non-cruise all inclusive family resorts

[MommyLB]

Has anyone tried one such as Club Med Sandpiper? How does it compare to a cruise?

[cs1]

Never been to a club med but we have been to all inclusives with kids and to regular resorts with the kids. I think it depends on the age of your kids. The younger ones do better on a land based vacation and the older ones, I think, enjoy cruising and land vacations. Cruises are not really family friendly for the really little ones in the way that resorts or all inclusives are.

cs

[tribbs1]

Haven't been to Club Med, but went to Riviera Maya last April and stayed at the Iberostar Paraiso del Mar w/ our family (4 kids aged 14,13,13,9 at the time). We loved it. It was our first AI experience and we found it to be very economical for us. It was nice not to have the kids nickel and diming us all day for food and drinks and activities. IMO it is a better value than a cruise for our large family. We will be taking our 2nd cruise (first 7 day) this June. Kids loved the first (Mom not so much) and were busy all the time. The worst part of the cruise for us is the high cost of purchasing excursions for 6 people. The cruise is already expensive for 6 but once you add the cost of excursions and drinks (hard or soft) then it puts well above what we paid at the AI in Mexico. Hope this is helpful.

[xavier2005]

we have been to a few all inclusive resorts in mexico. we really enjoyed xpu-ha palace,,, it's not for everyone but we loved it... tripadvisor.com is good site to read about these types of places.