Staff Spotlight: All Inclusive in Riviera Maya

My friend and I just returned from our first ever all-inclusive resort! We stayed four nights at the Barcelo Maya Palace Deluxe in Riviera Maya. No one from Brentwood Travel had stayed there before, so we had no idea what to expect. 

Pro-Tip: PACK SUNSCREEN! You'd think this goes without saying, but in our excitement we both forgot to throw some in our suitcases. In the first hour of our trip we did the walk of shame to the gift shop to shell out $30 for a tube of SPF 30.

The trip started a little rough... all my fault though. It didn’t occur to me to eat anything or pack a snack for my 6AM flight, so by the time we had arrived in Cancun and were seated on the long transfer to the resort, I was getting crabby.

My mood turned around as soon as we arrived. The lobby was all open-air, and so beautiful! The back wall was punctured by big windows that offered an amazing view of the ocean. At the reception desk, we were given chilled, melon-flavored drinks, and then escorted to a private check-in area. Can you say upgrade?

​Our room was a spacious junior suite with a pool view. I’m sure someone had been tipped off that I work in the travel biz, because we kept returning to our room to find little goodies left for us. Champagne, tequila, chocolate-covered strawberries, fruit plates… I’m pretty sure we were getting the honeymoon treatment. My companion and I enjoyed telling our significant others about our shared romantic getaway when we got home.
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Most of our trip was spent by the pool. When we wanted some sunshine, we would lay on the partially submerged lounge chairs in the water. For our lazy afternoons, the covered hammocks called our names.
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We liked seeing all the various wildlife around the resort. None of the critters were intrusive, and it was exciting for us every time we saw a huge iguana talking a lazy stroll. One bartender saw us taking pictures of one and gave us some hunks of banana to throw to him.
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My favorite aspect of staying at an all-inclusive was the fact that I could try things I never had been able to eat before. If I didn’t like what I ordered, I wasn’t out any money and could just switch to something safer. Escargots? Why not? Lobster soup? Bring it on!
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All-in-all, we both had a fabulous (and way too short) vacation. We didn’t even scratch the surface of things to do at the resort, and we were never bored.
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