Are All Inclusive Resorts really All-Inclusive?
No one can blame you for desiring to pick one of the reputable all inclusive resorts for your incoming vacation. What’s not to love? You ask yourself. The fact that they are “all-inclusive” just feels like you know what precisely you’re getting into. You agree on a price. You pay, and you never have to take your wallet out over the whole trip. You get your food, drinks, activities – all free, once you pay the price to get in. Or, is that really what it is like?
Most all inclusive resorts do not really give you everything they have for the all inclusive price you pay.
The price tends to be all-inclusive only as long as you don’t want motorized water sports, the better liquor, or the lobster on the menu. Not even if you buy a package at one of the luxuries all inclusive resorts. Spa treatments, deep-sea fishing and trips off the property are always chargeable. How about actually getting to the resort? Do you see it advertised somewhere that the flight to the resort is included in the package? If it says so, you want to give that a closer look. Generally, they don’t offer you a flight from where you are. If for example, you happen to live in Chicago, and you’re interested in an all inclusive resort in the Bahamas, that flight to Bahamas that they claim is included in the package is most likely not going to be from Chicago. It’s probably going to be from Miami.
How do you know that the resorts you pick have the kind of service that you will like? For instance, how do you know that their food service doesn’t stop at an unreasonably early hour? If you feel like going out dancing first and then coming back for dinner later, will their food service still be open? And of course, when you head in the bar looking for those great infinite free drinks, you should know that they’re probably not pouring you any good reputable brands of liquor. How about room service? Do you get the full menu in your room and do you have to pay extra if they bring your order to your room? That’s actually a pretty common practice at all inclusive resorts. If you pick one of their more affordable packages, you don’t get room service. The good thing about going with an all-inclusive deal though is that these resorts usually have enough staff to go around.
Finally, all inclusive resorts aren’t always cheaper than non-inclusive resorts. They just play with you psychologically, using those magic words. Usually, with all the add-ons that you’ll want on a holiday, they turn out to cost just the same.
