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All Inclusive alternatives?

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Sabine

Ideal_Rock
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We haven''t really thought much about the honeymoon yet, but I think we want to do all inclusive and in the Caribbean somewhere. I know Sandals is the go-to for this type of trip, and that is definitely an option for us, but I was wondering if they are the only option? Did any of you go to/know of any other all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean?
 

Jaders731

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Beaches (which is owned by Sandals, but the family version of the resort) and Club Med are the all inclusives here in Turks and Caicos.

both are beautiful.. and Beaches, even though its a family resort, has areas that are very Honeymoon friendly... the French Village is gorgeous.. and not overrun with children.

Club Med is an 18+ resort, and very nice as well.

Hope that helps...
 

indypitty

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Jul 23, 2007
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You should definitely look into Secrets Capri in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. We went for a week in June and it was the best vacation either of us have ever been on. It is an all-inclusive and everything is top-notch. We met lots of people there who had been to Sandals, Beaches, etc... and they all thought Secrets blew the others away. You can read lots of reviews at tripadvisor.com.
 

surfgirl

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Well, I defer to Jaders on this sort of thing, however, I did want to say that I''m in Antigua right now (for work), and I''ve been in Barbados, St. Kitts/Nevis, and now Antigua in the last 2+ weeks and I''ve got to say, I''d never spend money to come to the Caribbean and definitely not for my honeymoon. I dont know, the region does nothing for me personally. Today, in fact, my colleague and I went to a nice beach here in Antigua called Jolly Roger beach. There was a resort there and as we strolled by, we heard someone get on a loudspeaker and actually say, "It is now 1:30pm and there will be volleyball on the beach in 10 minutes...please join us..." I dont know, it was like a combination of Fantasy Island and The Love Boat combined into one hot mess. I dont know what the higher end inclusive places are like but this one has buffets all over the property and nothing looked good. Just a lot of craptastic all you can eat food. I think Mexico sounds a lot nicer, IMO. I know people think the Caribbean is romantic but I just dont see it. So far, it seems just like a place where you can drink a lot and bake in the sun. Both aren''t my cup of tea so I''m not finding things I''d like to do here on a holiday. For the money, I''d go to Hawaii any day. Have you considered the Hawaiian Islands? Just another option...

Also, no offense to anyone who loves this region. I''m working right now and I just dont get why people love coming out here. But then again, I''m based on the West Coast so I''d pick Hawaii over this area if I wanted to go to an island...
 

littlelysser

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My DH and I just got back from Kaua''i. We went for our honeymoon - and I have to say that it was pretty much heaven on earth. Just amazing, wonderful...seriously, my favorite place in the whole world. Killer beaches, snorkeling, coastline like you''ve NEVER seen. Nice resorts. And you can do it on a variety of budgets.

I''d really recommend that you think about Hawaii!
 

Elmorton

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DH and I went to an AI in Barabados - Crystal Cove Hotel on the West (Platinum) Coast of the island. It''s not your typical AI, really. No obnoxious pool aerobics at 10am, no bawdy shows at night, lots of couples in a range of ages, not a lot of families, quiet, lush grounds, but it''s also not the kind of luxe/posh deal that the Sandals resorts offer (the grounds are gorgeous and the food is excellent, it''s just not grand and built to be impressive). It''s pretty small, (80 or so rooms)- and it was exactly what we wanted for our ''moon. If you search Crystal Cove Barbados on tripadvisor.com, I posted a pretty long review (my user name is the same on that site). We loved Barbados and I''d definitely reccommend it for a honeymoon.

Two of my friends have stayed at Secrets for their honeymoons (in Riviera Maya, I believe) and their photos were BREATHTAKING. Definitely the luxe/posh honeymoon paradise thing. DH and I love Mexico and are absolutely itching to go back - while we loved Barbados, we kept on comparing it to Mexico.

I highly recommend Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo in Mexico for a honeymoon location - it has the phenomenal hotels, beautiful beaches, and tourist-ready shopping and nightlife in Ixtapa and then 5 mins away (a $4 taxi ride) is more-or-less untouched Zihuatanejo (the location at the end of Shawshank Redeption - this is the entire reason we went, DH''s fav movie), a fantastic fishing villiage with the most amazing food I''ve ever had. We stayed at the Barcelo - a family hotel, not really a honeymoon place, but there are a bunch highly rated "romantic" hotels in Ixtapa on tripadvisor.

