Will be travelling to Cancun in the fall. I know that I'd like to stay at one of the "nicer/bigger" hotels, but can't decide if it makes sense to go all inclusive or not. How expensive are the dining options if I don't go all inclusive route? Not looking for super fancy dinners...but want good food and variety! Thoughts? Thank you.

I've only done all-inclusive once and wouldn't do it again. There are too many wonderful restaurants in all price ranges to spend an entire vacation eating at the hotel. That's my opinion, and I'm sure others will disagree.

No no no!
Helena is right.
There are soooo many excellent restaurants all over the Cancun area.
To go AI there would mean missing out on some of the best food anywhere in Mexico.
The most wonderful options can be found in the downtown area (in the City, not the Hotel Zone) and include Sasha's, La Habichuela, Labna, El Pescador and many more.
(The nicer hotels do not usually offer AI.)
For breakfast, you can eat at your hotel or go to Iguana Wana or Captain's Cove for a delicious breakfast buffet (Both are in the Zona Hotelera)or downtown to Bisquets Obregon.
I'm sure others can give you more options, but I've found the 2 times we went AI kept us tied more to the resort, and we did not get a true "feel" for the places we went to.
Have a great time!

MK: As a frequent traveler to Cancun, I have done both. For the Cancun area, my preference is AI because the dining options can be very expensive. While true that eating in the downtown area offers good food for a more reasonable price, it's not always convenient to get up and go downtown for a meal. And you have to consider the fact that to get anything to eat or drink, you have to leave your hotel to do so, unless you want to pay the high prices at the resort. If you are like me, you go to Cancun to relax, soak up the sun, play in the water and relax some more.

Also, if you like to drink very much, it can be costly to do so "ala carte." Most hotels charge $5 or $6 per drink and that includes sodas and tea.

I don't know why Diana would say the "nicer" hotels do not offer AI. There are some (very few) who do not offer an AI, but most do and the price and quality ranges from a 3 star to a 5 star resort or better. So, it depends on your budget as to which one is right for you.

My suggestion is to go AI and then eat out a meal or two at one of the local restaurants. That way, you can get the feel of both worlds. You can eat, drink or have a snack at your resort whenever you want without worrying about running up a high hotel bill and still get to sample the local food, people and ambiance.

Most of all, have fun and ENJOY! Maybe I'll see you there. I'm going back in October.

Some folks swear by all-inclusives. I swear at 'em...

If you like really, REALLY good food, then it's a no-brainer. *STAY AWAY FROM ALL-INCLUSIVES AT ALL COST*. PERIOD.

All-inclusives like to boast about their "gourmet" meals, but the fact is that it's almost always institutional buffets -- big on presentation, short on flavor or local authenticity.

In almost any resort area, you can *ALWAYS* eat locally in small restaurants for less money. Yeah, you have to get there, and yeah, you might actually have to encounter and deal with (*gasp*) LOCAL people, but the payback is enormous.

Folks who like all-inclusives are usually people who also think Olive Garden is a "good" italian restaurant. You can draw your own conclusions...

Have fun!
Mark
www.tiogringo.com

You will hear both sides and people are very passionate (or nasty) about their choice..I prefer all-inclusive because I am Canadain and our dollar doesn't go far in Mexico, being that it is based on the American Dollar. I like to get up and go to a buffet for breaky - the breaky is always the best. When I didn't go all-inclusive I had to walk down a very hot humid road till I found a place I wanted to eat at. By the time the food came, I was too hot and cranky to enjoy breaky. At the all inclusive I just wandered down to the buffet, had a coffee, relaxed watching the ocean, had a long carefree breakfast of fruit, toast, yogurt, eggs, omelet, pancakes, cereal, bacon ...whatever I felt like that day...then wandered off to the beach. I only wanted a snack for lunch and don't drink much and still felt I got value for my money. Dinner's are OK at all-inclusives, but we went to town a couple of times for variety. It is soooo relaxing to have a couple of happy hour drinks (included) at the beach or pool, then wander up for shower/nap then wander down to dinner at the same hotel. So if you want to relax and be carefree, go all-inclusive, if you want a bit more adventure and don't mind getting a bus or cab to go to dinner, then don't.

