The Best Caribbean All-inclusive Resorts have always been about finding that perfect marriage between luxury and convenience; between excitement and relaxation; between comfort and personality. And the Best Caribbean All-Inclusive Resorts is a story you might see in other places, but not like this. Because we wanted to help you answer the question, “what really makes an all-inclusive one of the Caribbean’s best?” First, everything has to be included — that means the only resorts you’ll find here are the ones that are exclusively all-inclusive. They don’t simply offer all-inclusive packages — they are all-inclusive, plain and simple. The only way to book is all-inclusive. Second, they have to be a cut above — where the stay offers more than just unlimited food and drink, where quality comes first. And finally, they have to have the x-factor — something that takes a great resort and makes it something special. Go here for our updated rankings of the best all inclusive resorts for 2017.
Sandals LaSource Grenada
This 225-room property is new to our ranking, and it’s a revolutionary Caribbean all-inclusive. From the build quality to the restaurants to the ubiquity of the pools, some of the features here are ones you won’t find in other all-inclusives for another 10 years. The food is exceptional and diverse; the service is the standard Sandals has set for the industry and it’s a gateway to a still-largely-undiscovered Caribbean island. (Above: a Millionaire Suite).
Zoëtry Paraiso de la Bonita Riviera Maya — Mexico
Forget your image of the all-inclusives of yesteryear. This is a 90-room modern resort for modern travelers — it’s a boutique wellness retreat with the amenities of a Caribbean all-inclusive. That means Bulgari bath amenities, gourmet food and a unique slate of packages and excursions, from girls’ weekends to cultural adventures.
Grand Velas Riviera Maya — Mexico
A regular among the top resorts on this list, the 539-suite Grand Velas is a simply sensational property; but the biggest story is almost certainly the food — it’s some of the best you’ll find anywhere in the region — all-inclusive or not, and with restaurants featuring gourmet food from all around the world, Grand Velas is a food destination in its own right. That’s without mentioning the spas, the beach or the pools.
It’s no secret why places like this make it onto the list of the Best Caribbean All-Inclusive Resorts: it’s because they’re simply spectacular.
Spice Island Beach Resort — Grenada
This luxury all-inclusive has just 59 suites and is a true Caribbean family-run resort — and a true Caribbean icon. Located on Grand Anse Beach, this award-winning property is also a leader on environmental issues, making your stay luxurious, leisurely and green, too.
Galley Bay Resort and Spa — Antigua
Antigua’s premier all-inclusive resort is the perfect cocktail: a world-class white-sand beach, seemingless endless open-air dining and truly special accommodations, highlighted by the resort’s famous Gauguin cottages (the ones that come with their own plunge pools). It’s a 98-room resort with the feel of an intimate boutique.
Dreams Palm Beach Punta Cana — Dominican Republic
A completely renovated property, this 500-room resort is on the beach in Cabeza de Toro, about 15 minutes from the Punta Cana airport. The property has a superb beach, a large winding serpentine pool that lazes around the resort and eight restaurants — where you’ll never need a reservation — or a wristband.
The BodyHoliday — St Lucia
St Lucia is a restorative, relaxing island all on its own, but The BodyHoliday takes it to another level. Perhaps the Eastern Caribbean’s preeminent wellness resort, this is the rare property that doesn’t just relax you, it rejuvenates you.
Zoëtry Agua Punta Cana — Dominican Republic
Like its sister resort in the Riviera Maya, this Punta Cana standout focuses on wellness, but in a smaller package. With just 53 rooms, this thatched-roof gem feels like a secret hideaway set in Uvero Alto on the edge of Greater Punta Cana.
Hermitage Bay — Antigua
There’s a special kind of serenity at this 25-room boutique all-inclusive in Antigua, whether you’re in a hilltop suite with your own pool or right on a cottage on the spectacular beach. Everything here whispers one word: elegance.
Fowl Cay — Bahamas
Is this a collection of villas or an all-inclusive resort? The answer is it’s both, with an old-fashioned Caribbean experience on a luxurious private island in the Exumas. The best part? Each one of the six villas comes with its own 17 or 18-foot power boat, stocked with unlimited gas.
The Caves — Jamaica
This Jamaican outpost in many ways redefined the boutique all-inclusive, with 12 cliffside units set on 10 acres in Negril. There’s an exotic quality here — everything you need is there, but it always feels new.
Sandals Royal Plantation — Jamaica
This is everything you expect from a Sandals: warm service, terrific food and endless options, in a small, 74-oceanview-suite package. The inclusions really are vast — afternoon tea, two private cove beaches, golf at Sandals Golf and Country Club and a butler for every suite.
Beaches Turks and Caicos
This isn’t just one of the best family resorts in the Caribbean, all-inclusive or not. It’s one of the family resorts in the world, with a 45,000-square-foot waterpark, an Xbox Play Lounge, 20 restaurants, 12 bars and one of the best beaches on earth.
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana — Dominican Republic
This is Las Vegas-meets-the-Caribbean, with the kind of rock-star luxury only Hard Rock can pull off. It’s a big, brash resort that manages to be luxurious and tasteful, too. The best part? It might be the 13 pools spread across the property, each with its own sound and personality.
