Anyone disappointed by their holiday?

[Panic71]

Here now and really trying to throw myself into despite being really gutted by the hotel which is absolutely not worth the money we paid. Trying to just enjoy it but all the extras have come as a shock for what we expected and read to be all inclusive.
Turns out all inclusive doesn’t get you a sun bed either!

Oh no...we are off there week after next.....any tips??

Never been to an all inclusive yet that include your own sun lounger. They’re always first come first served. There’s always people there at sunrise putting towels on them and disappearing for the day which infuriates me. There’s never enough for one each, as people do go out for the day or down to the beach etc.

@theresnolimits that pretty much sums up how I feel about abroad holidays in general. I think I basically just prefer is here which I know is really boring. My favourite family holiday is a UK music festival with all the rain and mud that goes with it!

I find a caravan luxury these days when we get on with an en suite and we only have the one communal bathroom at home and no space to extend and no money to move!!

Lol whats that??? To be honest we didn't get involved with the evening entertainment much and kids didn't do then kids clubs either.
It was our first AI experience and I was pleasantly surprised. But I had many apprehensions.

I just found the whole experience very relaxing and because this resort was so large and right on the beach it didn't feel claustrophobic.

Would I do AI again? Not sure as I do like ro immerse but given how hot it was this was perfect. Probably would have been better for us with smaller children but we couldn't afford these holidays then.
The food was fabulous and I'm a foodie and I can't stand processed and boring food.

Wow cannot believe the increase in prices though 😳 I didn't notice this as we did holidays in the UK or camping in the UK or France before when we were saving for our house.
I do think Turkey is very good value though and if you go for a cheaper resort you can always explore on your own and the lira is very low at the moment.

We just got back the DLP. Was just as I expected. Wasn’t disappointed. The kids were underwhelmed but they didn’t know what to expect. I spent a lot of time on a DLP fb group getting tips and then researched the hotels. The weather was awful as it rained a lot but that’s apparently normal this time of year and the uk hasn’t been any better. I’m stuck with school holidays so can’t do cheaper times like other suggest as I work in a school and can’t take time off.

Florida Orlando was our worst holiday. But 25 years ago before the days of internet and before of got a credit card. We booked room only via travel agent and it was the motel on international drive which was awful. People kept telling us it would be cheap to eat and we were horrified at the cost when we got there. So much so that we didn’t actually have the money to buy park tickets to Disney and only went to universal and spent a lot of time wandering up and down international drive. I actually cried several times on that holiday. It was after that we stared going AI and started picking better hotels which was great Pre kids but then fast forward to being a single divorced parent stuck to school holidays and my kids have mostly done camping and caravan holidays. DLP was a treat for them.

Recently I’ve given up on hotels, I’m sick of them telling me when I can eat etc. I book an Airbnb with flights separately. I’m not a big eater so AI are a complete waste and I don’t drink. The cheeky sods advertised an indoor swimming pool then wanted to charge £20 each to use it, disgraceful.

I went to Valencia last year in an Airbnb and absolutely loved it. Foolishly I booked a hotel for 10 days in Lanzarote in February, it drove me nuts. I want to be free, and I want a lie in and not have to rush because breakfast finishes at 10, bugger that.

When our daughter was younger we did a mix of hotels and self catering, the self catering gave us more freedom. I can be a bit anti social as well and like my own space, and cannot be arsed to get dressed up every bloody night for dinner, yew!

A pp recommended Ikos if you have to tolerate AI. One popped up in my searches today. £11,500 for the four of us while I'm stretching myself at £3500. This is the issue with this thread. Those who spend £11500 on a holiday can't imagine a world where that's an unthinkable amount of money to spend on a holiday.

@SilverGlitterBaubles I agree. We’ve had villas in Menorca for over 20 years and would never do anything else. No sun bed wars or crowded buffets. No regimented meal times. We are relaxed from
the minute we arrive. 20 minutes from the airport, our own pool, air conditioning, short walk to supermarket and restaurants. We never cook but buy simple things for breakfast and lunch. Fruit, cheese, pate, hummus, ham and a fresh baguette. We have it by the pool and chill out. 2 hours siesta in the afternoon and then a shower to get ready for going out to eat, which we do every night. Everything is free and easy and we love it and the kids love it too even though they’re grown up now.

Thankfully we don't get fined for that in Scotland, in fact never heard of anyone ever being fined. If absence gets too much the school work woth the parents through various stages to get the kid back in school. Think the way parents are treated liek criminals down south is ridiculous

If I'm being very honest can I say one persons fabulous food is another persons 'food a bit meh' - it's a really subjective thing. I've read negative reviews on trip advisor of places I thought were great and vice Versa.

Our primary in Wales the parents aren't fined. Post covid attendance is down. BUT I think parents and teachers think well no-one seemed to give a stuff during covid when children were locked down, so why should parents worry when making up for lost time for themselves and their children.