My two cents. I personally don't like the AI's. However, last year I went to Cancun and for the first time regretted not going AI. I don't find the restaurants in Cancun great (I live in Chicago with fabulous restaurants everywhere) and I thought the food was very overpriced. I returned from an 8 day vacation in Italy this past March and it was cheaper than my four night stay in Cancun. I was in Cancun 10 years ago and obviously everything goes up, but I had no idea Cancun was now going to be this expensive. Go AI.

Here is another 3 cents ..

I too hve always precieved AI as conveniences for lazy people with little taste and/or class...
HOWEVER ..
after researching Cancun/Playa del Carmen for nearly a month I deceded to stay at JW Marriot, until someone put it so simply .. "you will be going into your pocket morning, noon and night." Trust me .. this was not a question of budget .. I allowed myself about $1600 for a family of four to eat/drink for the week. I think that is somewhat reasonable, but I thought about it also and said .. I don't want to carry a wallet, sign checks, trek to resturants, squirm everytime I order some frozen marguarita. This is supposed to ber a vacation, not a tour. When I tour, I find the out of the way resturants, I stay in hotels that have local flavor and drive myself.
I found what I believe to be a great hotel that offers AI. Trust me, JW Marriot did NOT offer it nor did the other upscale hotels in Cancun. I mean, I'm not surprised but I am not about to pay $20 a head for breakfeast for my daughter to say .. "Dad .. this juice tastes funny .. or .. I really don't feel like eating this waffle.."
I am certain the food will be mediocre.
Mediocre food serves a pupose. This is not a gastronimical experience. The operative word here is "convenience", so there has to be a little compromise, of course unless I won the lottery, abd then I wouldn't have wasted everyone's time here.

It's as simple as this: If you're a bit older, and you care about such things as good food and drink on your vacation, AND you can afford it, do NOT go AL. However, if the only way you can do a nice vacation is by AL, or if quantity (ie, lots of partying/drinkingis more important than quality, go AL.) Nothing wrong with either. It all depends upon your taste and or your budget...

I agree totally with frankie.
Speaking as a frequent traveler to Mexico, I spend as much time researching restaurants as I do the hotels I choose to stay in.
We have stayed at some of the finest properties in Cancun (and other parts of Mexico as well), but through experience we have found that even the top of the line hotels - such as Ritz Carlton, FAGCB, etc. - do not have consistently good food that justifies their exhorbitant prices.
Now, we're no millionaires, but when we go on vacation, we want to live it up.
I can pinch pennies at home
One thing I will NOT do, and that is eat mediocre food on my vacation.
Mediocre food is what you will find at almost every hotel that offers AI in Cancun.
If that's OK with you, then you are going to be satisfied with AI.
Some of the best meals we had cost the least, and some of the worst meals we've had cost the most.
For us (and this is only my opinion), staying at a great property and going in search of the best food at local and notably excellent places - La Habichuela, Labna, Sasha's, etc. - is a major part of the vacation adventure.
For someone with kids who are not well-traveled and accustomed to trying new foods in other countries, or someone for whom fine dining is unimportant, AI's fill a real need and work perfectly.
Anyone who is a frequent traveler to Mexico knows that you are no more likely to fall ill there from the food than anywhere else.
I've eaten 1,000+ meals there with only one day of stomach upset.
I can't say that about the food here in the States!
(You'll find that most of the people who post they fell ill in Mexico on this board admit that they stayed at an AI and ate frequently from buffets of food picked over by many others.)
MK2, you mentioned you want "good food."
I'd suggest you skip the AI route...

Frankie, I thought we were talking about AI, what is AL, is this something new?

