Was this a lot to spend on a U.K. break?

[FizzyPink]

Never done a U.K. break before so had no idea how expensive it was going to be. We’d usually spend similar going abroad but feel we get a lot more for our money.

Just DP and I did 4 nights this week in a seaside town on the South coast. Nice hotel, brunch out each day plus dinner. No expensive activities, just crazy golf and a little steam train, most of the time was spent wandering around. We’re not massive drinkers so maximum two drinks per night each. I’ve just added up what we spent -

Hotel for 4 nights = £700
Spa treatments = £250
Everything else (food, drinks, parking, petrol, activities) = £800

I knew the hotel cost and spa treatments in advance obviously but I’m so shocked at how much we spent while there. We didn’t do anything particularly extravagant and ate in decent but not 5* restaurants.

It was a break so I accept it was always going to cost to have a nice time but is it always this expensive to have a U.K. break?

Doesn’t seem expensive to me at all, you had a memorable trip & enjoyed yourselves. Hardly extravagant.

£40 a day on brunch?! Jesus H Christ.

We just went camping for 4 nights (5 of us)

Campsite - £160
4 different activities - £110
Food - shopping - £150
Brunch one day - £45
Takeaway pizzas - £25
Parking for one place £5
Ice creams and cold drinks after a long walk - £20

So just over £500 - less than 1/3 of what you spent for more than twice the people!!!!

Price up what flights/hotel/meals out/attractions cost you on your last holiday. I bet it’s not much different. You do know that people from the places you normally go on holiday come on holiday to the U.K. don’t you!! Plus you went to the priciest part of the uk.

@Turnedouttoes if that’s the case with big brunches then I think it sounds fine price wise. You were basically fasting for breakfast then had a big main meal at noon. Your £40 brunch covered two meals for two people at once. Sounds like a bargain actually. I wouldn’t feel too guilty about it. :)

We do a 7 night/8 day camping trip in the uk every year, that aside because it's not comparable to a hotel, but for all our food/drinks, fuel in the car plus activities the 3 of us don't spend as much as you did - £800 for 2 people for 5 days is RIDICULOUS!!

Did you spend more than you can afford? Did you have a lovely time?

Just back from a week in the UK and it felt comparatively expensive despite Rishi but I had the certainty of knowing we had a holiday, weren't going to be stranded, and no flights/airports to faff with.

I've decided that's just what my holiday cost this summer!

I don’t think so.
If you go to a nice hotel it can be £500 a
Night.

We have booked a house in a popular northern seaside town. Just 4 nights. 6 of us. My dh and I, my dd, her husband and kids aged 15 and 12. Three bedroomed house. 2 bathrooms. 2 dogs. The house cost £1150.00 . Self catering. We are hoping to eat out on the government's deal mon/wed in the evening. We will still have to find all other meals for 6 of us plus entertainment during our stay. Now wondering why I did it. Wanted to give the family a treat. It is not going to come in much under 2 grand is it Last year dd and her husband and kids had 11 days all inclusive in Tenerife for not much more. That's flights, accommodation for 11 nights, all food and all drinks for all of them. Free activities to join in, pool, sun sea and sand. Arhh ...I should have thought it through more carefully. If it rains think we will walk the dogs then what. I'm afraid the uk is not a budget holiday.

But you chose a hotel at £175 a night that didn't include breakfast, added on spa treatments. And spent £70-80 each night on food. (We just went out for a birthday meal- two of us, nice place, picked what we wanted off the menu, 2 drinks whilst waiting for table, plus a bottle of wine- cost about the same, but that's a once per year special meal out for us. On a holiday, we may do that or we might get a sandwich at lunch and then fish and chips in the evening- £20 food budget all day)

Sometimes all-inclusive abroad can cost the same as the UK. If you love just lying in the sun and are happy to eat in the hotel every day then great. If you want to be out and about and eat out every night, then pick your country carefully if you want it cheap! (Obvs talking pre/post covid!)

I've had amazing, memorable camping holidays in UK and wonderful 5* all-inclusive abroad. Pick the holiday you want and the budget is pretty easy to set before you leave.

I'm sorry but camping is NOT a holiday and you can't compare a hotel to a camp site

I'm astonished you spent £175 a night on a hotel that didn't include either breakfast or parking. I think that's really poor value and I would have chosen one that included at least one of those, if not both. Quite often you can find somewhere offering a dinner on at least one night included for a similar rate. UK is poor value compared to Europe. I find the British attitude to food and customer service mean, begrudging & penny-pinching. If you're in an area of Britain with good food & plenty of restaurants it will literally eat up the cash.

We spent £1200 on a mediocre hotel in Kingston last August for six nights for two adults and two children providing just bed and breakfast. Seven days activities including a couple of days in London and Thorpe Park easily put the total at £3,000. Only DH drinks. I am too ill to travel abroad and don't want to do any self catering. Staying in England, especially the South is not a cheap holiday.

@Ohyesohyeah sorry I’m really intrigued now - did you spend £800 on dinner? If so, was it amazing and worth it?

@whenwillthemadnessend

I'm sorry but camping is NOT a holiday and you can't compare a hotel to a camp site

This.

OP, if you can afford it, why not? It would be too much to spend for me but people have different budgets.

i wouldnt spend 700 on a hotel that had no parking included thats ridiculous but yes i dont know why youre surprised it always been expensive to holiday here

oh and what hotel is this so i can avoid it

We did a weekend in London last year over the bank holiday weekend for 3 nights
Using my free nights from hotel .com we paid £300 for three nights at the Leonardo Tower Bridge Hotel room Only .
We easily spent a min of £100 a day on food and drinks & snacks for the two of us and we were only eating and drinking in pubs like Weatherspoons 😂

£100 for Red bus tickets for 3 full days for both of us
£150 going out to a club on one night inc taxis entrance and tickets and drinks
£35 on taxis as the tube wasnt working on the way home
£60 train fare
2days lost working as so fucked and knackered afterwards
I think we spent probably about £800 - £900 for three three days

2days lost working as so fucked and knackered afterwards I can’t party like I did in my twenties recovery time is 3 times as long 😂

Did you have a good time and is it money you could afford to spend? If so don’t let the cost overshadow your time away.

Sounds like a lot for 4 nights, esp the hotel, and I nearly always holiday in the UK.

@shiningstar2 I would recommend doing a bit of research and booking the restaurants before you go. We're on holiday now and were thinking we would eat out mon-wed but have only been able to book one meal so far as lots of places are booked up.

I think it’s really expensive but that’s why we always go abroad like you do. It’s not really (for me anyway) as great a holiday as a 5* somewhere hot, but what are your options now?

£1750 for 2 people for 4 days is a ridiculous amount to spend.

Not really that much

4 nights and 5 days for two that sounds a reasonable amount

This is why I don't like UK holidays though, you can get so much more for your money abroad

You can’t compare heating up baked beans at a campsite to eating out each meal

Lots of competitive scrimping on this thread. Reminds me of the chap who went to the Maldives and took noodles that he cooked in the hotel kettle for each meal.

@shiningstar2 I echo @pumpkinpie01 recommendation if you’re going somewhere likely to be popular. Everywhere we went that was doing eat out to help out said they’d been fully booked Monday to Wednesday.
We also struggled to get into places from Thursday onwards where we hadn’t pre-booked so I’d do your research beforehand if the place you’re going is likely to be busy.