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So I've been with a really great girl for eight years now and we're ready to make it official. We're skipping a traditional wedding and looking to do a wedding/honeymoon combo somewhere tropical in the Caribbean region. As US citizens, all-inclusive resorts seem like a "safe" option; easy to budget, easy to plan, and lots of reviews. We live humble lives day-to-day, so I don't mind saying that we really want this trip to special and amazing. This might be the only chance we have to go somewhere beautiful and just relax for a week. It appears that Jamaica and Cancun have a lot to offer, so we've been researching the inclusives there a lot. But for every dozen glowing reviews of an Iberostar or whatever, there is a horror story that makes us wonder if it's all a bad idea. And half the positive reviews sound more like paid advertisements than honest opinions. I need some legit info that apparently only SA can offer. Here are our questions/concerns. If you can offer advice on even some of them, it would really be appreciated. Background info: I'm a white male and speak only English. Fiancé is Latina and speaks English and Spanish (if any of this even matters) Trip is going to be about 5-7 nights, with August 1st, 2015 being one of those days Flying out of Michigan, although flights aren't our biggest concern at the moment. Realistically, anywhere in the vicinity of the Caribbean could work assuming commercial travel is widely available. Budgeting around $3000-4000, preferably with flight included but that might not be feasible We'd prefer not to be surrounded by children, but they aren't a deal-breaker We would prefer modern comforts over rustic authenticity -What all-inclusives have you visited in that region? How was the experience? -Did you have concerns about the weather? It seems like August is kinda a "hurricane" season -How was the food/booze? Did you dread it after a day or two? -Do you feel the resort was well-represented in its advertising, or was it totally not-as-advertised? -Is there anything you wish you had done differently? (upgraded the room, toured the area more, not gotten kidnapped, etc) -Can it be even close to how beautiful/luxurious as the travel sites want you to believe it is? Thank you in advance for any help. We won't get this chance again and I really want it to be something we will fondly remember for years to come.
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May 24, 2014 23:07
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| # ? May 8, 2024 20:55 |
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Congrats on the wedding! My husband and I have been to two all-inclusives in Cancun. We went to Excellence Riviera Cancun for our honeymoon, and then three years later went to Excellence Playa Mujeres (which is about 30 minutes north of ERC). I can speak to both of these resorts--we stayed for seven nights each time. At both places, all of the staff (barring some of the maids) spoke fluent English. They do enjoy it if you speak Spanish with them, though. We flew out of WV, and round trip our airfare in October was around $1200 each time. We went in October both times, which is dead in the middle of hurricane season. I was a little concerned when we went the first time, and actually, a hurricane did hit when we were there. We were only on the outskirts of it, though, so it honestly just rained half one day and was overcast the two days around it. The resort was very professional and did a wonderful job of calming our fears and providing information. It honestly blew over in a day or two, though, and we certainly didn't miss any vacation time. The second time we went the weather was gorgeous with no problems. We got in the "Excellence Club" (which is basically a benefits thing that you can pay more for, but get special perks) and the hotel package was around $2400-$2900 for the week each time. You could go for cheaper than that if you didn't want the Excellence Club and didn't mind a garden or spa view room--we got beach front. Both of the resorts we visited were adults-only, so no kids around which was awesome. Both resorts are also very modern. I can speak highly for both ERC and EPM. Obviously, we liked the resort chain well enough the first time to go back to another one of their resorts. Out of the two, we preferred EPM more, but only because of teeny-tiny differences. You really can't go wrong with either of these. I have since persuaded one of my friends to go to ERC on their honeymoon, and both she and her husband came back raving about it. The food was good--not phenomenal five star, but not theme park food, either. I had some meals I would describe as amazing and some I would describe as just okay. Both of these have nine restaurants (not including room service), so it's pretty hard to get sick of the menus. We didn't even have time to try everything before we left! The drinks were awesome--you get as much as you want and they will make you whatever you want however strong you want it. It's very easy to overconsume. The only nitpicky thing is that if you're a big wine person, wine other than house wine is not included and you'll have to pay more. If you like the house wine or only want beer/cocktails then this isn't a problem. I felt that ERC represented itself perfectly, and I would say the same thing about EPM except for one thing: they advertise their Excellence Club rooms as all ocean front. Some of the rooms definitely are, but when we got there we were given a room that I would call "ocean view" instead of ocean front--there were two pools, a garden, and a restaurant in between us and the ocean. That's my only complaint in terms of not representing something correctly, though. As far as what I would have done differently? Nothing. I freaking love Excellence resorts. I rave about them all the time to friends/family, and beg my husband to take me back all the time. As for your last question, yes. Yes. They really are that amazing and beautiful. If you go with Excellence, you can also get a ton of free stuff (massage, dinner on the beach, etc.) if you bring your marriage license and show them you're on your honeymoon. The also do it for anniversaries. I really can't rave enough about these two resorts (although they are the only two all-inclusives I've been to). I'll check back to this thread periodically, so if you have any questions about them or want more specifics I can help.
