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Original poster

Not leaving the hotel when on holiday

168 replies

LaDamaDeElche · 09/10/2023 11:16

Do you go and see things when travel to a different country, or just stay in the hotel? I get it if you're doing a week all inclusive in Spain or something, that people want to just unwind and everything is paid for, but how about if you travel further. My dad has just been to the Caribbean and didn't leave the hotel in two weeks. He always does this - Mexico, Dubai, Greece etc - never even venturing out to a local restaurant. They usually go to the same hotel chain too, so it's like the same holiday over and over, but just travelling for more hours 😂 They just drink, eat, sunbathe and repeat. They've been to some beautiful countries and just seen the airport and the hotel. It seems so weird to me, but maybe it's normal and something a lot of people do.

OP posts:
Imisssleep2 · 11/10/2023 04:26

Before children we would always book s lf catering and do a mix of a day by the pool to unwind then a day exploring and plan out what we wanted to see when, and always we to local restaurants to eat, trying as many different places as we could then eturning to our favourite for the last night.

Now we have young children I would now be looking at a more inclusive type deal for easiness at least until they are a bit older, but we would prob still venture out a few days of the holiday with young children assuming there is stuff nearby of interest.

We spent our honeymoon in Borneo and spent the first week sightseeing with a personal tour guide, then the second week in an half board hotel and literally did nothing but after wedding planning, wedding and that first week, a week of nothing was just what we needed lol.

ImCamembertTheBigCheese · 11/10/2023 05:53

Someone who never leaves the hotel isn't interested in where they are, just want the nice weather.

Beachywave · 11/10/2023 06:01

I recently went to Tunisia with my extended family… they were like that! I went out a few times on my own with DC and they all stayed in the hotel. They may as well have been in Spain because they have no idea what Tunisia is like 😂

TeamGeriatric · 11/10/2023 06:02

My kids would love a full week of not leaving the hotel, but it's not my, or my husbands, idea of fun. We went to see family in Australia in the summer and because we basically spent our summer holiday in winter (albeit not winter like in the UK), we did 4 nights in the Maldives on the way home. That was about my limit for enjoying a resort. Last year we toured Slovenia, in May we went to Lisbon that's more our scene. There are plenty of people who love a resort though.

Linzinbulgaria · 11/10/2023 06:13

I've been going abroad since I was 10 but never done an all inclusive. If I was going to do all inclusive without leaving the complex I would probably just go to the same resort every year, what's the point going to all these exotic far away places to sit next to a different pool? I don't get it personally! 😕

Parakeetamol · 11/10/2023 06:21

We go to centre parcs type places and don't leave the resort as there's too much to do.

I regularly go to work conferences for 4-5 days and literally don't leave the hotel, don't even go outside, it's so full on. I've been to hotels in LA, Chicago, Milan, all just had a drive from airport to hotel, stayed at hotel, then back to airport again. Sometimes I might pop out on a roof terrace..

Luckyduc · 11/10/2023 07:06

I spend as little time at the hotel as possible...literally a bed and breakfast ...rest of the time we have a car hire and go visit places and eat in different places. I don't go on holiday tho to sit by a pool...too boring.

Ffion21 · 11/10/2023 07:17

Everyone likes different things and as you get older you naturally slow down a bit and tire more easily.

When I was younger I did one AI (maybe 20 with then bf to Dominican). Bloody hated it because I felt trapped in resort and swore I wouldn’t ever do one ever again. I like being out and about.

Had son as I got older with DH and we did our own thing until one year we couldn’t decide and did a last minute AI to Majorca. We loved it. We didn’t love the food (we are foodies). However I loved I didn’t have to cook and clean and son could eat whenever he fancied and pool was kid friendly etc. it was geared up to make it easier for us. After that we went on one each year but we’re particular about the food reviews. Still mixed it up with out and about.

last year we went as a family to Dominican and got off site for a bit but I still felt like a caged animal so we opted not to do AI if we ever do more than a week. We went to America this year (Florida, Universal etc) which was entirely different again and we were utterly exhausted. 6 year old walked 35 miles in 4 days.

We need to get the balance right but now he’s older we can do whatever. AI is defo great for little kids. Also great for money management.

MikeRafone · 11/10/2023 07:43

It depends what type of holiday Im going. If Im going all inclusive then id rarely go outside of the hotel - but Id only go for a week on an all inclusive as that is enough for me.

Im going on a city break later this year and will pack a few sight seeing things in and also wander the city have coffee and meals and relax.

Next year ive some travelling booked and will be venturing out each day sight seeing and looking around.

I doubt I could go to Mexico or Dubai and not look around, but wouldn't be the type of place to book an all inclusive for me. Or I would do a couple of weeks of travelling and finish with 5 days all inclusive at the end of the stay.

I do wonder why people travel for 10 hours for sunshine & all inclusive when they could travel 5 hours and get the same?

Summerlovin24 · 11/10/2023 08:15

My idea of hell
Glad so many people do it so they are not in my way When I go exploring and hiking

Passepartoute · 11/10/2023 08:36

If all you want is to sunbathe and stay all-inclusive in a good hotel, I don't understand why people like your father spend so much money and time travelling all over the world. If that were me, I'd find the nearest place with reliable weather and keep going back there.

I've never gone all-inclusive, and one reason for that is precisely that I like to see as much as I can of the local area and to explore local restaurants and markets. But I also hate sunbathing anyway.

Passepartoute · 11/10/2023 08:39

LaDamaDeElche · 09/10/2023 11:52

He enjoys it, but always moans about the travel time for about a week after he gets back 😂 I suppose if you want that kind of holiday, it's the travelling a massive distance I don't get. He was at the same hotel chain in the Caribbean as he goes to in Spain. The hotel looks almost identical.

