Great tips, Walter! Let me share two more mistakes: 1. Make sure the room mini bar and the room service are included too. That's not always the case. 2. If there's anything wrong with your reservation you can ask for an upgrade in your status in the resort that can include exclusive beaches, beverages or experiences.
I would also add a note about the wristband. It helps to have some way to hide it if you go off resort. Maybe a bracelet or watch. The street scammers will pick up right away with the whole "hey, remember me from the *your resort*?".
If you take it off and bring it to the front the next day and actually have the wristband, they should give you another without having to pay because since you have it, nobody else could be using it.
I'd say and add on to the tip situation, "be nice to people", a lot of times I see people go to these types of resorts and they think they're royalty with a cadre of servants. And they always wonder why I get taken care of faster and better than them, which just makes them more obstinate. Being nice and friendly to staff goes a loooong way
Extra mistakes: 1) Underestimating the strength of the sun on your first day, not putting on sun tan lotion, and getting the worst sunburn of your life 2) If you're a drinker: not going to every single bar and finding the best bartender, who you tip well and are guranteed to have the tastiest/strongest drinks 3) Enjoying said bartenders drinks too much, and nursing a hangover the next day.
I'll never understand how non melanated people have to remind other non melenated people to put on sunscreen?! Like how did you survive not knowing you could burn in the sun? I'm black my whole life I've been putting on sunscreen and I don't even sunburn in the sun easily. But my mom always instilled the importance of sunscreen. Also it might help with your aging process.
Hi Walter, great video! I've only done all inclusive in cancun and need to warn people about the time-share sales people. If you get caught just being nice (hearing them out but not having any intention on investing in a time share), you will literally waste hours if even a whole day of your trip.
I kind of knew the time share people were part of the deal, but I was surprised how annoyed I was by them. I just stopped answering the phone in the room and saying no to most free gifts offered by hotel "staff." If I liked all-inclusives more, I think I might pay more money to NOT hear sales pitches.
I made the mistake of going to one presentation in exchange for dinner at an exclusive beach restaurant. They were unbelievably incessant and persistent. They had one closer after another after another. I was starting to think we could never leave. When we were finally through after wasting an entire morning (we were told it would be no longer than two hours), the girl leading us around told the host a secret word probably meaning we didn’t buy anything and he gave us a voucher for some lousy breakfast at a stupid time that we ended up not even using. When we asked about the dinner we were promised he said he didn’t know anything about it. just say no no matter what they offer and enjoy your own time.
I find that the benefits can be skewed toward alcohol drinkers a lot. We planned an all inclusive cruise that excluded tea from "all-inclusive" drinks. A family of 6 that doesn't take a drop of alcohol but has to pay more for a pot of tea at breakfast. Smh
Great tips! I would to that list the following : Don't try to drink all the alcohol in the hotel. You won't be able to do it and instead you'll end up with a bad hangover taking you out of action or worse yet alcohol poisoning. Now the pool chair hoarders should be hated by every single person who's on vacation 😂😂😂
Hi, Wolter! I'm really enjoying your videos, specially the ones from my lovely Dominican Republic. One tip at DR in the event you need to buy clothes, footwear or things like bugs spray, sunblock or anything you fancy: Just head for the public mall outside the resort premises, specially if in the Punta Cana area. There are several malls where you can buy almost anything at very affordable prices, some things even at the same price or even cheaper than at your country of origin. There's even an Ikea. You'll have to go outside of course, but it will be completely worth it.
1. Check out show schedule & activities. Those can be great. 2. Sometime different buffet restaurants can have different food. For example, if this buffet doesn’t have the oxtail that you want, maybe the other ones will.
If you’re staying at a higher end resort a lot of these don’t apply. Resort chains like secrets, couples, excellence, etc. walk you through everything. The food quality is much more higher end than a Barcelo, riu, Bahia, etc. You def get what you pay for with an all Inclusive. The higher end resort chains also don’t have wrist bands.
Agreed. Just got back from Secrets and this video really doesn't resonate with my experience. I wanted for nothing and staff went out of their way to make the experience wonderful.
Couldn’t agree more with the tipping and learning a bit of the local language. The last time I did an all-inclusive in Cancun, I found both made a big difference. Giving good tips and learning some key phrases in Spanish made for a better experience. I definitely got faster and better service because of that.