Anyway, I went to Cancun 3 years ago and did not go AI and I wanted to experience the local restaurants also. It became a hassle, leaving the hotel 3 times a day, taking buses, taxis, looking for great places. I must say that on the whole most of the restaurants in Cancun were on the line of Olive Garden as the previous poster states, I never found anything really good. I went to La dolce Vita one night and it was just overpriced Italian food with no taste.

This summer I am going to the Cancun Palace and my goal is to relax, not have to worry about finding a place to eat and it it is going to be Olive Garden quality or not because personally I am Italian and I do not enjoy Olive Garden quality as the previos poster seems to dine in it frequently.

I am going to AI(AL) to enjoy, relax and not worry and Im sure the food will be just fine and Im sure there will be plenty of local people working in the hotel for me to mingle with the locals unless Mexico is now importing there workers like the US is.

Diana, I read your reference to people who are not well traveled should go AI, well I don't know what you mean by well travelled, please explain but maybe people just want to relax. Also if your destination is moslty Mexico and Cancun I certainly wouldn't be patting myself on the back as you are telling yourself your so well traveled, please give me a break. Mexico is just a beach place, a place to have fun and relax. This is not a place for travel experts and culinary experts. Please people this is Cancun we are talking about, not Paris. Some of you make it sound like you are doing world travelling if you go to Cancun, Cancun was designed just to suck in American dollars and most of the places are American style. Without going downtown how many authentic Mexican restaurants are in the hotel zone? And please don't count Carlos and Charlies, thank you.

Glad to explain my post to you NNJBOBBY.
What I said was:
"For someone with kids who are not well-traveled and accustomed to trying new foods in other countries..."
That means, someone whose children are not likely to be happy eating something they are not familiar with.

I have been to many more places than Mexico. If you are interested in my travel destinations, you may click on my name and find the other places that I give advice on.

No one ever suggested that there were authentic places to eat anywhere other than downtown.
A vacation is what the person taking it makes of it.
If fine dining is what a traveler to Cancun wants, then it can be found.

For those of us who are interested in going off the beaten path in search of good food, it's a personal choice, and I was giving information on that option to the orginal poster.

Dondiega,
I truly and sincerely apologize for my "AL" rather than "Al". I am so sorry to have offended you by my typo...
Frankie

Personally, I thoroughly enjoy good Mexican food and this is why I didn't recommend the AI's in my previous post. As many have mentioned, the AI food is mediocre. I've been in Cancun tons of times and have always found reasonably priced restaurants with exceptional food. There's a small grocery store with an outside restaurant located between Restaurante Maria Bonita and Fiesta Americana Coral Beach Hotel. They have reasonably priced breakfasts, lunches and dinners all of high quality. Iguana Wana also has good food, and there's a small outdoor restaurant located across the street from Fiesta Americana Cancun that's great! Downtown, I suggest La Parrilla, La Placita, Labna, the restaurant at Hotel Margaritas, which, by the way, is a great hotel with a true Mexican flair. There's also Sasha's, a great international restaurant. Personally, I go to Cancun for the great beaches, great Mexican food and mingling with the wonderful Mexican people, many of who I've befriended over the years. Bus fare to downtown is inexpensive ($.60 US)and walking around the hotel zone doesn't cost anything. A day trip to Isla Mujeres is a wonderful experience. It's sad to go to Cancun and stay on the hotel property, not experiencing a little of the real Mexico. Go,explore, enjoy!

