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!

@Summerwashout we went to garmisch (Germany) in the summer and it was great. Nice big pretty town with great restaurants - lovely cable car trips - we stayed at the dorint. Which was the Olympic hotel on the edge- has fabulous indoor pool and spa plus lovely rooms - maybe slightly dated but great suites for families. Also reasonable!!

https://www.booking.com/hotel/de/garmisch-partenkirchen.en-gb.html?label=gen173nr-1FCAEoggI46AdICVgEaFCIAQKYAQm4ARjIAQ3YAQHoAQH4AQKIAgGoAgS4AsS42KYGwAIB0gIkNWJiYjQyM2YtM2Y0Ni00YWUzLTg4OGMtM2MxY2YxYjYxMWM52AIF4AIB&aid=304142&ucfs=1&arphpl=1&checkin=2023-09-22&checkout=2023-09-29&destid=61314&destttype=hotel&groupadults=2&reqqadults=2&norooms=1&grouppchildren=0&reqchildren=0&hpos=1&hapos=1&srrorder=popularity&srpvid=b0a9513eb6550170&srepoch=1691753598&allsrrblocks=6131437285018395523330&highlightedblocks=6131437728501839522330&matchinggblockid=6131437728501839522330&srrpriblocks=6131437728501839522330129840&frommsustainablepropertyy_sr=1&activeTab=htReviews&drawerId=property-description-drawer

Mine wasn’t great… UK holiday park and shocking weather. But was a nice place and can live with it for the cost (£1500 for 4 plus spending money).
really enjoyed the hassle free packing and travel.

trouble with a fancy expensive abroad one when you can’t afford it is there’s so much pressure for it to be amazing.

wouldn’t mind a bit of sun though!

Our 5k holiday cost 3k last year . Same hotel, dates and destination. Mediocre hotels now cost a fortune sadly.

@PetersSpecialCheese same with us.
We go to Gran Canaria in March and November because it's so much quieter but still a lovely temp
Avoid going away in the 6 weeks holidays

If its any comfort, I didn't go AI and didn't go on holiday in the summer - and was still a bit disappointed! I booked a walking holiday on the Amalfi Coast in early May - thinking it would be perfect for walking as not too hot. Sadly it was during the period when Italy had torrential rain, and we had a very damp week, culminating in one walk being cancelled, and also non-existent views a lot of the time. I've now booked a trip to Palma at the end of September - to get that last bit of sun before the winter - but the weather is so uncertain now I know it's not guaranteed.

You do not get what you pay for anymore. Rising costs for hotels mean we are covering some of those costs and so do not receive the same standard of holiday now year as you did previously. Not everyone can afford a 10k week away which should guarantee luxury, most of us pay for expensive holidays that do not always meet the mark.

@Crikeyalmighty@Crikeyalmighty thanks

It's the location and swimming /cable car side I'm interested in.

Another one in the self catering camp. We used to get a caravan on a euro camp site when growing up, then slowly moved to villas as we got older. Sometimes on a communal site, but we prefer a regular private rental. Cheaper, you have your own pool, no sharing of anything. Quiet and you can wnjoymyoyr own space. We go out most days for a potter around local town/sites, perhaps a beach day or two. Sometimes a park or specific place (but not expensive water parks, not our thing) plus days just spent lounging reading books and relaxing.
Eat breakfast and one other meal at home - we usually alternate lunch and dinner out. I find eating out every meal too much anyway. Especially if youre in Europe- Spain, France, Italy etc, you've got so much great produce in the shops its easy to pick up quick fix meals or lunches (plus who doesn't love a foreign super market!). Yes there's a bit of washing up but nothing insane if you're making simple meals - when it's hot we never really want much more than salad, fresh bread, local cold meats and cheese.

We are just back from 2 weeks in a Sensatori in Egypt and it was fantastic for us and for DD.

We only ever do AI. After a couple of slightly disappointing holidays in Spain /Majorca/
Canaries/Greece we headed further out to Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt and got higher ratings and much better service for the same price.

After DD turned 8/9 we concentrated on Egypt and Turkey as she wanted water parks and then teen clubs. We've never had a bad one since.

Last year DD was 17 and we went for Mexico, which was brilliant, but much more expensive, both for the holiday and the trips out. This year was the last year we'll take her for 'free' so we pushed the boat out a bit with the sensatori, but it was still cheaper (5.5k) than Mexico. The same holiday, same dates for DH and I next year will be 4k

@ASoapImpressionOfHisWifeWhichHeAte

Disney in my humble opinion must be done on their members pass and staying what they call off sight

Oh gosh, that sounds awful for you!

