Is all inclusive food actually good or just cheap and easy?

Most people can't afford to eat in "High end" restaurants every night... so its likely just other hotels/tourist restaurants in the area.

Duck, it was the Meliá Dunas hotel on Ilha do Sal. We booked direct with Meliá and flew from Lisbon on TAP, but the hotel is virtually a TUI colony. We've only ever troubled ourselves with the buffet, but my PILs went to a couple of the à la carte restaurants and found them to be inferior to the buffet. My PILs went back by themselves earlier this year and said parts of the hotel were looking a bit tired (it was built in 2013 and the pandemic was not kind to it) but they are still planning to go again in future.

Not all AI is buffet. Plenty of resorts offer a choice of a la Carte restaurants as well.

It depends what you resorts you choose. There's plenty of really good all inclusive that offer a selection of additional 'a la Carte' restaurants as well as bog standard buffets. We've done several all inclusive but wouldn't choose anywhere that was just buffet. We've found the a la Carte restaurants wherever we've been to be amazing. Steak houses, teppanyaki, Asian fusion etc and you're able to order whatever you like from the menu.

Not Everyone has the same expectations or wishes. I think when people rave about the food at AI they tend to refer to the quantity of food on offer, and the amount of choice. While I’ve enjoyed the food at some AI’s, it is not the same as choosing from a menu in a high end restaurant. AI is buffet food. It can be great buffet food. But you can’t expect high end restaurant food that’s been cooked especially for you.

Great if you have kids that are forever eating!! Personally now that we don't have any at home, we go self catering. Eating out is part of the holiday experience. We go cheap and cheerful accommodation near amenities and usually spend less than an all inclusive.

I think it probably depends a lot on your self control!

I prefer not AI because I don't have enough self control with a buffet.

Restaurants sometimes do have large portions but when that happens, we then just have a smaller second meal.

But we tend to do Airbnb so it's easy enough to assemble a salad for dinner if we have had a big lunch

We've just done AI for the first time since 2019, and the food was shocking compared to how it used to be, as was the actual "all inclusiveness" of it.

Haha literally just chose an all inclusive on this basis.... some of the TripAdvisor gems included 'lots of weird food choices', 'no omelette bar'(!), 'pretty but no nightlife', 'lots of nature, but unless you want to walk or cycle there's not much to do'......sounds perfect to me!!!

If you can control yourself and choose just stuff that goes together it is often better

I don't agree 😂 I love all the random stuff

You need to pick wisely. A la cartes and adult only

Disagree about fully adult only - it is full of po faced individuals that expect no noise and no fun. However a hotel with an adults only areas are winners imo

@InveterateWineDrinker that is always the best review - nothing for English to eat- then I know I will love it- what was the hotel, we keep thinking about going.

We've only done AI at one hotel in Cape Verde and were so blown away by it we went back again with extended family. It wasn't just that it was top quality, but when you think about the logistics of getting food to a third world island miles from anywhere it was mind boggling. The resort had mostly French, Portuguese, and Nordic clientele and they were all absolutely delighted. The Brits moaned like hell - no beige processed food. There was one review in particular that said it all - "there is nothing for the English to eat."

I usually go 5* AI for our main holiday and tend to read a couple of years worth of reviews!

Typically looking for people disappointed by lack of chips, catering to Germans, lack of traditional British pudding (spotted dick anyone?) and that generally appeals to me. I do also get any available upgrades if the hotel have an a la carter option as well for a change of scene.

I also like it when there is a dedicated kids buffet in the hope it saves me tripping over all the rugrats 😂.

The quality of it varies massively and generally the more upscale the place the better the food. We use a chain that doesn't have a dinner buffet and the food is better than average.

However, a half decent all inclusive dinner doesn't compare to a half decent dinner in a proper restaurant.

You need to pick wisely. A la cartes and adult only

It depends how much you pay! Outstanding does exist at a price tag.

Food can be very subjective. Two people can eat the same meal, and one declare it delicious and the other disgusting.

My DDs would definitely describe the food at our Cyprus AI as "brilliant" as there was a wide range of fruits and salad (both mixed salads in dressings, and individual items) available every day for DD1, and a range of meats for DD2 (plus she didn't need to eat one potato!).
DH and I enjoyed most of it, but didn't really like the food one evening (it was different themes each night).

If you wanted a full English in the mornings... then you would have been disappointed. But fruit, meats, yogurt, pastries, breads... brilliant.

DDs like the pancakes and popcorn in the afternoons. And it was 40⁰C, so them getting as many sift drinks as they wanted was useful.

they are not all created equal. Just because it’s 5* doesn’t mean it will have good food. We choose ours when they have multiple a la cartes included and theme nights and show cooking in the buffet. Food reviews are most important when we’re looking.
Some of the best food I’ve ever tasted was at a 5* AI in Mauritius. Usually enjoy the food in Greek AIs too. Turkey, not so much!

I guess it depends on the cost of the hotel and what you mean by expensive. 5 seems to vary a lot too - some 5 are still not great, Also reviews aren’t terribly reliable as people have such varying likes / values with respect to their food. You might think it’s bland because food is very important to you and you eat very well. Some people are less bothered by food?

It’s never restaurant quality no. 5 star should be relatively good though.

Please tell me it’s not Ikos, we’ve booked our first holiday as a family at one of their resorts next year!!

Never been a fan of AI since a poor experience in Egypt years ago but Ikos appear to get very good reviews

Hmm.. I think the key is buffets… they re generally not great. Pretty good for breakfast but beyond that you have to suspend any hope of gourmet.

The only AI’s I’ve stayed in are in the Caribbean and mostly Sandals, which really do have great food. I’ve also stayed in a few European AI/HB I didn’t love them. But one was an out of the way less touristy area in Grenada that did mostly local fare and that was good. The larger one on the more touristy area wasn’t great for food.

I also think that anywhere welcoming kids isn’t going to go out of their way for the dining experience. So maybe wait until the kids aren’t kids and head to adults only resorts if food is your thing. (But I can see how buffets would be easy and great for kids so I’m not knocking those resorts!)

Not a fan of AI either. I’d rather self cater than AI. We usually do a mix of self catering, uber eats and restaurants.

We recently went to a resort in the Maldives and the AI buffet twice a day was exceptional. Best food I’ve ever had from a resort.

We’ve been to two 5 star resorts in Mexico (without kids) and the Bahamas (with kids) and they were out of this world. Not been to AI in Europe/ this side of the world would like to try though.