PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic - Your retirement savings back home may be draining, but here you feel like a big shot guzzling rounds of complimentary piña coladas and premium-liquor drinks from an attentive server at the Paradisus Palma Real's swim-up bar. You can sip them in submerged concrete chaises built into in the vast serpentine pool while a Dominican band plays upbeat merengue tunes.
Elsewhere on the resort's groomed grounds, adorned with modern sculpture and white-columned walkways, flamingos strut, housekeepers strew flower petals on beds and concierges make bookings for a half-dozen eateries with South Beach-chic décor. All this - drinks, food, activities, shows, a room that's boutique-hotel heaven - is covered in a daily rate as low as $150 a person in early fall, $230 this week.
Lobster and steak are on the menu, and pig-out-till-you-can't is the rule. Room service runs 24 hours, and that 3 a.m. burger and fries are gratis, too.
Chicago-area honeymooners Erin and Gary Greiss are here enjoying Palma Real's no-extra-charge horseback rides on the beach, yoga and snorkeling. Their Royal Service suite (about $4,500 in a seven-night package with airfare) includes a butler and bottles of rum, vodka and Scotch. "It's like a cruise, but less structured," says Erin, 27. And unlike aboard most love boats, 24/7 cocktails are included.
This all-inclusive concept - popular with Europeans for years and catching on with a growing number of Americans - is more attractive than ever in a time of financial free-fall.
Once viewed as a bare-bones vacation option, the everything-covered industry is wooing guests with new, over-the-top Shangri-Las at prices as low as $100 a person daily. And they're courting resort sophisticates with Architectural Digest-style décor, non-buffet eateries, butlers, family freebies and velvet-rope VIP areas with their own pools and restaurants.
"There's an increasing demand," says Becky Veith, affiliated with Travel Experts of Raleigh, N.C. "It's not just Joe Six-pack pounding beers all day by the pool." All-inclusive chains -mainly Spanish, French, Jamaican and Mexican - are "growing aggressively, and the experience they offer is unbelievably consistent," she says.
"They have a very high rate of returning guests," says Scott Berman, head of PricewaterhouseCoopers' U.S. hospitality and leisure consulting group. "In other down cycles, they have performed very well."
Brands such as Sandals, SuperClubs, Iberostar, Occidental and Paradisus are building ever more luxurious getaways and targeting upscale clients who once would never book an all-inclusive vacation. At the same time, they're courting the budget-conscious with discounts, such as Sandals Resorts' up to 55% off rates for arrivals through Dec. 26, 2009.
"Luxury Included" now is a Sandals trademarked phrase. "We have moved beyond... the often-maligned all-inclusive connotation," proclaims Gordon "Butch" Stewart, chairman of the Jamaica-based chain.
To lure the value-conscious, upscale hotels added all-inclusive options. They include Ritz-Carlton's Rose Hall in Jamaica, Rosewood's Little Dix Bay on Virgin Gorda and Starwood's Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa in French Polynesia. All-inclusive pioneer Club Med has raised its bar with luxury rooms at some clubs.
Here's a sampling of ever-upgrading all-inclusive chains popular with Americans. Watch for promotions and website discounts to fill rooms in tough times.
Paradisus: The high-end brand (from about $500 for two daily in January) is from Spanish hotel giant Sol Meli, which also has lower-cost all-inclusives. VIP quarters ("The Reserve" and adults-only "Royal Service" wings) cost more. New this winter: a "Posh Moms" program with special family services.
Club Med: The pioneering chain, once a singles mecca where plastic beads paid for between-meal drinks, now includes all alcohol and has family clubs. Rooms are upgraded, too.
Occidental Hotels & Resorts: Its jewel is adults-only Royal Hideaway Playacar south of Cancun, where Champagne flows and guests don't wear the tacky ID bracelets required by most all-inclusives. It has airfare deals.
Sandals and Beaches: Sandals caters to couples; sister Beaches targets families. Couples booking new "Millionaire Suites" with pools and butlers at Sandals Regency La Toc Golf Resort & Spa on St. Lucia could pay $22,000 a week, but deals may bring one way down. In January, Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort Villages & Spa opens a $125 million "Italian Village" with luxe two-bedroom family suites.
Secrets and Dreams: Part of expanding AMResorts, Secrets is adults-only; Dreams woos families. At Dreams Punta Cana, there's infant day care, climbing wall, computer center, batting cage and mechanical bull. Adults can escape cares (and kids) in a tranquil spa.
SuperClubs: Holdings run from luxe Grand Lido Resorts, which offer free manicures and pedicures, to mid-priced Breezes, to under-$100-a-day family Starfish Resorts, to risqu Hedonism properties.
Other popular chains include Iberostar Hotels & Resorts, Karisma Hotels & Resorts, Palace Resorts, and Riu Hotels & Resorts.
Excerpt from USA TODAY, Nov. 2008
By Kitty Bean Yancey
