Hey! I'm going to King's Dominion with a group of kids in spring!
We are really looking forward to it especially considering this pain in the butt snow.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just depends on what you are looking for and what you value. My wife had a very busy matter at work for almost a year and when it ended she wanted a vacation that required no thought, no planning, and no daily effort. We went to Impressions Moxche by Secrets and it fit the bill. It's a smaller resort within a larger one where you can access the whole resort but everyone else can't access your stuff. So you get some exclusive restaurants, pools etc. Sometimes it's nice to just sleep in, eat when you want, drink when you want, sleep when you want, and repeat for a week. Not every vacation needs to be an adventure.

To me you don’t need to endure hours of air travel to be pampered. Go to the nicest hotel in your city.

If I am traveling, I want to wind up in a different country, with all that entails. Not just a different posh hotel.

I'm glad that's what you want but it wasn't what we wanted.

Anonymous wrote:Just depends on what you are looking for and what you value. My wife had a very busy matter at work for almost a year and when it ended she wanted a vacation that required no thought, no planning, and no daily effort. We went to Impressions Moxche by Secrets and it fit the bill. It's a smaller resort within a larger one where you can access the whole resort but everyone else can't access your stuff. So you get some exclusive restaurants, pools etc. Sometimes it's nice to just sleep in, eat when you want, drink when you want, sleep when you want, and repeat for a week. Not every vacation needs to be an adventure.

To me you don’t need to endure hours of air travel to be pampered. Go to the nicest hotel in your city.

If I am traveling, I want to wind up in a different country, with all that entails. Not just a different posh hotel.

Just depends on what you are looking for and what you value. My wife had a very busy matter at work for almost a year and when it ended she wanted a vacation that required no thought, no planning, and no daily effort. We went to Impressions Moxche by Secrets and it fit the bill. It's a smaller resort within a larger one where you can access the whole resort but everyone else can't access your stuff. So you get some exclusive restaurants, pools etc. Sometimes it's nice to just sleep in, eat when you want, drink when you want, sleep when you want, and repeat for a week. Not every vacation needs to be an adventure.

There is all sorts of snobbery on DCUM. Vacation how you want and don’t worry about what others think.

Someone’s got to say it:

All inclusive resorts are basic. They are specifically created to attract a type of guest disinterested in a unique/customized/immersive experience… quite literally curated to broad market appeal. They are also guilty by their association to the sandals of the world. The majority of all inclusive resorts are decidedly middle tier at best, regardless of how many stars they compile for having corporate chain “good” service. Most people on these forums would squirm at the thought of choosing a kitchen or artwork from a collection targeting the largest clump of Americans.

There are exceptions. A number of extraordinary boutique hotels around the world are “all inclusive” but these are hardly comparable.

All that being said, there are also times when it just doesn’t matter. 4 day weekend with young kids? All inclusive. Big family trip with conflicting interests/tastes? All inclusive. Last minute and you just don’t feel like planning? All inclusive.

But let’s not pretend they are special. Being high end doesn’t change the equation either. Mayakoba is pricey and so is a top line corvette. These things are designed to be the most expensive thing that a person consumes. A special treat. People with substantial taste don’t want to be surrounded by a mass of humans extending themselves to afford the experience. They want to be in the company of people for whom luxury is ordinary.

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes I travel, sometimes I take a vacation. For me they are not the same thing. If I go to an AI or Disney that's a vacation. Meals and activities are onsite and I don't have to think much at all.
Travel is trying new things, doing research, taking more risks. I like both and think they are all valid, good uses of money and time.

^^^this

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there is a lot of DCUM "snobbery" about travel to Mexico in general. This is a combination of rich white people racism and folks on this board being wealthier and/or better-traveled than your average American.

I've lived here almost 30 years. It takes a lot to impress the average DC area person when you're bragging about vacations.

I don't take people discussing vacations as "snobby" though, I enjoy hearing about people's experiences even if they can afford more than me. But I also have self-confidence and DGAF what others think which is clearly not something OP has mastered.

You've misunderstood me--I don't really discuss my vacations with anyone unless we're traveling together. Nor do I post on social media. DH and I have found an AI that we really like, and when searching for threads on it on DCUM I saw that many DCUM users apparently feel that they are too good to go to AIs, period. That's not going to stop us from enjoying ours; however, the general level of snobbery was somewhat surprising. I can only assume they haven't visited our favorite place.

It is not that I think I am “too good” for such places.

It is just that I like to visit the country/city/region that I have traveled to. My impression is that at AI resorts you are somewhat tied to staying on their property. Rather than wandering into local cafes or shops. Or hiking to stunning views of nature.

To me, high end resorts, with landscaping and menus that have been curated to please American tourists are almost interchangeable. Totally unappealing.

