Relaxing in Cancun

By Ramon

Ramon is the creator of Travelling Companion. He focuses on flight review, hotel reviews, and helping stretch your travel dollars, miles, and points further. ​​

Relaxing in Cancun Report
Relaxing in Cancun Overview
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Washington Dulles  Review
Delta 737-800 IAD-CUN Flight Review 
Hyatt Zilara Cancun Review

Introduction
During early 2019, I decided to escape the cold in Washington D.C. and head to Cancun, Mexico for my bachelor party. This was my second time in Mexico, after our amazing trip to Mexico City. I chose Cancun because I wanted a warm weather beach destination that I had never visited. I can confidently say it was one of the best vacation decisions I have ever made. On this trip I had the opportunity to try out an all-inclusive hotel, the Hyatt Zilara Cancun, for the first time. I left impressed by Mexico's beaches, with the Hyatt Zilara brand, and several of the airport lounges I tried on this trip.

Booking Hotel
One of the main reasons I chose Cancun, Mexico was because I had the opportunity to try an all-inclusive hotel for the first time. I wanted a vacation where I didn't have to worry about constantly pulling out the checkbook and my traveling companions would know the vast majority of the cost upfront. There are several all-inclusive options in the Cancun area but I chose the Hyatt Zilara because it was an adults-only all-inclusive and gave me the opportunity to earn points and use my Hyatt Discoverist status.

Hyatt Zilara Cancun

There are a several things to bear in mind when booking the Hyatt Zilara Cancun. First, as best as I can tell the standard rates are more for marketing purposes and tracking the rate for our January trip it never got close to the standard rate even a week before the trip. Second, the rates at this hotel vary significantly depending on what time of year you book and how far in advance you book. I booked about six months in advance and kept checking for a cheaper rate. Over time the rate fell from $448 per night for one person to $398 per night. Also, the hotel was definitely not full during our stay so I assume that my rate was on the low end for the resort. Third, the rate varies depending on the number of guests and the sweet spot is two guests in a room, however, I ended up having to book a room for one since there was a person who dropped our at the last minute. For example, my room was $398 for one person while a double room with two people came out to $276 per person. Fourth, while these rates may seem high for Mexico they include not just the room but all the food, all drinks including alcoholic drinks, and gratuity. When you consider this the cost per person per day is a good deal. Fifth, the all-inclusive does not include the cost of transportation to or from the airport. Because there were five of us traveling together we booked a car for $270 roundtrip. Since I booked the stay directly with Hyatt I ended up earning 3,392 base and 339 bonus World of Hyatt points.

Booking Flights
​Southwest, Spirit, United, and Delta all offer non-stop flights from Washington D.C. area to Cancun. At the time of booking I had elite status with American Airlines but because I was only going to spend three days in Cancun and the non-stop flights offered reasonable prices I decided not to book with American. While I did not have have status with Delta at the time I had positive experiences with the airline in the past so decided to book with Delta. I booked the non-stop Saturday-only Washington Dulles (IAD) flight to Cancun and came back to Washington Regan National (DCA) with a connection in Minneapolis (MSP). Since I flew this flight in January 2019 Delta moved its non-stop Saturday-only Cancun service for the D.C. area to Baltimore Washington International (BWI) airport. While I was nervous connecting in Minneapolis during winter I ended up not having any problems.

IAD-CUN-MSP Route (Flight Routing Map generated using the Great Circle Mapper-copyright Karl) L. Swartz

To top it all off I got the best deal I have gotten since our sub-$200 tickets to Mexico City. In the end this flight was $271 which was a steal for a non-basic economy fare to Cancun! Because of the high taxes and fees which amounted to 49% of the ticket cost and my lack of Delta elite status at the time I would have earned only 695 Delta SkyMiles. Instead I credited this flight to Delta's partner Virgin Atlantic where I earned 1,973 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles.

Summary
Cancun was the perfect winter escape and left me with a great impression of the Mexican beaches, Hyatt's all-inclusive hotels, and several of the airport lounges. I look forward to sharing my experience and the many reasons why I enjoyed my travel experience to Cancun and my time in Cancun.