I have been all over Mexico and when I go AI , I also go out and eat at other places, to get a tatse of "real "mexican food. They have never been any big deal.
I enjoy my holiday and I do not want to wake up each morning and start looking for places to eat.I do not care if the taxi is free I do not want to go travelling around everytime I want a a snack or something to eat.
I have never been to an AI where I can say the food was bad and tasteless.
They have over 100 items at the lunch ,dinner buffet, so if there is nothing that pleases you out of 100 items, then the problem is not AI, or Mexico, or the hotel, or whatever, the problem is YOU.!!!
For example ,at the AI breakfast,you just had the omelette, ornage juice and coffee and some fruit, just what else are you lacking??? What do you eat at home for breakfast??? ,and what is that taxi ride to down town Cancun going to get you for breakfast ,that is not right in front of your nose now.
Then its a taxi ride back to the hotel and a taxi ride back at noon and again at 6PM and so on and so forth for the duration of your holidays.
So you end up spending your vaction looking for "quaint " little places to eat, so you can say,"I ate at Amados", I ate at Valdez" I ate at Lopez's" etc .etc. Big Deal.
If you do the math ( I have) eating AI is very cost effective and the money you save, then use that and go to other places just for a change, NOT necessarily better food .
Now just tell me this! How can you tell me that your breakfast is better than mine.!!!!!!?
I do not eat bacon and eggs back home , I have fruit ,coffee and toast and orange juice back home..that is all, period.
Some of you people are saying that no matter what 5 star hotel you stay at along the Cancun Strip, if you do the AI ,then there is something wrong with you, how can you eat that terrible food there. Give me a break okay.
MK2, you will do just fine going AI, and you will have more time to enjoy the beach,the malls, the tours and just seeing mexico..
Have a nice time
Percy

Thanks to everyone for all of the great feedback, you've given me alot to think about. Now, I could probably use a little advice on hotels! I know that I want to stay in the hotel zone, would like a nice beach and pool area. And on a scale of 1 to 5 stars(with 5 being the highest), I would like a 4 or 5 hotel. Recommendations?? Thank you!

MK2

There are so many very nice places along whatI call the beautiful"CancunStrip" of hotels.
I have been at the 5 star Grand Oasis and the Fiesta American( next door).
They are both lovely places.

The beach is terrific with the white sand and the blue/green water of the Caribbean sea.
The major strip in front of the hotel ( a block away ,due to the expansive grounds) is Kukulkan Blvd.
You can take the bus from here to downtown Cancun.
You can walk to a very nice large air conditioned mall.
When it is 90 F you will like to be in the cool Mall!
Take the Chichen Itza tour for sure.

As you walk from your hotel to Kukulkan Blvd, the Mall is to your right( toward downtown) and to your left is a McDonalds. It is here (next to McDonalds) that there is a Bank of Mexico that gives you BETTER rates than going downtown to exchange your money.
Both places I mentioned a very very nice.
Percy

MK2 - did you have any idea the can of worms you were opening when you first posted? LOL!

Food and eating are subjective activities and are all in how the individual perceives them. What is crappy food to someone is fair or okay to someone else. What someone thinks is bland food is excellent quality to someone else. To lump all food in Cancun served by AI's as mediocre or worse is ridiculous. If your opinion that the food served by AI's is substandard or below par, then by all means state that with the disclaimer that it is only YOUR opinion. People come here posting their questions looking for honest information. To say that your personal standard (in this case for AI's) is the measuring guide by which all AI's should be measured in Cancun shows a lack of respect for others who have visited there whether it be one time or many times.

I am a frequent traveler to Cancun. The reason for my visits is for relaxation, getting away from the fast-paced stress of my life for a few days 2 or 3 times a year. Staying at a nice hotel with an AI suits my purpose and I haven't been disappointed with either one so far. We do eat out occasionally and have not been disappointed in those either.

MK, my advice to you is decide what is important and what your goals are for this trip. Then select your options based on what's best for you and your budget.

Dondiego - you will love your stay at Cancun Palace. It is a great resort and one of my favorite places to stay.

Yikes - I'm responding to Dar's comment - "I prefer all-inclusive because I am Canadian and our dollar doesn't go far in Mexico, being that it is based on the American Dollar." I too am Canadian and never go AI! How far our dollar goes often depends on where you travel.