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Are All-Inclusive Resorts Worth it? We tried it, and it wasn't our thing
Is it worth the expense of all-inclusive resorts? We think not. We were disappointed when we tried an all-inclusive resort. The food was delicious. The facilities were excellent. Amazing layout and features. Amazing staff. It wasn't for us. It wasn't for us. For anyone curious about the hype, here's our experience.
Where We Remain
We stayed at Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos. This property is located in San Juan del Cabo in Baja California, Mexico. The property is available for 20,000 Hyatt points per person. The cash price for a basic room on the nights we stayed was $588. This is a redemption value that's almost 3 cents per Hyatt point. It's definitely higher than the average value for Hyatt Points.
We stayed 2 nights.
The Positives
There are certainly positives. The property is impressive in every way. It is huge, it has so many things, and the food is amazing.
So that we both can get credit for Hyatt brand Explorer, we booked the first night in our names and the second in our wives' names. This is a great bonus, as we had never stayed in a Ziva hotel. The hotel upgraded me to a balcony room because I am a Globalist. It is wonderful to have a balcony that looks out onto the ocean.
Staff were excellent as well. They were friendly, helpful, and attentive. We were impressed with their service, despite previous reviews stating that it was lacking. Perhaps there are less people in the hotel at present, which means that staff is more readily available. It also could be that they have more training and hired more people. Although it seemed quite full, the staff was great. The VIP check-in area was a Globalist perk that we particularly enjoyed.
It was amazing to see the sheer number of options. There were many options for dining: Japanese, Mexican and Italian buffets, as well as French and Italian restaurants. It was easy to forget about the bill. All included! It is quite strange not to see cash registers. You can just leave once you're done eating.
There are also zillions more options for activities.
The Negatives
What are the negatives when there are so many positives? The vibe. This is why I said this place wasn't for us. Although there is a calmer area for adults, I'm not interested in Spring Break partying by the pool 24/7. That was how we found our way around the main pool. People were constantly being told to dance and play music. The pool environment is not ideal for me. These events are filled with loud music and a DJ. They drifted up onto our balcony. This scene is difficult to avoid if it's right under your balcony. It was almost impossible to escape, even with the balcony door shut. Spring Break partygoers shouting woo! It never was.
We avoided the pool most of the time. This made it difficult for us to enjoy our balcony (there are no rooms facing away the ocean/pool, FYIfacing towards the city to escape the atmosphere is not an option). Although you could be in a room with views of other areas, it won't make you feel far from the central area.
However, I must admit that we did enjoy the traditional Mexican music and dancing at the pool the first night. Although we found the atmosphere around the pool to be a bit stale during the day, this was a pleasant part of the experience.
Are All-Inclusive Resorts Worth it?
Although we loved the idea of an all-inclusive, the atmosphere was not right for us. Hyatt Ziva offers a family-friendly all-inclusive, while Hyatt Zilara is only for adults. The adults-only option is better as this was a party for adults with terrible music in an all-ages venue. We are willing to spend the points on an experiment like this with Zilara just to see what happens. It's unlikely.
For a long time, I've been interested in all-inclusive properties. My sister and her family only stay at all-inclusive properties. It is a great experience for them. Perhaps it's because the children can do what they want while their parents are at the pool all day. We don't have children, so it doesn't matter that my wife and I don't have any. We don't drink alcohol so unlimited access to alcohol is not a benefit.
All-inclusive resorts don't seem worth it to us. We are open to hearing your opinion. However, we were eager to try it out and realized that it was 1 for us. Yes, it was a great redemption value in terms cents per point. We could still get a lower value per point, but we got more enjoyment and a lower total cost of points. After spending 40,000 Hyatt points on 2 nights, we decided that the all-inclusive resort was not worth it.
Last Thoughts
This is no blow to the Hyatt Ziva los Cabos property. They offer so many amazing things. The property was beautiful and the food was delicious. We also found the staff to be friendly. Although we liked the concept of it, the experience made us question whether all-inclusive resorts were worth the effort. What is the reason? It all boils down to the ambience. We prefer to relax at the pool and not in the Spring Break DJ/drunk atmosphere. We couldn't get out of that environment even in our hotel room, so we left after two nights. The Hyatt Place was just down the street made us feel much more at home.
Are all-inclusive properties worth it? Are they good experiences?