I was disappointed by my holiday to Devon last week, although that was more to do with the fact that it rained every day. 😄 Our Airbnb cottage was fab.

I was looking at prices for a holiday in France and everything was so £££ we've decided to go long-hail to Bali this year

The flight aren't cheap (£3.5k for 2 adults, two kids) but we're flying with Singapore Airlines who are fab. We've also booked some some Airbnb villas out there which look absolutely beautiful (they all have private pools) and the cost is the same as a UK B&B (around £100-150 per night). Food and drink and taxis should be cheap so I'm hoping this is the new format for our holidays. 🤞

@theleafandnotthetree thank you.

I could have written this word for word.

We have always been self-catering holidays and have not had a bad holiday. We love a foreign supermarket and a local market too. I certainly don't cook elaborate meals - lots of salads, barbeques and fruit.

@Summerwashout ah I forgot to mention the lakes - loads of swimming lakes too and the cable car up the mountain is is great -

Here's a link to the lake swimming

zugspitze.com/en/holiday-world/active-summer/water-fun/swimming-mountain-lakes

We're considering AI cos we have 2 small DC and me and DD1 are coeliac. If we could find somewhere that catered well for us that would avoid the stress of trying to find multiple safe places to eat out or the faff of cooking. This thread puts me off though 😅 We've only ever stayed in uk since having DC, which I like but I think DH would like some sun and not having to drive while we're there.

Currently on holiday, staying half board in a 4 star hotel that has hundreds of excellent reviews. Chose it based on strong reviews and the lack of Brits staying here. It’s not what we were hoping for. Loud, naff hotel based entertainment blaring out here and all around the town every night until early hours, hotel specialises in lukewarm, boring food and sullen staff. Everyone else around us seems to be having a great time, many are repeat guests but 90% are all the same nationality so we figure the hotel is catering to their tastes in all aspects. Fair enough I guess, wish we hadn’t booked 14 nights though 😆 On the plus side the weather is great, no sunbed dramas at the pool and we’ve managed to find a few nice bars to go to in the evenings. Do feel quite tired 😴

We’ve also decided to change it up next year and try a villa or self catering with a pool

Look at Italy. They have really high rates of coeliac disease, their coeliac society has a website full of restaurants and advice and most places cater for coeliac diets.

Around Lake Achensee is amazing. Lots of cable cars, the lake is beautiful to swim in. Pretty little towns around.

You don't have to cook on self-catering holidays abroad.

Stay in an apartment or villa with pool in a town/resort. Get simple breakfast things in, then either picnic or simple lunch at a pool bar followed by a saunter amongst the local restaurants to decide which one looks good tonight.

I haven't RTFT but am so sorry about those people who haven't enjoyed their holidays. Perhaps time to mix it up and try something different? We found we enjoyed 10 days more than 2 weeks a few years ago - that made a difference to us.

We were totally in the self catering brigade when we had children to take. None of us wanted a cooked breakfast, cereal was fine, did rolls for lunch and then we would all take it in turns to choose a restaurant for dinner. I see on here people saying they go AI because the kids 'pester for ice creams and snacks'. Our kids got unlimited water filled from bottles and one ice cream a day. That's what they'd get at home - I think it's about setting expectations?

I also hate the whole buffet experience and I think that AIs are much busier around the pool because people aren't going to leave all that food and drink. I feel uncomfortable about being around a pool where people start drinking alcohol at 10am because they can.

It's marvellous now that people can book via Airbnb and VRBO and do their own flights - years ago we were phoning hotels in the US to make our own bookings.

This sounds amazing, would you be willing to share the name of the hotel?

This is our first ever family 14 night holiday and we will be going back to 10 days next year.

@theresnolimits you have it in a nutshell. I find when people have paid for AI then they tend to hang around the hotel a lot as they quite understandably looking at some of these prices dont wanto spend more. This can make for chaotic noisy pool areas , especially in school holiday times. We did it twice and I hated the vibe , canteen like buffet restaurants , very repetitive food and always a few pissed up people smashing glasses or shouting aggressively at kids . For me it was the opposite of relaxing. I guess we are all different and some people enjoy that vibe but one thing I can say was that it wasn't cheaper! If cost is paramount you can do a great holiday even in peak season including generous spending money allowance for meals and drinks out of £200 a day for a week or 10 days for around £4.5k for an average family of 4 and not run the risk of the food being crap the whole time or your room being next to the bin store etc

Agreed, it has become one of the best places to go. I was in a restaurant in Rome recently called Moma Eats Roma and they have 2 kitchens, one exclusively gluten free and you can eat absolutely anything! Made a total pig of myself 🤣. There are a number of these restaurants plus gluten free supermarkets too I believe.