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AIBU?

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British behaviour in holiday hotel

441 replies

Scarfitwere · 26/05/2026 10:52

We are staying at a good all inclusive resort (yes, I know all inclusive is not high end, but this is about as good a one as you can get). I am just shocked and ashamed at fellow british people at breakfast time. Letting their kids make a huge mess by allowing them to get their own food. Huge amounts of wasted food. Multiple untouched plates left on tables. Total disregard for others barging round, blocking walkways etc. When did this become ok?? AIBU with expectations? Bear in mind this is not a cheap rubbish tui-blue type place. I dread to think what they are like!

OP posts:
nobodysdaughter · 26/05/2026 11:41

Honestly I don’t think it’s the price of the resort that’s the problem. I’ve stayed in AI hotels in Benidorm and the mams (and dads) are on it helping their kids. You sound like a frightful snob.

DeftGoldHedgehog · 26/05/2026 11:40

The nicest places are often a good mixture of nationalities. There can be a problem when one group dominates.

Donnersons · 26/05/2026 11:40

We've stopped going to all inclusive, mainly because of the chaos and unpleasantness of the canteens (they are not restaurants). We have a fairly relaxed attitude to meal times when on holiday, but there do still have to be some base rules of good manners and found other people are quite happy to let their kids run feral, which in turn our young child wants to do so we only do self catering now. The noise inside those canteens is unbearable with all the screaming and shouting, which just gets worse with the busier it gets and more booze piled on top so the parents give even less shits about what their kids are up to. But the secondary reason is how disgusting grown adults feel it's ok to behave. Allowing kids to drop piles of food on the floor and then just leave it there. Barging around to grab bits of food then putting it back and touching everything around.

I have no issue with the concept of AI, unfortunately you can't control how other people behave.

DeftGoldHedgehog · 26/05/2026 11:38

I think you'd always expect a bit of eyes bigger than belly behaviour and some wasted food from children and adults in AI. Depends how it is set up really. At Club Med we quickly learned that you can take small plates and have several small things as you fancy, so no need for waste. At the other end of the scale, when DH and I we were younger and went on a cheap AI in Turkey and you were in a queue with the two of us and 200 German pensioners who had probably reserved their queue position with a towel at 4am, and you'd want to pile your plate up while you could and not risk a return visit. If people have previously experienced big queues they may need time to adjust.

WonderingWanda · 26/05/2026 11:37

Not all hotels are like this and it's not always Brits. But I have stayed in a cheap AI in Lanzarote once where I did see the behaviour you've described and it was all Brits too. Basically, the adults getting drunk already at breakfast, kids running feral eating pick and mix and running around the hotel complex discarding hot dogs all over the place. It was grim. Most other AI's I've been to have been much nicer. I tend to read the trip advisor reviews very carefully and avoid anywhere with a hint of Brits abroad .....people moaning about watered down AI cocktails etc is often a clue.

Shinyhappyapple · 26/05/2026 11:37

And agree - if it’s only British families behaving badly then I can’t think that there are many other nationalities there.

Shinyhappyapple · 26/05/2026 11:35

Obviously you are unreasonable. Unreasonable for referring to Tui hotels as cheap rubbish when you know full well that not only is that the norm for a holiday for many people, but also it’s an aspiration many more people are unable to afford. Doesn’t make you look good (and if you weren’t aware of that you are either thick or your privilege is unbelievable)

RollOnSunshine · 26/05/2026 11:33

I probably have less patience with Brits abroad than most but I would not lose any sleep over this. kids getting in the way and food wastage is part of what happens on all inclusives. It's nothing to get worked up about.

Toomanyuglyplasticbins · 26/05/2026 11:31

I've stayed in some very nice 4+ & 5 star Tui hotels, so yabu to be so snobby about them.
It's not just British people who are rude, other nationalities are too.
Went on an Msc cruise a couple of years ago. There were people who are not British jumping the queue and would practically elbow you in the face to get the last pancake!

Lomonald · 26/05/2026 11:29

Regardless what you paid for your hotel children shouldn't be running riot in a reasturant people will say of "not my kid" but it usually is, it takes minutes to go up with your child to pick food, i like children i think they should have nice holidays but not touching the food they pick things up put it back etc etc, and ime it is brittish children not all of course but majority of.

SunnyRedSnail · 26/05/2026 11:28

@Scarfitwere YANBU!! I'd be mortified to be English!

This is why I stay in a half board hotel that will be mostly foreign people there and just a handful of "well trained" English! The uncouth don't tend to bother with places where they don't speak English and serve "foreign stuff" to eat! My kids are well trained and polite!