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May 30, 2014 00:13
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Eclipse12 posted:Thank you in advance for any help. We won't get this chance again and I really want it to be something we will fondly remember for years to come. If this truly is your only chance you'll have to travel outside of the US I would look at perhaps not an all inclusive resort but rather determine where you are staying by the location and make your accommodation choice there. AI can make things a little easier but it's really not that hard otherwise. Accommodation and airfare are the most expensive parts. Pick your area, find activities, look at avg cost of food (resorts will send menus in my experience) and go from there. I just wouldn't limit myself to AI resorts purely out of ease of planning, especially given how rare this trip seems to be. Why not use your wife's heritage to your advantage and stay somewhere a little less touristy? They have AI resorts in those parts too, I'm sure. It's also great to be able to get off the resort for a half day once or twice and do something unique that maybe a bigger touristy area may not cover. Choosing a few activities you'd like to see or do can help pick your destination. You are spot on trying to avoid kids, usually resorts that have a ton of them make it obvious they cater to them and it can be a bummer on a honeymoon. Also I would shy away from places that have reviews too focused on the drinking aspect. Nothing worse than a nice resort being ruined by guests being irresponsible everywhere. Just not my idea of fun. And I personally don't care for the Caribbean. There are some very very nice resorts in Mexico and Central America though as the poster above has detailed. But just my opinions.
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May 30, 2014 17:04
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ucmallory posted:Congrats on the wedding! Wow, thanks for all the info. I don't think Excellence was a chain that we had looked at much, but you're making it sound pretty tempting. One of our biggest concerns was that the rooms would feel small and outdated; we're more interested in total relaxation (and booze) than exploring and hardcore outdoor activities. A nice bed, decent TV, separate tub and shower, living area, etc are all going to be something we want since we'll probably either be (drinking) on the beach or (drinking) in the room. You mentioned the restaurants - were there some casual options? My fiancé is a bit of a foodie but I'm a simple man who is just as likely to prefer a grilled cheese. Also, did you get a "deal" on your stay? I notice that most resorts advertise rooms at 40-60% off, but I assume that's just an everyday price that's supposed to appear like a special offer.
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May 30, 2014 22:42
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sellouts posted:If this truly is your only chance you'll have to travel outside of the US I would look at perhaps not an all inclusive resort but rather determine where you are staying by the location and make your accommodation choice there. AI can make things a little easier but it's really not that hard otherwise. Accommodation and airfare are the most expensive parts. Pick your area, find activities, look at avg cost of food (resorts will send menus in my experience) and go from there. I just wouldn't limit myself to AI resorts purely out of ease of planning, especially given how rare this trip seems to be. Thank you for the reply as well. I don't doubt you're right that not going AI would potentially be a better experience, but we had trouble planning a wedding because we both are constantly crippled with indecision. It's hard making the choice between just AI resorts; with even more options we might not be able to decide at all. I'm sure you're correct that we could stay in the same town as an AI and just do it piece-by-piece, but we're probably going to go the "safe" route. I'm open to less-touristy places, although it's harder to get reliable information about them, too. As you and others have said, Mexico might be our best bet. I'll take some looks at non-AI stays at your suggestion, though. Thanks again.