Most mexicans don't speak english, and I've noticed this being a mexican myself. So whenever a foreigner comes to Mexico, they have an infinitely easier time if they know a few words in spanish
Tipping.....underrated on cruises and all inclusive resorts. If you want service, then you are competing with everyone else that is there. After the first 2-3 days, the staff will recognize you, and treat you differently. You will be at the beach or bar and servers will come up to you regularly. At the restaurants, you will get whatever you want, and food off the menu. It doesn't take much to set yourself apart from everyone else. Most don't tip at all.
We stay at the Barcelo in Aruba. Been to Punta Cana 5 times, stayed at all-inclusive each time. We feel it is the way to go. When we were in DR we were told not to venture out on our own unless on an excursion, so that was really the only time we left the resort, and were able to see some of the country. We did the same thing in Mexico. We only left the resort on an excursion, that was it. When we go Aruba, even though it is safer to leave the resort, we still do all inclusive, cause eating every meal out, and drinking, especially in Aruba is crazy expensive. We have our breakfast and lunch in the resort and maybe go out for dinner a couple times.Having done all inclusive on all our trips, we pretty much know what to expect and yes, we ask questions too. Your video will be very helpful to first timers.
Resort areas in Mexico are safe to venture out own your own. Just do not wear expensive jewelry, flash large amounts of cash or go anywhere with anyone you do not know.
@@BernieLeVeque I would never go to Mexico again. Last time I was there I got sick, and no, I didn’t drink the water. Plus I wouldn’t feel safe there whether on a resort or not.
I'm actually planning to go to an All-Inclusive in Sept-October so this is a great video! (Tell you son I definitely always tip AND it is a good reminder for people too!) Thanks, guys!
Adult resorts are not always more relaxing! Don't book there thinking "Oh thank God, it's all grown ups, no kids running around." Stag(ette) excursions can be the most obnoxious bunch of fellow resortees. People go there to have a good time, whether they remember it or not. Family ones have some semblance of 'down time' or 'after hours'. If that's your game, then you'll love it but don't book mum and dad's 50th anniversary gift at an adult resort without looking into it. With adult ones, sometimes the noise goes 24hrs and you often find 'puddles' in corners and against the sides of buildings. If lying in the sun and peaceful relaxation is more your thing, read the reviews and watch for things like "boring", "small", "nothing to do" - THOSE are the best!
Dunno, I found that all-inclusive might be great when travelling with small kids but otherwise it kinda locks you in. We started doing half-board instead because it forces you to get out and eat somewhere else, visit places. Also alcohol/cocktails in all-inclusive tends to be not-what-you-usually-want.
The things I want to avoid on vacation are worrying and hurrying. The worst!! thing a resort hotel worker could say to me is "You better hurry up and make a restaurant reservation before 11 am or you won't get a seat at restaurant X for tonight's dinner service."
Great content! I've also experienced an all-inclusive that everything was timed. Was only available at certain times, bars closed extremely early, you had to make reservations in person at the front desk by 8 in the morning to get one of the restaurants. So if you didn't get your fill or keep some food and drink in your room you were pretty much out of luck.
We stayed at The Level, Melia Punta Cana, DR. They used to have a Dominican restaurant and Dominican dishes on the lunch buffet. You can walk down the beach to other beach restaurants that have great local food.never forget sunscreen. 40 bucks.
The best all inclusive I've stayed in when my children were young is Beaches Negril in Negril Jamaica .Everything is included even scuba diving if you are certified. Always stayed on the concierge level and you are treated like royalty.
I went to DR last year and it was actually tough to find Dominican food at the resort. Mexican AI's i think it's easier to find Mexican food. But man, this was spot on Mark!
These are all great tips! One that I will add is, when ordering adult beverages the bartenders usually put a very small amount of booze in your drink to keep costs down for the resort. I learned to order my drink plus order an extra “shot” of whatever booze goes into it so I can dump it into the drink myself for the full flavor. & you are absolutely right about learning a few words of the local language, not only is courteous to put forth a little effort but as soon as the staff realizes that you are truing to speak their language they seem to become very appreciative of the effort & they love to help you with pronunciation & new words! Ask them about where they’re from, ask them about their culture, if you aren’t going to foreign countries to learn about the region & the people then what’s the point???
