All-Inclusive vacations may not be everyone's cup of tea, but over the past 6 years I have developed an appreciation (addiction) for taking a vacation where I don't really have to think much. Between the demands of marriage, parenting, career, housework, and kids activities, it is really nice to pay a sum of money for your vacation and then just......enjoy! Many all-inclusive resorts include more than just food and beverage. There is often entertainment, activities, childcare, fitness classes, and plenty to keep you busy without leaving the property or spending additional money. If you like, you can also book excursions or explore the local area at an extra expense. We have rarely opted to do anything extra as we are typically happy to take advantage of the included options.
Listen, in my experience, you get what you pay for with, well, almost everything. And that goes for all-inclusive resorts. We have gone low-end, mid-range, and high end and enjoyed pretty much every vacation because we went in with appropriate expectations.
Before booking a property you can check out Trip Advisor or other reviews to see what people are saying. If there are consistent themes within the reviews, like extended wait times for dinners or cloudy water at the beach, then decide if these are dealbreakers for you on vacation. There are SO MANY all-inclusive resort options that you should be able to find a place that checks the boxes for all your desires. The question will be, does that place also fall within your budget? Remember, you get what you pay for.
In April of 2023 we took our family (2 adults, 3 kids) for a spring break trip to Moon Palace Cancun - Nizuc. Moon Palace Cancun is actually three properties in one: The Grand, Sunrise and Nizuc. The Grand is the high-end option, and we stayed here once before. If you stay at the Grand you also get access to Nizuc and Sunrise. There is a system of golf carts and busses that will transport you, or you can walk. Walking is my preference because there is a path next to the beach that connects all the properties and you never have to wait for tansportation. Our family loved The Grand in June 2022, but we were looking to save some $$ this time around and thought we would try one of the less expensive options. We booked at Nizuc and if you stay at Nizuc or Sunrise you can go enjoy the amenities at either, but not at The Grand. I really have enjoyed all of my visits to Palace Resorts and my kids are always asking when we will go again.
If you are interested in an All-Inclusive vacation and are thinking about booking at Moon Palace Cancun - Nizuc then read below for 5 Things I LOVED, and 3 things I didn't.
5 Things I LOVED:
1. Prescheduled room service for breakfast. This turned out to be my favorite way to start the day. My true preference for a vacation breakfast is a leisurely sit down situation where I can sip my coffee and enjoy a mimosa. We did this on the first day, but the kids are hella antsy at the beginning of the day, wanting to get to the fun already! On the second day we went for the buffet which was quicker, yet I don’t love a buffet and it was busy/crowded. Moon palace has an option within the app to pre-schedule room service to deliver at a set time. Pancakes, eggs, omelets, juices, coffee, pastries, fruit, smoothies. So many yummy options! I did this on the third day and then for the rest of the trip. It was awesome to have everything we wanted delivered to our room and then head straight to the pool after that.
2. The sunrise playroom + the kids activities in general. When we visited The Grand at Moon Palace last summer we loved the kids playroom there. It was massive and had tons for the kids to do, but unfortunately only the older kids could go in without supervision. There was a much more “baby” sort of playroom that we could check our younger kid into, but not the older kids. So we ended up not being able to take advantage as much as we thought we would. The Sunrise playroom is for kids aged 4-10 and our kids LOVED it. Especially our 8 year old boy who wanted to be in there for 3-4 hours at a time!! We were able to have an adults only dinner at Agra one night and my hubby and I read on the beach alone for about 2 hours one afternoon. We had plenty of family time, so it was really nice to have some adult-only time on vacation as well.
3. The food! Although I don’t love a buffet, even those had good selections of fairly quality food options. The a la carte restaurants were pretty great, especially Riviera Maya and Agra. We were lucky enough to get reservations at both, though not everyone who visits will be so lucky (more on that later). We also enjoyed Gondola, Momo Teppanyaki (reservation required) and Arrecifes for dinners. All great!
4. The staff. This was our fourth trip to Palace Resorts (Le Blanc Los Cabos in 2021, The Grand at Moon Palace in June 2022, Sun Palace in August 2002, and for this trip in April 2023 we were at Moon Palace Nizuc). Every single time I am delighted by the staff. They work so hard to deliver a really incredible vacation experience to their guests. From the restaurant servers, to the entertainment staff, to the kids room workers and golf cart drivers, everyone is smiling and kind and seemingly eager to serve. Tipping is optional, but we always bring a wad of cash and try to tip generously.
5. The pools! What this place lacks in beach it more than makes up for in pools. If there is a certain vibe you are looking for you can find it in the massive and meandering pool situation at either Sunrise or Nizuc. Party, calm, kid, sport……what’s your pleasure? At Sunrise there is a little splash pad type area for the kids and at Nizuc there is a pool with a fun waterslide, but nothing like what compares to the waterpark at The Grand. We visited in April and the pools were warm enough that even this cold mama could get in pretty easily. Tons of swim-up bars, snack stands, and restaurants are all around the pool area, so you don’t have to go far to feed if you don’t want to dry off and have a sit down lunch. We ended up doing room service breakfast, poolside lunch, and sit down dinner once we found the rhythm that we wanted in our vacation. I’m a pool girl/beach girl and my pool needs were more than met!
3 Things I didn't:
1. The spring break crowds. I’m a little fussy about crowds. Sometimes I can go with the flow and sometimes I get overwhelmed. I was not sure how crazy busy it would be when we visited over a spring break week, and yeah, there were people everywhere. It didn’t prevent us from having an amazing time, but I’d prefer to be there when the resort isn’t quite so full. Next time I will book during a non-peak time.
2. The reservation system for restaurants. This is the stupidest system and I don’t fully even understand it. All I know is that you can’t book reservations more than 48 hours in advance or so, and you can’t book until you are on property. Therefore we couldn’t even book at one of the reservation restaurants until we got there and even then I had to stay up until midnight after a long travel day to book right when reservations opened. We were travelling with another family and in one case we were both able to get a reservation, but it was the same night. So we literally did a 6 pm dinner at Riviera Maya and an 8:30 pm dinner at Agra to be able to try both of those places. I think they prioritize their members for reservations which is a really big bummer and doesn’t necessarily incentivize me to become a member because that feels shady and unfair. I understand some of the other perks, but this one makes me bonkers and annoys me. In an otherwise carefree vacation I stayed up until midnight multiple nights just to make dinner reservations. Okay, rant over.
3. The water at the beach. I’m a beach girl and the water at this beach is murky. It’s not the beautiful turquoise that you want to see and swim in on a tropical vacation. If that is a must for you. Skip this resort. Even with the murky water, the sand was white and clean and there were plenty of beach loungers and umbrellas so I could sit, read, enjoy the sights and sounds even though I didn’t swim. It is swimmable, as I saw some in the water.
Conclusion. In my opinion, Moon Palace Nizuc is a mid-range All-Inclusive property that is perfect for families seeking a care-free vacation. My kids preferred The Grand due to the amazing waterpark and elevated Wired Lounge and Kids Playroom, but they would go back to Nizuc in a heartbeat, and so would I. Cheers!
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