Since I started traveling, I had applauded myself for successfully avoiding all-inclusive resorts. I thought they were catered towards anti-travelers (slightly true) with western tastes and preferences (still true) that are harmful for the environment (mostly true) and wouldn’t do much for me (we’ll get to that).⁠ But after spending a long weekend at the Hyatt Ziva Riviera in Puerto Morelos, I learned that what I missed is that they are a breath of fresh air for my mental health.

I want to be clear that I don’t think all-inclusive resorts are traveling. Getting a passport stamp to have a westernized experience is not traveling. No. All-inclusive resorts will never be considered traveling to me. And though I prefer the street foods, tiendas and street dogs in Mexico, I’ve learned that all-inclusive resorts are (and I can’t believe I’m saying this) not that bad. They are escapism and there is certainly a place for that.

Throughout all my years of travel I have never felt away from my problems. Traveling, to me, is about embracing your life – all of it. It’s about adding new depth to your understanding of the world by opening yourself up. Cultural exchange creates a better version of yourself. It makes you more compassionate, empathetic and understanding. And for those fortunate enough to live in the US, it largely makes you realize how incredibly privileged you are. That’s the beauty of travel.

But after years of mental health struggles, spending a long weekend at an all-inclusive resort made me realize something. Although I don’t necessarily believe in the all-inclusive from a travel perspective, they are a place you can go to escape from the world and find time to process it. Never have I come back from a trip so refreshed and ready to change my life than after a trip to an all-inclusive.

What I got wrong was that though I still have a lot of negative opinions about the all-inclusive experience, if you just embrace it from what it is instead of what you think it should be you can find some solace.

Hacking my all-inclusive experience

For this trip, I used a combination of airline and card credits, points and cash for three nights at the Hyatt Ziva Riviera. I have the Amex Hilton Aspire card, which gives you $250 airline incidental credit each year. But, you can hack the credit for airfare on Delta by using a combination of gift cards and cash on your Aspire card. As long as your total airfare that you’re paying with the card is under $250 it should trigger. But I try to make smaller purchases just to be safe. I also used my Chase Sapphire points for one free night by transferring them to Hyatt. Then, I took advantage of a winter sale and received two nights for about $800 for the two of us. Hyatt has a 2022 point promotion for every two nights right now. Between that promotion and my Hyatt points earned for the hotel stay, I walked away with over 7,000 Hyatt points, which I value at $140.

In total, I spent about $910 for the three night trip to Mexico for two people. But I earned $140 in points, too.

How can you hack this better? Stay at a Hyatt all-inclusive during off-peak nights. Later this year we’re staying at the Hyatt Ziva in Cabo for only 17,000 points a night! You can utilize the Hyatt point calendar to find steals like this.

Explore on. -K