by Mark Chesnut
Last updated: 5:00 PM ET, Wed August 30, 2023
Mexico’s many all-inclusive resorts attract a wide variety of travelers. The convenience of paying one price for food, beverages and accommodations makes the concept especially attractive—as does the prime beachfront location of many all-inclusive properties.
But how can LGBTQ+ travelers make sure they’re booking a truly welcoming hotel?
Membership in the IGLTA, the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association, is a good indicator that a resort is familiar with and welcomes this market segment.
International hoteliers like Marriott International, for example, are active members, and their commitment to diversity and equity is visible at properties like the Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort & Spa, which offers a Pride and Joy package targeted at LGBTQ+ travelers that includes a room rate discount of up to 25 percent as well as breakfast for two adults, a bottle of wine upon arrival and a 50-minute couples massage with a minimum four-night stay.
The property is not full all-inclusive, but offers the option.
Club Med Cancun Yucatan. (Photo Credit: Club Med)
Mexico’s Caribbean coast, which includes the Riviera Maya and Cancun, is an especially big hotspot for IGLTA member hotels. Additional hospitality chains that are members include TRS Hotels (Palladium Hotel Group’s upscale, adults-only brand), Oasis Hotels & Resorts (which operates multiple hotels in Cancun and Tulum), and Sandos Hotels and Resorts, which has a portfolio that includes the Sandos Cancun, Sandos Caracol Eco Resort and Sandos Playacar Beach Resort.
Individual properties that are IGLTA members include the adults-only Breathless Cancun Soul Resort & Spa, which is part of both the World of Hyatt and the AMR Collection, and the Grand Fiesta Americana Los Cabos All Inclusive Golf and Spa, a luxury resort in Baja California.
Queer Destinations accreditation is another positive indicator of a hotel company’s dedication to serving the LGBTQ+ market. Last year, for example, Mundo Imperial became the first hotel chain in Mexico to get the Queer Destinations Committed Certification, after employees at all of its properties received LGBTQ+ diversity training—including the Palacio Mundo Imperial, an upscale all-inclusive hotel in Acapulco.
Hard Rock Hotel Los Cabos staff at Los Cabos Pride 2023. (Photo Credit: DepartureLevel.com)
Special Events and Buyouts for LGBTQ+ Travelers
Hotels that host LGBTQ+ events are another obvious choice when it comes to choosing welcoming locations. For an immersive experience with like-minded travelers, in fact, it’s probably the best option for those looking for a welcoming environment—as well as a festive atmosphere, since many of the hotel buyouts feature a full schedule of activities and parties. But even if you don’t reserve the actual dates of the special events, you can still feel secure that you’re booking a hotel with experience serving the market.
The travel company VACAYA, for example, organizes buyouts of Mexico hotels; the next event is slated for October 29-November 5, 2023, at the Hilton Vallarta Riviera All-Inclusive Resort, on Mexico’s Pacific coast in gay-popular Puerto Vallarta, with festivities celebrating both Halloween and Day of the Dead, as well as offsite excursions and activities.
Club Med Cancun Yucatan, meanwhile, has been partnering with LGBTQ+ travel company Atlantis Events since 1991, on a week-long event called Club Atlantis Cancun. It’s a full LGBTQ+ takeover of the resort, with lots of live entertainment, parties and other activities. The next dates for the event are April 27 through May 4, 2024.
La Botella at UNICO 2087 Hotel Riviera Maya. (Photo Credit: AIC Hotel Group)
Unico 20°87° Hotel Riviera Maya, a member of AIC Hotel Group, has showcased its friendliness in numerous ways, hosting LGBTQ+ buyouts in previous years, as well as a high-profile gay destination wedding for actor Jonathan Bennett, star of the movie “Mean Girls” and his partner, Jaymes Vaughn.
Visibility, indeed, is another sign of a hotel’s dedication and friendliness—and that goes for staff members as well as guests. For a hotel to be truly LGBTQ+-friendly, after all, it should support its LGBTQ+ employees as well as its guests. I witnessed a few noteworthy examples of this during a recent trip to Los Cabos for the annual pride parade.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that a sizeable percentage of the pride parade consisted of contingents populated with pride-flag-carrying hotel staff wearing the logos and names of their respective employers, including the Hard Rock Hotel Los Cabos and Marriott International. It was a wonderfully visual confirmation of just how far the industry has come.
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