All inclusive resorts are a great choice for travellers wanting to enjoy a week or two in the sun with the convenience of food, drinks and entertainment on-site and included in the resort price. While some resorts can be expensive, it pays to do a bit of research because hotel deals can be found. A good place to look is Hotwire. Since Hotwire does not reveal the hotel name before you bid, resorts are often willing to lower their hotel room prices to fill excess inventory. A huge win for travellers looking to save money on an all inclusive resort.
While this makes Hotwire all inclusive resorts a good choice for bargain travellers, there are also some risks travellers should know about and some recommendations before booking. For example, Hotwire hotel reservations are non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. Obviously travellers should make sure their travel plans are not going to change before booking, but they will also want to do as much research as possible to ensure they are satisfied with what they receive when booking Hotwire all inclusive resorts.
Identifying Hotwire All Inclusive Resorts
After you enter your search parameters, Hotwire indicates whether the hotel is an all-inclusive or not, as illustrated in the image here. You can tell that this is a 4-star all inclusive hotel in the North Hotel Zone of Cancun. This is the only way to find Hotwire all inclusive resorts. You cannot filter results to show only all-inclusives.
If you want to find out the exact name of the hotel, there are 2 great resources to help provide some clues:
- Hotwire Hotel Lists: These are a collection of hotels known to be on Hotwire, as posted by actual Hotwire customers who have shared the name of the hotel they received.
- Hotwire Discussion Forum: Ask fellow travellers for help revealing your Hotwire hotel. The discussion forum is used by tens of thousands of members monthly who love to lend a hand to others.
All Inclusive Amenities
Although Hotwire does not reveal the name of the hotel, it does provide some information before you book, such as the hotel rating and amenities. In my opinion, it is absolutely vital that you understand what these amenities mean and what you will be getting.
What To Expect When Booking Hotwire All Inclusive Resorts: On Hotwire’s FAQ Page, they provide some good insights. All inclusive means that meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) as well as soft drinks are covered. They stat that beer, wine, and liquor are ‘typically’ covered as well, but the usage of ‘typically’ gives them a bit of wiggle room. All inclusive prices do not cover all restaurants at the resort or premium alcohol brands. Most resorts also include extras such as entertainment, land and water sports, kids programs and gratuities.
Here is a closer look at what you get with each amenity.
Free food and drinks: This is the standard amenity you should see with most (if not all) all-inclusive resorts. Expect the basics: buffet meals and house brand wine, beer, and alcohol. Restaurants or premium drinks will have an additional charge.
Beachfront hotel: This is an important amenity that should not be overlooked. If you want to be “on” the beach, you need to see this: beachfront hotel. Other amenities such as “oceanfront” or “near the beach” do not mean beachfront. There is often confusion about this. Do not be disappointed. Make sure you know what you are getting.
Resort: All Hotwire all inclusive resorts should show the ‘resort’ amenity. This simply means the location has more amenities than simply a hotel. For example, fitness, swimming pool(s), tennis courts, bars and restaurants.
Free premium drinks: For those who want beer, wine and spirits other than house brands, you will want to look for ‘Premium Drinks’ as an amenity. Based on experience, house brand beverages are the cheapest, lowest grade alcohol the hotel can find. If you enjoy a quality beverage, this is a good amenity to look for when booking.
A la carte dining: A la carte basically means sit-down restaurant style dining, as opposed to serve-yourself buffets. If you see this amenity on Hotwire, it means that the restaurant offers some choices for a la carte dining. It does not mean you will have a la carte dining with every meal. In fact, usually need to reserve your meal upon arriving due to limited capacity at some resort restaurants.
In addition to these amenities, you will also want to look for “free water activities”, “entertainment”, “free activities” or “children’s activities”. With the exception of kids clubs, these are usually free. Once again, it is strongly recommended that travelers understand these amenities before booking.
Finally, it is worth noting that hotel ratings on Hotwire may be slightly generous compared to other rating systems. If you book a 4-star hotel, as an example, do not expect the same level as 4 stars in Canada or the US. This is particularly true with respect to meals. I always recommend that travellers use the Hotwire Discussion Forum and the Hotel Lists to try and reveal your hotel before booking because Hotwire all inclusive resort reservations are final and non-refundable.