Why Families Love the Bay's All-Inclusives, Even When They Didn't Think They Would Eileen Ogintz - TakingTheKids.com
go to original May 22, 2015

BG Travel: Things to Do With Kids in Puerto Vallarta/Riviera Nayait (Baby Gizmo)

New Yorker Angela Manna's family typically wouldn't choose an all-inclusive resort, but suddenly she's seen the light.

"It's great," she acknowledged. "Everything is so effortless." Her family, including a 9-year-old and an 11-year-old, were relaxing at the beachfront Now Amber Resort in Puerto Vallarta for a family wedding. The kids could eat whenever and whatever they wanted, join organized activities, or not, and dad wasn't grumbling about the extra charges that are inevitable at other resorts every time the kids want a boogie board, a smoothie or a snack.

...Here in Puerto Vallarta, all-inclusives account for 80 percent of the hotels and they are especially popular with families in Mexico and the Caribbean. They're certainly upping their game to appeal to families — everything from Kids and Co. family rooms at the Melia Puerto Vallarta, complete with kids' bath amenities, sand toys and bunk beds to the Star Splash water play area at the Iberostar Playa Mita. "That's why we picked this resort," said one mom from Canada as she sat under the shade of a thatched palapa watching her kids play. "They love it and we can relax."

There were swim-up suites where families played just outside their rooms at Now Amber and an expansive kids' Explorer's Club overseen by a local teacher where there is ample outdoor space, including climbing nets, swings, water play area and hand-painted dinosaur murals. There's a dose of Mexican culture, too, pinata-making, for example.

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