Are All-Inclusive Resorts Worth Your Money? Part 2

MITIGATING THE DISADVANTAGES 

It seems like the ideal life. No more housekeeping, laundry, dishwashing, cooking, and other mundane activities. Everything is available at the flick of the finger, so to speak: food, facilities, fun, and fascinating sunsets. You have no worries, cares, and hassles. All your time for things that make you happy. But there are three definite major disadvantages.

Weight Gain

You have all the food you want...and at the best locations. It is all-inclusive so you want to get the best values for your money and eat as much of the best ones as fast as possible, especially if you are staying for a short limited time. This is exactly what we did. On the first month, it was no wonder I gained  many extra pounds and developed a “baby bump.” But, on this our eighth week, I have returned to my original weight. Although traces of the bump still remain, I am well on the way to returning home as I left…without it. The following are the best practices we developed to deal with this major disadvantage.

go-to eating place

First, we put breakfast back to simple: in the room. Just like at home, we have breakfast as soon as we wake up. So we stocked up on simple things like cinnamon rolls and butter, bagels and cream cheese, or granola with nuts and raisins, together with lots of fruits and juices. We still go down to breakfast twice a week: once on Wednesday to have oatmeal or yogurt and hot chocolate; on Sundays for brunch of pasta and paella.

my favorite salad

Second, we put lunch also to a simple event. Our go-to place is La Alhambra, the open-air buffet by the sea which features a grilled item every day-grilled fish, roasted pork tacos, grilled fajitas, etc. I stick to this one dish. The restaurant also has the most complete salad bar in the entire complex. My go-to salad is a small plate of jicama and lettuce with a sprinkling of fake crab meat; usually, without dressing.

Third, we still make dinner our Event of the Day but we don’t go to the buffets anymore. We stick to a la carte dining. In buffets, there are a lot of filler items and you can get drawn to fill your plate with many of these. Even with small samples of each, they can add up to a bunch. A la carte ordering gives you the best dishes from the chef, the freshest versions of the dish, and limits what you can order. In the beginning, we ordered an appetizer, a soup or salad, an entrée, and a dessert. Now, we stick to sometimes just an appetizer or two or an entrée and split the salad and dessert.

Fourth, we are also eating healthy because there is just so many fruits, vegetables, seafood, fish, chicken, and pork available alongside with red meat. In fact, the latter is almost a no-no for us now. In the beginning, we were drawn to the New York, ribeye, filet mignon, churrasco, or arrachera steaks but now we are opting more for fish, shrimp, lobster, and chicken, sometimes pork. And we always start with salads or vegetable antipasti and make sure we have some fruits for the day. I am sure we get our required daily allowances of many vitamins and minerals.

Mexican cazuelitas

Fifth, our exercise regimen has been consistent. We spend thirty minutes at the fitness center every day. Bill hits balls at the golf course and tennis courts. We sometimes even join dancing classes. Our Fitbit shows that we walk at least 10,000 steps every day because we walk from one facility to another among four buildings in the resort complex and not use the free shuttle provided. At home, the kitchen and dining room are just a few steps from the bedroom and the living room. This is even complemented by afternoon walks on the beach or to the shops of the Zona Dorada, the shopping zone beside the complex.

  

Social and Cultural Isolation

There is another major disadvantage of all-inclusive resort stays. Let me call it the risk of social and cultural isolation. It comes from being confined to the resort facilities, again to get the best values from the money you paid, especially if you are staying for a short limited time. 

First, to counter social isolation, El Cid offers many activities. Bill and I have joined Spanish, dancing, cooking, and cocktail-mixing classes. Bill has sometimes joined tequila tasting and me, Texas Hold’em. Every evening, there are shows in the El Cid Theater: Mexican, Impersonators, Broadway, Tropical, Children's, and Audience Participation. Lobby bars have karaoke nights, casino nights, live music, etc.  Each restaurant offers different kinds of live music with different cuisines. And there are always activities on the beach. These are all opportunities for meeting new friends.

my Texas Hold'em group

Second, even if family and long-time friends are more special, we cannot transport all of them to Mazatlan. The staff of El Cid including the wait staff, the maids, and the drivers, and the guards, and the Mexican people, in general, are so hospitable, they can be our "family" while we are in El Cid. In fact, there is an Elite Lounge dedicated to hosting all-inclusive guests and catering to our every need. The Lounge is also where we have met many new friends from fellow guests. We look forward to meeting all of them again in the next season when we return to Mazatlan.

Bill's tequila tasting group

But how about cultural isolation? This is why we choose Mazatlan instead of Cancun. Mazatlan has an excellent broader community one can get involved with. With a population of 650,000, the city has a full plate of entertainment options, from concerts to movies to theater to opera. We have also done three-day trips and have four others scheduled before we go home. An Art Walk every first Friday of the month is such a fun activity. Trips to the Library have been enlightening and enjoyable.



We don't tire of inspecting each branch of the Michaels Gallery chain with their quality Mexican home decor. There are three main shopping districts: the new Mazatlan Galleria Mall area with Liverpool and Sears department stores and Walmart/Sams Club nearby, the Zona Dorada, and the Old Town Mercado and Centro Hispanico. And there is a major Flea Market in Juarez every Sunday morning. We should not forget the large supermarket chains like Soriana, Mega, and Ley. As a result of great shopping values, we are bringing home an art piece for the house, favorite new hats, quality inexpensive clothes, and some new jewelry!

Since we are staying for three months each year, we actually are able to make and keep friends and not be isolated within the confines of the resort. But then you will ask what about cost, especially because we are staying for such a long time. This is the last major disadvantage of all-inclusive resorts.  I will discuss in Part 3, four weeks from now after we have seen how everything goes and counted all the expenses at the end of our thirteen-week stay. Then we will have the final answer to the question "Are All-Inclusive Stays Worth Your Money?"