Please remind me to never go on an all inclusive holiday ever again!

[MouthBreather]

Just back from an all inclusive holiday. Thought it would be easy with teens and a nice rest for the grown ups.

I didn’t factor in inconsiderate, greedy ‘Brit’s abroad’ into my holiday calculations.

Sun beds were all gone by 7.30am, made worse by no one occupying them until after lunch. People playing loud, shit music over the top of the hotel music, kids bombing round the pool shouting football chants, people making ‘communal’ plates of food for their table at breakfast and taking all the freshly cooked stuff, then not even bloody eating it!

I’m looking into a private island for next year. Anyone want to come??

We did AI in Cuba about 11 years ago. I was planning a trip up to Cape Wrath staying in B&Bs but then realised we could do 2 weeks AI in Cuba for the same price. Dd was at an independent school so finished earlier than state schools. The hotel was mainly Canadians and Scots.

We had a lovely time and did several trips out but cancelled a planned trip to Cuba as it was on dodgy old Russian planes.

I then got very depressed about the ‘zoo’ up the road that some people visited. And the swimming with captive dolphins. And the beer drinking donkey.

Then our plane broke down and we were delayed for three days and sadly the archetypal ‘Brits Abroad’ arrived in that time. Bunches of drunken woman swearing on their balcony and drunken men shitting in the pool.

The food was fine and the Cuban people were absolutely bloody delightful.

Planned trip to Havana.

If anyone's got a good AI recommendation for Jamaica, Mexico or the Dominican Republic please let me know.

I am single mum to 3 boys of 14, 11 and 5. AI gives all of us something and that can't be said for many other holidays. There is something age appropriate for each of the children and I get to not cook or clean for a week and can be as solitary as I bloody well.like or chat to people if I prefer. We try different food, see a bit of the local area, make new friends from other nationalities- its brilliant!

A pp said avoid Tui etc- we have had two brilliant fun and chilled weeks away last year and this via tui and have never seen anything like the OP has described. Thankfully! Both to places I would never have considered but funds dictated it- Salou in Spain and Paphos in Cyprus. Would go back to either in a flash.
A previous

A villa sounds like hell on earth for our family. My children need people, not a solitary house with only me and their brothers to entertain them. We get that at home! Plus I bloody well need a break

Yeh I’ll admit I need it to feel different from home.

This is why we book villas. We may not go abroad every year but I'd rather alternate with UK holidays than put up with that. My idea of hell!

Bigusbumus was that hotel in Turkey? We're going there in October and your post worried me! Any tips?

I have only done one all inclusive and that was Cuba. Apart from one (Brit) family no one else took the sunbeds. We used to call that family the Peggs, because they usedto peg their towels to their beds with giant plastic pegs.

I digress,I wouldn’t do all inclusive again either but nothing to do with sunbeds, apart from a couple of day trips and hurricane Irma it was all a bit boring. Drink, food and meh

We went on an All inclusive holiday to Maldives in February it was fantastic! Only one other British couple on island. We kept away from them as they spent morning noon and night making the most of all inclusive drinks .

Rivkka We've been AI to Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Mexico. In Mexico can't recall the hotel but we were in Playa Del Carmen. In Dominican Republic the hotel and area are currently being refurbed, in Jamaica we stayed in the Rose Hall Hotel, it is not quite as nice now but it still has it's own water park.

It's nothing to do with package or all inclusive it's just bad luck unfortunately. I've been to some lovely places and got lucky.
I agree with a previous poster Tunisia is lovely and their service cannot be compared too.

Nothing to do with all inclusive. You picked a shite one, you get what you pay for.

Done AI with teens to Antigua and Cuba...knew food choices would be limited in Cuba but nevertheless had a fantastic holiday staying at Club Paradisus near Varadero...did trip to Havana which was incredible and very hot
Loved the people and the culture, music , dance and architecture and the 50's cars!...the hotel staff, especially the bar staff were so lovely and very interesting to talk to
All in all had a great holiday and met up with some lovely Canadians ...sun beds weren't an issue and neither were drunken holidaymakers!
Also Been with dcs long haul to Koh Samui where we stayed B and B in a beautiful hotel by Fisherman's village where eating out was incredible and very reasonable
Worst experience was a high end hotel on Kephalonia where it was exclusively Brits abroad and sunbeds were reserved from 8am onwards!

