Considering an All Inclusive?
Should I Stay at an All Inclusive Resort?
To All Inclusive or Not All Inclusive…that is the question:
The all inclusive concept began with Club Med in 1950. Since then, all inclusives have become more and more popular. Many international beach resort destinations are now almost completely all inclusive resorts.
So when you plan your next beach vacation, should you choose an all inclusive?
An all inclusive vacation allows you to have a more predictable budget. You don’t have to wonder how much you’re going to spend on food, drink and entertainment. You know your budget, upfront, with no surprises.
But managing your budget is far from the only or best reason to choose an all inclusive.
You will find that you indulge in more luxuries because there are no buying decisions involved. For instance, many resorts include room service. Some even offer 24 hour room service. You know when you get checked into a hotel room and you flip through the room service menu and your jaw drops at the prices? At many all inclusive resorts you have a wonderful room service menu…and no prices. Order at will.
At dinner you can’t decide between two entrees? Order both. Your kid ordered something and won’t eat it? Order something else. Your kid ordered a frosty drink at the pool, took two sips and let the rest melt as he happily paddled around? Order another one. Staying at an all inclusive resort makes all of these problems disappear.
At many all inclusive resorts entertainment and some activities are also included.
Picture this: You’re on a weekend trip with your best friends, or perhaps your extended family. Every time you’re at dinner, or at a bar having drinks, there is an awkward moment when the check comes and there is a silent struggle to decide who will pay the check. Will it be split evenly? Will a single person pay for it? Will you get out the calculators and decide who owes what? Don’t you just love figuring out who ordered the 2nd order of chicken wings?
In destinations where they exist, all inclusive resorts offer great value and a great vacation.
Remember, though, that when you choose your all inclusive resort you are also choosing where you will eat most if not all of your meals. If you skimp on your resort, that also has implications for the quality of the meals you will eat. Which all inclusive resort you choose will also affect the quality and quantity of the entertainment and the activities available to you during your vacation.
So, is an all inclusive for you?
Six Romantic Hot Spots for Couples
Looking to turn up the heat on your relationship in the new year? Here are six suggestions for trips that will add just the spark you need.
Sea Dream Yacht Club: Never heard of this small cruise line? You’re not alone. These small, intimate yachts have unique itineraries in Europe and the Caribbean. They call on many small, romantic out of the way ports perfect for couples looking to re-ignite a spark.
Be sure to scope out the intimate dining alcoves just for two in the dining room. Another place you’re sure to find couples in love are the bali beds on the deck of the ship. They are at just the right level to watch an unobstructed view of the ocean and passing islands.
Iberostar Grand Resorts: Truly 5 star adult only resorts, Iberostar has Grand resorts in the Riviera Maya, Mexico in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic and in Jamaica.
Between the personal butler service in your room, at poolside and at the beach you won’t have a care in the world. You can focus only on your beloved.
Speaking of your beloved, your suite will have a million dollar bed. High thread count sheets and a pillow menu where you can get a feather pillow, an orthopedic pillow among several others. You can also order from an elaborate 24 hour room service menu. Need champagne and strawberries at 2am…no problem!
Secrets Sanctuary Cap Cana: This adults only resort offers honeymooners champagne breakfast in bed the morning following their arrival at the resort. Another highlight is the private beachfront dinner. Imagine being at a table for two, at night, on the beach with torches around you casting a warming glow on your faces.
When you return to your suite after dining, you’ll find a path of roses leading to your romantically appointed bed. Need I say more?
Couples Swept Away: Not only is Couples Swept away adults only, it is also couples only. You won’t find any singles, so the atmosphere is completely romantic. They have a sunset catamaran cruise where you can glide across a sparkling ocean at the end of a beautiful day and stare into each others eyes.
If you’re wanting to turn the heat up, you can indulge in the “Love and Romance Package”. It includes fresh flowers, sparkling wine and chocolate in your room, a private candlelit dinner with your own personal waiter, a $100.00 spa certificate, a $75.00 certificate to the gift shop and a $100.00 certificate for a return stay. All of this can be yours for the low low price of $449.00.
Hotel DuLouvre: Any list of romantic places has got to include Paris. The Hotel Du Louvre is in the heart of Paris overlooking the romantic Tuileries gardens. In the “Pissarro Suite” you’ll find floor to ceiling windows so that you can sit in your Jacuzzi with an uninterrupted view of Opera Garnier.
El Dorado Spa Resorts: To finish up our list of most romantic spots we have to wind up with the El Dorado Spa Resorts in the Riviera Maya, Mexico. El Dorado Maroma, El Dorado Royale and El Dorado Seaside Suites are all adults only and Gourmet Inclusive.
Abundant beach beds line the beaches at all three resorts. You can easily find a comfortable, shady bed with sheer drapes that float gently in the breeze where you can relax the day away with a book, a drink and the one you love.
