All Inclusive Caribbean Resorts
Like most people, when cruises were cancelled in 2020 due to Covid-19, we looked for something else to fill that void for our vacation. We started looking at different destinations such as south Florida including the Keys, Alabama gulf shores, Bahamas, and other places.
We wanted a true All-Inclusive resort to spend a week at, which is where we found Sanctuary in Cap Cana, Dominican Republic. We ended up going to Sanctuary in 2020 as one of our vacations and loved it.
Fast-forward to 2021. Cruises are still being cancelled and our next cruise is booked for May 2021. I just know it’s going to be cancelled, so I went ahead and booked 2 all-inclusive resorts for this year to fill that void, again.
First we’re going to Seadust in Cancun, then going to Sanctuary in Cap Cana a month after that.
While I was doing my research I realized there were so many options and caveats with different resorts. I narrowed down my list of AI resorts and figured I would share that with you, to save you the time of searching through hundreds of AI resorts in the Caribbean. Yes, I know this isn’t all of them, just some of the ones that I found.
I did cost compare all of these resorts between booking directly, booking through Costco, and booking through AAA. There were 2 or 3 that were cheaper going through Costco but the majority was cheaper booking directly through the resort.
Just like cruising, I refuse to use a travel agent under any circumstance.
The prices I have listed are from May 1st – May 8th (random dates) for 2 adults. While I know these won’t be your travel dates or the number of people in your party, it will give you a starting price for you to compare resorts. I also picked the most basic room. You can always upgrade to a better room.
To see resorts in Mexico, click here
Dominican Republic
Occidental Caribe
The Occidental Caribe is a 4* resort located in Barcelo and faces Playa Arena Gorda, one of the best beaches in the Dominican Republic. Out of the 18 resorts that I looked at in the Punta Cana area, this was the cheapest.
7 night rate: $856.80
Zoëtry Agua
Zoëtry Agua is owned by Amresorts and is considered a luxury resort. This is an 8.8 rated resort on Booking.com. This looks like a very nice resort and one I definitely would like to try out.
7 night rate: $3,640
Impressive Resorts & Spa
Impressive is a 5 star resort located at El Cortecito Beach in the Bávaro area of Punta Cana. It looked really nice and the price wasn’t bad either.
7 night rate: $928.20
Bahia Principe Fantasia
Bahia Principe Fantasia is a very cool looking resort, especially if you have kids. It looked really nice from the pictures. In the middle of it’s large pool is a castle and it makes you feel like you’re at Disney with Cinderella’s Castle. As I write this article and am looking back at these resorts, I wonder why this one didn’t stay stronger on my list to consider for us going.
7 night rate: $1,196
Grand Sirenis
The Grand Sirenis is located in Punta Cana and has excellent ratings and the price is really nice. However they only have full beds. I don’t even like to sleep on a bed as small as a queen size bed, I definitely am not spending a week+ in a full size bed.
7 night rate: $1,210
Caribe Beach Resort
Caribe Beach is a property owned by Melia which has properties around the world. We actually had this one booked before we cancelled to book Dreams. There is a lot of things to do here, especially for kids.
7 night rate: $1,121.09
Royalton Splash Resort
The Royalton Splash looks like a really cool resort, especially if you have kids. They have a huge water park and a ton to do. This was actually a top resort in our search for friends who were going with us before we switched to Melia, then Dreams.
7 night rate: $1,330
Majestic Colonial
The Majestic Colonial is located in Punta Cana and is a 5 star resort. They have an adults only side as well as a family friendly side. This resort looks very nice!
7 night rate: $1,610
Iberostar Grand
The Iberostar Grand is located in Bávaro and is a 5 star resort. The hotel looks very nice and seems like it is very laid back.
7 night rate: $3,491
ADULTS ONLY
Grand Palladium Bávaro Suites
The Palladium group has hotels worldwide and are very nice. The Grand Palladium has 4.5 stars and looks very nice.
7 night rate: $1,249.94
Catalonia Royal
Located in Bàvaro, the Catalonia is an adults only resort with some really neat looking rooms. We nixed this one from our list because it’s adults only and we were booking a trip with our kids.