Show quote history

When he moans, has anyone ever asked him why he books long haul for that type of holiday?

CeeceeBloomingdale · 11/10/2023 08:45

I’m not a fan of AI, I’ll only do ultra all inclusive in the Indian Ocean or Caribbean as there is limited other options for eating out. However we do still go sightseeing, out of the complex, eat outside etc a few times as the AI gets repetitive. In Europe we always go SC, eat out daily and never sit by the pool. We are either out exploring or at the beach. One hotel complex is like another to me and hotel entertainment is my worst nightmare.

Myneedycat · 11/10/2023 09:06

I hate A1 . It always seems to be full of people who just go to get drunk and lie around. However I suppose a lot of people are looking for sun and food and drink on tap. They aren’t interested in culture. We went to Crete a couple of years ago and most people were A1. It seemed to me that the only people who hired cars or left the hotel were Germans and French people. Tells you a lot. All the drunken loutish behaviour ( in a five star hotel) was from Brits.

Takeabreather23 · 11/10/2023 09:07

If it’s sun and a pool and hotel food he’s going for then yes he should just go to the closest one save the travel time.
it seems crazy to be able to travel to all those countries and not see any of it . I would venture out for food elsewhere or a walk or water park.
I wouldn’t spend all day every days driving and travel though.

Couldntthinkofausername24 · 11/10/2023 09:11

We went travelling for 4 weeks around Europe in our car for our honeymoon and it was absolutely incredible. The best time of my entire life. Much better than our wedding day. We've only been on 1 all inclusive holiday in the 11 years we've been together but we still ventured out daily. We much prefer self catering. Each to their own for sure and if he enjoys it then nothing wrong with that.

Bellyblueboy · 11/10/2023 10:04

To each their own.

everyone should be free to spend their holidays how they want without judgement.

I do what relaxes me. It might not be someone else’s cup of tea. Who cares though?

TenderDandelions · 11/10/2023 10:05

I don't get it either (unless you have kids, in which case I can totally understand it). As a couple, we have done a number of package holidays and always like a mix of staying in the hotel and venturing out, whether it's just a wander of the local area, going on a boat trip or going further afield on a trip or hiring a car.

We were in Tenerife one holiday and got chatting to the people on the balcony next door. They were very happily telling us about all the times they'd stayed in the hotel (I can't remember how many times but it was more times that we'd been to Tenerife, and I've been there 6 or 7 times!), but when we mentioned that we had hired a car and were going up to the volcano and doing a bit of a tour of the more remote parts of the island, then getting an eco boat tour another day with some marine biologists to see and listen to the whales, he seemed surprised there was a) a volcano; and b) whales!

"Oh, we've never done anything like that - we just stay in the resort".

That said, going to the same hotel in Tenerife for years on end still seems more sensible that travelling all the way to the Caribbean and not leaving the hotel. I could more understand it in winter, but to have gone recently is right in the middle of hurricane season too!

Jaybail · 11/10/2023 10:13

Can't think of anything worse! Wherever I go the routine is the same, first day stay in the hotel complex and see what's on offer, after that, out and about on as many trips as my bank balance will allow.
I am happy to relax by the pool for half an hour or so, but if I want to sit around doing nothing I would save the hassle of travelling and stay home. I have to admit that I am not the most relaxing person to holiday with but for me new places are there to be explored, and to make memories!

VineRipened · 11/10/2023 10:17

Llloydwells · 09/10/2023 11:29

If it was the canaries or Balearics, unlikely I'd leave the hotel. In more culturally interesting places I'd not book AI.

We had a fantastic week in Lanzarote visiting all the varied Cesar Manrique places, natural phenomena like the caves, the volcano field and having out lunch cooked on hot lava, the beautiful Geria with the unique vine growing method , the wild beaches … fascinating island!

SamW98 · 11/10/2023 10:38

I don’t do AI but I do spend a lot of my holiday chilling on a sun lounger headphones in switched off from the world. On a 7 day holiday I would probably have a couple of days on trips or exploring and the other 5 horizontal soaking up the sun.

I always go out on the evenings for dinner followed by cocktails. I love trying a different restaurant every night and finding a favourite bar.

I don’t do long haul though. Strictly southern Europe usually Greece for me

Raizin · 11/10/2023 11:23

I like to explore, go on excursions, shop, etc,
but I always set time aside to be at the beach/pool all day too. I want to chill out on holiday, not come back as knackered as I was before I flew out!

Just being out in the sun all day is tiring enough when going on trips, etc so I always have a chill day the next day.

Each to their own though. I really don't care what other people do with their holiday time.

FlatWhiteExtraHot · 11/10/2023 11:38

I love AI but then I’m common so 🤷‍♀️. We can only afford one holiday a year or every other year and AI takes the stress out of wondering whether we can afford another drink or traipsing round endlessly looking for the cheapest restaurant.

I’m on my holidays so I like crappy cocktails by the pool, copious amounts of Diet Coke and eating chips and salad for every meal. However, there’s no way I’d bother flying long haul for it, the Canaries are plenty far enough and have year round nice weather. Leaving the hotel involves a walk to the beach and back every day after breakfast, the odd boat trip, and a walk round town in the evening.

MrsSkylerWhite · 11/10/2023 11:40

I don’t get it either. If you just want guaranteed sun, there are places much closer to home.

snowlady4 · 11/10/2023 11:43

I have done both. I like both, for different reasons. But usually I'm inclined to book a hotel with plenty going on nearby so I have options.
The times I've spent a whole week on the resort, without leaving, I've known in advance this is what I'm doing- and planned for this-usually these type of hotels have nothing close by/ often reflected in the price and usually excellent resorts.
It's just whatever suits you isn't it.