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Conference netcad::holiday_travel

Title:Holiday Travel Conference
Notice:First-timers please read note 1 and its replies.
Moderator:ORION::chayna.zko.dec.com::tamara::eppes
Created:Wed May 16 1990
Last Modified:Wed Jun 04 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1459
Total number of notes:8828

1457.0. "Blue Bay Village, anyone?" by STAR::VERGE () Fri Feb 28 1997 12:16

    
    
    Has anyone been to, or know anyone that has been to, Blue Bay Village
    in Manzinillo, Mexico?
    
    Failing that, has anyone been to Blue Bay Village in Cancun?
    
    The rates are very good for a week at an all-inclusive, and includes
    airfare.  I'm just wondering what it is really like.  there's not much
    info on the net.......
    
    
    Val
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1457.1Don't Go All InclusiveSOLVIT::MDODAMon Mar 10 1997 15:267
    Val,
    
    The all inclusive packages in Cancun are a waste of money.  The food
    and liquor is sooo cheap due to the conversion rate and the standard of
    living that the only ones making out on the all inclusive are the
    hotels.  Besides that..once you see what is available, you will not
    want to eat "only" at your hotel.  Have fun and hope this helps
1457.2All-inclusives can be a good idea....KOALA::BRIGGSMon Mar 10 1997 16:3373


    I have to disagree with the last reply.  All-inclusives are *not*
necessarily a waste of money.  I just got back from Cancun and stayed at
the Cancun Palace, which offered an All-inclusive plan, which we did.
Now, to me, there are severak reasons why going all-inclusive is not a
waste of money:

	1)  First, going all-inclusive at this hotel only added $180 to
	    the trip price per person - about $26 a day.  (Our all-inclusive
	    deal also included two free tours - which ranged in price from
	    $30 - $65)

	2)  We did not go to Cancun for the food.  We went there to relax,
	    party and have fun.  Eating was only a necessity that needed
	    to be done in order to survive.  The last thing we felt like
	    doing was trudging out every morning, noon and evening to find
	    some food - especially since there were 7 of us, and it seemed
	    to take an eternity to get everyone ready to head out anywhere!
	    Also, I found the food at the hotel to be very good.  One person
	    in the group found it to be fair to poor, and the rest found it
	    to be good.  

	3)  Convenience.  I could walk up to any of the bars or restaurants
	    (and snack huts) and order anything I wanted - and didn't have
	    to worry about signing any little form to bill it to my room -
	    which the guests who were not all-inclusive had to do.  And, during
	    the average day, I would say I made an average of 15-20 trips to
	    the bar or restaurants.  For the group I was with, we would have
	    averaged spending between $70-$80 per day between the drinks
	    and food we had every day at the hotel)

	4)  Our all-inclusive included some watersports - windsurfing, kayaking,
	    etc.  Because of this, we did some of these activities - which
	    we definitely would not have done if they had not been free.

	5)  Contrary to what everyone says - *not* all food in Cancun is cheap.
	    *Some* food down there is cheap - but some food seemed expensive.
	    And drinks - *definitely* expensive (unless the only place you
	    buy a drink is in the many tiny bars that never have any activity -
	    there you can get a beer for about a dollar (7-8 pesos))  But,
	    at the bigger (and more famous) places, drinks ranged anywhere from
	    14-48 pesos ($2-$7) and mixed drinks from 30-68 pesos ($4-$8) -
	    this is not my idea of cheap drinks.  (The 48 pesos beers and 68
	    pesos mixed drink prices are from Senor Frog's where they give
	    you a half-yard glass)  

	6)  One final note - our all-inclusive included all gratuities - so
	    we were not constantly hounded every time we got a drink or
	    some food (which we definitely encountered when we went out to
	    some of the bars and clubs)  But, at the end of the week, we did
	    tip our maid (same one each day, we checked) and a few of the
	    bartenders (the ones who were nice - there were some who were
	    not) 

    So, if you are going on vacation with the idea of sampling the native
cuisine at the many restaurants, or do not plan on spending any time lounging
around your hotel - don't go all-inclusive.  However, if you plan to spend
a fair amount of time just relaxing at your hotel, and do not really care
what type of food you will eat, I would definitely say go all-inclusive.  It
really is not that much more expensive, and to me, at least, the convenience
it offers outweighs the small price increase.  (As a side note, I spent $200
while I was down there - going out to bars and clubs and buying some souvenirs-
while I had friends who went down the week before and stayed at the Holiday
Inn (not all-inclusive) and spent between $400-$600 for the week)
    As for the group of friends I went with, we decided that we will always
go all-inclusive unless the price difference is incredibly high - and we
are already planning next year's vacation....



-rob     
1457.3We're booked!STAR::VERGEWed Mar 12 1997 14:506
    thanks for the feedback - we are going all inclusive at Blue Bay
    Village - but in Manzinillo, on the west coast of MExico.  Fewer
    resorts, less local stuff - but sounded good.  I'll report back in when
    we return - in mid-April.
    
    Val