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“The difference is mainly in the location, the higher level of accommodations and more personalized guest service – not to mention the bragging rights,” says Mr. Fareed, the hospitality consultant. “However, it can also be found in the resort’s food and wine offerings: think celebrity or Michelin-starred chefs, spa amenities and treatments, unique cultural or educational experiences, and niche market offerings such as fishing , golf, cooking or even yoga with a recognized celebrity in space.”
As a result, small, upscale, often independent all-inclusives are thriving in the United States, Canada and Europe, increasing their offerings and opening new locations. Major hotel brands, including Marriott and Hyatt, are entering the scene with their own ultra-luxury all-inclusives. W Hotel (part of Marriott) plans its all-inclusive debut in the Dominican Republic in 2025, while Hyatt opens its new Inclusive Collection portfolio of resorts in Portugal, Mexico and Bulgaria.
“There are plenty of people out there willing to spend $5,000 to their heart’s content right now, so there’s a whole market for going to these ultra-luxurious places,” says Haydn Kramer, a partner at Valley of the Moon Partners, a hotel consulting firm. “People are looking for privatized, very special experiences, and they’re willing to pay for them.”
Ikos Odisia is slated to open a new resort on the Greek island of Corfu in May 2023, and the all-inclusive will provide guests with a Tesla and entry tickets to the local museums, churches and local restaurants.
La Maison du Val, an all-inclusive castle masquerading as a country house that opened in 2021 in France’s St.-Germain-en-Laye, west of Paris, is offering free boots so guests can walk through the forest where kings and emperors of France took their afternoon walks. It follows in the footsteps of the Château de Villiers-le-Mahieu, a luxury all-inclusive estate that opened its doors in 2019 in a wooded park 45 minutes outside Paris.
