All Inclusive Resort suggestions needed!

[Peggy]

My parents are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, and are planning to take the extended family (my parents, my family, 2A, 2 kids 17 and 15, and my sister's family, 2A, 4 kids, 14, 12, 10 and 8) to an all inclusive resort. We will probably go Easter week, as that is the only time it works for the kids' schedules without missing school.

My parents will not go to Mexico, and are not interested in Jamaica, either. Any suggestions? It has to have a fabulous beach, and a lot of activities.

Of course, we don't want to break the bank!!

[jilly7896]

I would suggest Punta Cana. There are tons of family friendly all-inclusives there!

[off2neverland]

I'd say Punta Cana as well. We loved it.
We also liked Aruba.

Friends of ours have done all inclusive family friendly at places in Puerto Rico that they really liked- I'm not familiar with any of them but from what I gather they are reasonably priced, easy to get to, etc.

We had a heck of a time getting to Punta Cana- long story- actually got stuck in Puerto Rico- but I'd probably not go back to Punta Cana just because of the transpo problem

[jilly7896]

I love Aruba too! We honeymooned there. I think Punta Cana is more budget friendly though.

[Peggy]

Any specific resort suggestions would be welcome! I've been looking at Punta Cana but there are so many!

[Bernie2003]

I know several people who have gone to the Dominican recently as well and have loved it. Unfortunately all of them were just adults traveling, so I don't have any recommendations for you about particular resorts.

[tlseege]

Dreams in Punta Cana is lovely, as is the Gran Bahia.

[jilly7896]

Dreams in Punta Cana is lovely, as is the Gran Bahia.

I agree with both of these recommendations. I have also had clients stay at the NOW Larimar, Iberostars and the RIU Palace resorts and have been very happy.

[ke_page]

Punta Cana! It was pre-kids but I remember thinking how much fun it would be with them too!

[Mr Baloo]

We just got back from Dreams Punta Cana last Thanksgiving. Myself, wife, son 15 and daughter 11. Everyone really enjoyed it. I did see them swapping cheaper booze for expensive booze.... it was an all inclusive.. but I only saw that with the older scotch and premium stuff. Personally I drank rum, so it didnt matter to me.... but that 18 year old Johnny Walker is probably J&B. And this was in the Preferred lounge.

As far as a location, I think Punta Cana offers a lot of family resorts. Dreams Punta Cana, for all of its shortcomings, was really nice. We enjoyed the beach beds and sailing on the catamarans. Staff was great, room was clean, bars had cold beer, and lots of activities and fun things to do... My kids really loved the dune buggy excursion. The shows each night were a little corney, but the staff really puts there heart into them and tries really hard to make sure you have a great evening. I would actually go back, although I kinda think we paid too much.

I have never stayed there, but the Iberostar resorts always rank high in the places we have traveled. Most of the AIs we have been to have been couples only.

Anywho, I would suggest hopping over to Trip Advisor and reading their resort reviews. You can get a lot of information from those.

[Pampered Mom]

Are Beaches resorts any good? We did Sandals in St. Lucia for our honeymoon back in the day, and I know Beaches is the family all-inclusive part of the Sandals/Beaches company.

[jilly7896]

Beaches Turks and Caicos and beaches negril are beautiful, but pretty pricey. Beaches boscobel bay is nice and a bit more affordable.

[pfalcioni]

I really dislike those Beaches/Sandals ads. If I ever saw that many "beautiful people" in one place at one time I'd run away screaming.

[Mr Baloo]

I really dislike those Beaches/Sandals ads. If I ever saw that many "beautiful people" in one place at one time I'd run away screaming.

I have also read you don't want to be there during the photo shoots

[txSherry]

Are there any stateside All Inclusives?

[jilly7896]

There is a Club Med in Florida, that is the only one I know of

[deadhedmom]

Are there any stateside All Inclusives?

http://www.woodloch.com/

[famouschinesecontroller]

I can highly recommend the Club Med Punta Cana. For years that's where we took our family vacation. A couple of things it has going for it. 1) five minutes from the airport 2) the rooms are family suites i.e. A king bed for the adults in the bedroom, and twin beds in an adjoining room for the kids. . You pay per person, not per room. If you have a family of 5 or 6 they will give you two rooms, and you can spread out. Price wise for a family of 4, it ends up being about the same as a room with 2 double beds at other resorts. My family does not do the 2 double bed room thing. 3) GREAT kids clubs. Lots of activities to keep them busy, and they have the equipment. The circus school is one of Club Med's signature things. 4) Club med is on the eastern tip,and the water there is gorgeous clear. When you get to some of the resorts on the northern tip of Punta Cana, the water can be sea weedy, depending on the time of year. 4) Lots of great activities for the adults too. I always did power walk in the morning, followed by a yoga/stretch class, and then water aerobics about 11AM. No one will harass you to participate 5) Club Med is a french outfit, with french chefs. The bread alone is to die for. 6) Very big property, but it's very well laid out, and the kids can have free run of the property and you don't have to worry about any security issues..7) There is a doctor and nurse on site. One year my daughter got sun poisoning, and he fixed her right up. Another year one of my girlfriend's sons got swimmers ear, and they took care of that as well. 8) they staff the kids club pool with a lifeguard. Be sure and check out the reviews on tripadvisor If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer.