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 Travel & Outdoors | January 2008 
An All-Inclusive Vacation is Easy But Not to Everyone's Taste
 Susan Glaser - The Plain Dealer
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| | Should a vacation be this easy? | | |
Every day in Mexico, we knew where we were eating breakfast, lunch and dinner. We knew what activities were on tap (the beach, the pool and the pingpong table). We even knew the price of our evening cocktail (free!).
There's a certain comfort level in an all-inclusive vacation, but with comfort comes complacency.
My kids spent eight days in Mexico, but how much did they really see? Sure, they practiced their Spanish with the staff, and they toured the ancient city of Tulum. But their impression of the country is not exactly a well-rounded one, highlighted by sand-castle building on the beach and nachos at the pool-side restaurant.
Too easy? Perhaps. But where is it written that vacations should be hard work?
Not every trip needs to be crammed with cultural attractions and authentic experiences. When I travel that way - and I do - I often need a vacation from my vacation when I return home. Touring that way with young kids is particularly difficult.
Still, I don't want every trip to be this simple. For one, I can see that all-inclusive resorts lead to the homogenization of travel. With some architectural and culinary differences, these resorts are largely the same. Located in warm-weather destinations, they offer water sports, tropical drinks and all-you-can-eat buffets. They don't offer the kind of in-depth look at a culture you'll find by exploring a city or even dining in a different local restaurant every night.
The modern-day all-inclusive concept is largely credited to Club Med, which opened its first resort off the coast of Spain in 1950. Today, there are many more, located largely, though not entirely, in poorer, tropical locations.
Because these resorts are so labor-intensive, they're most successful in countries with low wage rates, which is partly why the concept hasn't really caught on in the United States, said Scott D. Berman, a leisure travel analyst with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Miami.
He said all-inclusive resorts appeal to a predominantly American crowd that "likes the idea and peace of mind of not having to reach into their wallet except to pay parking when they arrive back home."
My clan did venture outside the resort's wall a few times - to go shopping in Playa del Carmen, to tour Tulum and to play at the nearby eco-park, Xcaret. But other than lunch at Xcaret, we didn't once eat a meal we had to pay extra for.
Easy? Absolutely.
And absolutely no regrets.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: sglaser(at)plaind.com |
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