If you’re planning a trip to Mexico or the Caribbean, chances are you’ve stumbled across a number of all-inclusive hotels promising relaxing getaways with everything you need at your fingertips for one flat rate. The idea of an all-you-can-eat-and-drink vacation sounds pretty appealing, so here are a few things to consider before you book.
Meals and drinks
The selling point of most all-inclusive packages is that all of your meals and drinks are included with your room rate. Usually, this includes dining at most onsite restaurants, alcoholic drinks and room service, too. But you’ll need to read through the fine print to make sure you’re getting as good a deal as you think you are. Are you limited to certain restaurants at certain times? Does the property’s fine dining restaurant cost extra? Are you limited to a certain number of meals per day or is it unlimited service? If you’re looking forward to drinking on vacation, does the all-inclusive package include only wine and beer, or are spirits included, too? Finding the answers to these questions before you book will help avoid unwelcome surprises on your vacation.
Activities and excursions
Every hotel offers different activities and excursions with its all-inclusive packages. Typically, all-inclusives will include onsite activities like children’s camps, recreational sports like tennis or snorkeling and nightly dinner parties, often themed. Some beach hotels may even include kayak or paddle board rentals with your room rate – but this isn’t a given. And that spa you’re looking forward to? Don’t assume your treatment is included with the all-inclusive rate — check first. Off-site excursions usually cost extra, as well.
Tipping
Just because a hotel is all-inclusive doesn’t mean the gratuities are taken care of. This can vary from hotel to hotel, but many properties do not include tips in the all-inclusive rate. This means that while the room service, drinks and dinners are taken care of, you’ll also need to leave 10 to 15 percent for the staff who are waiting on you (as always, more if you’d like). To be polite, you’ll need to budget for tips for bellhops, servers, housekeepers, room service attendants, drivers and tour guides. If you want to avoid the added cost of tipping, you can look for an all-inclusive hotel with a no-tipping policy or one with tips built into the room rate.
Is it worth it?
The only way to know if an all-inclusive package is worth it is to crunch the numbers. Add up what you would spend on everything that’s in an all-inclusive package (meals, drinks and activities), plus tips. Then, compare it to what you would spend if you purchased all of your meals, drinks and activities a la carte. Depending on your travel style, it might make sense to go a la carte rather than all-inclusive, or vice versa. Be sure to do the math before assuming what will turn out to be the better deal.
Have you ever stayed in an all-inclusive hotel? Would you recommend it?
(Main image: vallartavelas used under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license)
