is a confident solo traveler and speaks decent Spanish, but my mom brain still worries.

    Do you have a private transfer service you would recommend?

    • Carla, I’ve used USA Transfers for multiple times a year for over 8 yrs. I’ve taken multiple solo trips as well using this transfer service. They are reliable and always on time or within 5 min. of their stated arrival time, friendly drivers, and most drivers speak very good English. I would totally trust them with your daughter’s private transportation to the Riu resort. Make sure you have the right online company, it will say USA Transfers OFFICIAL

  7. We are looking to book in Sept 2024. We have been to Bahia Principe Akumal and Grand Palladium in previous years and enjoyed both but never know if something else would be fun. We like to have Wi-fi when laying around the pools to enjoy music or audible books. Bahia Principe Akumal has good wifi at pools and ocean. Can you tell me if Grand Rivera Princess has good wifi throughout the complex for all? Or is it spotty and you have to pay extra? Thanks for any info you can offer.

    • Basic WiFi is free, but best service occurs in the lobbies and the rooms–even the resort admits to this in their Frequently Asked Questions website section. So, WiFi by pools and on the beach may be spotty. It will be hit and miss.

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