September sun, cabanas and hammocks shaded with palm trees, giant iguanas threatening to eat you on your way for a coffee, activities and entertainment for days, and beautiful beaches. The Caribbean is always an incredible destination. The question is, where to enjoy these warm blue waves? My hope is this post will help you in your journey to find the best Caribbean escape.

Even though we were more than grateful to be surrounded by paradise, we had some mixed feelings about Dreams Tulum Resort & Spa.

Dreams Tulum is part of the World of Hyatt Inclusive Collection, which is great if you’re part of the World of Hyatt Loyalty Program or have partner cards such as Chase Sapphire Preferred and looking to book with points. While we were incredibly lucky to go on a lovely September tropical vacation, we feel it is needed to get some facts straight about this *nearly 5 star resort* for those looking to book their next all-inclusive get-away.

So… here is how it went.

We were greeted at the CUN airport by customs and walked outside to street vendors in every direction offering samples, deals and ride shares. An overwhelming experience to say the least.

Luckily, our group’s travel agent had booked us direct transportation to the resort ahead of time and we were able to navigate past the chaos, past the armed military-level-looking security and found our transportation company, Amstar. Although the trip from the airport to the resort felt like it took 10 years, with a slight nap, excellent customer service provided by Amstar, and the relief that we didn’t have to navigate the seemingly lawless streets of Quintana Roo – 2 hours later – we made it.

The pro’s:

• Dreams, part of The World of Hyatt, is reasonably priced for an all-inclusive, especially if you are part of Hyatt’s loyalty program, and looking to roll out some points.
• The rooms and atmosphere are the definition of a romantic vacay.
• A glass of champagne and an incredible paradise view meets you at check in, and the ocean starts calling your name the moment you walk in.
• The daily restock on water and soft drinks, with the complimentary bottle of tequila is a 10/10.
• The room service mac and cheese – I can’t make this stuff up.
• Unlimited spring rolls and unexpected napkin origami shows at resort restaurant, Himitsu.
• Kayak and paddleboard rentals are included in the pricing. And goggles – no snorkel, just goggles… The silver lining is watching people try to float and snorkel without a snorkel. And by people I mean my sweet, sweet husband. It was the highlight of his trip, I think.
• The goodness of being surrounded by palm trees and salt water. Obviously this can be found in many places, but it definetly my highlight of any oceanside vacay.
• The entertainment. If you haven’t watched a drag queen luchador kick some ass during a lucha libre, I’m not sure if you are actually living.
• The coffee and ice cream parlor. Coffee was so tasty. Ice cream was subpar – but available all day, everyday. We love to see it.
• Excursions! While on the higher end of entertainment costs, you can book excursions in the resort front lobby. One excursion includes headed to some of Tulum’s beautiful cenotes.

The not so pro’s:

• All food other than the spring rolls at the Himitsu and the room service mac and cheese.
• The dining hours. OOF. There were only two (I think) restaurants open all day, the rest had set dinner and breakfast hours. The two included an all-American buffet – which who wants that in Mexico? Not I… The second was a cute poolside cantina that had great guac, but included a side of food poisoning.
• Seven out of the eight people on our trip experienced food poisoning at one point or another during our long weekend.
• The drinks man. I drank one margarita in Mexico – an absolute tragedy. It just wasn’t very good. I stuck to well drinks… and tequila shots… for the most part – they seemed to be a safer bet.

All in all, when you’re spending the money, or point on an all inclusive, you should get good food, tasty drinks, excellent service, and a good time. While it’s easy to find a good time on the white sand beaches of the gulf, don’t skip the resort research!

We plan to make it back to Mexico, hopefully very soon… We will be conducting a new resort search – please feel free to drop your recommendations in the comments below.

Hasta entonces sigan explorando mis amigos.

*Disclaimer: In all fairness, we went for a good friends wedding, so much of the trip was planned out for us. We may have had a different experience if the reigns were in our hands. If you are considering Dreams Tulum for your destination wedding – please consider the officiant choice (the one we watched had to read the notes to remember the bride and groom’s names – multiple times). Also note, the beach ceremony spot is not very private. There are people soaking up the sun roughly 40 feet away and there may be another wedding going on at the same time as they have multiple ceremony locations on site.

The photography seemed a little unauthentic and the photographers were not listening to the bride – which in my experience is a big no-go. I didn’t book this wedding, or even help plan it – but I felt bad for our newly wed friends and would like to give an honest ‘heads up’ to all looking for their dream destination.*