I''m a fan of going somewhere "different" wherever that might be for you - when we go on our plane to B-dos, there were seriously about 30-40 honeymooning couples standing with us waiting for the plane (I kept on saying to DH "It''s like being in a jewelry store...look at all those shiny new rings!"). They all got off in St. Lucia (Sandals there). While I certainly don''t want to knock something I''ve never done, I''m glad we went somewhere that was different and not filled with other honeymooners - being newlywed felt novel at our resort (there were about 4 or 5 other couples that seemed to be newlyweds) rather than the norm.

Ooops, one more thing: depending on where you''re flying from, I''d reconsider the farther carribbean islands for a honeymoon. Flying out of Chicago, we traveled for 12 hours, about 7 hrs in a plane. I wanted to sleep through the first three days! When we landed in Jamaica, I told DH I''d give anything to have stopped there for the honeymoon instead of getting on a plane again. If I had it to do all over again, I would have found the shortest flight to the closest tropical location!
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Sabine

Ideal_Rock
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Thanks for all the tips!

I think Hawaii would be our dream honeymoon destination, but I''ve heard that it can be much more expensive than the Caribbean. Do you know of all inclusives to any of the Hawaiian islands that would be comparable to the cost of Sandals?
 

Independent Gal

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Nov 12, 2006
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Is it legal for you Americans to go to Cuba yet? If so, Cuba has a lot of (cough) government owned all-inclusives. It ranges from very inexpensive to very expensive, and you have to check reviews because the fact that it''s all gov owned means that standards and prices aren''t necessarily corellated. But the beaches are heavenly. Breathtaking. It''s very NOT ''aeorbics at 10am'', there are very few Americans there (mostly French, Germans, & Canadians). I think it was less than $100 US a night for us at the beach.

And you can spend time in Havana as well. I was there with my sister and we stayed in a beautiful privately owned mansion where the owner had a collection of tropical birds. The baths were marble and newly renovated. And I think we paid... about $50 US per night.

Food is touch and go though, btw. And obviously, there''s not much shopping! But the music! The nightclubs! The cars! The culture! It''s like nothing else.

We had a spectacular time. Spectacular. It''s one of the most interesting places I''ve been. So if you want something with beaches and turquoise water, that''s also interesting and out of the ordinary, and potentially very not expensive.... And you don''t mind the odd extra headache?
 

Jaders731

Brilliant_Rock
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Independant Gal...

Nope.. not legal yet... which SUCKS.. cuz I''m 90 miles from there.. grrrrr...
 

eks6426

Ideal_Rock
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Nov 19, 2004
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A couple of options for you:

Maroma in Riveria Maya Mexico looks lovely. I''ve not stayed here but I''ve looked around. http://www.maromahotel.com/web/ocan/ocan_a2a_home.jsp

My honeymoon location in 2005 was Petit St. Vincent in the Grendandines. Private island with 22 cottages. Total privacy. You communicate with the staff via a flag system...put a note in a bamboo pole and raise the yellow flag...staff stops by and gets your note. Red flag up...DO NOT DISTURB. Meals can be taken in a central dining room, in your cottage or on the beach. My husband and I loved, loved, loved our honeymoon location. Totally different than Sandals. If you''re the sort who needs nightlife then PSV is not for you. If you do a search I''ve written quite a bit on this. The picture is the view from our cottage.

http://psvresort.com/

PSV.jpg
 

jcrow

Ideal_Rock
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Aug 8, 2005
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check out www.ladera.com too.
it''s in st. lucia. i have pics on PS and a wonderful write up of our honeymoon.
it can be all inclusive, but it doesn''t have to be. WE LOVED IT!
it''s very private and laid back. not a jammed packed time slotted honeymoon type of place.
 

Sabine

Ideal_Rock
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Thanks IslandDreams and JCrow...both of those places look absolutely idyllic.
 

littlelysser

Brilliant_Rock
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Dec 8, 2005
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Hey there...

As for all inclusives in Hawaii...well, I don''t think any exist. I''ve never seen one.

I''ve been on Oahu, Maui, Hawaii and Kaua''i.

It is relatively easy to work and stay on a budget there.

The other thing great about Hawaii - hurricanes are very rare there...I don''t know when you are going on your honeymoon, but the fall is hurricane season in the Caribbean.
 
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