The Beach Palace Resort and the "all-inclusive"

After a couple of long and groggy plane rides, it was a welcome relief to be in warm sunny and green Cancun. The kids by now are great travelers, that's probably one of the few areas, we have no issues! Although I'd rather have Kahan est his meals and Parishi ace her tests than take pride in how they never fuss in long red-eye flights and can fasten their own seatbelts as early as age 2! Our passion for travel and exploring new lands has never been dampened by the extra baggage (literally and figuratively) that goes into traveling with young children! What has changed slowly and gradually over the past ten years is that we like to travel 'in style'! Our taste for the places we choose to stay has refined after trying out a variety of accommodation styles and of course one of us no longer being a perpetual student, the affordability factor is in better control! Although the later also didn't ever dampen our plans; after all it's about the priorities in life and travel is a special way to reward ourselves after all the commitment and dedication we have put into our professions!

"All-inclusive" is a neat concept; but wait! There is a fine print to this; the resort you pick can make it or break it for u! My so-called 'conclusive statement' comes after two "all-inclusive" trips- Riu Palace in Jamaica, the get-away for the two-some in May 2006 and the current Beach Palace vacation. The later is a much classier version in terms of food, service and activities. The all-inclusive concept means that all the food, beverages (the diluted alcoholic ones included!), actitvities including entertainment, kids club and entertainment are included in a single package that you prepay for. I like to compare it to a "stationery cruise" with nicer and much bigger rooms! Its prevalent in Mexico and across the Caribbean islands and is definitely a bang for the buck when traveling with family depending on the quality of the resort. Being a foodie and a vegetarian, I tend to make some of my judgements based on the ambiance of the places to eat and the quality and variety of food options! Riu in Jamaica disappointed us to the extent that we chose to eat out in an Indian restaurant being tired of the 'sophisticated mess food' both in terms of ambiance and food quality! Conversely, I have been quite impressed with the beautiful ocean facing setting of the restaurants here and the vegetarian friendly delicious fresh choices at every meal! The 'gourmet' experience takes it up a notch especially during dinner at the Italian restaurant "Bocelli"! The veggie lasagna deserve an honorable mention as the best lasagna that have tantalized my taste buds and have put my lasagna making skills in question! Everything from the unique look to the delicate taste of the two different sauces, the spinach and veggies stuffing to the fresh hand-made Lasagna were exotic! Although I didn't get any 'palatial' feel at the Beach Palace or the Cancun Palace resorts that I visited; they definitely met all the criteria of an upscale and contemporary Carribean resort.

While the 'grown-ups' in the family are busy pampering themselves with the laid back morning tea in the balcony, the massages and packing on extra pounds from all the eating and drinking, the kids are getting by on French fries, pasta, fresh fruits and juices! Yes, the later breaks the dentist mom's heart, but it's a vacation is an excuse to exceptions, right! Eating is their last priority when their other senses are so stimulated by hanging out in the pool and the beach to their heart's content, staying up late to watch some fascinating live music and dance shows at night on a huge stage by the pool and last but not the least being invited to dance to the live Mariachi music on stage!