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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Towels on sunloungers- scourge of the holiday

218 replies

Kiddiewinks2008 · 15/08/2016 09:36

I'm on holiday in france and theres a lovely pool with lots of sunloungers but always very busy.
Theres this one british family that go up there in the morning, take posession of 3 loungers and leave their towels there all day. We went up the other day & had to sit on the floor as there were none available but said family had gone off for lunch & came back 1 hour later leaving towels on loungers. I have been watching them and they do it every day. The day we had to sit on the floor, I moved one of their towels & took posession of one of their 3 loungers and when they came back the man complained as now they only had 2!
Aibu to think that this is just not reasonable behaviour?
(I am being slightly tongue in cheek with my post but I do think they are selfish twats!)

OP posts:
LunaLoveg00d · 15/08/2016 13:08

I think it's the same people who turn up in my street at 2.15pm to reserve "their" parking space for school pick up at 3. They really need to get a life.

vickibee · 15/08/2016 13:13

This was an issue at Our hotel in Menorca, People were getting up at 5am to reserve sunbeds, again no enforcement. People went out for the whole morning and expected to have sunbeds on their return? I got told off by a woman as I moved a sunbed to be with My DH and Ds as I was blocking her view of the pool. Some people are just so selfish

ShotsFired · 15/08/2016 13:13

RandyMagnum that video is one of the most depressing things I have ever seen. What a shit holiday it would be if every day started like that.

It needs David Attenborough narrating it.

BeJayKayven · 15/08/2016 13:20

Oh god Randy that is the stuff of nightmares 😦

Ledkr · 15/08/2016 13:24

Where are you cos we are currently on our way home from 4 weeks camping in France and in two of the sites the lifeguards regularly cleared towels if the owners were around.
They seemed to do this only to the English tho and were particularly quick to do so when their French mates arrived to swim and even quicker if they were female Grin
Generally tho it's twattish but common, there seems to be an every man for himself policy on holiday.

youarenotkiddingme · 15/08/2016 13:29

It doesn't bother me that people reserve sun beds. Personally I couldn't be bothered but like I say will dump stuff on way to breakfast on one lounger.

What annoys me most is the adult groups/ couples of adults who take all the loungers nearest the pool, especially the toddler section/ shallow end. I find it unnecessary and selfish.

pinkunicornsarefluffy · 15/08/2016 13:33

I stayed in a brilliant hotel in Cyprus that allocated your sunbeds for the whole of your holiday. you could ask them to change your spot, or take somebody else's if they went home, but it was your sunbed and nobody else's for the whole fortnight. It was brilliant and put me off ever wanting to stay anywhere else, but I haven't actually been abroad since.

I would remove towels though if I wanted a sunbed and they were all covered. I wouldn't if there were personal possessions or drinks there as I would assume you had just popped out, but if there was only a towel, then sorry, if you want a sunbed, you get out of bed like everyone else and you sit on the sunbed. If you want to stay in bed or go shopping til lunchtime, then expect somebody else to have nabbed your sunbed.

DurhamDurham · 15/08/2016 13:34

We have just come back from a week away and anyone who reserved a sunbed with towels had their towles removed and they had to collect them from Reception. I was a bit worried about going for a quick swim and leaving our towels unattended but the staff knew what they were doing and just removed those that had been reserved first thing on a morning and ones which were reserved and then the families/couples disappeared. It worked well, people only did it the once, as soon as they knew they couldn't reserve them it stopped, it was easy to spot newbies as they would saunter down after breakfast and see other people lounging on 'their sunbeds' Grin

NavyandWhite · 15/08/2016 13:35

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

littlepooch · 15/08/2016 13:43

I hate this. It always ends up with me being stressed, wondering if I should have a cant beat them join them attitude. This is part of the reason why I'm a villa covert now lol.

That video - wtf? I'm going to check some tripadvisor reviews for that place for a laugh. Grin

WhatWouldFlopDo · 15/08/2016 13:44

Randy we stayed at that hotel last year!

Now I see why there were never any sunbeds available when we went down. We went to Majorca this year where the holiday makers were mostly German and we got our pick of beds whatever time we went down to the pool. It is most certainly the English that reserve beds.

Kirriemuir · 15/08/2016 13:44

It does happen at 5 star hotels too. We go to Tenerife in October and the hotel reviews are mainly about the sunbeds and reserving.

What hotel in Cyprus? Great idea!

I too find it extremely selfish of anyone without young children needing to be at the pool edge.

happystory · 15/08/2016 13:47

Pinkunicorn that's a great idea. In an Italian resort once, each hotel had an area of the beach and you had allocated beds and umbrella within it. It was bloody brilliant, stress-free no matter what time you got there. But we saw some great barnies when people chose to ignore it! A stand off for about half an hour while family continued to dig sandcastles and a couple stood there glaring.

MrsCaptainWentworth · 15/08/2016 13:48

Just back from protaras in Cyprus & we were allocated sunbeds. Our initial location wasn't great but we were told we could move after a couple of days - which we did & had those beds for the rest of the week. Was fab!

LunaLoveg00d · 15/08/2016 13:48

Wild horses would never drag me to Benidorm, especially if people behaved like that. Not sure what disturbed me most, the sprinting to put your towel right down by the pool, or the "Eng-errr-lund" towels on the loungers. Just YUK.

ChristmasZombie · 15/08/2016 13:50

That video is completely insane. Mind you, it saves a lot of labour for the hotel staff!

RufusTheReindeer · 15/08/2016 13:52

Hotel we have just stayed at provides towels and has bins for you to put them in when you are done

We have turned up at 4ish to jump in the pool and there are masses with towels on where people cant be bothered to put them in the bins. and it would be just my luck to ditch the "wrong" towels

I did see one of the staff members take them away...once Grin

BeJayKayven · 15/08/2016 13:56

Luna - unfortunately it happens in loads of places, not just Benidorm.

pinkunicornsarefluffy · 15/08/2016 13:58

kirriemuir it was the Capo Bay Hotel in Protaras, but I believe another hotel there did the same, the Sunrise or something like that? It was over ten years ago that I was there though, so it may have changed, although I hope not. They also provided pool towels that you could exchange daily. It was fab as it was right on the beach, so we could happily leave our loungers and belongings to go and swim in the sea, or to have lunch at the hotel, knowing that it would all still be there when we got back.

The hotel has been massively upgraded since I was there though and costs an awful lot more money now so I don't know if I will ever get back there.

MrsCaptainWentworth · 15/08/2016 13:59

It was the Sunrise Pearl we stayed at. Very good system.

mouldycheesefan · 15/08/2016 14:04

Both my favourite hotels remove all items from sun beds if they haven't had anyone on them for more than half an hour. You can collect your items again from the beach butler. Works very well always plenty of sun beds and no reserving.

Tissunnyupnorth · 15/08/2016 14:05

Randymagnum....that is actually quite depressing. One of the main reasons we don't go on that sort of hotel holiday. I'm not sure how that would actually be a holiday? Hmm

wtfdidijustwatch · 15/08/2016 14:07

Why would you want to spend ALL DAY led spreadeagled on a sunlounger?
I can manage 3 hours max, then I want to go do other things. Go see the sights etc.
I don't get the mentality of people who's only aim on holiday is to lie prone and fry themselves on a sunbed for 12 hours at a time, only taking breaks to stuff their faces and go to the loo.

IceRoadDucker · 15/08/2016 14:11

wtfdidijustwatch Is it uncomfortable lying for more than 3 hours because of the judgeypants wedged up your arse?

squoosh · 15/08/2016 14:18

My God, that video! They're like busy little worker ants.

Not for me.