You are choosing to relax in an artificial bubble, reminiscent of Disney, which is another experience that does not appeal to me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some people like a very corporate, catered experience when they “travel”, and that is fine.

+1

If people like that, good for them! I enjoy chance encounters with locals in grocery stores and on the train, especially if I’m trying to speak their language. Other people would hate that, and that’s fine.

Oh FFS. I guarantee they don't enjoy it.

"trying to speak their language"
that is so cringe. I cringe.

We all cringe. Lol. Can you picture that pp, all full of themselves butchering the language while trying to talk to a local about the damn melons? Or trying to ask where the locals go out to eat? Ugh. So embarrassing. And they think they are so worldly, lol.

If you find that embarrassing you’ve never given a real try at speaking another language. Seems MAGA and anti- intellectual to me. I learned Spanish while living and working in South America, l suppose it was “butchering” for the first couple of months but nobody seemed to be in pain or annoyed from talking to me. If l had your attitude l wouldn’t have become fluent. I worked hard at it and learned fast.

I speak Spanish and like to talk to local people that aren’t just service staff. So l prefer to stay somewhere that Mexican tourists would also stay. Up to you if you think that makes me a snob.

Anonymous wrote:6 pages in and we still don't know what resort? Please name it, OP. We are looking at doing a multigenerational family vacation next year and for a variety of reasons it pretty much has to be an AI or a cruise.

Same. We have 11 of us from ages 9 to 76. I think people underestimate how difficult it can be for grandparents to join the younger ones on a vacation that requires a lot of logistics, adventure, etc. An AI is not my dream vacation, either, but the ability to spend time with my parents, siblings, kids, and nieces all together more than makes up for what might be lost. We will be staying at the Iberostar Paraiso Maya Suites in June and I'd be happy to report back (knowing in advance that they will be rude comments). And congrats to those of you who can afford better.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a picky eater and something of a foodie. But over the years I’ve also just come to the conclusion that a vacation is not all about my food preferences. I’ve had crappy meals in lots of beautiful unique places because the truth is that, in many places, eating like the locals do (or worse yet, eating near the popular tourist places that you might actually want to see) is not going to result in a great meal. I’m now at a place where I try to pick the best restaurant I can without dragging my family to someplace they don’t want to go just because someplace is supposed to have the most authentic whatever. Sometimes we get really lucky and happen into someplace great but other times it’s just whatever and that’s fine. I find the same thing with AIs and Disney and cruises (all of which I’ve done)—much of the food is whatever, some of it is bad and sometimes you get a surprisingly amazing dish (I’m thinking of you. Sandals jerk chicken fresh off the grill). If my family is having fun with the location, then I think it’s a good vacation. I’ve definitely had worse food in some gorgeous national parks, random pubs in England or Ireland, small towns in South America, or eating in some people’s homes in Eastern Europe.

Anyway, I hate the snobbery, but I do find it amusing! At least this thread has not yet reached chicken bus status—that was the worst!

You can't be a picky eater and a foodie. It is one or the other.

It depends how you define picky.. I won’t eat any meat that’s been mocrowaved. I won’t eat any food on a plane or in a cafeteria. I won’t eat most food that’s been sitting out on a buffet (exceptions for some food that sits well, like bread pudding). I won’t eat eggs unless they are fresh made. I won’t eat fruit unless it’s very fresh and won’t eat overcooked vegetables. I won’t eat French fries unless they are very crisp and straight from frier (exception for small McDonald’s fries if on a road trip). I won’t eat donuts umless tjeh ate hot and only frkm certain places. I generally won’t eat fast food (exception for McDonald’s fries on a road trip). I won’t eat iceberg or romaine lettuce. My spouse considers me extremely picky!

You are just crazy

It’s all fun and games until they poison the liquor to steal your kidneys.

I am so incredibly stressed out right now, so I would LOVE to get on a plane, land somewhere, and have everything I need right there at the hotel. Food, drink, entertainment, beach, pool, and spa. I don’t want to think about anything or deal with paying for anything as I go along. That sounds like a dream scenario to me right now.

Anonymous wrote:Some of the snobs don't realize there are tiers to AIs. I went to a tiny, boutique, adults-only resort for a wedding once. No buffets, food was quite good, service was good.

So I thought I liked AI's and went to another one and yeah, I get the snobbery. It was a whole different thing.

Lots of haters her, but this. There are definitely different levels of AI. Most are pretty mediocre and generic. But there are some more upscale ones with good food.

I am generally not a fan of AIs but they have their place when you just want something easy. My son loves water slides so we stay at the AIs that have large kids pools with slides and that will keep him entertained for the entire day. Even better if the place has a kids club so DH and I can get a little break. We usually stay places where there's an opportunity to get off the resort and do something else. We can only do 4-5 days max because it starts getting boring/repetitive.