The All-Inclusive Resort: The True Way to A Luxurious Vacation
Grand Oasis Cancun Resort, Cancun, Mexico. Photo by Ryan Harrison
The All-Inclusive Resort
Have you ever thought in your life with your current job, current lifestyle, that you may not be able to ever travel luxuriously enough? You know, on a balcony at a 5-star resort in Maui, or hopping on a plane with a first-class ticket to Rome where a private food and wine tour on a vespa awaits you, or on a your own yacht taking you to your own island in Indonesia?
What if I told you there was a way to still take those luxurious trips, but at a more affordable price?
Say hello to the highly underrated and often overlooked All-Inclusive Resort.
What is an All-Inclusive Resort?
You may ask what exactly is an All-Inclusive Resort. Well, it is exactly what it sounds like. You stay at a resort in which all drink, food, and activities are included at one price. Did I mention the location of these resorts…the Caribbeans! Yes, that means islands with crystal clear water and beautiful white sand beaches, such as Grand Cayman, Turks & Caicos, Bermuda, Aruba, Jamaica, Bahamas, you name it...this also includes Mexico as well!
How Does An All-Inclusive Resort Work?
Does it really include…. everything? Simply put, yes. All the food you can eat, all the beverages you can drink, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, and all the activities you want to participate in as well! You want an extra side at lunch, you got it. You want a refilled top-shelf, mixed drink, it will be in your hand in a second. You want to go kayaking every morning, you can. You want a second dessert, they provide it. It is all included!
Enjoying your vacation!
Now, a buddy of mine recently wanted to go to Las Vegas instead of (my idea) an all-inclusive. He asked me to quote out the price to compare the two: An All-Inclusive Resort (I chose Cancun) vs. Las Vegas. To play with the idea, I said I would do so for 4 nights to Las Vegas and just see what the price looked like.
Las Vegas (for 1 person) for 4 nights:
Direct Flight Round-Trip (BWI to LAS): $500 approx. (bags included)
Hotel Room on The Strip: $125 per night/per person (Palazzo, Paris, Wynn, Venetian, Caesar’s Palace, etc.)
7 nights = $875 (rough estimate)
So, let’s stop here. Before you even get to Vegas, you would be spending just under $1,500 on flight and hotels. We are not even there yet. Then, you have to pay for the following: transports to and from airport, food, activities, casino/gambling, nightlife, etc.
Cancun (for 1 person) for 7 nights:
All-Inclusive Resort Package (4-5 stars): $1,000 - $1,500 (on average)
Includes Flights, Transfers to/from airport, Food & Drinks, Activities, everything on the resort!
To sum that up, you would pay for more in Las Vegas for 4 nights prior to even getting there, than you would on a tropical island, sipping on a margarita and eating all the food your heart (more like stomach) desires, for 7 nights!
And if that does not ease your mind or convince you try it out, maybe this might help put things into perspective! The goal of a vacation is to enjoy your time away from work and the real world, let loose, relax and have some fun in the process. See, with any other vacation, you are focusing on every aspect of payment as you go (as well as planning) – transportation, accommodations, restaurants or stocking the fridge with groceries, activities for you and your family – it is a lot and can be very stressful. With an All-Inclusive Resort comes an unmatched convenience – one payment prior to the trip takes care of everything! When you are there, you do not have to worry about a single thing nor single payment. You get to do what you set out to originally do – enjoy your trip!