I know people who love to travel AI (same ones that like to cruise, like Macy).
I don't. Never did. On my first trip to Jamaica my girlfriend and I didn't have any hotel reservations. One of our friend's mother, who was a travel agent (she booked our flight) caught wind of this and booked us in an AI in MoBay for 2 nights.
The room was nice. We had A/C and TV. The food sucked. The "night club" sucked. And the games by the pool REALLY sucked. We religiously got up every morning, had our "egg" breakfast and went to the activity board to loudly announce what we were NOT going to participate in.
What can I say. We were 23 and obnoxious.
Now - once we got to Negril we stayed in a guest house on the cliffs that had a shared toilet - outdoor showers with no hot water, the beds were cement slabs with a thin piece of foam on it and a sheet - we were handed a mosquito coil and kerosense latern as there was no electricity on that side of the street at that time. Yes, it took a night for us to get used to it but once we did we were in HEAVEN. LOVED IT. And...the rest is history. Jamaica is the one and only place where I'm not ridiculously picky about accomodations.
What I learned on that very first trip was how to enjoy the local environment. Things were still pretty cheap there - the food, the local food was AWESOME. Gone were the eggs and bacon breakfasts - bring on the Ackee and Saltfish and Banana Pancakes at Jenny's.
I just like to be able to fully explore and be around locals anywhere I go, not just Jamaica which is why I prefer smaller hotels in somewhat "funky" locations in various cities I visit. I like to eat where the residents eat, see music where the locals hang. I like to immerse. I can meet people from the US any day of the week - getting to know Jamaicans, Mexicans, Parisians, well for me that is a major part of any vacation I take.
My AI experience since the one in MoBay has only been as a "guest" at Grand Lido/Breezes/Grand Lido for rock n' roll shows. The buffets were big and grand and opulent - and the food at GL/Breezes was not too bad (the buffet for Ratdog was FAR better than the one for Government Mule). I got to really dig going up to the bar, getting a drink and leaving. I got to really dig sitting at a restaurant and not worrying about breaking the bank by ordering an appetizer (the food at the restaurants there, btw, was fairly mediocre). I definitely did enjoy not having to use any cash there and have what I wanted...but not always service with a smile. I learned early in the evening which bartender to avoid. And - after the show everyone would go down to the "Far Bar" where a grill was going, food was supposed to be flowing and drinks pouring. Well, by the time I got there they had run out of hamburger buns. The grill man said "soon come back" - and never did, leaving food on the grill to burn! My friend Brenda, along with my husband jumped in, manned the grill, actually found fish the guy never put on the grill and cooked it and served it until it was all gone. So much for service with a smile - or service at all.
But hey - to each their own. We all have our own particular likes and dislikes when it comes to travel and vacation. And its all good.