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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
best all inclusive for the money
DH and I are planning our honeymoon and decided to go to the Secrets Marquis in Cabo but then I saw a nestie post something about Couples resort in Jamaica and how it has more activities for the money already included which Secrets doesn't have.
thought I would Iask if there is another resort besides the Couples, that you recommend with activities included in the price. Preferably in Cabo, Jamaica or St Lucia.
Thanks
Re: best all inclusive for the money
I am not sure what activities you are referring to, but when we stayed at Secrets Maroma Beach all of the water sports were included- wind surfing, catamarans, sea canoes, snorkels, etc.
When we stayed at Aventura Spa Palace, we got fitness and yoga classes included, as well as the climbing wall. HTH
we're going to The Jewel at Dunn's River Falls in Jamaica in a few weeks. Never stayed there beofre, but its getting really good reviews on trip advisor. people are especially talking about how good the food is there, which i'm sure is hard to find at an AI. I'm excited to check it out!!
I don't think a lot of AIs include excursions like ziplining or other tours.... but most will include exercise classes, use of kayaks/hobi cat sailboats, that kind of stuff
We stayed at Couples Tower Isle, which was the Couples resort that included the most outside activities. At the time (Jan 2010), that included all normal AI activities plus horseback riding, scuba, booze cruise, Dunn's River Falls trip, shopping trips into Ocho Rios, and day exchange with San Souci.
I can't recommend Couples resorts enough. The service was excellent, food was great, and all of the activities were a bonus. It wasn't cheap, but definitely well worth the money.
I've been looking at this resort and happy to hear your reviews are wonderful. When did you end up going, and how was the weather?
Do they ever run promotions?
Are the activities you mentioned included in the price or did you need to pay extra?
Which airport did you fly into, and how did you get to the resort?
I'm not sure if they run promotions but what I am looking at its to buy the package through a discount website. It runs about $ 3,700.00 for everything.
I believe all the activities she mentioned are included in the package,
Mind if I ask which discount website? I've never been to an AI but have always wanted to!
We went 2 years ago - Jan 2010. The weather was a little rainy for the first few days. This was only an issue because they close water sports and the little island in this sort of weather. The temp was still very comfortable though, and didn't affect anything else we did. They also have their big Tower Isle anniversary party in January, which got us extra t-shirts (woohoo
) and the most excellent dinner party I've ever been to. The food was beyond amazing. If you're looking at a winter travel date, call the hotel to find out which weekend they do this party.
I spent a long time searching for the best deal, and eventually booked through the hotel website directly. Sign up for their email list and they send out a new deal every week. The deal we got included a discounted rate, upgraded room, and $500 in resort credit. It was a great way to visit the spa every other day :-)
We flew into Montego Bay, and Couples will drive you to the resort. They have a little area in the airport. Just go there, have a beer (free), a wait a few minutes. The shuttle driver will take you to the resort. I believe it was a 2 hour-ish drive.
All activities I mentioned were included. I've heard they've replaced the horseback riding with another activity (maybe glass bottom boat?). You could easily pay just for the resort, and be entertained, fed, and happy for at least a week without having to worry about anything else. They also have a VERY strict no-tipping policy, which is nice.
They also have a person on-site to book excursions if you want to do something extra. They are not very well-priced, but we'd never been to Jamaica and didn't know what we were doing. It was convenient to book and they picked us up at the hotel. We went on an open-air jeep tour to Bob Marley's house, an ATV ride/water hole swimming, and a zipline/bobsled tour.
Overall, it's the service at Couples that keeps people coming back. They have a very low staff to customer ratio and are always around to help. We got friendly, quick service from everyone. It is, by far, the best service I've ever received at an AI.
Awesome review, thanks! Do you have to book excursions through the AI or can you use a third party?
eta: Did you book your airfare through the resort or on your own?
I was looking through allinclusiveoutlet.com but did see this morning on their website that they have $ 1500 in spa credit which is a plus. Will ck if its the same price at lunch time.
Jewel...thanks for the reviews you had me at "great food" lol
No way! You can book them however you want. We were really happy with the on-site people, but you could likely get a better deal elsewhere. We were on our honeymoon at the time. I had just spent 6 months planning our wedding, so I didn't care to pre-plan any activities on the trip.
Awesome. Not sure if you saw this (I ETA my last post but you may have already been responding...), did you book your airfare through the resort or on your own? If you did it on your own, how did they know when/where to pick you up at the airport?
If you find a lower price, try calling the hotel directly - they may match it or offer you something better.
If you like to drink (I don't much) their drinks are really fabulous too. They'll make anything you can imagine. For the most part, I got something at the smoothie bar, and then added a shot of rum. Between that and the food, I think I gained 5 pounds on the trip. It was so wonderful! :-)