All Inclusive Prison?

During the Christmas break we went to Mexico. Yes, we occasionally need to escape the smallness of Belmopan, to keep breathing, so to say. We drove to Chetumal just across the border and from there straight to Cancun; beach and party paradise! With between 2 and 4 million visitors per year – depending on the year and the guidebook you consult – Cancun is the first tourist destination of Mexico, just multiply this by an average of 1,000 USD expenditure per person and you can smell the bucks…

Situated on a small strip of land packed with 4 and 5-star resorts, it reminds one of Las Vegas but with turquoise beaches and no casinos. It was my first time in an all-inclusive, not counting the times I was conducting workshops hosted at beach hotels in St Lucia or Sri Lanka. The food was great and from all corners of the globe, (well, compared to Belmopan), the cocktails and wines flowed continuously, we played tennis and mini golf, swam in all of the five pools, including the ‘adults-only’ pool when Soleine was playing in the kid’s club, went to the movies and the gym. The only things not included were the on-demand porn movies and spa treatments. Fair enough.

With friendly staff, a la carte restaurants and a spacious room we had nothing to complain about. So why were we both oh-so-very happy to leave? Okay, firstly we felt as if we were staying on a different planet, like the fat people in Pixar’s Wall-E movie, and the ‘living in a golden cage’ image also pops up; but that was not it.

It was the relief of being away from all the other all-inclusive guests. With the risk of sounding snobby, I would advise that you not go to a 5-star all-inclusive place to meet nice people. The guests are loud, rude and complaining. They pile their plates with endless heaps of food that no one could finish in one sitting, order multiple drinks from the eight bars without finishing any; they don’t greet you nor do they thank the waiters, and these people are not even Russian! I met some Dutch people who were nice enough but I had to listen to a never ending list of complaints about mosquitoes, heat, and dust bunnies under the beds. After three nights I too felt irritable and intolerant. It seems this kind of hotel brings out the worst in people - the greedy and demanding beast that hides in all of us.

That summarizes our stay in the 5-star hotel in Cancun: you get the good stuff for a fair price, - good food, 24 hour(s) drinks, sports, and entertainment for the kids – but you have to live with the obnoxious people, including yourself. Truly All inclusive. "Grand Parnassus 5-star hotel or luxery prison"?

By the way, we did not ONLY go to Cancun, we also visited the old colonial cities of Merida, Izumal and Valladolid. See my slide show pictures below.