Curtain Bluff — Antigua
It’s simple — this is a Caribbean classic. The 72-room Curtain Bluff is a timeless hotel, with warm service, excellent food and the kind of understated luxury one expects from the world’s great hotels. There’s a reason people come back to this hotel year after year — because it’s a place that makes you feel like part of the family.
Tiamo — Bahamas
Andros isn’t like any other island in the Bahamas; for one, it’s larger, and it retains an almost mystical vibe. But in this vast natural frontier is a special all-inclusive resort called Tiamo: a 10-villa boutique that’s as luxurious as it is eco-conscious.
Palm Island — St Vincent and the Grenadines
Lots of hotels claim to channel Robinson Crusoe. But Palm Island, a private island resort in the far reaches of the Grenadines chain, delivers. You’ll feel as if you’ve discovered your own Caribbean paradise, light years from the world you leave behind. This is a romantic place for those seeking one of the region’s ultimate getaways.
Live AQUA Cancun — Mexico
This adults-only, sleekly-designed resort has a well-deserved sexy image, with a focus on self-awareness and relaxation. Romance is heightened here, with a focus on couples, on relaxing experiences and free expression — particularly at the very customizable spa.
The Reserve at Paradisus Palma Real — Dominican Republic
Kids stay free at this luxury resort with a resort on the amazing Bavaro Beach in Punta Cana. The property is known for its family concierge services that concentrate on making everyone in the family feel special. There are 180 suites, including 80 large family suites with round-the-clock services that make family travel a pleasure.
Cayo Espanto — Belize
In a word, privacy describes the feeling of this luxury getaway off the coast of Belize. Seven completely private beach villas make up the sum total of the resort property. There’s everything here, from bonefishing to scuba diving, but you’ll likely be seduced by the seclusion and luxury that are abundant here.
Le Blanc Spa Resort — Mexico
This Cancun property is a spa resort first, and an all-inclusive second. The 260-room property has one of the region’s most impressive spa facilities, with 19 treatment rooms, including three with their own hydro tubs. The treatments are not included, but everything else is (including activities at six nearby Palace resorts).
Generations Riviera Maya — Mexico
This Riviera Maya standout has 144 suites across 10 room categories; all suites come with butler services, 24-hour room service and even beach butlers, too. Generations is particularly welcoming to kids, with their Eko Kids Club and Little Eko Chefs Program, where they teach kids how to teach like a professional chef — because at this resort, the culinary arts are taken very seriously.
Excellence Playa Mujeres — Mexico
Tucked between the Caribbean Sea and a nearby wetlands preserve, the adults-only Excellence Playa Mujeres has a Greg Norman golf course, seven pools, all-suite accommodations and nine “gourmet” restaurants where they take the word very seriously.
Couples Swept Away — Jamaica
This Negril institution is aptly named, with 312 suites, six restaurants and eight bars that will truly take you to another place. Set on a very nice stretch of beach in Negril, Swept Away is all about tranquility, relaxation and a refined elegance that Couples has made all its own.
Azul Sensatori Jamaica
This 136-unit resort on Seven Mile Beach is one of the newest additions to Jamaica’s always-venerable all-inclusive product, and it lives up to the billing with an ultra-modern, contemporary decor that doesn’t ignore its Negril surroundings. The party piece is definitely the gourmet food made famous by parent company Karisma.
Moon Palace Golf Resort and Spa — Mexico
This Cancun signature has a host of inclusions you really won’t find at any other Caribbean all-inclusives, like a flowrider for surfing, a 300-person-capacity nightclub, a 39-treatment-room spa and all the Don Julio premium tequila you can drink (this is Cancun, after all).
Riu Palace St Martin
The newest hotel on this list, French St Martin’s new all-inclusive has a laid-back, plantation resort feel in one of the most beautiful corners of the island. Anse Marcel is a beautiful beach, and the resort complements it splendidly. It’s also a great jumping off point to explore what is a wonderful little island. This is a different kind of Riu, and its unique personality and feel are what put it on the list of the Best Caribbean All-Inclusive Resorts.
Sandals Emerald Bay — Bahamas
This Out Island standout is all about the sea, with 249 oceanfront and oceanview suites and a very large marina. That’s in addition to a championship golf course designed by Greg Norman. It’s just a spectacular property in one of the great enclaves of the region, the Exumas.
Couples Tower Isle — Jamaica
This resort has 218 rooms and suites, along with six restaurants, four bars and a private au naturel island. Couples is one of the region’s pioneers in making the all-inclusive experience that much more romantic, and Tower Isle is their centerpiece.
Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall — Jamaica
Hyatt’s new to the all-inclusive game, but you wouldn’t know it from the smooth operation at this former Ritz-Carlton property in Montego Bay. This all-inclusive resort has 14 pools (nine swim-up, five whirlpools), with 234 suites, 24-hour in-suite dining and, of course, beach butler service.
This article is a new ranking of the Best Caribbean All-Inclusive Resorts.
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