I’m going to be offline from Aug. 8 through the 12th; I’m going to be staying on Catalina Island with my grandson and doing my grandma thing, so I won’t be posting nor will I be answering emails  or commenting on blog post comments.  Until then, here is the third installment of my blog post series–What To Know About Staying At An All-Inclusive Resort.  Where you choose to book your vacation is imperative to a great vacation experience, so here are some suggestions about how to have the best time when you stay at an all-inclusive resort.

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.  Travel agents mean well, but sometimes are led in their travel suggestions by pushing bookings where they get the most commission.  That doesn’t always equate to the best vacation for their clients.

I’ve made a few of these mistakes–for example, booking an all-inclusive resort during the middle of a hot Mexico summer with a resort only having A/C in the guest 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 Mexico’s 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.

• Resorts and their environs can vary significantly between the area of Cancun and the Riviera Maya (no, Cancun and the Riviera Maya do not mean the same thing in Mexico’s geography).  Cancun’s Hotel Zone is basically one 12+ story concrete building after another with a centrally located and wild party zone–if you like a Miami vibe 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 a gated community just south of PDC, would be a perfect destination if you want it all–a great beach with easy access to PDC and its shopping and clubs along with proximity to popular excursions.
• Be aware that staying at an all-inclusive in Cancun doesn’t always mean you can swim in the ocean.  East-facing beaches in the Hotel Zone are almost always red-flagged due to large waves and strong rip currents, so you may get into trouble very easily if you decide to enter the water.  Some lifeguards will let vacationers enter, and some will whistle you out of the water.  I’m sure if they see a rip current forming or already in existence, they won’t let you in the water.  On my first stay at Live Aqua in Cancun’s Hotel Zone, I was sitting out on my balcony and heard “help” being shouted several times from out in the water–of course there was an immediate rescue by nearby lifeguards as well as jet skis going out to provide aid.  Very scary I’m sure for the vacationers needing assistance, and anxiety-producing to watch.
• 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.
• 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 Mexican items plus they 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 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 in this part of Mexico are NOT heated due to the exceptional weather of the area), avoid staying from the beginning of November through mid March.  Hurricane season in this area is from June through the end of November; both hurricanes and tropical storms have been known to occur during this time frame.  Gray skies also tend to occur during the months of Dec. and Jan., so think twice about when you want to stay in this part of Mexico if you expect your vacation to be filled with sunny days and moderate temperatures. Don’t believe weather forecasts; they will inevitably show rain every single day of your vacation, and it may be true that it will rain during the day but only for an hour or so during rainy season.
• Sargassum has become a factor which, at this point, cannot be ignored when deciding to travel to a Caribbean resort.  While sargassum can technically occur during the entire year, its peak season is between June through October.  During “bad” sargassum seasons, it can begin as early as March and end in November.  The Riviera Maya typically gets hit very hard during bad sargassum seasons, while the Playa Mujeres/Costa Mujeres can be less affected since Isla Mujeres helps to protect the coastline from direct sargassum hits. If you want an-allinclusive resort with very little sargassum during summer months, choose an all-inclusive resort on Isla Mujeres on the west side (resorts such as Privilege Aluxes or MIA Reef Isla Mujeres are good choices to avoid sargassum with access to good beaches).
• 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.
• Read all the resort reviews you can about your preferred property prior to booking, but keep in mind that people that tend to leave reviews are often very happy with the property or have a “bone to pick” about something that happened during their resort stay.  On popular sites like Trip Advisor, be wary of reviewers with only one or two resort review posts.  That doesn’t necessarily mean it is an inauthentic post, but it can turn out to be one.

What guidelines do you have to ensure the perfect all-inclusive resort stay?