I've only been to one AI resort and they had a watermelon juice machine, self-serve. I drank 13 glasses that first day and levelled off to about 8 glasses per day. Best thing ever! Good that I didn't have a bigger glass! I also found the buffet to be exactly what you said, cafeteria food that appeals to Europeans. So Much Bread. There were two pots of local dishes for dinner but they were the same thing over and over, a delicious bell pepper stew. I had a nice encounter with an employee when I showed him I could write my name in Arabic, he was thrilled. The overwhelming memory of that trip though, was the heat and humidity and insufficient AC of the Maghreb in July.
Mistake #1 don’t get sucked into those presentations for travel clubs ! My husband made me go to one for a free excursion . Wasted 3hrs of my vacay . Nice excursion tho
I am thankful that every resort we've been to has explained everything. Our food and non-premium drinks were included. The staff was great. In Jamaica, they had authentic food on the resort.
I was actually just in barcelo bavaro beach for our honeymoon! I recognized your videos are from the palace. My biggest issue was that they didn't tell us anything. They just handed us our room keys and told us our room numbers. Didn't know there was the palace with other pools or the other restaurants were included or even where to do watersports. We had to figure it all out ourselves
Love your videos Wolter!!!! Been a fan and subscriber for years!! Im heading to Cancun soon, and your info is always very helpful! It is my first time going to an "All inclusive" Adults only resort. I will keep in mind all of this info! Good timing too! Thank you Wolter and family!
I've been to quite a few All inclusives & most of them have been to the Domincan. Which they seem to just have a variation of levels of services, so u get better pools, better beaches, better restaurants. I just booked Antigua & didn't realize that if I would've booked directly w the resort, there's a whole big list of extras we would've received. Room upgrades, restaurant upgrades & coffee delivered to our room in the morning. I should've checked this before I booked. I thought I was well informed when it came to booking vacations. I deeply regret not researching this first. I just looked for the best price. So FYI, if you're booking a new hotel just research what specific deals individual resorts have. Also, I did look at reviews before I booked but I never saw anything about it
A few years back they would offer a sort of orientation meeting at a preset location that gave very good information about the resort and the area, truly appreciated that, I think it was put on by the airline that you used, lt has been a while since it was offered. A number of resorts ago. They (the airline) have cut down on so much.. lf you take the time, and the staff have time they can fill you in on so very much. Thankyou for your video, and as you said "don't forget to tip" as generously as you can.
I think that some countries are reviewing their tourism options. All inclusives do hire a lot of people from the local community so there's that to balance. As it may create a society division between the people employed in resorts and the others.
(Melanie here) Hi! Great video. Next time, I need to remember my refillable bottle. I came up and introduced myself to you at the all-inclusive in February. It's a wonderful place. The specialty restaurants had great food and the buffets were good as well. Very few staff there spoke English but enough to get our questions answered.
Local food - we have stayed at several all-inclusives in Mexico, at the buffet my bland/picky eater partner follows the American/Canadian guests, I queue up for whatever the Mexican guests are eating. Tipping, shopping, we use local currency exclusively, as to use the Almighty U.S. dollar, we are Canadian so we get dinged twice on exchange rates, and you get quoted the 'gringo price'. Same often applies to credit card use. Good point on the outrageous prices for commodity items from the resort shops, bring it with you or go off-site to buy.
Laughing that you mentioned over eating, but not drinking to excess. Even at “family” resorts I’ve seen adults passed out on a lounge chair in the middle of the day that I saw dancing on tables the night before
That's gotta be the Germans and Scandinavians, who are reserving the sunbeds with towels at the crack of dawns. Brits/Americans aren't awake until 9am when on vacation!
Chock full of useful, practical tips. Excellent! I’ve never stayed at an all-inclusive resort but I have to say, they sound pretty rubbish. I think maybe denying yourself something (say the opportunity to go out to a local restaurant to enjoy local food and culture) just because you’ve already paid for it in the resort, is a mistake. Maybe another way of looking at it, is to reflect on the cost of airfare, etc to get to that location and plan to enjoy all it has to offer, whether within the resort or not. Maybe I’d choose to stay in an all-inclusive just for a few days if it had something I was especially looking for (say a great beach or water sports) but combine it with a stay in a nice city hotel where I’d have the freedom to eat out, shop and just soak up the vibe. But then my kids are all grown and it’s just my wife and myself.