Not been on holiday yet this summer so hopefully not tempting fate but not been disappointed yet. Went in Easter and summer last couple of years.
I always extensively research where we are going and never spend huge sums of money.
AI is usually not worth the money but that doesn’t mean you have to eat out or SC you can pay as you or upgrade in the hotel which is often cheaper than booking through the travel agent.
Also often HB is more than enough. Massive breakfast late in the morning, snacks for lunch. Big dinner.
Also the drinks quality is better when not AI. We went HB to Cyprus at Easter the AI had pre-made cocktails in tiny plastic cups. Mine I paid €3.50 for was properly made in a large glass with all the trimmings.
We usually go a couple of days before end of term or get back a day or two late really brings the price down.

Did some AI holidays when son was young 15-20 years ago. Mark Warner/Club Med. Worked well then although didn’t love being in a resort but enjoyed the sport and activities on offer. Did one AI as a couple in Cyprus 8 years ago which was ok but said never again mainly as booked AM flights which got changed so we arrived late that night losing a day. Had no choice to change without huge fee. Since then have had villa holidays and booked independently. Last 3 holidays have been to Greek Island, hotel with B&B and eat out in the local town. Around £2.3 for hotel, £600 flights, £200 ferry then spending money there. Prob cost £5.5 for 2 adults for 2 weeks this year. We go to the same hotel because we love it and when spending that kind of money I want to know I’m going to enjoy it.

For the person looking at Kinderhotels, I recommend the Alpenrose - the children went off abseiling one day while we had a Segway tour through the most beautiful forest area. The pool was lovely and each day they had a barbecue lunch with really good quality steaks etc. The Ellmauhof in Hinterglemm is also wonderful.

I live in Cornwall and sympathise re: the terrible weather this year. Also, the roads are heaving so if you want to go into a town you'll get stuck in traffic forever. If I wanted a UK holiday this would not be my top choice!

Walt Disney World, Florida (specifically that location) is AMAZING for Coeliacs. Soooo much choice of safe foods you feel like a normal human again :)

Currently on Honeymoon in a 5 star AI hotel the worst thing about it is I got what I strongly suspect is a UTI the evening before we were due to fly. Fortunately following a thread on here I was straight onto Boots and got a 3 day course of antibiotics but it's still dodgy so probably needed a week long course. I also seem to have developed a cracking rash, which I suspect is heat rash although shower gel and suncream are other suspects. So un sexy 😂😂 we also seem to be experiencing a post wedding crash as we can't stay awake and have no energy to do anything!

The hotel however is stunning, I think it helps it's the county's off season so a bit quieter. The food has a good variety, something for most cultures/tastes although because I'm fussy it's getting a little repetitive because I tend to stick to the same things, but it's the best AI food I've come across not that I've done loads of abroad holidays. Staff can't do enough for you. However if the hotel was full I could see it being really hard to find beds etc as it's massive. There's an adults only pool which is bliss.

People seem to turn feral round the buffet, someone's child was trotting along and slammed straight into me when I had a plate of food - no apology! Luckily the child didn't end up wearing the food!

We are pleased for the AI as it's more an up and coming country and the surrounding area is a bit iffy so not sure about eating out.

It's the haggling and harassing by the merchants (have experienced in almost all abroad places we have been) that's frustrating. I completely understand they need to make a living and it's their way of life but they pounce on you the minute you get near them - it actually has the opposite effect for me, if I could take my time and browse what they have available I'd be more likely to consider using their services/buying something if I see something I like

This is probably the best AI place we've stayed and I have NO complaints about the hotel here, our last AI was rather more "interesting" with the 4 star hotel being rather more 3 star, the pool steps dropping everytime you stood on them, not enough beds as people reserved them despite the rules saying not to, plus space not being effectively utilised, the food was generally inedible slop and to top it off the room walls were paper thin, inconsiderate people would make noise walking down the corridors at late hours and my patience finally ran out when the noisy family next door decided to bellow out let it go at 12am when we had to be up early for an excursion - to be fair reception did deal with it following my marching down there!

I wonder if possibly what has made it slightly less over crowded is its their off season, and it's one of the more "up and coming" countries rather than one of the most popular well known ones - if it were I think it would be a LOT busier - we got a lot more for our money in terms of hotel and length than if we'd gone for one of the classic/popular destinations

Which country are you in?

@MadCatLady27 are you in Mexico/Caribbean maybe?

Sri Lanka

Love Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 Went there for my honeymoon 17 years ago!

It's stunning isn't it! It's deceptively large too, it takes ages drive anywhere (not that I'm driving as the roads are stressful enough being a passenger! Will leave it to their people who are used to them, there's a definite vehicle hierarchy).

Any recommendations of places we should try and see?

We went to see some water falls, a tea plantation and an elephant sanctuary in Kandy I think it was. Colombo was quite modern, but just went for the day. Otherwise we just relaxed in the hotel resort!