The Truth Behind All-Inclusive Resorts in the Riviera Maya – What You Need to Know

The Riviera Maya is one of the most popular vacation spots (no pun intended) and accounts for 40% of Mexico’s tourism dollars. All-inclusive resorts line the coast of the Riviera Maya to facilitate the arrival of large numbers of visitors, and these tourists often feel safe staying at a resort in a foreign country like Mexico. But to determine if an all-inclusive resort is right for you, you should consider some little-known facts about all-inclusive resorts, regarding eating at the best restaurants, the type of alcohol you consume, and off-resort tours when you want to venture off the beaten path. property. This article will aim to show you some of the drawbacks when staying at an all-inclusive resort and what other options you have in the Riviera Maya.

If you want more than buffet food during your resort stay, keep in mind that many Riviera Maya resorts have deterrents so it’s not too easy to eat at their best sit-down restaurants. Often the resort will ask you to make a reservation if you wish to eat at a sit-down restaurant. While this seems reasonable on the surface, it is actually designed to discourage many tourists from eating at the better restaurants. First, you may often be asked by the resort to make such reservations a day in advance. So at the very least, if your resort requires this, you won’t be able to eat at a sit-down restaurant on the first day of your stay!

And they may only be able to accept such restaurant reservations during certain hours in the morning, further limiting when you can secure a meal at one of their best restaurants. If you’ve been drinking late the night before or have a tour booked outside the resort in the morning, this can be a very inconvenient time. And then the resort will ask you to wait in line for the concierge to make the reservation. It’s one line only and due to the limited time allowed to make reservations, the line is often long and requires a long wait, something you may not want to do on your vacation. This is even more frustrating when at night if you drive past one of the restaurants you may notice that a particular restaurant has many open tables but will not allow you to eat in the restaurant without a reservation. So when looking to stay at any Riviera Maya resort, consider contacting the resort and asking about their policy for making dinner reservations.

Another concern if you are considering staying at an all-inclusive resort in the Riviera Maya is the quality of their alcohol. Some resorts will advertise that they serve certain premium alcoholic beverages. But be aware that some resorts, while advertising that they serve premium alcoholic beverages, may offer them only at specific bars. These bars may not always be accessible or easy to access. Therefore, if premium alcohol is important to you, check with the resort prior to making your reservations to determine if they offer premium alcohol at all of their bars or just a select few, and how easily accessible those bars are. An excellent tool is the Riviera Maya EZ-Locator, which will allow you to search for vacation rentals by owner rather than resorts, and locate only those villas or condos that meet certain conditions, such as whether restaurants are within walking distance or whether they are top notch. Alcohol can be provided at your Riviera Maya vacation rental.

Finally, many tourists don’t realize that Riviera Maya resorts want to keep tourists on property by spending money at the resort. The resort knows it has tourists locked in, so to speak, so it charges a premium for many services. Off-resort tours to explore the Riviera Maya are another way resorts like to charge premium prices. For example, at one resort I know of, the resort charges $100 per person for a tour to a nearby ruin. And this is on a bus full of other tourists. Now if you like to stay with a group like that and not venture out on your own then this may be for you. But one can just hail a private taxi outside the complex, pay $25 for a one-way ride to the ruins, and pay $5 for the entrance fee. Roundtrip is $55 and you get the privacy of your own taxi, you can explore the ruins at your own pace, and you didn’t have to wait in line at the resort to book the tour. Consider venturing off-resort for better deals on tours or explore the Riviera Maya yourself via taxi or rental car.

So you can see that an all-inclusive resort can offer hurdles to enjoy, at your leisure, in terms of access and price gouging. If a resort seems too restrictive, an alternative option is to stay in a Riviera Maya vacation rental, such as a villa (vacation home) or condo. All-inclusive resorts can provide a carefree Riviera Maya vacation, but vacation rentals by owner can be great options that give you more freedom, choice, and value to explore the Riviera Maya at your leisure.