To think all inclusive holidays are very good value?

Only 2 sides???

My ideal holiday is solo in a hotel & there are plenty of people who don’t like that either!

There's snobbery about AI for sure but there are sweeping statements about SC and Airbnbs not being a holiday, exaggeration about needing to spend a day cleaning, and generally people on both sides refusing to accept other people like things they don't.

If you go to AI and like the resort and the food on offer and mainly want to relax and use the resort facilities of course it can be good value. But as soon as you start having meals elsewhere and spending significant amounts of time outside the resort then the good value obviously decreases.

The sunbed wars threads are funny. I can see that AI would be great for families even if it holds no attractions for me travelling solo, but then I’m not into beach holidays either.

Theres so much snobbery around AI.
it all depends what you want from a holiday.

When our kids were small and we were juggling kids, jobs, commutes, house renovation etc we didn’t want to be exploring and dashing about on hols. We literally wanted food, drink, sunbeds, pool … chill.

Now they’re older and it’s just me and DH and we aren’t in the thick of small children and work we love to go bnb and find somewhere to eat and explore .. despite being much older we aren’t as knackered 🤣

Shame you had a bad experience but we go to Egypt regularly for the diving, and we always go AI as it’s often only slightly more than B&B and we’ve never had an issue.

Sounds great! What was the resort called?

OP can you give the name of the resort? Any experiences we have had with AI have been utter shite however all have been buffet style and absolutely not my thing. I love travel and we have done loads but a week in a place where you genuinely did not need to leave the resort sounds like the current rest and recoup our family needs. I realise people are saying 3k is expensive but I have paid more and still ended up eating away from the hotel. What you describe sounds idillic.

But they employ lots of local people, they use local suppliers etc. it isn't black and white

We did an AI Mitsis in Greece after COVID. We got it cheap. It was alright. The most depressing thing was going for a walk-in the evening and seeing all the empty restaurants and bars than the AI had virtually killed.

I’ve got a boy who has been able to eat his body weight in food from being about 4. I would never go abroad and not go AI. It just takes away the stress for me, I’m a single mum in a tight budget so if we go AI it doesn’t matter if I’ve only got £100 in the bank when we arrive, we’re covered for everything we need
We just got back last month from Tunisia and the food was fantastic, definitely got our moneys worth

Sounds hellish to me plus you're not putting any income into the pockets of local restaurant owners etc.

But each to their own

We did them a few times when the kids were teenagers but I cant say I ever really enjoyed them and now we holiday without children I would never do one. We recently tried a cruise and for me that was far too much like an AI resort, which I suppose is what it is 😏For me most of the enjoyment on holiday is deciding where to eat, mooching round local bars and restaurants etc. I can see the appeal when you are holidaying with kids though.

We did a 5*AI when the kids were younger. The friends we went with loved it. We hired a car, slipped off our wristbands and explored the island instead. It just wasnt for us (kids included)

100% Yes. I think some people also forget you can leave the hotel and expore. We even stayed in one that proved a lunch and snack box if you asked.

It depends how big your family is, what the AI options are like and what your expectations are. I enjoy food and prefer to choose it myself and have the freedom to go out without thinking that I'm wasting money because I've paid for dinner at the hotel. The few AI deals I've looked at have restaurants that I wouldn't choose to go to, so not good value for me.

We have just got back from Stella Palace . Loved it .

OP it isnt stella palace is it? Sounds really similar and we have just booked there, hoping it’s nice!

Agreed.

Worth it alone for the cokes/bottles of water and ice creams etc for the children.

Done a fair few in the past. Turkey has some amazing hotels.

Wouldn't do another one again though. I prefer a B&B etc. But if you have kids yes AI is great.
X

**which is fine by the way if the OP enjoyed it.

Blimey so defensive 🤣 My response was in relation to the OP who did choose to stay in the resort for all meals. Get a grip of yourself and stop being a wally!

Similarly I find it weird that people think you have to cook because you are in a self catering place!

But the fact is that it's not really cost effective to pay twice for food and drink so not many people are going AI and then going out to local restaurants regularly

Please can you tell me the name of your Vietnam Hotel? Thank you

No, you were being the typical snobbish MN who loathed the idea of staying in such a large resort and only eating within the hotel

Despite the fact you don't have to do either when you are AI.

I understand why people don't like AI I just find it funny that people think you have to stay on resort.

We like all inclusive and it was great when our son was little as there was a lot of organised activities. We never felt tied to the hotel and used to eat out as well as use the hotel. But on the days when we didn’t go out exploring, all inclusive was perfect! Now our son doesn’t come with us so we mix it up and depending on where we are going, we use all inclusive, bed and breakfast and half board. Usually for a city break, we just do B&B and find local restaurants.

My only issue with all inclusive is that the local businesses suffer, bars and restaurants. A resort can loose it's footfall and even disappear But yes they are good value