YES! You absolutely should, and here is why...
Everyone travels for a different reason, but if you are travelling to relax this is the route for you!
We stayed at the Grand Riviera Princess in Riviera Maya, half way between Cancun & Tulum, for 8 days for our honeymoon.
We had never stayed in an all-inclusive before, so we chose one in a middle price range.
Sustainability
Because I have a sustainable mindset, I was concerned about the waste but I was happily suprised. Mexico has a very enviromentally-focused mindset; especially on the coast. Probably because a lot of their economy relies on tourism in addition to some very passionate people. Did you know that the Meso-American Reef along the Gulf coast of Mexico is the 2nd largest reef in the world?!
The resort had a reusabel cup system. There were cup collection trays above every trash/recycling/compost bins, so that they could wash the cups and reuse them in all of the to-go bars. The prioritized recycling and composting above trash. Very few of the bins even had a trash option. They used reclaimed water for their landscaping. In the buffets and restraunts, you could have all you can eat, but they encouraged several orders instead of initial big ones to avoid food waste. All of their toiletries were made with reef safe ingredients, and they only offered reusable bags in the gift shops.
On all excursions, the safety of the environment was the top priority.
Value
We really care about value in addition to sustainability. We are happy to pay more for things, but we want to make sure there is good value in that choice.
As mentioned in a previous blog post, I reccomend not using a travel agent, or at least doing your own research in addition - mostly to avoid extra fees you don't need to pay. We booked with Grand Riviera Princess directly. We paid $1800 for 8 nights for 2 people. That is only $225 a night or $112.50 a night per person. We calculated that just in meals and drinks we would be paying $2,240 at regular American restraunts if not more for 8 days of eating 3 meals a day plus snacks and drinks. In an all-inclusive we got food and drink, beautiful accomodation, pool side service, a private beach, shows, and scheduled activities!
Wildlife
This is not necessarily a part of all all-inclusives, but it sure made this one special! We got to encounter coates, Mexican deer, iguanas, and monkeys on the daily. We are huge animal lovers! We could sit and watch the animals and be thoroughly entertained.
The Less Great Things
As whole I loved staying in the resort, but it does take away the cultural experience. Keep in mind that you'll have to get a shuttle or a tour to go anywhere out of the resort and they do charge American prices for those. If you are travelling to relax, stay on the property if you can or take a shuttle to the closest city to save money.
For anything that is not included in the standard price, they charge in USD instead of in Pesos... We got very frustrated with this because even though we were in Mexico, they would charge in USD and if we wanted to pay in Pesos they would give us the exchange rate that is convenient to them... We proabably lost about $200 in exchange rates over the length of the trip.
Overall, we loved staying in an All-Inclusive, and will definetely be doing it again. :)
(We are not affiliated or paid by Princess Hotels in any way)
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