# Caribean cheapest all inclusive fees found?



## bciman (Jan 28, 2012)

Where are the cheapest all inclusive fees in the Caribean usually found?


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## Anne S (Feb 1, 2012)

bciman said:


> Where are the cheapest all inclusive fees in the Caribean usually found?



In the Dominican Republic.


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## spencersmama (Feb 1, 2012)

There is one all inclusive place in the DR that is $12 per person per day, double occ.  It has mixed reviews on tripadvisor.com.   I can't imagine it gets any cheaper than that for room, food, and alcohol.


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## islandguy (Feb 2, 2012)

I'm headed to DR in Jun/Jul and will be charged $77 per person per day for all inclusive.  Plus I traded my timeshare (maint cost to me) and RCI fee.  

So DR is not cheap.  This is off season too.


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## Anne S (Feb 2, 2012)

islandguy said:


> I'm headed to DR in Jun/Jul and will be charged $77 per person per day for all inclusive.  Plus I traded my timeshare (maint cost to me) and RCI fee.
> 
> So DR is not cheap.  This is off season too.



Everything is relative. The OP asked the location of the cheapest AI's in the Caribbean, and most of them are in the Dominican Republic. You may not think that $77 p.p. is cheap, but it is certainly cheaper than the $137 to $180 that the Almond resorts in Barbados charge per person per day, depending on the season, or the $112to $195 p.p. daily charge in St. Lucia. Contrast that to the $78, $48 and $46 p.p. daily charge at on of the BPPC resorts in D.R.


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## spencersmama (Feb 2, 2012)

islandguy said:


> I'm headed to DR in Jun/Jul and will be charged $77 per person per day for all inclusive.  Plus I traded my timeshare (maint cost to me) and RCI fee.
> 
> So DR is not cheap.  This is off season too.



Question for you Islandguy - Did you trade your TS in for a week at an AI resort, then just add the daily food/beverage fee?  My sister is getting married in December and asked me to try and find her some options for her honeymoon.  I checked out some of the AI resorts on RCI in Mexico.  The mandatory additional fees were the about the same price as if I just booked a straight AI package reservation online.  It didn't seem worth it, like it was wasting a time share week.  I only looked at Mexico though.  I'm wondering if you found a better deal in the DR.


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## MichaelColey (Feb 2, 2012)

RCI doesn't show the AI fees online, does it?

I haven't looked at AIs too close, but might consider a family-friendly one that isn't too expensive.

As for booking direct vs. exchanging and paying the AI fee, I suspect that you can probably get a considerably better unit (like a 2BR vs. a hotel) by exchanging.


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## WeLovetoTravel (Feb 2, 2012)

Yes- On the RCI web site if you click on the resort info it will say all-inclusive mandatory or optional and the fees are there.
-Deb


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## jfbookers (Feb 3, 2012)

*Travelzoo.com*

I found the following and went last Sept.

Review of $11.00 AI in Dominican Republic

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just back and enjoyed my stay.
 Full disclosure;
 I am not associated with the resort or the booking company.
 Flights each way were a disaster of cancellations which hurt my overall enjoyment.
 We paid $19.00 per day booked in April which we still thought was a great deal.
 I have been on 2 cruises and one 2 day all inclusive so do not have much experience in rating all inclusives.

First of all the deal is legit. We were not asked for a credit card imprint upon check in! We could have survived without any additional cash but did book a tour and tipped reasonably well.

The room was a very standard hotel room with a coffee maker and small fridge stocked daily with water bottles soft drinks and 2 beers. Had a reasonable queen bed with daily maid service. Don't drink the tap water.
 We were there on a slow week and several of the restaurants were closed however we were able to book reservations in the asian and Mexican restaurants with good results.
 Multiple pools (one with a swim up bar) were well maintained and a comfortable temp. Ocean and beach were OK also. Some surf but water wasn't clear until you got well away from the beach and waves.
 We had access to the VIP Beach with oceanfront beds available though there is competion for the beds on busier weeks. There are snacks available at the beach and prompt drink service. Over the course of a day I think I got the per drink cost to less than $2.00 so I felt the lodging and food were free.
 The main cafeteria had a buffett with different nightly themes and some variation of dishes, The breakfast and lunch were fairly standard with omlets available and a fresh selection of salads. Think a cross between Golden Coral
 and school lunches. Some of the dishes were not very good but we were always able to find something good and never suffered from hunger.
 The drinks tended toward tropical fruit but top shelf liquor was available upon request. The country's Presidente beer was always available and mid range wines. Never to be confused with 5 star anything but cheap and fun.
 Our friend that works at an English school in Santa Domingo was so impressed most of the teachers have booked the 4 night Thanksgiving weekend for $45.00 each.
 Service was usually very good and a small tip could make it excellent.
 The downside:
 Power was out most of 1 day
 The wifi which was available at the VIP Beach worked sopratically and I had to pay $8.00 for 1 hour access at the check in area ($5.00 for 10 min.)
 Reservations to the restaurants were difficult (sold out or closed)
 The sales staff for the attatched Lifestyle 2 BR timeshares were everywhere and dedicated but not too difficult to say NO to.
 (RCI says the AI is $350.00-$390.00 PER DAY for 4 adults which makes it unaffordable and silly for me.)
 Food just reasonable but we always found something to enjoy. Tiny bites of everything the 1st time through then back for the better things.

If you are into bargains this is one but if you demand 5 star you will be disappointed. I may go again

Jim

Please feel free to ask any other questions


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## islandguy (Feb 7, 2012)

spencersmama said:


> Question for you Islandguy - Did you trade your TS in for a week at an AI resort, then just add the daily food/beverage fee?  The mandatory additional fees were the about the same price as if I just booked a straight AI package reservation online.  It didn't seem worth it, like it was wasting a time share week.  I only looked at Mexico though.  I'm wondering if you found a better deal in the DR.



I traded my timeshare for an 8 night stay.  Cost factors:  maint fee on my timeshare is $650.  Cost of AI is $1,232 so my base is  $1,882.  Cost if I reserved the room thru the resort is $2,620 for 8 nights.  So based on these figures I saved $738 for the stay using my timeshare.  

One could argue that I could find a travel site that could have lowered the cost of the room.  So my trip to DR at an above average resort is going to cost me out of pocket $1,232 + air ($1,400).  I view the TS as sunk costs.  I beleive that if I went to St. Martin I would spend less in air and more in food than the AI. Kind of a wash. 

I will see if I like this way of traveling (food and booze AI vs on my own).  It makes my life much easier.


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## spencersmama (Feb 7, 2012)

islandguy said:


> cost me out of pocket $1,232 + air ($1,400).
> 
> I will see if I like this way of traveling (food and booze AI vs on my own).  It makes my life much easier.



Much cheaper than what I saw for Mexico, although I only looked at a handful of places.  Please let me know what you think of the resort when you return.  

At least you won't have a bill at the end of your stay and will feel free to order whatever you want.  I don't know if others are like this, but there are just some times I can't bring myself to pay $40 for a steak when I can get a burger for $12 or even $4 for a coke.  It drives my husband crazy.


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