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May 30, 2014 22:48
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I don't mean to discourage you from AI. I'm just saying perhaps pick the place you want to go (good beaches, activities, flight distance/cost/ease of getting there) then taking your pick from AI and non-AI resorts. Some cities have great AI, some you will be better off going other places. And there's always the option of a non-AI place being cheaper by just ordering what you want when you want it, depending on how much you both eat/drink. On my honeymoon the price for the buffet dinner was X amount and room service ended up being cheaper once you considered how little my wife and I needed to eat. We also liked the option of bringing in a few bottles of nicer-than-AI quality booze for nights and other times. It gave us a variety beyond what was served at the pool and restaurants.
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May 30, 2014 23:02
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Eclipse12 posted:Wow, thanks for all the info. I don't think Excellence was a chain that we had looked at much, but you're making it sound pretty tempting. One of our biggest concerns was that the rooms would feel small and outdated; we're more interested in total relaxation (and booze) than exploring and hardcore outdoor activities. A nice bed, decent TV, separate tub and shower, living area, etc are all going to be something we want since we'll probably either be (drinking) on the beach or (drinking) in the room. The rooms are very nice--flat screen TVs, huge jacuzzi tub and a huge, gorgeous marble shower. I believe there are pictures of them on the resort websites, and they really do look just like them. Out of the nine at EPM (I'll use it as an example since we were just there not long ago), one was an asian restaurant with both regular seating and hibachi; one was a Mexican restaurant; one was Italian; one was Indian; one was seafood; one was steak; one was French; one was tapas; and one was Mediterranean. All of the menus will have some "safe" choices if you're not an adventurous eater, and the waiters are also really good about recommending choices. On top of of all of those and room service, there is also a pizza oven on the beach where you can get made-to-order pizzas at lunch, and they do something different for lunch every day right on the beach (for example, one day was hamburgers and another was sub sandwiches). There is a dress code for many of the restaurants for dinner, but for men it usually entails wearing pants (to the inside restaurants) and a polo/button-up shirt. The dress code is on their website if you're curious--we didn't find it a problem or overly stuffy. Lastly, yes, you can get a better deal if you book sooner rather than later. If you guys decide to go, I'd book ASAP. The rates definitely go up the closer you get. We booked ours directly through the resort website. One huge thing I really enjoyed with Excellence properties is that you don't pay any kind of deposit to book your room--your card isn't charged until the week before you leave, and you can cancel any time up until then. ucmallory fucked around with this message at 23:16 on May 30, 2014 |
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May 30, 2014 23:07
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ucmallory posted:The rooms are very nice--flat screen TVs, huge jacuzzi tub and a huge, gorgeous marble shower. I believe there are pictures of them on the resort websites, and they really do look just like them. Just wanted you to know that we looked at the Playa Mujeres and it's now our top contender. A bit pricier than its competitors, but it looks very nice and the customer photos make the website pics look legit. So, thank you!
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Jun 5, 2014 00:20
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| # ? May 8, 2024 20:55 |
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If you want something not-Mexico, take a look at the Couples Resorts. I've only stayed at one, and that was years ago, but it was at Swept Away at Negril in Jamaica and amazing. First nice thing, no kids, but without the skeezy element you might get from a Hedonism, it's more about fun and romance rather than random sex with middle age disease factories. The whole resort felt a lot less 'resorty' than a lot of other places, and more about an escape, if that makes sense. Even though it's been awhile, the reviews are still really solid. We went off site a couple of times and felt safe (not sure how that compares to Mexico, I'm admittedly not that worldly) between shopping in the market district nearby as well as parasailing. Oh, and for the beachfront room, there was no television, which I honestly welcomed, not that it would have been turned on. I just checked the prices at http://couples.com/swept-away/ and it's $3500 for the two of you for seven nights there, arriving July 31st, leaving August 7th, for a beachfront room, which if you can afford it, is awesome. I counted 31 steps from our back deck until toes in the water. Oh, and it's a small thing, but the buildings in the resort at the time were only two stories tall, compared to many I saw that were three, so fewer people running around overall. The only negative was that I got dinged $75 when they had to drill our safe when I lost our key snorkeling, but that was my fault and who knows, maybe they have electronic safes now. Elwood P Dowd fucked around with this message at 17:33 on Jun 5, 2014 |
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Jun 5, 2014 17:28
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