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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

About the All Inclusive holiday

135 replies

teacherandguideleader · 23/08/2013 20:16

DP and I have recently returned from holiday. We chose not to go all inclusive as we like to have the option of getting out and about.

Most of the holidaymakers at our resort were All Inclusive. I have never seen people eat so much in all my life. Breakfast was a buffet and people were coming back with plates piled high with food (and made several trips too). DP and I had a slightly larger breakfast than normal as we were half board and a bigger breakfast meant we didn't want lunch. However, not only did a lot of these people have an enormous breakfast, but by 12 they were gorging into burger and chips from the pool bar, often followed by a mid afternoon 'snack' and an equally enormous dinner.

DP and I did work out that it would have worked out cheaper for us to be A-I, as we stayed in the resort of an evening and after a couple of cocktails it would have paid for itself - we would then have had a smaller breakfast along with lunch rather than just a bigger breakfast.

The one thing that struck me was how many of the people were clearly overweight and by quite a lot. I did start to wonder whether it is somewhat irresponsible of holiday companies to offer All Inclusive holidays which seemed to be 'stuff yourself silly at every opportunity' when as a nation we are struggling so much with the health implications of obesity.

This is probably more of a rant than an AIBU - I was just so shocked by what I saw!

OP posts:
MrsTerryPratchett · 23/08/2013 22:38

I've been all-inclusive twice. I will only go if the activity outweighs the greed Grin Skiing, diving and the like mean that the piles of crap I eat get used up and I don't come back heavier.

The problem for me, because I don't really care if people want to pig out on their own holiday is that they are shit for the locals and small businesses. If I go to Belize, I want the Belizians, Belizoids, Belizeans to make the cash.

acer12 · 23/08/2013 22:42

Teacher an honest question.. Would it have bothered you so much if the people that had there plates piled high were slim and not over weight?

BestIsWest · 23/08/2013 22:44

I have just been self catering for two weeks (Portugal). Ate out most evenings. I put on eight pounds. Gah. And it took me 4 weeks to lose 4 pounds before I went.

SeaSickSal · 23/08/2013 22:54

Why do people's attitudes towards food need changing? You would have to be a complete imbecile not to have noticed the media saturation, not to mention the diet industries, that being fat is no good for you.

But a hell of a lot of people would rather have a shorter life and eat nice food, get pissed and smoke fags. If it was just a matter of educating people nobody would smoke, drink or eat to excess. But people do because they are adults making and informed choice that they want to and they have decided that the risks are ones they are prepared to take for the benefits they feel they get from eating, drinking and smoking.

Incidentally in many cases they save the treasury an awful lot of money by dying younger and needing less care. Not to mention leaving a full estate not eaten away by care fees to their mortgage laden offspring.

At the end of the day you can't blame it on holiday companies or be outraged. People have been dying of greed since our sovereigns used to die from surfeits of peaches and lampreys.

Greed is part of the human condition. If people choose to do it then it's their choice. They don't need somebody bossing them about telling them that they should or shouldn't do it - we've had plenty of that and people in possession of all the information still decide that they want to eat another eclair.

revealall · 23/08/2013 22:57

I agree with the Op. People do take more than they need if it's offered whether it's their holiday or just going round to a mates BBQ.
Free bars are the worse. I've seen people go crazy drinking themselves stupid forgetting their glass and just getting more - any party host will have seen the same I think when they come to clear up.
It's not so much a problem for the individuals but I can see the larger implications for countries that host AI holidays.

Original poster
teacherandguideleader · 23/08/2013 23:01

Acer - I'm not sure. I would have noticed it (I'm a nosy parker) and thought 'what a disgusting amount of food' although I'm not sure it would have played on my mind so much. By the way, I don't care what people look like, but I am genuinely concerned about some people's health.

OP posts:
Coconutty · 23/08/2013 23:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
teacherandguideleader · 23/08/2013 23:14

There is a difference between eating loads because you're on holiday and eating to utter excess. I ate more than usual e.g. having seconds, desserts that I wouldn't normally have. This was different. I remember seeing one man with an enormous stack and my initial thought was that he had also got it for his wife - but this was just his.

OP posts:
Xmasbaby11 · 23/08/2013 23:14

It's the same at all-you-can-eat buffets. They do encourage people to eat more. And it's generally low-quality food anyway. I try not to stuff myself at buffets, but surely on holiday, people eat what they want - it's only 1-2 weeks!

What you say is true, but I don't know why it bothers you!

HeffalumpTheFlump · 23/08/2013 23:17

I don't get why it bothers you so much though op. No one is asking you to eat that much! What difference does it make to you what other people choose to eat?

LayMizzRarb · 23/08/2013 23:22

Seasicksal
I do wish people would fuck off watching and judging what people eat and what shape they are. I think our society would be a much healthier and happier place
Thank you putting it so beautifully. You are soooo right.

