The Best Resorts for Foodies - My Top 3 of 2026
I’ve visited over 35 resorts in the last year, and I have a pretty unforgiving definition of a “foodie resort.”
At some point during my stay, I need to eat something that makes me stop and think, “That just might be the best ___ I’ve ever had.” If that moment doesn’t happen, the resort doesn’t make my list.
All-inclusive resorts in particular aren’t always known for their food. They’re feeding hundreds (sometimes thousands) of people every day, so sometimes “good for an all-inclusive” becomes its own category.
These three are different.
I’m not talking about food that was good considering it was included. I’m talking about meals I would happily pay for at a great restaurant at home—and dishes I’m still thinking about months to a year later.
After really boiling down everywhere I’ve stayed this year, these are the three that stand out.
1. Grand Velas Boutique Los Cabos
If there were ever a resort designed for people who plan vacations around what they're going to eat, Grand Velas Boutique Los Cabos is it.
This adults-only luxury all-inclusive gives guests access to 10 dining experiences between the boutique property and neighboring Grand Velas Los Cabos, but the experience that really cemented this property on my list was dinner at Loto Robata Grill.
Loto combines Japanese flavors and robata-style open-fire cooking with local Mexican ingredients, and its culinary concept is led by two-Michelin-starred chef Sidney Schutte.
We were treated to a custom tasting dinner, with the chef personally serving us each course.
And when I say there wasn't a bad course, I mean every single thing we ate was incredible.
The short rib gyoza was one of the first dishes that really stood out. The flavor had so much punch to it and immediately set the tone for the rest of the meal.
Then came the robata skewers—shrimp, beef tenderloin, chicken and octopus. The robata-grilled chicken skewer was probably my favorite of the entire meal. It was easily some of the best chicken I've ever had!
Even the sides were memorable. The truffle fries with Parmesan were dangerously good—I couldn't stop reaching for them throughout dinner.
And then they brought out an entire dessert flight, because apparently we hadn't eaten enough already. My favorite was the yuzu tart with caramel and coconut. It was bright, tart and just sweet enough, and somehow I still had room for it after everything we'd already eaten.
That's what stood out about this dinner. It wasn't one incredible dish surrounded by a bunch of good ones. The entire meal delivered.
And this is an important distinction for me: it wasn't “really good for an all-inclusive.”
It was just really good food. Period.
This is the resort I'd choose when the culinary experience isn't just a nice bonus to the vacation—it's part of the reason you're taking the vacation.
2. Secrets Bahia Mita Surf & Spa Resort
People may fight me on this pick, but I don't care. Secrets Bahia Mita earned its place on this list for me in a completely different way.
One of my personal rules with food is that I'll try pretty much any food once. I know what I normally like and don't like, but I'm always willing to be proven wrong. And if a chef can take something I've already decided isn't really my thing and completely change my mind about it? That's a pivotal dish for me.
That's exactly what happened here.
We did a private chef's hibachi experience at Himitsu, and the amuse-bouche was a salmon tartare taquito with spicy mayonnaise, chives, kanikama, crispy salmon skin, eel sauce, avocado and roe.
I am not a tartare person. Or apparently, I wasn't a tartare person.
It was genuinely one of the most incredible dishes I've ever had. The entire dinner was fantastic, but that's the plate I remember. If you can make me completely rethink a food I was convinced I didn't like, you've done something right.
What impressed me even more about Secrets Bahia Mita was that the food continued to deliver outside of that special dinner.
We had lunch the next day at Olio, where I tried the Vallarta-style ceviche. It had a really nice spice and kick to it and tasted incredibly fresh. My husband loves a more traditional ceviche, and even he really enjoyed this version as something different.
I had the chicken gyros, which were fresh, juicy and genuinely some of the best gyros I've ever had.
Then there was another lunch we had at Bluewater Grill. I started with a California roll. Nothing particularly groundbreaking about ordering a California roll, right? Except theirs came with roe and the accompaniments and plating somehow made something so simple incredibly memorable. It was one of the best California rolls I've ever had.
And then came the flank steak. Truly the best flank steak I've ever had.
Flank steak isn't a cut I normally associate with being exceptionally juicy, but this one absolutely was. It was so juicy, tender and flavorful that it completely caught me off guard.
And I think that's ultimately what impressed me most about Secrets Bahia Mita. A resort can put together one incredible private chef's dinner to impress a group of travel professionals, but when I'm having memorable food at the standard dinner, then at lunch the next day, and again at another casual lunch?
That's when I start calling it a foodie resort.
3. Casa Chameleon at Las Catalinas, Costa Rica
Casa Chameleon at Las Catalinas is a little different from the first two because it isn't a traditional all-inclusive resort, although you can add a meal plan to your stay. Personally, I don't think you need to.
Part of the magic of staying here is the town of Las Catalinas itself. There are some great restaurants just a quick golf cart ride away worth getting out and exploring for, and the entire place feels like you're walking through a Nancy Meyers movie. If you tell me you want to go somewhere for a week and live out your Nancy Meyers dreams, this is where I'm sending you.
Costa Rica in general has become one of my favorite destinations for food. I stayed at three different properties during my last trip, and the food was consistently fantastic at each, but Casa Chameleon was my favorite culinary experience of the trip.
Even without adding a meal plan, an à la carte breakfast is included with your stay—and it is not your typical included hotel breakfast.
The French toast with strawberries and bacon was incredible. We had a whole table full of different dishes, and everything we tried was so good. Breakfast alone was something I looked forward to here.
But the meal that put Casa Chameleon on this list happened at dinner.
We had an intimate, wine-paired dinner inside Grotto 12, the property's wine cellar. The chef served us throughout the experience, and while everything we ate was fantastic, there was one dish that completely stopped me in my tracks.
The curried snapper.
Here's the thing: I don't really like fish. Like at all.
I love shellfish. Give me shrimp, lobster, crab—all day. But actual fish has just never been something I get excited about. This completely changed my mind. Their curried snapper was the best meal I had all year.
Not the best fish. Not the best meal I had in Costa Rica. Not the best thing I ate at a resort.
The best meal I had all year. Period.
It's been about a year since I ate it, and I am still thinking about that snapper.
We finished the dinner with a beautiful raspberry dome, which was the perfect ending to one of the most memorable dining experiences I've had while traveling.
And really, that's my entire definition of a foodie resort. I don't care how many restaurants are on the property. I don't care how beautiful something looks on Instagram. And I'm definitely not grading on a curve because the food happens to be included in the price of the room.
Give me something I'll still be thinking about a year later.
These three did.
As a travel advisor, I spend a lot of time at resorts—and yes, I take trying the food very seriously. When I'm matching a client with a honeymoon, anniversary trip, destination wedding or just an incredible vacation, these are the little things I pay attention to.
Because there's absolutely a difference between a resort with good food and a resort I'd actually send a foodie to.
If you plan your vacations around what you’re going to eat, we’re going to get along! I’d love to help you find a resort where the food is just as memorable as the trip.
Kayla Brackett
Travel Advisor | Brackett Travel
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