Locate an inclusive resort
 

My husband and I will be celebrating our 25 anniversary. We will be taking children 18 & 15, in April. Can anyone suggest a nice inclusive, 5 star resort in Cancun or Cozumel? Our let me know if you have a favorite elsewhere.

In Cancun, the Omni is a beautiful resort with an all inclusive option. In fact, they have one of the best, if not the best all inclusives in Cancun. This property also has a beautiful beach and excellent service. You will not be disappointed.

I have heard that the best all inclusive anywhere in Cancun is the Royal Hidaway at Playa del Carmen. It is the only one that I know of Sorry I have no more info. The ony problem is it's about 35 miles from Cancun ut I think it has a lot to offer also.

Unless I am mistaken, Royal Hideaway is adults-only. The Riu Palace is just down the beach, and they are open to all ages. It is the most elegant of all the Riu resorts in Playa Del Carmen, and you also can use the facilities at the other Rius in the area.

The PDC area is very nice and a bit more 'Mexican' then Cancun (looks like Miami beach, malls and chain restauarants with strips of hotels in between). There are several 5* AIs in the PDC area. Beisde some already mentioned, there's also the Gala resort, Iberostar & Barcelo (about 10 mi. south of PDC).

My husband and I just returned from our first trip to Cancun two days ago. We stayed at the new Riu (all inclusive 5 star resort) and it was great. The location was perfect because you can walk to the malls and restaurants if you wanted to. We basically just stayed on the resort most of the time. The food was great and the hotel rooms are nice and clean since it's brand new. Check out Riu's website because they're offering special rates right now. Good luck and I'm sure you'll enjoy yourselves in Cancun.

I just finished searching for resorts in the area as we're going in August with 3 teenagers. I read the trip reviews at www.fodors.com, www.tripadvisors.com and eopinions.com. Here's my choices:
1. Iberostar Quetzal (no vacancy for our dates - this was my 1st choice)
2. Iberostar Tucan (no vacancy - this was my 2nd choice)
3. Palladium Grand (aka Fiesta Grand) This is where we'll be staying. Looks great!
4. Gala Resort (3 1/2 star place but good for teens)
5. Barcelo Maya (read there is fairly heavy teen drinking here and rough waves at beach)

These I decided against:
* Akumal Beach Resort (95% Italian
guests)
* Akumal Caribe - no TV in room
* Allure Mayan (beach is not good)
* Bahia Principe Akumal (lots of folks
seem to get sick here and no AC in
any restuarants)
* Caracol Village (no AC in rooms)
* Club Bananas (3 star and no TVs)
* Club Oasis Puerto Aventuras (seems a
lot of folks get sick here)
* Copacabana (3 star and rough water)
* El Dorado Royale (adults only)
* Gran Porto Real (beach is not good)
* Iberostar Paraiso Beach (beach is far
away and not good)
* Mayan Palace (cannot swim at beach)
* Oasis Akumal (not particulary
friendly to Americans, mostly Italian)
* Occidental Allegro (sounds good for
families but needs renovations)
* Paradisus Riviera Maya (not a good
beach and also has jellyfish)
* Reef Club Playacar (needs renovations)
* Riu Palace (not much for teens
compared to other places)
* Riu Playacar (OK nothing special)
* Riu Yucatan (not much for teens
compared to other places)
* Viva Azteca (mostly adult, no AC in
any restuarants)
* Viva Maya (lots of folks seem to get
sick and generally not friendly staff)

Disclaimer: Remember these are just my interpretation of reviews from folks who have been there. Be sure to read them for yourself and decide! Also we're going in August so AC is important to us, may not be needed other times of the year.

Great info so far - thanks Jill2 for passing along your research.

Jill-terrific-great information!

In response to Jill2's comments on Barcelo, as far as big waves, my 11 & 14 year old had no problems with the waves (and they rarely go to the beach). The waves weren't rough at all. I suppose there are black flag days (we've had them in Cancun) but in general, I don't think this beach would be much different then most mayan riviera beaches. I can't speak for teen drinking but can say that wine, beer and tequilla are available on a help yourself basis, but any other AI I've been to (in Cancun and PDC) had some form of alcohol available in a similar manner.

Jill2, Please let us know how you trip went. I also am interested in the Palladium Grand this winter with my 2 kids (12 & 15). We've been to the Gala many years ago and last year we were at the Barcelo. Do you by any chance know of a good place to book thru for the best deals? I researched air alone and it looked quite pricey. I figure if it's bundled in a package, I may get a better deal.

In response to a message above, I would just like to say that my husband and I stayed at the Bahia Principe Akumal last winter and we loved it. I can not say one bad thing about it. We never got sick and we ate very well the entire time we were there. The food was presented beautifully and it never looked old or messy in any way. In fact, we made several comments about how nice and healthy the food looked. I don't know where you got your info from, but I would go back to this resort in a flash and I would not be afraid to eat any of the food.

Re:MFNYC- We're also going to Palladium in Aug. We got packages 7 nights all icl. roundtrip flights from Wash DC,roundtrip transfers hotel/airport , all taxes+fee..for 2 adults + 1 toddler in a junior suit , total $2240. They're Apple Vacations' , got them through an agency in town . Hope this helps.