Coeliac going on all inclusive holiday- possible?

[MaryThorne]

Hi, I'm thinking about possible holiday options for future years, myself, DS(4) and DH (coeliac, diagnosed a couple of years ago). I have occasionally considered different holiday options from self-catering eg all inclusive. Does anyone have any experience of whether or not it is possible to do so as a coeliac without a great deal of difficulty or limited choice for food?

Hmm... when I think of 'all inclusive' I think of self service buffet tables - cross contamination from spoons and people changing their minds and putting things back.

It might be ok in a coeliac friendly place? Maybe certain hotels in USA, Italy and UK?

As a coeliac with 2 coeliac kids this would be my worst nightmare

Far too many unpredictable situations, cross contamination, language barrier etc

Previously we’ve ordered plain egg omelette and been presented with ham omelettes (we’re veggie)

A second time veg pasta, again assured it was vegetarian but in fact had fish stock in (ds has a severe shellfish allergy)

So no I personally wouldn’t risk it

Thanks, kind of what I thought. I was hoping maybe someone had found a way to do it.

I think you can go to hotels and restaurants but order your food a la carter rather than from buffets.

We went on a half board holiday to Italy where the breakfast was a typical buffet, probably not great for coeliacs but there was a lot of fruit, plus things like cheese, cold meats and hard-boiled eggs. (They may have had gluten free bread on request too).

For dinner we had a set menu to choose from of 4 choices for each of 3 courses. As it was summer there was always at least 1 salad as a starter and at least 1 fruit plate as a pudding, and all of the main courses were a piece of meat or fish with a few veg or potatoes on the side. So if you had steered clear of the daily pasta option for a starter and checked that sauces were made without flour (or skipped the sauce) I think a coeliac would be fine. Maybe look for an all inclusive with that kind of set up, OP?

Well I did it lasts year went all inclusive to menorca. Absolutely fabulous I emailed the hotel before I booked and was assured it would be fine. (I’m coeliac btw). Booked and then emailed exact dates etc. Was given name of restaurant manager for first day. She met me talked me through food out that night. Had all gf food on a separate table so v little chance of cc as all spoons etc stayed in that area. They made me gf versions of anything I wanted as long as I told them At them at the meal before. Was the best holiday and I ate so much. It is possible

It's possible. The Spanish seem to be pretty good at catering IME. Just needs lots of planning. The coeliac Facebook groups are good for recommendation

We stayed in NH Hotel on honeymoon and their gf catering was fab. They have some resorts so it might be worth checking them.

It’s not. Resort, but it the best place I’ve been for gluten free awareness- Madrid. We go on holiday to Madrid a lot, as the celiac society there is very active in going out to restaurants, warning them about cross-contamination etc (everyone seems to know about cross contamination from fryers).

There is a gluten free bakery chain called Celicioso- they have a few branches and coffee shops round town, and a lovely brunch/tapas/restaurant place that’s open early til late. They have a branch at a resort in Marbella too I think. It’s not just cakes, but also sandwiches, salads, posh burgers, omelettes, brunch dishes like eggs benedict, smoothie bowls, that kind of thing. It’s brilliant because you can have anything.

There’s another bakery further north too that does meals as well, called Sana Lacura. A gf restaurant called As De Bastos, one that is rice based called El Arrozal and another called Kint. a gf tapas place in La Latina called Taberna La Concha, with GF beer. All these places are totally gf, so your DH can hve anything and there is no risk of cross-contamination which is so relaxing. There are more we haven’t got round to trying yet.

There is a group of restaurants run by Grupo Oter (the restaurants have individual names) who are excellent at gluten free food. Excellent gluten free baguettes that they finish baking and they come in a little bag. They have loads of locations across the city.

We’ve not been to a single place in Madrid that didn’t get it totally. And the fact there is a choice of totally gf places is brilliant. All the El Cortes Ingles have big gf sections in the health food bit, and there are loads of health food/Organic shops with big gf sections.

Madrid is the only place we go and stay in a hotel, because we can eat out all the time, rather than an apartment.

Have you thought of cruising?
I've been on cruises with Ds2 who's coeliac and he loves it and it's stress free for me

It very much depends on their level of sensitivity to gluten.

You might well get food which is made with ingredients that are naturally gf, but unlikely the ingredients themselves are free off cc. Unlikely the pans they are cooked in, and other equipment is free of cc.

I cant eat out full stop. I know other coeliacs can manage 20ppm or so without damage.