I'm a teacher in a state secondary school and I really think we need to go back to basics with parenting, and give parents a guide book on how to raise a child!! We took a Y7 residential trip with 100 kids, and the amount of kids who can't use a knife and fork, don't sit at a table to eat, take more food than they intend to eat etc... is shocking. We also banned phones, and the kids didn't know how to socialise. By the end of the week, they were finally having a laugh about the stuff they'd done all week rather than talking about what someone else had done on TikTok.

x2boys · 26/05/2026 11:28

SandwichSuperstar · 26/05/2026 11:15

Yes, wrapped in their country's flag and holding up their passports for clarification 🤭

😂😂

takealettermsjones · 26/05/2026 11:25

Imthefunfriend · 26/05/2026 11:14

Do you really think letting a small child go up to a food counter unaccompanied isn’t lazy? Not to mention the risk of burns. We aren’t talking about teenagers here.

No I don't think it's lazy in itself, with plenty of caveats, as I said - parents need to make sure they're doing it properly.

Children like the freedom and autonomy of choosing and serving their own food. I have always told mine that they can have that freedom as long as I can trust them to do it sensibly. As soon as I can't trust them, the freedom goes away. As I said, I care that they do it properly.

From the age of about 3 my kids could choose their own things in packets, like sachets of sauce, packets of Weetabix, the little tubs of ice cream etc. Maybe at about 4 they'd start to use tongs to get croissants or fruit. My now 8 year old serves herself everything, including hot food. I always make sure to sit at a table where she's always in my eye line, and I go and help if she needs it.

I don't know what part of all that is lazy tbh - all in all it's probably harder than just doing it for them!

Doseofreality · 26/05/2026 11:21

And that is one of the many, many reasons why I would never go on an all inclusive holiday ever again.
Tried it once, felt like I was in a prison camp with the cast of Shameless.
I saw one bloke load 5 dinner plates up with fries and then comment to someone “gotta get yet moneys worth”. The gluttony is repulsive.

WhatATimeToBeAlive · 26/05/2026 11:20

Don't know why you're surprised. They act like this at home too.

IAMFLUFF · 26/05/2026 11:19

NotTheOrdinary · 26/05/2026 11:02

What's wrong with letting kids get their own food?

Fine unless they are ferrel

thinkingaboutipswich · 26/05/2026 11:19

You’re not wrong but you’re really rude to shit on tui type holidays, that just makes you sound like a total snob.

Rachelshair · 26/05/2026 11:19

More money doesn't equate to better behaved kids, any AI can have these issues no matter how pricey. I've only been on one AI, and everyone was well behaved. That was an Iberostar, not sure how that rates cost wise. Maybe you've been unlucky with the fellow guests this time.

Bushmillsbabe · 26/05/2026 11:18

Ponoka7 · 26/05/2026 11:15

So no staff members went to clean it up and corrected the behaviour? If not, you're in a shit hotel.

The staff aren't there to parent guests children and 'correct behaviour', and i can imagine a thread on here 'the hotel staff told my children off, how dare they'.

Yes, they should be checking and cleaning areas at intervals, but if as a parent you aren't confident that your child won't make a mess if they go up on their own, then need to accompany them.

Imlyingandthatsthetruth · 26/05/2026 11:18

"a cheap rubbish tui-blue type place" has pretty much told us how you see things. Maybe wait until your kids are over fifty and take them on a Saga holiday, should meet your expectations.

SandwichSuperstar · 26/05/2026 11:16

Woahtherehoney · 26/05/2026 11:08

Please don’t call TUI blue type places cheap and rubbish. They are still over £3k for a holiday and is the best that people can afford - don’t shit on others!

This is the second 'considerably richer and therefore better' thread I've read this morning.

Meadowfinch · 26/05/2026 11:15

Don't choose an all inclusive next time. When something is labelled as free, people will treat it as if it has no value.

Bushmillsbabe · 26/05/2026 11:15

NotTheOrdinary · 26/05/2026 11:02

What's wrong with letting kids get their own food?

Depends on the age. I saw a 4 year old try to get something off a plate, and pulled whole plate and one next to it into floor making a huge mess. I have also seen some take something, have a bite, not like it and put it back. There is also the issue of cross contamination (allergies, coeliac etc), if a child picks something up, puts it back, puts a serving spoon back in wrong dish etc. Up to maybe 8 I feel they should be supervised by an adult to prevent issues like these. But maybe I am super sensitive as we have 2 coeliacs in our family, and it's limited enough what they can eat when out, without also having to worry about cross contamination.

Ponoka7 · 26/05/2026 11:15

Scarfitwere · 26/05/2026 11:07

Yes I let my 11 year old who is old enough to be trusted. But I'm talking about 5 and 6 year olds who are touching things, putting them back, spilling juice and milk everywhere when pouring, etc

So no staff members went to clean it up and corrected the behaviour? If not, you're in a shit hotel.

SandwichSuperstar · 26/05/2026 11:15

x2boys · 26/05/2026 11:07

Of course its only british children who dont know how to behave
No doubt every other child from other countries sat there quietly.

Yes, wrapped in their country's flag and holding up their passports for clarification 🤭