Nothing has been left out at El Dorado Resorts. Recognized by Wine Spectator magazine, the culinary experience is nothing short of magnificence. The suites all have two person jacuzzis and 24 hour room service. If you’re looking to really do it up right, stay in the Casita section at El Dorado Royale. The casita suites have an additional bed on the balcony or patio where you can also nap in privacy within earshot of the Caribbean Sea.
Your Invitation to the Royal Wedding
Want to attend the royal wedding, but weren't invited?
Are you interested in going to the royal wedding, but don’t quite have the budget? Maybe you lost your invitation? Cunard Cruise Line is offering an alternative.
Cunard Cruise Line will be broadcasting The Royal wedding live while you are at sea. Cunard is a leader in European luxury and will pull out all the stops to make sure you have your own royal event while on board.
Says Cunard:
29 April 2011, the day of the Royal Wedding
Guests on board Cunard’s three ships — Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and
Queen Elizabeth, need have no fear of missing one second of the historic union of the future King and Kate Middleton.
Each of the three ships feature Royal Court Theatres — West End in style and West End in size — where the wedding ceremony will be broadcast live.”
Cunard’s President, Peter Shanks cites, “Cunard is a company with an enviable heritage and unparalleled links to the Royal family – our ships were named either by Her Majesty The Queen or by her apparent successor, HRH The Duchess of Cornwall. It follows then that our passengers are likely to have an above average interest in the pageantry of a Royal wedding. We intend to cater for that and ensure they do not miss one minute.
New Video of Azul Beach Hotel
Check out this new video of the Azul Beach Hotel just south of Cancun, Mexico. While we were there recently we were able to see the new rooms as well as the brand new amazing kids area.
This video is short and sweet, so give it a watch!
What Will The Travel Insurance Cover?
With every trip we book, we off
er travel insurance. Some people take it, some don’t. But most people ask the same question: “What does the insurance cover?”
The answer to this question is “It depends”. (Sorry, Nicki!)
There are different kinds of insurance. Many tour operators offer their own coverage. Of course the coverage on these varies based on how the tour operator has set it up.
Another option is to purchase insurance from an actual travel insurance company. Travel Guard and Travel Insured are two examples.
The basic things that most travel insurance policies cover are things like:
Trip Cancellation – If you have to cancel your trip for a covered reason like a death in the family or if you or a family member becomes ill and that keeps you from traveling, then your travel insurance normally reimburses you for any penalties that you incur for the cancellation.
Trip Interruption – Reimburses unused hotel arrangements plus additional costs to change or purchase a new airline ticket if you can’t travel due to circumstances such as illness or injury to you, a family member, or traveling companion, jury duty, subpoena, or a traffic accident on the way to the airport. So if someone on your trip, or someone back home becomes ill or injured, this coverage will help mediate some of your financial loss for returning home prematurely.
Travel Delay – Reimburses additional transportation costs or unused hotel arrangements should your flight be delayed 12 or more hours due to weather, strike or other job action, or equipment failure of a common air carrier. The plan reimburses you a certain amount for the unused portion of your trip, additional accommodations, meals and “catch up” transportation expenses. This is the coverage that comes into play when there is a horrible snowstorm that makes you misconnect, or perhaps a mechanical delay. This coverage would have helped when Philip got snowed in at the Houston, Texas airport overnight. (Yes, Houston Texas)
Emergency Evacuation – Arranges and pre-pays the cost of emergency medical transportation if a serious illness or injury occurs during your vacation that requires medical evacuation. This is the coverage that would have come in handy for our client who burst their appendix while in Jamaica. He had to be transported by air ambulance to Florida for the surgery and subsequent medical care. Afterwards they almost lost their home due to the crippling debt caused by the expense of just the air ambulance. This expense isn’t covered by almost anyone’s normal health care policy.
Medical Expense – Reimburses medical costs should you incur hospital charges or other medical bills as a result of an illness or injury during your vacation. This is the one that has come into play many times when we’ve had clients fall and break bones, or become ill during a trip. Our own Terrah once had a burst eardrum on the way to Hawaii and this coverage reimbursed her expense for seeking medical care away from home.
Baggage/Personal Property - Reimburses you for baggage or items lost, stolen, or damaged during your vacation. I got to use this coverage a number of years ago when I was standing knee deep in the beautiful blue waves in Cancun taking a picture of my daughter with our hotel in the background. A big wave unexpectedly swept me off my feet and ruined my camera. I was able to buy a new camera upon my return home, courtesy of the travel insurance we’d purchased. More recently, Nicki lost her Chi flat iron during a trip. She wasn’t sure if she’d lost it, or if it had been taken by her assigned roommate, but it didn’t matter. The insurance covered it and now she is living the frizz free life once again.
Baggage Delay – Reimburses for the purchase of necessary personal items if your bags are delayed by the airline for 24 hours or longer. I had clients who were on a long planned trip to Italy that ended up coinciding with the funeral of Pope John Paul 2. Their bags ended up not arriving in Rome with them, and the delivery of the bags was complicated by the restriction of all but essential vehicles into Rome due to the funeral. They were luggage-less for 4 days. Because of their insurance they were treated to some authentic Italian fashion, not to mention authentic Italian toothpaste and other toiletries.
