AI or non AI and Why?

[pineapple princess]

I have noticed that some of you all are choosing AI and others are not. I am trying to decide which way to go and would love to know why you all choose to do AI or not. Is it price? Convenience? Did you pick the location that you loved and it happened to be one or the other?? TIA!!!

[midnight24]

i picked AI because it's easier, all costs are included in the price. the guests know how much they need to pay. if they want to do extra activities/excursions that is up to them.

 

i have been on trips that weren't AI and spent twice as much on food & drinks.

 

guess it depends where you go. i'm planning for mexico and i've been to the resort 2x before so i know what to expect.

[Vikki]

We chose an AI because we only have immediate family attending and wanted to be able to do a lot of activities together. When we priced it all out the AI was less expensive.

 

Our group is adult couples so we chose an AI that catered to that demographic. If we had singles or children we might have gone a different direction.

 

Good luck on your choice.

[CrystalM]

We went against AI because we didn't want to be tied to the resort. My fiance and I decided we wanted to island hop a little, maybe spend a night in BVI or Puerto Rico. The AI rates were $350/night and the hotel rates we got were $125/night. I can't see spending $225 per day on food.

[NaM]

We did an AI just for convience. I do believe they a more expensive but this way people don't have to worry about food, drinks, tipping or basically anything once they have paid for the resort. If someone didn't like to AI option we told them they would stay somewhere else and gave them a few near by options. Everyone seemed happy with it though. I remember our TA using the tag line...you haven't been on vacation until you can get there, lock up your wallet and have everything that you could possibly want just handed to you! haha

Good luck on your choice, I don't think you can go wrong either way.

[jk1101]

I love AI resorts bc everything is all there and you don't have to worry about where you are going to go to eat and how much you will end up spending on drinking. There are always tons of choices at the buffets and/or restaurants, so even the pickiest of eaters will have something to eat, and again, did I mention the alcohol...I'm not a huge drinker, but if you have 20 people sitting at a bar for 2 hours, think about the bar bill you'd rack up...some of our friends can put away a LOT in that time.

[mich999]

We chose a non-AI because the dinner was very important to us and we wanted top quality food. Not that AIs are bad, but I just think the quality is better at non-AIs. Most of our guests booked a room with breakfast included so they only had to worry about dinner for a couple days and drinks since we provided dinner for 2 nights. For some of our guests, an AI might still have been worth it, but for many others, it would have been a waste and much more expensive. With a non-AI we figured people could decide how much they wanted to spend on everything and weren't tied to the resort.

[JOSIE]

We chose AI - no question! Mainly because we wanted our guests to not have to worry about anything. We wanted to be able to give them a price and have everything included so they could budget for the exact cost of the trip with no surprises. Of course I loved the wedding location at the resort I found so that was a big plus too. We also have A LOT of young people coming to the wedding so the alcohol included was a big plus for us!

[*Nadine*]

I agree with everything Josie said.. AI was a must for us. We always tend to spend so much more when we go the non-AI route and it was so important for us that our guests knew EXACTLY how much the trip would cost them in order to budget. Plus we got a five star resort with many options for restaurants and bars.

[Sheree10]

This is one of many things that I think about as I'm planning my wedding. Luckily we found a venue where the guests will have the option of choosing AI or non AI.

 

Some of my guests really want the option but others would rather go out and explore. At least they can make their own choice.The AI option is only available for those staying for five or more days.