Resort
A closed complex where the point is to stay in it.
What it is
A resort is designed so you never need to leave: rooms, pools, restaurants, a beach or a slope, and activities laid on. It is usually sold with meals attached, often all of them. Whether that is good value depends entirely on whether you actually wanted to leave.
- A private room and bathroom, cleaned daily
- Pools, a beach or slope access, and organised activities
- Meals, on whatever board basis you booked
- Restaurants, bars and shops inside the grounds
- The town, the country, or anything you would have to leave to see
- All drinks, unless the rate genuinely says all-inclusive — and even then, check which ones
- A kitchen, or any way to eat cheaply on site
What this means for your bag
You will live in a small number of settings, repeatedly.
More swimwear than you think
Two sets, so one can dry. In a resort you are in and out of water several times a day, every day.
One outfit for dinner
Many resort restaurants have an evening dress code. One set of smarter clothes is usually all it takes to satisfy it.
Leave the day-trip gear
Walking shoes and city clothes mostly stay in the case. Pack for the pool, the beach and the restaurant.
The most expensive category per night, but the comparison is not like for like: if the rate includes three meals and drinks, you are also buying every restaurant bill of the trip.
- Resort fee — a compulsory daily charge on top of the room rate, common in the US
- Premium drinks, spa treatments and motorised watersports, even at all-inclusives
- Airport transfers, unless the package includes them
- Want a holiday with no decisions in it
- Are travelling with children who need a pool within sight
- Would rather pay once than settle a bill every evening
Plain links, no referral tags — we earn nothing if you book. They are here because they are where this kind of place is actually listed.
Questions people ask about this
Room, all meals, and drinks — but which drinks is the question that matters. Most all-inclusive rates cover local beer, wine and soft drinks, and charge for imported spirits, cocktails and bottled water. The resort's own drinks list, not the booking site, is where this is written down.
A compulsory daily charge added at check-in, on top of the room rate you booked, covering things like the pool, the gym and the wifi whether you use them or not. It is most common in the United States, and it is not always shown clearly in the booking price — check the total before you travel.
It depends on whether you leave. If you eat every meal and drink on site, an all-inclusive rate is often cheaper than paying separately. If you plan to spend your days in the nearest town, you are paying twice for every meal.
The calculator already asks where you're staying. Start with this answer filled in and it will size the list around shared bathrooms, kitchens and laundry.