SeaSickSal · 23/08/2013 23:24

teacherandguideleader after reading your later posts I realize that you are genuinely concerned for other people.

But in all honesty people have the right to be informed, which I think they are, but after they are informed to carry on doing whatever the fuck they want.

Original poster
teacherandguideleader · 23/08/2013 23:26

I wasn't actually that bothered by it, it was just a musing I had while on holiday - does the rise of the AI holiday go hand in hand with a culture where we are increasingly doing things to excess. However, posting on here about my musing has riled me up (think it was the comments about me trying to have a dig at certain social classes that did it)...

OP posts:
Mumoftwoyoungkids · 23/08/2013 23:26

We've been on loads of AI holidays. IME what people eat/drink is a bit like a cosine graph. First few days - stuff their faces. After that they realise that there is always more food and drink so they can just eat what they want. Then the eating slows down. By mid holiday it hits a minimum before revving up again before the last "blowout" meal.

From a combination of tan and food consumption I can usually peg where people are on their holiday.

FreudiansSlipper · 23/08/2013 23:27

I have only been on one all inclusive holiday

Never again the greed of many of those staying in the hotel made me feel ill they just ate and ate. Gluttony is horrible to witness not something that should be celebrated

HeffalumpTheFlump · 23/08/2013 23:28

At the end of the day if your issue is the effects of obesity on our healthcare systems, then the choices people make on a week or two holiday is really not the problem. It is the day to day choices people make about their diet and exercise for the rest of the year.

It's slightly ludicrous to think that stopping ai holidays would do anything to beat obesity. Or that all inclusive has any real effect on the obesity epidemic at all!

Original poster
teacherandguideleader · 23/08/2013 23:29

Seasick - a close friend of mine is a paramedic - a patient nearly died recently because they could not fit him in the ambulance and they had to wait for the special one. It is for reasons like that that I give a damn and just don't get why some people don't.

OP posts:
Haggischucker · 23/08/2013 23:31

Think it depends where you go. We always go 5 or 4 all inclusive as calculated (on uk prices) that it can cost up to £100 a day for food and drink. This is a standard breakfast, salad lunch with wine, cocktails in afternoon, 3 course meal and few drinks after.

The only time I have came across what the OP is describing was when we went to costa brava to a 3* as it was cheaper to go there and get a train to Barcelona than a Barcelona mini break.

If you want amazing all inclusive look towards the Thomson couples hotels or the karisima hotels which are gourmet all inclusive, amazing! :)

Original poster
teacherandguideleader · 23/08/2013 23:32

Heffalump - in reality I know that AI holidays haven't caused it, and in the great scheme of things 2 weeks probably won't make much difference. However, I remember when I was younger, I never really heard of people going on AI, and if they did it always seemed really expensive and to luxury places. It seems to be different now (I may have got this wrong) and whenever I hear of someone going AI it seems to be all about being able to eat and drink as much as you can - I think we have a culture now where this is seen as normal.

OP posts:
Original poster
teacherandguideleader · 23/08/2013 23:35

Haggis - this was one of those amazing AI hotels! I have to say, the food quality was fantastic.

OP posts:
scrazy · 23/08/2013 23:37

I would never do it again. I feel sick at the international buffet. It depends what you pay, friends of mine are going AI at a very expensive resort without a buffet in sight. I could stomach that.

HeffalumpTheFlump · 23/08/2013 23:38

I don't think the two things are necessarily related to be honest. I think that it just makes better economical sense to go ai these days, otherwise spending money can really get out of control on food and drinks. I think plenty of people will eat and drink more on a holiday, but this doesn't mean they are all making poor choices about diet and exercise at home.

However, if you are greedy and eat too much, you will do it at home or on holiday, whether you go ai or not!

MrsTerryPratchett · 23/08/2013 23:38

It's about the hotel chains making as much money as possible. Not about people's choices.

SeaSickSal · 23/08/2013 23:42

teacherandguideleader someone like that actually has an eating disorder. Just like somebody has anorexia.

People who get that huge don't get that huge because they like pigging out on all inclusive holidays. They get huge because of biological, psychological, emotional and physical factors.

Despite the fact that we have huge amounts of calories cheaply available people who die in the manner you describe are still really few and far between.

There is a massive difference between dying because of chronic over eating and being fat because you eat loads on holiday and you like watching telly and playing on the X-Box more than you like playing tennis.

SeaSickSal · 23/08/2013 23:44

And teacherandguideleader. Your name does give away quite a bit. Just accept that you can't boss everybody around all the time. And then breathe.

And then go an set a good example to the children that you obviously do. You do a hell of a lot more to encourage healthy attitudes than a lot of other people do, so relax and be happy with that. And enjoy your next holiday without worrying.