Jennifer and I had no business being at Breathless Cancun Soul.
It is a gorgeous property. Beautiful pool. Great food. Stunning ocean views. It also made me remember all the stories I heard my friends tell about the wild and crazy spring break parties from the 80’s and early 90’s. By 10am the music was so loud the windows shook and the drinks were flowing. By 3pm the pool was a full contact sport. The “quiet pool” existed, technically, though the noise from the main pool had opinions about that.
We had a great time, actually, even though in our early 50’s we were, without question, the oldest people within sight. Make no mistake, Breathless Cancun Soul was not right for us. We were there because understanding what a resort actually delivers, not what the website says it delivers, is the only way to match clients to the right property.
There are hundreds of all-inclusive resorts around the world. Hundreds. They range from sprawling mega-resorts with twenty restaurants and a water park to quiet, intimate adults-only properties where the loudest thing you will hear is the ocean. Some are built for families with young children. Some are specifically designed for couples. Some cater to the 20’s and 30’s crowd who want energy, nightlife, and the pool bar to be the main event. Some are five-star properties with butlers and private plunge pools. Some are budget-friendly options where the food is fine and the drinks are included and that is honestly enough.
The point is that “all-inclusive resort” is not a product description. It is a category, and what happens inside that category varies so dramatically that booking the wrong one is the most certain way to waste a vacation.
I had a client named Yvette who called me with a girls trip in the works. They wanted somewhere warm, a long weekend escape from a Midwest winter, relaxing but not boring. They had done their research and had landed on a RIU property in Cancun. They wanted my take. RIU has some genuinely beautiful properties but they’re not exactly what I would call a relaxing atmosphere. I steered them toward Hyatt Zilara Cancun instead. Upscale, adults-only, good food, great service, activities throughout the day without the party resort energy. They had a wonderful trip. Both have since gone back separately with their significant others. Their friends have booked based on the recommendation.
Here is the flip side. Yvette’s daughter, in her late 20’s, heard about the trip and wanted to go to the same property. They were not big drinkers, she told me, so the lower-key vibe did not concern them. They came back and said it was beautiful. They also said it was a little boring and they were glad they had only gone for three nights.
Same resort. Different people. Different outcome. Neither group was wrong. The resort was simply right for one and not the other. That is the all-inclusive experience in a nutshell. All the options, online reviews, and recommendations by friends make choosing the right resort tricky but that’s secondary to deciding whether an all inclusive resort matches your travel purpose, you’re why.
In my experience, the people who come back genuinely happy from an all inclusive resort are the ones who wanted to stop making decisions for a few days. No figuring out where to eat. No calculating the bill. No worrying about what things cost. Just show up at the resort, put your credit card in the safe, and for the duration of your stay eat, drink, swim, sleep, and do it again. If that sounds like relief rather than boredom, an all inclusive resort is a good option for you.
It also helps if the destination itself is not the draw. This is why I generally advise against all-inclusive resorts in Europe, or in countries where the culture, the food, the history, and the cities are the whole reason you are going. If you go to Greece and spend your week at an all inclusive resort, have you really experienced everything Greece has to offer? Stay in hotels. Get out and explore. I think the all inclusive model works against you when the destination is the point and your travel purpose is in focus.
The Caribbean and Mexico are different. In Cancun, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Aruba, and the Pacific Coast of Mexico, the all inclusive model makes sense because the destination is largely the experience you are already having. The ocean, the beach, the weather, the food and drink that comes with the package. You are not missing Cancun by staying on the resort and relaxing by the pool.
Once the decision is made to stay at an all inclusive resort, the key variables pretty consistent. What’s most important, beach or pool? What is your budget, and do you understand what that budget actually buys in this category? What is your energy level preference, and I mean that genuinely, because there is a massive difference between a resort where you can hear music from the quiet pool and one where the loudest sound is someone turning a page? Are you traveling as a couple, a family, a group of friends? How many nights, because four or five nights at an all inclusive resort is a sweet spot for a lot of people and seven nights might be too long unless you’re planning to spend a day off the property.
Since there is literally a resort that caters to every demographic, interest, and priority, I can find the ideal resort that matches exactly what you’re looking for.
If you are thinking about an all-inclusive and want to make sure you are looking at the right properties for the right reasons, visit the Start Planning page and lets have a conversation about what will make your vacation exceptional.
