Is there such thing as awesome food at an all inclusive?

[CldSkndNdle]

Hi! We're looking for any recs for an all inclusive hotel/resort in Mexico for our honeymoon.
We can't say that all inclusive is "our thing", but friends have been telling us that after planning a wedding, the last thing you want to do is plan on your vacation.

We're huge foodies from NYC and have pretty high standards- not saying that things need to be pricey, just well executed, authentic food, & and not touristy.

PLEASE HELP!!!

[porker]

We've come full circle: we used to shun all-inclusives like the plague, we then began including them into an itinerary (travel on our own for a week or two then into the all-inclusive), and now we're back to being on our own (this is over 25 years of travel).
I've never truly had "awesome" food at an all-inclusive, but then again, never stayed at a place over $2000/person/wk. In general I find the food to be proportional to the price - the more you pay, generally the better the food.
I'd also say you have a high order to fill: huge foodies w high standards wanting well executed, authentic, not-touristy meals.
I feel the well-executed part can be had - the authentic/not-touristy part a bit more difficult.
IMO, many all-inclusives have the belief that a lot of their guests (North American or European) want food they recognize that is, "continental" cuisine, so authenticty suffers. Perhaps many visitors are surprised when encountering not-touristy regional foods and wonder where the taco/burrito/chimichangas are...
FWIT, we've stayed at a few Riu AIs in the Playa Del Carmen area and I feel their food is well executed and always had a smattering of local, Yucatec foods.

Food is the number 1 reason we do not visit AIs today. I figure if we want really good AI food, we gotta pay somewhat higher prices. If we're going to pay >$5000 for 2 people for a week, I'd rather fly myself, book my own place, and gloriously eat local.
It does requires a bit of work, but the way I see it, after planning a wedding, your trip should be a breeze and a pleasure to plan!

Just be sure to drop Chowhound a line on your experience - THIS MEANS YOU CldSknNdle! Hehe.

[Veggo]

Even good food becomes tiresome after a week of similar stuff. Playa del Carmen is such an easy place to plan a vacation - choose a honeymoon quality hotel such as Mosquito Blue (there are numerous others in the $100-$200 per night price point) and you will be in the center of many and varied good eating options. I'm like porker - one of the reasons I return to the area so often is the food.
What month is the wedding?

[bronwen]

I've never done the all inclusive, it's really boring never to leave your hotel (even if you're on a honeymoon). Have breakfast at the hotel, maybe even lunch at the pool, but dressing up and going out in the evening is the way to go.

[CldSkndNdle]

Early November...

Thanks so much for your help! It's greatly appreciated.

[elizabean]

I've posted on this topic once before. This past January I spent 5 nights at the Grand Velas Riviera Maya. I would describe their food as the best I have ever had at a warm weather resort (caribbean & mexico), all-inclusive or not. My expectations were high going in and I was not disappointed. Check out the reviews on trip advisor. 9 out of 10 have very favorable things to say about the food at GV as well as the overall experience there.