You need to be careful about what you’re buying, though, and have a really clear understanding of what your policy covers. If there is a particular situation that may come into play, ask the question of your agent to see if the insurance you’re considering will cover that situation.
One difficulty we’ve run into is with destination weddings. Some tour operators, including our most popular ones, offer a “cancel for any reason” coverage with their insurance. This type of coverage, however, must be purchased at the time of the initial deposit. It cannot be added later. The insurance purchased from an insurance company can be added later. The problem is that the kind that can be added later, doesn’t cover if the bride and groom decide not to get married. That isn’t a covered reason. I highly recommend that if you’re attending a destination wedding that you get coverage that covers cancellation for any reason. No matter how wonderful they seem, you never know what might happen.
Don’t try to sort through all of the options by yourself. Ask your agent, and buy the right coverage for you.
What is a Swim Up Room?
Swim up rooms are becoming more and more popular, but just exactly what is a swim up room? What do you swim up to? At El Dorado Royale in Riviera Maya, Mexico, Cathi shows the world exactly what a swim up room is and why it could be a part of your next vacation.
Our Review of Azul Beach Hotel
New Swim Up Rooms at Azul Beach Hotel
This past weekend while we were in the area for the GIVC awards we were able to slip over to one of our favorite places, the Azul Beach Hotel.
Formerly a 98 room room boutique resort, they recently undertook a massive renovation project.
New Bed at Azul Beach Hotel
They took the half of the resort that used to be “superior” rooms and completely changed them. As soon as I have the new room types straight in my head, I’ll make another post with more detail about the room types and their amenities. Even the Karisma website doesn’t have the new room types listed, and I was too busy trying to snap pictures to write everything down. 
Room Amenities at Azul Beach Hotel
The only thing about the Azul before that was less than perfect was the very small size of the rooms and the extreme lack of of storage. In the new rooms, all that is changed. The new rooms are absolutely beautiful, spacious and amazing. (Incidentally there will be rooms that accommodate families of five.)
New Room at Azul Beach Hotel
Another jewel of the renovations at the Azul Beach Hotel is the new kids club. When I took my family to the Azul Beach Hotel I remember that the kids club was basically a small rather dark room. Now it is a big, colorful, spacious, well equipped facilities that your kids will LOVE!
New Kids Area at Azul Beach Hotel
The deluxe room section, formerly the best rooms at the resort, will now be the lead room category. After the main renovations are complete they will begin refurbishing the deluxe rooms one building at a time.
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- New Swim Up Rooms at Azul Beach Hotel
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- New Bed at Azul Beach Hotel
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- Room Amenities at Azul Beach Hotel
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- New Kids Area at Azul Beach Hotel
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- New Room at Azul Beach Hotel
Our Weekend at the GIVC Awards
Our Crew at the 2010 GIVC Awards Gala
The Third Annual GIVC Awards Weekend was held this past weekend at the fantastic El Dorado Royale in the Riviera Maya, Mexico. Philip, Cathi, Terrah and Marty were all thrilled to be in attendance.
GIVC stands for “Gourmet Inclusive Vacation Consultant”. From the website: “A GI Vacation Consultant is a travel professional who is well versed, educated and prepared to provide exceptional service offering a tailor made vacation experience according to their client’s needs and expectations at El Dorado Spa Resorts & Hotels and Azul Hotels, by Karisma. A GI Vacation Consultant is a specialist in one or more of the following niche markets; destination weddings, honeymoons, adults only, romance, anniversaries, families and group travel.
A GI Vacation Consultant provides customers with confidence based on their first hand experience and knowledge after going through rigorous training and property site inspections at our hotels.”
Marty Receiving his Four Diamond Award
Marty and Terrah are both GIVCs. This year they were both awarded four diamond status. Four diamond is the highest level possible. There were only a total of 18 four diamond awards given. Only one other company was awarded more than one four diamond award.
Another honor bestowed on Marty and Terrah was the designation of “Gourmet Inclusive Wedding Consultant”. Again, from the website: “The “GI Wedding Consultant” logo designates GI Vacation Consultants who are our most experienced and productive partners in Destination Weddings at our resorts. This select group of travel agents have undergone specialized educational experiences focused exclusively on providing clients with the best possible service when booking a Destination Wedding and have firsthand experience in booking destination weddings to our resorts.”
Marty and Terrah at the After Party
Additionally, Terrah was also recognized as a Top 10 Wedding producer at El Dorado Resorts as well as at Azul Hotels.
The biggest thrill of the night for me was when it was announced that Marty and Terrah had tied for the honor of “Best Storefront Agent”. This means that out of any travel agency that you could walk in to, anywhere in the country, ours does more El Dorado Resorts and Azul Hotels than anyone else.
It was a great night. If you’re considering a Gourmet Inclusive Vacation, there is no where better to come check it out than Legacy Travel, Your Mexico Beach Vacation Experts.
