This Sounds Ridiculous, but This Might Be Mexicos Best Budget Hack

Mexico vacations aren't as cheap as they used to be. Here's why luxury all-inclusive resorts may offer better value, fewer hidden costs, and a more relaxing getaway.At Playa Norte on Isla Mujeres, Mexico, white sand meets seafoam green water that extends to the horizon. Our family has managed to squeeze three beach loungers together under a sun umbrella, which we rented from a roving attendant moving between crowds of tourists. The catch? We each must order a drink, ranging from giant margaritas to buckets of beer.Three drinks later, we pile into a rental golf cart and speed back to our resort on the tiny island that’s a quick ferry ride from Cancun. Between the golf cart, beach equipment, and booze, we’ve already shelled out more than $200 for a DIY island tour, so instead of spending our remaining pesos on a pricey meal in town, we’ll indulge in softshell crab tacos and wagyu beef burgers by the pool at our luxury, adults-only all-inclusive.Like everywhere else, prices have skyrocketed along the Mayan Riviera, which is no longer a “cheap” destination. There are still budget-friendly mega-resorts with overly sweet sour-mix margaritas, waterparks packed with screaming children, and the weekly poolside foam party. Continue Reading Article After Our Video Recommended Fodor’s Video But my swim-up bar days are long behind me, and my adult son can now drink beer. So here we are at Almare, one of Marriott’s Luxury Collection all-inclusive resorts, where everything from daily dockside yoga to spa access is included in the price, and you don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn to secure a beach chair for the day. As I knock back a perfectly balanced paloma made with Don Julio tequila and fresh grapefruit juice, I can’t help but wonder: Are luxury all-inclusives Mexico’s best budget hack?Why Has Mexico Gotten So Expensive?A quarter century ago, my husband and I spent two weeks backpacking around the Yucatan Peninsula to see the Mayan ruins at Chichén Itzá and Uxmal, and snorkel in the Caribbean Sea. We rode public buses, stayed at hotels with $50 rooms, guzzled $6 six-packs of Tecate, and ate dollar street tacos. Now, restaurant, hotel, and activity prices are a lot closer to those in U.S. and Canadian cities, thanks to inflation, a strong Mexican peso, and the region’s post-pandemic popularity.“Demand is driving the pricing,” says McKenzie McMillan, a travel advisor and managing partner of The Travel Group, a Vancouver-based travel agency. “It’s a destination where a lot of people are going, and they’re willing to spend more money for more curated experiences. That drives up the costs overall.”During the height of revenge travel in 2023, 10.04 million international travelers visited Cancun, compared with 7.98 million in 2019, a 27 percent increase in just four years. Arrival numbers have since flattened, but it remains Mexico’s most popular beach destination.High-end, à la carte hotels such as Fairmont and The Ritz-Carlton are well established in destinations like Cancun, Cabo and Puerto Vallarta, as are low-cost mega-resort brands like Iberostar and Barcelo. For decades, vacationers to Mexico fell on either side of this divide: high rollers non-plussed by paying $2,000 a night for a villa at the Four Seasons, or thrifty vacationers who expected $2,000 to cover everything for a week at a RIU Palace, including airfare, accommodation, food and booze.“That is quite a big gulf,” says McMillan. “What we’re finding is there’s a segment of the population that’s willing to spend more for a higher-end experience, but isn’t quite willing to part with a couple thousand dollars a day.”Rise of the Luxury All-InclusiveIn the last 10 to 15 years, traveler expectations began to shift away from one-size-fits-all resorts toward more personalized experiences, according to Alejandro Rodriguez del Peon, vice president of marketing and public relations for Royalton Hotels and Resorts, which operates adults-only, all-inclusive boutique properties including Royalton Hideaway Riviera Cancun, CHIC Cancun, and Paraíso de la Bonita. These more intimate, luxury properties bridge the gap. They feature spacious suites, bespoke activities such as wine tastings and cooking classes, premium alcohol, and à la carte restaurants rather than buffets—all included in the price. They also speak to place through design touches and food experiences, like the mezcal and ceviche bar pop-ups at Paraíso de la Bonita, for example. At the same time, after a few post-pandemic years spent organizing complicated bucket-list trips, adventure fatigue is pushing Americans back to simple-to-book, “frictionless” holidays, an area where Mexico excels. Traditional à la carte hotel brands like Hilton and Marriott have also expanded into the luxury all-inclusive space, making it especially easy (and a huge incentive) for loyalty program members to redeem or earn points at these smaller, boutique resorts. Amenities You Can’t Really Put a Price OnFewer rooms and guests translate to attentive, intimate service—staff learn your name after a day or two, and the bartender anticipates your happy hour order. “Soft products” like a concierge who makes your dinner reservations or a spa attendant who leads you through the hydrotherapy circuit are difficult to put a price on.“For a lot of travelers, spending the extra $500 or $600 per person, or even $1,000 (for a luxury all-inclusive), is well worth it,” says McMillan. (During spring break, which is peak season in Mexico, all-inclusive rates at Almare for a standard king room with double occupancy cost up to $982, compared with $698 during the low season from June through September.) At Almare, it was the little things that made a difference. We caught a private (included) ferry transfer from Cancun to Isla Mujeres, where we were greeted on the resort’s dock by waving and smiling staff members. It felt like a scene out of White Lotus.We never waited in lines at the cafe for our morning latte or to take out paddle boards from the beach shack. Best of all, it wasn’t the Hunger Games when it came to securing a beach chair and umbrella for the day, either poolside or seafront. We also loved the resort’s food, from flank-steak ciabatta at the beachside food truck to beautifully plated tuna tartar, crab salad, and Gulf of Mexico sea bass at the rooftop restaurant, where the chef came out to see how everything was tasting. One night, we sipped margaritas at the beach bar while the sun set and pelicans dive-bombed the water for fish. It felt like we had the tranquil bay to ourselves.“Guests expect quality, variety, a beautiful setting, and they want it to feel memorable,” says Louise Bang, chief commercial officer for Marriott International. “The setting is part of the value.”Financial Predictability Brings Peace of MindIn theory, we could have pieced together a similar experience, but when you’re looking at private transfers, wellness options, watercraft rentals, elevated meals, and craft cocktails, the price quickly adds up.“For the overall cost, absolutely all-inclusives tend to save money in the end,” says McMillan.What they also save, hands down, is the front-end hassle of planning and coordinating everything, and the stress of hoping it all goes off without a hitch. All we had to do was get ourselves to the dock in Cancun to commence our frictionless vacation. “Luxury all-inclusive resonates because it combines that aspiration to travel with a sense of control over the total vacation experience. Travelers know what to expect, they know it’s going to be memorable, but they also know what the trip is going to cost them,” says Bang. “It takes away the need for micro decisions throughout the day, and that gives an incredible peace of mind.”Back at Playa Norte, every decision came with a price tag, from renting an umbrella to ordering a drink. The out-of-pocket excursion was totally worth it to explore the island, but it was a relief to return the golf cart and step back into the Almare oasis.