I didn't know how much I needed this vacation until I stepped foot onto the beach. This was our first vacation in over two years and it exceeded all of my expectations. It was our first time staying at an all-inclusive but definitely won't be our last! I've always been a fan of traveling to explore, walk around and fill my days with activities but this was the complete opposite of that...I was initially nervous I wouldn't like it but relaxing, eating, drinking and sitting on a beach for six days did a lot to ease my stress and truly felt like a vacation.
I wanted to share moments from our trip along with tips and tricks I found while staying at our first all-inclusive! Enjoy. xoxo.
We stayed at Finest Playa Mujeres which is an Excellence group hotel. They have resorts in the Dominican, Cabo and Cancun. I unknowingly booked the Excellence Club which meant we were in the adults only building right off the beach. We had our own private beach where we could reserve day beds and a private room service menu. Felt so luxurious! The room was gorgeous - so minimal and modern which I loved. King sized bed, mini fridge stocked with snacks and drinks, couch, and beautiful balcony with an ocean view. There was also a private jet bath tub near the window which could probably fit five people, it was massive! We were greeted with champagne and four *bottles* of various liquor in the mini fridge which they said they restock daily LOL.
Our days consisted of sleeping in, potentially working out in the gym, either ordering room service breakfast or walking down to one of the two breakfast restaurants then heading down to reserve a day bed on the beach where we would chill basically all day. The staff was so kind, knew us all by name and would bring us our favorite drinks upon sitting down. I've also heard that all-inclusive's are notorious for having watered down or small drinks but let me tell you...I ordered patron margaritas, Marc was ordering top self whiskey (not on the beach but at dinner) and I drank spicy mango margs on the beach like it was my job. The drinks were made with love and definitely not watered down (my headache was proof).
Since you typically don't leave the resort when you stay at an all-inclusive, definitely do your research and find a resort with multiple restaurants and dining options. That usually means you won't require reservations beforehand and you'll never get bored of the food choices! Ours also had a pretty strict dress code which I knew about beforehand but I saw quite a few guests turned away if they tried to eat dinner in tank tops or beach clothes. I enjoyed the dress code, it reminded me of the ship tbh but I could see how that could be frustrating if you don't want to dress up for dinner so definitely something I'd look into before booking!
Definitely bring cash so you can tip the bartenders, servers and staff! We had the same servers the beach all week so tipped them intermittently but then gave them a larger sum at the end for taking care of us. We tried six of the nine restaurants but the French restaurant was by far my favorite. We even came back a second time and our server decorated our table with rose petals!
Bring cash to book any sort of excursions while you're there as well! You can book through the hotel with a card but they'll usually give you a better price if you pay directly with cash. We swam with whale sharks which was the coolest experience I've had! It's something I always wanted to do when we eventually visit the Philippines but it was amazing knowing we could do it in Cancun as well! It was about a two hour boat ride from shore and though I was violently sea sick the entire time, the ten minutes in the water with those gorgeous 40 foot long sharks was worth it.
Nothing compares to watching the sunset on the beach! We made sure to do that every night and even came back for a night swim once or twice. Luckily, the resort wasn't full booked so it felt spacious and empty at times.
Tried to stay somewhat healthy in my consumption choices but having a fresh juice bar on property helped! We got fresh green juice every morning which was so delicious. They even had these cute coconuts that you *could* put rum in or just drink the yummy coconut water.
As of now, vaccinated or not, you do need a negative covid test to get back into the US! The hotel provided them on site and we got our results within 24 hours. Make sure to book the Covid test as soon as you arrive since they don't book it for you and if they are full, you might not get your results in time which delays your flight home. We saw people trying to board flights without proof of a negative test and they got turned away immediately! Avoid any stress and book it right away for maximum 3 days before your return flight!
This was truly such a special trip for us. This past month has been the hardest time we have gone through together so getting away from it all, taking a break and relaxing made such a difference in our healing process. I am so grateful this was timed how it was and would highly recommend this resort to anyone! Traveling is good for the soul whether it be an adventure filled trip or a relaxing getaway so make time and financial space for it when you can.
Thanks for reading! xoxo