Accommodation in Cancun

Before you buy your tickets to Cancun you have to know that there are two types of packages for holidays: the package tour and the escort tour. Package tours usually consist in the airfare, transportation to and from the hotel to airport and the hotel room, including taxes. If you book to an all-inclusive resort it will include the beverages, food, entertainment and different sports.

The escorted tours (the tourists are escorted in a group to various destinations) are for the people who don’t want to hussle too much. The tour company will take care of all, including the excursions around Cancun or different activities and the price you pay from beginning will include everything. Yet, package tours are the best option if you are looking for a fair price.

Types of accommodation

In Cancun and the Yucatan Peninsula you can spend your holidays in many different types of accommodation. Depending on your budget you can select from a wide range of places to stay:

• Resorts: even though these are the most expensive type of accommodations, they have highest rate of purchase. Why? Because beside the most modern amenities they offer places to dine or to have a couple of drinks, a lot of facilities for sports, spa services, minishopping centers, kids spaces etc. And when planning the trip in advance you can get a very good discount.
• Hotels: the hotels have a smaller amount of facilities in comparation to the resorts but you can choose from a large variety of them, from luxury to more modest hotels. Most of them are right on the beach, but before you buy the tickets check first the location on google maps.
• All inclusive: if you want to pay one fixed price for all the amenities of the resort or the hotel you can choose the all inclusive plan. You will get unlimited access to food and beverages, sports, entertainment events and you’ll have access to spas, nightclubs and bars. If you want to be sure of what to expect, please check reviews of the people that have been there on tripadvisor.com.
• Villas, apartments and condos: if you want to spend your holidays in Cancun more then seven days you can choose this option. Why? First of all eating in is a lot cheaper than dining out, you can book directly from the owner and sometimes you can negociate the price and you may have a lot more space than in a hotel room. Once again, please check some reviews before booking.

The stars rating system from Mexico is pretty different from other countries (like USA) so don’t be surprized if you find a more modest room than you expect. The top rating in Cancun it is called “Grand Turismo” and it is equivalent to five stars.

Price range for a night and what you get for it

The prices for accommodation in Cancun depends by the rating of the resort/hotel, the season when you arrive and the moment when you purchase the holidays. Yet as a standard term, the rack rate is the maximum rate that a hotel charges for a room. In general the prices per night means the following things:

• below $100: these very cheap rooms are very simple. Usually they don’t have a TV but they are ok if you want a holiday with a small budget.
• $100 – $150: for the money you will get a better location and a few extra features like TV, microwave etc
• $150 – $200: these are pretty confortable rooms, beachfront, with pools and restaurants, but the hotels are not very new
• $200 – $300: most of the all-inclusives are in this category and you’ll get a very nice hotel on the beach, with all the features like Spa, with beautiful sea views, pools, restaurants
• $300 and above: if you want luxury holidays in Cancun with parking valets, room hot tubs, different bars and restaurants inside the resort, luxury Spas and a lot of top facilities then you’ll have it for a price.