7 night rate: $1,334
ADULTS ONLY
The Grand Reserve
The Grand Reserve is a Melia property and is family friendly. This resort looks massive though, and we like something a little more intimate.
7 night rate: $2,171.09
ADULTS ONLY
Barceló Bávaro Palace
The Barcelo Bavaro is a very nice, massive resort with a ton to do. We actually went to this resort to pick up someone that was doing an excursion with us. When we went, it was 4 days after the Dominican Republic reopened and this place was hoppin’ with people. Much busier than any other resort we went to.
7 night rate: $1,246.84
Hyatt Ziva & Hyatt Zilara
Hyatt Ziva and Hyatt Zilara are the same resort. It’s in a horseshoe shape. On one side is adults only (Hyatt Zilara) and on the other side is family friendly (Hyatt Ziva). If you stay in Zilara, you have access to Ziva. Despite having the Hyatt name, this property is owned and managed by Playa. This is the second most luxurious property under the Playa umbrella only under Sanctuary. We have walked here from Sanctuary and I highly recommend it.
7 night rate: $2,520 (Ziva)
7 night rate: $2,772 (Zilara)
ADULTS ONLY (ZILARA)
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
We have passed the Hard Rock before but never went in. It looks nice though. However it was one of the more costly resorts on our list which is why I nixed it. A lot of times, you pay for the name. 😉
7 night rate: $2,450
Nickelodeon
This resort looks super cool. We did not go here because I could just imagine all of the kids that would be here but they have it setup very nicely. They have a ‘pineapple room’ that looks super awesome. If you have small kids, I would seriously consider this resort.
7 night rate: $2,959
Dreams
There are several Dreams resorts in the Dominican Republic. There is a Dreams in La Romana, there’s a Dreams at Macao Beach, and a Dreams in Punta Cana. We have been to Macao Beach and it’s absolutely beautiful there. We have a trip coming up for Dreams in Punta Cana which is the Dreams Punta Cana Resort & Spa. I will have a comprehensive review of that coming up this summer. This particular Dreams has the longest pool in the Dominican Republic, flamingos, and is tucked away at Uvero Alto Beach. Dreams is an AMResorts Property.
7 night rate: $1,491
Sanctuary
There’s a reason I put Sanctuary at the end of this resort. I wanted to save the best for last. Sanctuary is a Playa property located in the gated community of Cap Cana. Sanctuary is an absolutely amazing resort. We’ll be going back here for the second time this summer. Most of their rooms have private pools in them, their Castle area is made to look like an authentic castle. There are plenty of pools to relax in, great restaurants, great butler service. It’s an amazing resort. Be sure to check out my blog entry about our stay at Sanctuary in 2020.
7 night rate: $2,565
ADULTS ONLY
Mexico
Moon Palace
Moon Palace looks really nice and has great reviews. If we were going as a couple to Cancun, this would be one of my top picks.
7 night rate: $2,890.83
RIU Cancun
The RIU Cancun looks nice and looks like a massive resort. Usually with these massive resorts there is a lot to do, but also a lot of people. It has great reviews though coming in at 4 stars on TripAdvisor.
7 night rate: $2,116.80
OLEO Cancun
The OLEO is a 4.5 star boutique resort steeped in luxury. It looks nice and could definitely work for someone looking for a budget friendly hotel in Cancun.
7 night rate: $1,407
Krystal Grand
The Krystal Grand is another high-rise all-inclusive resort in Cancun. This resort is actually in Punta Cancun. It’s also very budget friendly as one of the cheaper resorts.
7 night rate: $1,708
Villa La Estancia
This resort looks very nice. Located in Cabo San Lucas, it’s a “4 Diamond” resort as rated by AAA. There seems to be a lot to do here, and has great ratings. Very budget friendly as well!
7 night rate: $2,344
Sandos Finisterra
This is a true beachside resort. All of the other resorts I have listed are at the beach but none seem to be as close to the water as this resort. It looks smaller and more quaint but still somewhere you could enjoy a week with a frozen drink in your hand. This resort is located in Cabo San Lucas.
7 night rate: $2,105.18
Dreams Los Cabos
This is one of the many properties that Dreams has. Like the Sandos, the Dreams is right at the beach. You don’t have far to walk from the pool to the beach.
7 night rate: $2,312
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