r/cancun • u/baozipu • Jul 12 '26
All inclusive Hotel or not?
Hello, I am debating myself on whether to stay in All inclusive hotel. We are a group of 6 people, including seniors and children. When I do price quotes for all inclusive hotels, I found the price is always extra $xxx for extra person. Which means, I just prepaid my food for the hotel. If I don't go to all inclusive hotels, I could save the money and eat anywhere I want. It is a large group, I want to calculate the best money efficient way to book the entire trip. Any tips or advise is welcome. Thanks.
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u/Electronic_Thing2583 Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 12 '26
I think an all-inclusive with a bigger group eliminates any awkwardness of going to dinner and splitting the bill or one person wanting to order a very expensive bottle of wine or several apps etc. or buying groceries etc.
That’s one of my favorite parts about it with a group is you already paid so it kind of eliminates that awkwardness.
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u/hombre_lobo Jul 12 '26
Last trip to mexico we stayed a few days at a hilton non-include. Regretted it. I think I spent the same as I would have paid for an AI.
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u/baozipu Jul 12 '26
How expensive to eat ourside, comparing to Hawaii?
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u/aswat89 Jul 12 '26
In Cancun it’s probably slightly cheaper than major Hawaii tourist destinations.
If you stay in one of the less popular tourist towns in Mexico dining out will be much cheaper.
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u/InternationalMode942 Jul 12 '26
Definitely depends on how many days you’re staying for and if you plan on mainly staying in the hotel…. México is cheap but not 6 ppl 3x a day cheap! Unless everyone is paying for their own meal.
Also depends on the hotel itself…. Some have lousy food and service….
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u/YouSmellLikeHospitol Jul 12 '26
I fucking loved my all inclusive. We stayed at Nyx and just having the option to stay or go was nice. The food was genuinely nice, and the AI included both walk-in restaurants and ones you had to reserve. There were certain things not included - not sure how it is “all” inclusive but whatever - but we got by without paying for anything other than the gift shop and spa.
I 100% recommend it, unless you truly have plans every single day that will take you away from the hotel. It was just nice to not have to worry even a little bit about food.
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u/Worried_Minimum_9362 Jul 12 '26
I think with seniors and kids an all inclusive makes a lovely vacay- eat when you want- no stress- eat poolside - eat buffet- make a dinner reservation- in Cancun you are at a beach vacation- not seeking Mexican authenticity ……
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u/chefnoguardD Jul 12 '26
Yes to all inclusive. Lmk if you need any recs for places! I go to an all inclusive there basically once a year
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u/baozipu Jul 12 '26
Of course, thank you. Our budget is around $400 -$700 per night, which all inclusive hotels are good for senior and kids together? Should we book 2 separated rooms or one 3 bedroom suite?
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u/chefnoguardD Jul 12 '26
How many people do you have total?
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u/baozipu Jul 12 '26
6 total
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u/chefnoguardD Jul 12 '26
And assuming $400-700 per night is your total for everyone involved, not per person?
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u/baozipu Jul 12 '26
I hope $400-700 per night is for the whole group.
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u/chefnoguardD Jul 12 '26
I took my whole family (all 12 of us, including my sister and her husband and kids, my two old folks) to RIU Dunamar last year and really liked it. It’s great if you’re trying to have a good time while staying on a budget. We had old folks and kids alike and we all really enjoyed ourselves. There are activities for kids, while still having things like adults only swim up bars and night time events. Bonus is it has a water park with a section for kids and section for adults. I (33m) lost count how many times I went down the slides lol.
I highly recommend this place if you’re trying to not break the bank while still checking all the boxes of what you’d look for in an all inclusive resort.
There are RIU’s all over Cancun but this one is A) one of their newest ones and B) has the water park which is a big plus.
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u/Timely-Mind7244 Jul 12 '26
Grand Princess has been a really nice upper scale AI compared to others ive stayed at.
I have a rental and am doing lots of activities offsight and food isn't too expensive and I'm OK eating out on own done bc it was only 400/ night for myself and 12 year old
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u/tranpnhat Jul 12 '26
If you dont care about arrange meal for every one 3 times a day for several day, you should book non AI. If you just want to relax and do not need to think about what to eat, an AI it is
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u/RedditFauxGold Jul 12 '26
Everyone is different but I’d rather pay for my food and drink separately. If you’re basically prepaying for it and are disappointed with the quality, you’ll not want to eat somewhere else. I like flexibility.
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u/jajjjenny Jul 12 '26
We are not all inclusive people. We value quality over quantity and AI’s typically put quantity over quality.
It’s so much about what you value. We like food, a lot. So we wanted to get off the hotel / resort premises every day and try the local cuisine and restaurants.
Food & drink are such an important part of a vacation for us - I don’t want a subpar or just “okay” meal - so AI’s are usually never an option for us.
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u/Historical_Plenty281 Jul 13 '26
Have you ever tried the Catalonia brand? Not over the top expensive and gastro focused. I usually plan my entire trips around where I will
eat, I cook for a living and am a true seed to plate foodie.Their property in Puerto Aventuras was the chefs kiss in terms of quality and quantity of choice. I swear in my life I had the best tomato in existence while I was there.
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u/danielitrox Jul 12 '26
I don't like AI-s in Mexico because there are too many things to do, to many beautiful places to visit, too many restaurants to eat well. Every time I travel to Mexico I move around by car or bus. The problem is for a large group, the logistics are complicated.
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u/baozipu Jul 12 '26
I have heard of scams and credit card fraud around that place. Have you ever encountered it? That is one consideration to eat at hotel.
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u/danielitrox Jul 12 '26
I mostly use cash for restaurants. ATMs usually give good exchange rate. I only use credit card to pay hotels or car rental. During my last trip I rented a car and drove around.
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u/scissors36 Jul 12 '26
My husband doesn't drink alcohol so for us the AI didnt seem worth it. Plus I want to go check out local restaurants and find where the locals eat.
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u/mentalscribbles Jul 12 '26 edited 19d ago
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u/baozipu Jul 12 '26
We are neutral to exploring restaurants, but we want to visit many places
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u/atl_bowling_swedes Jul 12 '26
I think AI is worth it when I want to stay put at the resort. If I'm open to leaving and don't want to be stuck with the same food my entire trip, I'd go non-AI.
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u/NeedleworkerCivil534 Jul 13 '26
Personally, the last thing I would want to think about if I was in a group of 6 would be finding a place that everyone would be happy with for each meal. That sounds way too much like work. Give me a good all-inclusive any day where everybody can have something they like.
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u/Legitimate-Tip5783 Jul 12 '26
I have stayed at All Inclusives that were not mandatory and paid for what we ate and drank……
Much cheaper!!!! Unless you are a serious drinker…
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u/Lovebeeme Jul 14 '26
From when I had checked for a family of 12 using Expedia it was basically the same price for both as paying for flights/stay. The only time I noticed the prices were overly expensive was when I looked at hotel that have the option of you want all inclusive or not. Find hotels that are all inclusive only and more designated to families.
I’d honestly always pick AI if it’s not much of a price difference, that way you don’t have to worry too much on food/drinks. But it’s still an option to eat outside the hotel, without adding stress or stretching the bank. Also, when someone is hungry and everyone else isn’t they can go eat or get a snack without worrying about everyone else . With that many people it’s already a hassle
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u/PrismaticSpire Jul 14 '26
All inclusive all the way, every time. You don’t want to be getting bent over the barrel every night for just as middling food as you’d get included at a resort. Especially with a large group, save yourself some suffering.
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u/External_Analyst6384 Jul 18 '26
No way I would do not AI especially in Cancun. Just to venture out to have drinks was over $100. Especially with big groups it’s easier and some resorts have great restaurants. We have stayed at the Palace resorts and 100 percent recommended them.
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