Hi, I’m interested in nice calm, turquoise beaches, I loved the beaches of the resorts you stayed in. Can you please suggest good resorts with beautiful beaches. Appreciated
where in DR are you? we've been going for 10+ years at AI and never can you reserve a dinner a month in advance, heck you can't reserve until the day of.
Sometimes gratuities are included. They are at the Excellence resorts. So check that info. Of course, staff will still appreciate tips, but you also have to consider the local currency and frequent overtipping in a tourism-heavy economy can lead to economy-damaging inflation for all citizens including those who aren't getting paid a lot of tips. You have to find the right level of tipping.
Beware timeshare scams. I went to a resort in Mexico and they made us attend a timeshare pitch meeting on our first day. And beyond that, the whole all-inclusive thing felt like a scam, honestly. The cafeteria food is totally a thing. I wouldn't do it again.
Avoid the tap water and be careful with ice. It’s a problem I’ve only encountered once at an all-inclusive, but it doesn’t hurt to travel with a course of antibiotics in case of food poisoning. There’s very little w medical care in some locations, and it’s an expensive venture.
I hope to see more all inclusive videos. You should make a video about tipping at all inclusive resorts because there is a lot of debate about it. Some people barely tip while others tip like if the trip was free.
It never hurts to be known as a good tipper. Every extra dollar/peso/Euro is needed and appreciated by every person working in that industry, especially in today's economy of run-away inflation. And, believe me, the word about who is a good tipper gets spread FAST around the back of the house where the guest never goes...
@@aniveed8005 You want to be generous but you have to draw the line somewhere. I have heard some crazy numbers and that's why I think a video about it would be helpful.
Sounds a lot like cruising…only difference is you’re on land and not sailing. I think I could def do an all-inclusive resort. Given I’m heading into winter right now, a holiday someplace sunny sounds lovely.
The other thing that I learned about all inclusive too is that they say "tips are included", but at the sit down restaurants (where alcohol is free) sometimes, they'll leave the whole bottle of wine for your party and then they'll just keep filling your glass. Seems nice at the time, but then when you go to close out, the waiters will start asking you about the good service you got because they want a tip.
in the first 2mins I thought, "Oh! that sounds kinda like a cruise!". But the not sharing info thing?? Well, thank you for sharing. Sometimes it's just all about knowing the culture :)
strange been to several all inclusive resort and haven’t had many of the experiences you described, no alcohol or food limits no its not top shelf but still did the job and the food wasn’t to bad but the restaurants was always included I never paid extra for anything
My husband and I went to an all inclusive on the Mayan Riviera. It was paradise! One mistake we made, however, was tipping the wonderful staff in Canadian money. Apparently, it was hard for them to exchange it. Next time, I would consider getting some American dollar bills.
First time I went all-inclusive, the first mistake I made was trying to pay for my first drink. I assumed it wouldn't include alcohol. The room didn't cost nearly enough to cover the cost of feeding me and getting me drunk. At least it wouldn't have at home
Bring you own straws for your drinks. Most places I’ve been to now give you paper straws that only last 5 seconds before clapping. We now just bring our yeti mugs with the reusable straws and the bar tenders will usually fill your cup.
My “tip” is not to bring $2 bills. Since they are rare, some places don’t accept them. I got to know a bar tender pretty well on a cruise and he was telling me that the crew all exchange their $2 bills for $1 ones because a lot of places don’t take them.
And another common mistake I believe is drinking the tap water. I heard on the internet that tropical tap water will likely upset your stomach, which will likely ruin your vacation.
Do you only pay for a room at the resort but go out of the resort for food and drinks? I am planning on doing that but not sure how it would work with kids and all.
I have my personal experience about alcohol in All-Inclusive places. They kinda cheat with mixed drinks, so you will never be able to get drunk :) It's understandable, because alcohol is not cheap and they maybe try to prevent guests from going wild. So, from my own experience, I prefer to buy duty free alcohol at the airport and then bring it to the resort. BTW, what is your experience with alcohol in All-Inclusive places?
I’m going to an all inclusive resort in Mexico.. The all inclusive includes gratuities and food and access to all restaurants. The only extra charges are for special order wines at mealtime … am I expected to tip for drinks or restaurant meals that are part of the all inclusive price. and if so how much?
