Ever experience an all-inclusive resort vacation which looked good on paper but turned out to be all wrong for you and your family?  I’m sure that most of us who tend to vacation at all-inclusive properties have had a few bad trips due to not having enough information or basically no information with the exception of one paragraph write-ups in glossy travel brochures.

I’ve made a couple of these types of mistakes–booking an all-inclusive during the middle of a hot Mexico summer with a resort having A/C only in the rooms and in one a la carte restaurant, and staying at a Jamaican resort during the height of hurricane season with lots of rainy afternoons (I was an all-inclusive newbie at the time, that is my only defense for that one…).

I’ve certainly learned quite a bit since then; hopefully the tips listed below will help other travelers fine tune their all-inclusive resort choices.

Since this blog is primarily about Cancun and Riviera Maya all-inclusive resorts, the tips listed here are geared towards that area, but some of these tips can be applied for any all-inclusive resort stay.

• Decide whether you want to vacation around children and teens.  Resorts can be defined as adults-only, resorts with adults-only sections, and family-friendly.  If you can’t bear the thought of seeing or hearing children playing around you during your vacation, choose an adults-only resort.  If you find it acceptable to limit being around children, maybe a resort with an adults-only section would fit the bill.
• Resorts and their environs vary significantly between the areas of Cancun and the Riviera Maya.  Cancun’s Hotel Zone is basically one twelve+ story building after another with a centrally located and wild party zone–if you like a Miami vibe in a concrete jungle with the opportunity to party like crazy, then the Hotel Zone is the place to book your stay.  The Playa Mujeres/Costa Mujeres area north of downtown Cancun is filled with some VERY nice all-inclusives but it lacks the turquoise waters of Cancun’s Hotel Zone.  If you want to be in the middle of a jungle setting with lots of opportunities to do excursions, stay in the Riviera Maya.  If you want to be in the middle of the jungle, close to excursions, and still want an opportunity to party like crazy, you must stay fairly close to or in Playa del Carmen.  Resorts in Playacar, which is just south of PDC, would be a perfect destination if you want it all.
• If you want an authentic stay with lots of visuals reminding you of where you are vacationing, booking an older resort in the Riviera Maya would be a better fit.  There are still some older resorts with lots of Mexican flair and architecture–Catalonia resorts, some older Barcelo resorts, and some Iberostar resorts may be a perfect fit.  More modern resorts like Hotel Xcaret Mexico, Hotel Xcaret Arte, and La Casa de la Playa integrate many local materials and handcrafted items plus tend to have more native Mexican foods in their restaurants, but those resorts are much more expensive.
• Be aware of when spring break occurs!!!  Cancun and the Riviera Maya typically have the most spring breakers from mid Feb. through mid April; spring breakers can typically filter in from the beginning of Feb., peak in early to mid March, and then gradually decline in numbers until mid April when they are most likely to all disappear.  I can’t tell you the number of vacationer reviews I’ve read which express guests’ complete shock at the noise level and outrageous behaviors seen at resorts during spring break.  Here’s a tip:  Cancun’s Hotel Zone and Playa del Carmen are the most likely places to see lots of spring breakers, so if you don’t want to deal with that scene avoid the area from Feb. through the end of April.
•  Weather is important–if you don’t like high temperatures + humidity, avoid July through mid Oct. stays.  If you want to comfortably swim in resort pools including swim-up suite pools (and most resort pools are NOT heated due to the exceptional weather of the area), avoid staying from the beginning of November through the end of February.  Hurricane season in this area is from June through the end of November; hurricanes and frequent rains have been known to occur from June through Nov.  If you want less rain, skip staying here during the rainy/hurricane season.
• Take a tip from my mistake–just because a resort lists itself as having A/C, check out what areas of the resort actually have A/C.  If you can bear living in the pools or in the ocean during most of your vacation, then maybe it wouldn’t be such a huge deal.  If you enjoy feeling cooler during mealtimes or enjoy a nice lobby bar drink without excessive sweating, make sure those areas have A/C.  Open-air resort lobbies rarely have A/C’d lobby bars.

I’m sure I’ve missed some relevant items on this list; let me know some of your own guidelines you have to ensure a perfect all-inclusive resort stay!

What do you think?