We have stayed at a lot of resorts and so the various charges that come along with staying at a resort have become common to me and they are something I budget for. However, I have realized that for some, they come as a surprise at the end. So, I thought it may be helpful to do a quick overview of the items that you should be prepared for.
Room Cost: Local taxes and other required charges will be included in your room cost when you go to book. The room cost I one item that everyone understands and expects. But just remember that you don’t want only the room charge to be within your budget, your entire stay needs to be within your budget.
Parking Fee: Parking fees are common at many resorts. And I have seen so many reviews that talk about astronomical parking fees at the resort. One person even talked about how outrageous a $30 parking fee was. But $30 is actually…not that bad in terms of resort parking fees. I have seen parking fees go as high as $50/night.
Most resorts have a self-parking option as well as a valet option. The self-parking option will be cheaper than valet and allow you to access your car any time you want to. But some resorts have now made it so that self-parking is not that much cheaper than valet, so it may make you say well then let’s just do valet (and I think that’s the whole point). There are also some resorts, such as Conrad Orlando, that only have a valet option.
Outside of the cost, my issue with valet sometimes is that it can take a long time to get your car. If you are checking out at 11am on a Sunday, that is prime check out time. So, you will not be the only one wanting to get your car and it could take longer to get it. Just make sure to give yourself plenty of time in case.
I would consider parking fees in the $20-$40 range pretty normal right now (unfortunately). Anything over $40 would be on the high end and under $20 is a great price. Make sure you look into whether your resort has a parking fee or not and what the price is. For one night, it may not be that big of deal but if you are there a week, it can easily add up. If you are flying to your destination, it is also worth considering whether you want a car with you or not.
Resort Fee: This is now a pretty standard additional fee that a resort will charge (it only applies to resorts, not standard hotels). But I have seen people question what in the world a resort fee is and why do they have to pay it. The resort fee is going to completely vary by resort. Most resorts are a set fee per room per day. So, if you have one room, the resort fee is $50/day, and you are there 4 days, that will be an additional $200. But in that scenario, if you have 2 rooms, then that would be an additional $400.
I have also seen a resort charge per person per day and that approach can add up, depending on how much they are charging per person. So, it is important to understand what the resort fee is for the place you are staying. But most resorts will list it at the time of booking, so it should not be a surprise.
For what I’m used to, a resort fee of $35-$50 per room per day is typical. You are going to pay more for a larger resort with a lot of amenities or a luxury resort. The resort will tell you what your resort fee is covering (it is typically thing like towels and chairs by the pool or beach, water park, etc.).
Food & Drinks: Outside of the cost of the room itself, this is going to be your biggest expense at the resort. The cost of food and drinks at resorts has gotten VERY expensive. I’ve seen a big push on Instagram lately of people knocking short-term rentals. And while I think some of the arguments are valid, I think there will always be a place for short-term rentals because of this very reason (especially for large groups). Those people are complaining about having to cook a meal on vacation, but you can cook spaghetti for a large family at a short-term rental for an affordable cost whereas at the resort it will be much higher. That cost is going to add up when you are eating out 3 times a day for every day that you are there.
For example, we traveled as a family of 10 to Gaylord Palms and spent $400-$500 on lunch AND dinner easily. One round of pina coladas at Gaylord Palms for our family of 10 (half of them were non-alcoholic) cost just over $200. The cost of an individual pina colada at JW Marriott Grande Lakes was $22. My family of 5 can quickly spend $75-$100 on breakfast in the morning if I’m not mindful of what all the kids are grabbing.
I have historically budgeted $300/day for food and drinks when we travel to a resort. But I don’t know that it would be enough anymore. I think it needs to be increased to $400/day.
For any Florida resorts that we drive to, I do bring snacks with me, and I bring breakfast foods I can (muffins, bananas, apples, etc.) if I want to help save on costs. But don’t get me wrong, sometimes I go to a resort and say YOLO and don’t try to be mindful of costs because that is the joy of not having to be responsible for any meals while you’re there. It all depends on what I’m going for but I make sure to plan accordingly either way.
Cleaning Fee: For a resort, this is not common. The only resort I had to pay a cleaning fee at was when we stayed at Evermore Resort. I will say it took me by surprise, especially when it was added to my total when I went to book the room. They have since changed it and include the cleaning fee in the initial cost that you see when you search for a room. I think that was a great change so you can see the total and decide whether that works for you rather than get surprised at the end. I do understand it more at Evermore because it’s like a hybrid to me of a resort and short-term rental. You get the benefit of having a 4 bedroom/4 bathroom flat that can sleep a lot of people comfortably with a full kitchen, but you also get the amenities of a resort.
Overall, the costs that you should plan for when staying at a resort are as follows:
- Room Cost
- Parking Fee
- Resort Fee
- Food & Drinks
- Cleaning Fee (this is rare in resorts)
- Cash (for valet, bellman, etc.)