To me, it all comes down to this: What do you want out of your vacation? Before we book a trip, we ask ourselves this very question and decide our accomodations based on the following criteria:

- If what you want is a worry-free, relaxing, and cost "sure" trip, then AI is the way to go.

- If you are looking for a little adventure and want to soak up the "scene", then non-AI should be your choice.

We have stayed at many AIs and had a blast most of the time. Conversely, we've stayed non-AI and also had a lot of fun. There is no "right or wrong" way to travel.