This year however dcs are all grown up and now doing their own thing , so dh and I are off to our dream destination of the Maldives ( where there are only 30 villas on island) to snorkel , chill and eat fabulous food ... we'll have our own sun beds in our villa , so no need to reserve!

Playas mujeres excellence and finest mujeres. Absolutely fantastic

@JaneEB thanks very much.

Did you feel safer in one of those than the others? I'm fancying Jamaica but don't want to be stuck in the resort.

5* AI resorts are fab e.g. Occidental, Dreams, Sensatori. All can be booked with Tui.

Been on all inclusive and never experienced anything like that. Mexico, Jamaica, Barbados, Dubai and others. You have bee i the wrong resort or hotel.

Very much of the opinion that the AI bashing here is a red herring - you can get ghastly guests anywhere.

We’re currently in a 5star Portuguese idyll for a fortnight. Not Ai, though we’ve done that before. Had three glorious days of pampered relaxation (£££ but a real treat and we were feeling happy and very, very grateful) Then the Brit family from hell descended - all 15 of them. We’re hoping that they’ve only booked for a week and we might have some peace, once they’ve gone.

You can do your research, you can book AI (or otherwise), you can be spectacularly picky about resort, you can know exactly what you want - but you will always be at the mercy of the other guests 😩

Ah.. I thought you were at the resort we were at in Rhodes where people just left their towels on sunbeds overnight.

Sorry, (not sorry) it was me who rounded them all up and plopped them at reception!

I reckon reading the reviews really really carefully helps. For example I just read reviews of one resort where many of the reviewers seemed to mention the bartenders, drinks available, whether branded spirits were included... nope not going there as it clearly attracts the 24/7 drinking types.

Whereas another has mostly excellent reviews but the only negative ones are complaining the place is too quiet in the evenings. Seriously considering booking that one :)

MouthBreather, one of the loveliest family holidays we've ever had, all mixed ages up to grand parents, was a summer holiday to the mountains in Slovenia, near the border where you can go easily to Italy and Austria. You can hike, toboggan ( on a mono rail), sightsee, take day trip to Venice etc and the weather can be mid 20's . Not ideal if you want loads of heat but a great holiday.

user27495824 yes, AI is great for a relaxing break with kids/teens. No budgeting over drinks etc, no rows over getting drinks etc, just let it be, relax and, provided the kids are old enough, everyone help themselves. It's a formula which has its place in the mad world of parenting.

Love Cuba.. was there about 25 years ago and travelled across the country via train (took forever) - Cubans ushered me and (now) DH to the front of the ticket queue - also partook of random taxi buses...

We randomly stayed in an KGB holiday camp (with piped cicada sounds), had an amazing couple of nights in Trinidad on the South Coast - the beach was amazing and our hotel was gorgeous. Went over to Piñar del Rio for a few days in tobacco land and topped and tailed our two weeks with stays in Havana, where we stumbled on a jazz club in one of the posher suburbs of Havana where they were selling rum in lemonade bottles - eek! and equally randomly we ended up staying a night in venue housing all the teams for the Pan American Youth Olympics before finally cracking open the credit card to stay one night at the Nacional.

Oddly enough we ate well - especially in Havana's fledgling china "town" - although I recall the sandwiches we bought at the baseball match (the local guys who befriended us somehow got us into the press seats!) left something to be desired.

DH went back several times with his family on fishing trips but I kind of like to retain the memory of a wonderful haphazard holiday that only 21year olds can properly have!!

@Rivkka just got back from tui sensatori Punta Cana and can say if you’re looking for an all inclusive with good food and good cocktails it’s really good. Has a coffee shop included and is like costa but way better. It’s a karisma hotel so is their gourmet all inclusive. Room service also included and was good for baguettes etc