alwayzmile

Hi, my friend and are are in our 20's, planning a trip to Cancun at the end of June. (We would like to go to the relaxing beach and fun Cancun, not the crazy party spring break Cancun, by the way) Anyway, were looking for a hotel, which is all inclusive, on the beach. We are very interested in going on a tour to the ruins, to the rainforest, etc. Cost is a slight issue, but we can always find a deal somewhere. My first instinct was to look into Club Med, but thats just because its the only place I know of. Where else should I be looking? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance. :0) Joanna

deirdres

My family and I are planning a trip to Cancun in July--also looking for all inclusive. I'm looking at the Sun Palace. The beach & pool are supposed to be awesome (we looked at one of their "sister" properties--Moon Palace--I guess the beach is really nasty there!). Their food & servcie have also gotten good reviews. It might be worth looking at.

alwayzmile

thanks, any other thoughts?

Lynette

If you are into watersports and want to snorkel right from your hotel, the Club Med in Cancun is perfect for that because of its location on the point. It has one bay for snorkeling and another for sailing and windsurfing. You can get instruction if you want to learn a new sport as well, and they will speak english. The accommodation is basic and the food while not 5*, has pretty good variety. There are lots of other All inclusives on the Cancun strip, but the beach and watersports are a big plus at Club Med

1Mandy1

Club Med is at the end of the hotel zone in Cancun and is known for good snorkeling right off the beach. But there are many other good hotels which have great beaches, fun activities good all inclusive plans - so if cost is an issue, you might do some comparison. Cancun Palace is one of my favorites because the food on their all inclusive is fabulous, the location is good and their pool area and beach are awesome. They also have fun activities throughout the day. It is a high energy resort for the 20-40's crowd, but not the "wild" party place of a spring break crowd. You also get tours to the ruins and snorkeling tours included in the cost of your stay. I go to Mexico 2-3 times a year and Cancun Palace is high on my list of places to stay.

alwayzmile

so club med, sun palace or cancun palace? is there any other hotel i should look into? also, does anyone know if there are ever sales or discount rates on an all inclusive?
thanks.

MFNYC

I was at the Sun Palace several years ago. The pool was not what I would consider awesome. It was a basic pool. There was also an indoor pool. At the time we were there (with 2 kids), it seemed to be primarily couples, 30+. The pool at the Moon Palace is no comparison, a huge freeform pool but the beach is not tha great (better at the Sun and the other palace resorts).

The Beach or Cancun Palace may be a better AI option for Alwayzmile. Most water sports are included and I beleive a few excursions as well. From any Palace resort you can visit and use the facilities at the other palace hotels.

I'm sure there are now many other AIs in the area, but I'm not familiar with any.

karamel

Hi!

First and foremost: If you're doing a ruins tour, I would TOTALLY suggest you book through Magic Tours. We did a full-day tour of Chichen Itza which was fantastic! Only about $70. A 12-person, air-conditioned bus, friendly tour guides, plenty of time to climb the ruins, and they even took us to a cenote, which is kind of like a cave/well and has to be experienced to be believed. The best part was, we seemed to arrive everywhere just ten minutes before the huge crowds did, which gave us time to wander around and explore without being bombarded by busloads of other tourists. I would ABSOLUTELY recommend Magic, and go with the deluxe (the small A/C bus).

I stayed with my boyfriend and a few friends (also in our 20s) at the Costa Real in Cancun last year. We booked through Gogo and got a 7-day, all-inclusive package, airfare included, for around $750. We STILL don't know how we managed that! Enjoyed the hotel -- the rooms are definitely not luxury, but they were comfortable, and the atmosphere was very casual -- no need to pack anything dressy. The a la carte restaurant was great and there's a beautiful pool. Lots of games throughout the day. The beach was small but is on the northern part of Cancun, so the ocean doesn't have the rough waves -- very calm and relaxing. They have free kayak tours through the mangroves. It's away from the major bars, but it's only 6 pesos (50 cents) to hop a bus to that area, and it's about a 5-minute ride. Lots of nights the hotel offered free entertainment, and they make a GREAT margarita!! Again, it's NOT luxury, but the pool and food were great and rooms were always clean.

Hope that's helpful!
-K

alwayzmile

very helpful! thank you everyone for all of your advice...now im a bit curious why not club med? like i said, it was the first thing that popped into my head, are these various palaces better than clubmed do you think?

1Mandy1

My personal opinion is that the Palace Resorts would outshine Club Med in many areas. Their facilities/grounds/rooms are in the 4-5 star range. Their food is excellent, but what I think is a big plus for them is the fact that 2-3 tours are included in the cost of your stay. If you were to purchase tours separately, you could easily spend $150 or so per person extra.

Another plus is that there are several Palace resorts in the Cancun area alone and you can sample the different restaurants in the other resorts and use their facilities. That way you aren't limited to just your resort. Gives you more variety without spending more.

nolists

When we visited Cancun several years ago, the restaurants/bars were full of Club Med people who complained of bad food and lousy entertainment. That was a long time ago though.

Last year, a friend went to the club med in Canucun and thought the staff was full of trust fund babies from Mexico City looking for action. They visited PDC area looking at some of the resorts, he was a travel agent looking for information, and regretted not staying in that area.

Regarding Chichen Itza trip, consider this, ALL of the tour busses arrive around 11:00-12:00 and it gets very crowded. We rented a car in PDC the night before and drove ourselves early along the back roads through Coba and Vallidoid (sp?). There was no one at the ruins upon arriving (10:00am) when leaving around 11:30am (man was it hot!), the line to get in was 100 ft long and crowded! and the whole adventure took only 6 hours instead of 10 and cost only $80 (car plus gas) for 4 people.

Lynette

Joanna
Another AI that I have heard of that caters to 18+yrs but a young crowd is the Blue Bay Getaway. I would think that in June you should be able to get some deals as it is not the height of tourist season from North America. Good Luck on your search.
Check out www.bluebayresorts.com

alwayzmile

ok...so i think we've narrowed it down to cancun palace or moon palace...any thoughts?

JeanH

Moon Palace isn't in Cancun, it's about 20 miles south. I thought one of the best things about Cancun was the great bus service along the hotel zone. They were cheap, safe and came by every five minutes or so. So getting downtown or to the clubs was a piece of cake. Seems to me that staying at the Moon Palace would be a hassle unless you don't plan on leaving the resort. I've also read that the beach there sucks.