To take towels off "reserved" sunbeds?

[Nancy91]

Every time I go on holiday there are people reserving the hotel's sunbeds by putting their towels on them at stupid o'clock in the morning, or even the night before! When I see that nobody has been on these "reserved" beds for an hour or so, I just fold the towels and put them on the floor and we go on the beds. Ok, it's slightly awkward when the people eventually come back, but I have paid for the holiday too, and lying on a towel on the floor isn't ideal when there are sunbeds that aren't even being used!

Does anyone else move the towels? My partner reckons it's a bit rude.

Sorry to sound uppity, but honestly that kind of tussle, running, frenzy, towel reservation stuff is just ridiculous.

But some must just have a competitive streak in them to do this madness.

There should be a law in resorts that there are as many sunbeds as guests.

That still won't stop the race to get the one nearest to the bar/pool/shade/orientation though will it. Prize spot is the aim.

OMG. Why would you do it?

Possum, I would follow suit but I need to be near the bar... I mean pool.

I always look on trip adviser re sun beds before I go. I don't want to get up at stupid o clock on holiday for a Sun bed.

I have just come back from Greece..Amazing hotel you could get sunbed on beach or pool at Any time of the day. It stopped people just reserving when not using I think.

We have found that more expensive holidays have plenty (unless you want the whole double bed on the beach thing which are very limited) and there has been no reserving issues. These have been adult only - I don't know whether that makes it better in as much as people tend to only want two together rather than four or more.

Cheaper ones we found it really stressful until we learnt to just move them then either deny all knowledge, move the sun loungers so people don't know where 'theirs' was or just say 'your towel is over there'. I'll be buggered if I spend my holiday wandering around a pool full of invisible people.

Crumbs I wondered the same. Every hotel I've been to we get beds allocated to us. I've only ever seen the getting up at 4 thing in Mexico last year and couldn't understand why people were booking beds when they were allocated by the hotel. We had 2 beds allocated to us on the beach and 2 beside the pool of our choice.

@Possum.

Totally agree, I said exactly the same thing in an earlier post. Worth every single sodding penny/cent/euro whatever.

When I was a rep I used to throw any towels left on sunbeds in the pool. I loved it.

Hotels should also have enough loungers for all guests to have a bed.

Even that wouldn't solve the problem unfortunately. I've been to hotels where people have spent the morning using the sun beds on the hotel beach, but "reserved" sun beds by the pool so they can use them in the afternoon.

However OP, YANBU. I've never been brave enough to do it myself, but admire anyone who is.

Soda I agree but I think they limit the amount of sunbeds so it's not overcrowded because then people might moan about that. I just wish people had the courtesy to not put the towels down when they aren't even on the hotel grounds for the day. I really look forward to my chilled out days by the pool.

I love to go and sit by the pool or on the beach and doze or read at about 7am. