When we visited Cancun, we stayed at the Moon Palace run by Palace Resorts and found it to be quite nice. You can also visit the other Palace properties up and down the coast (which we did). I liked the idea of all inclusive and not having to worry about carrying around cash. When you arrive, you receive a wrist band which identifies you as a Palace Resorts guest and will allow you to access the amenities and restaurants where you are staying and at the other Palace Resorts properties.

All inclusive includes all taxes and gratuities (although I still tipped very good service), meals and snacks, beverages, non-motorized water sports, entertainment, and theme parties in the evening. They also offer a variety of beauty treatments and massages for a fee. Below is a summary of these resorts.

Beach Palace - The Beach Palace is centrally located in the heart of the hotel zone and a few minutes from downtown. They have some amenities not all the Palace Resorts have, which includes a kids club and 24 hour room service. The beach really is very nice here, although the day we were there, the surf was a little rough for the kids.

Cancun Palace - The Cancun palace is near Cancun's nightlife area and certainly gives the impression of being the "party palace" over the other Palace properties. In addition to the standard amenities mentioned above they also offer 24 hour room service, 36 hole miniature golf course.

Sun Palace - The Sun Palace is located at the south end of the hotel zone and is somewhat isolated from the other hotels. The impression we received is they tried to capitalize on this perceived isolation and this is clearly the Palace property to go to if you want to relax and just sit in the sun. In addition to the standard amenities mentioned above they also offer 24 hour room service.

Moon Palace - The Moon Palace is located a few miles south of the airport. This is the resort we stayed at during our time in Cancun. The main attraction here is the golf course. The beach is nice, but the water here is usually full of seaweed and not nearly as good as at the Beach or Sun Palaces. There are a huge number of rooms (over 2000), and a greater choice of restaurants than the other palace resorts (10). In addition to standard amenities, they also offer a miniature golf and a kids club. This is certainly the best equipped Palace property with respect to sports facilities as there are tennis courts (6), basketball courts (2), and fitness centers (2).

Aventura Spa Palace - The Aventura Spa Palace is an adults only (18+) resort which is located at about a one hour drive south of the airport. The attraction here is the spa, which is the best of the Palace properties (but not included in the price of the stay), and the fact that there are no kids allowed. If you stay at any of the other Palace properties you can schedule a special visit to the spa at Aventura Spa Palace. In addition to the standard amenities mentioned above they also offer 24 hour room service.

Xpu-Ha Palace - The Xpu-Ha Palace is located about one hour and fifteen minutes south of the airport. The accommodations are bungalow-style but quite nice inside. This Palace property seems to cater to the Eco-tourist including animal rescue and treatment programs, ecological, jungle, and mangrove tours, as well as botanical classes. In contrast to the Aventura Spa Palace has a good Kids club. A good combination for families looking for good family time plus some alone time would be to stay at Xpu-Ha and then make the trip up the road to the Aventura Spa Palace.

There are certainly other all inclusive options in Cancun, however the versatility of the Palace resorts make it hard to beat! For example, my wife and I were staying at the Moon Palace and went shopping in downtown and were able to drop in at the Beach Palace and have lunch, swim at the beach and have some drinks at the pool, go back and did some more shopping and then went back to our room at the moon palace. With only one location available, that would not have been possible...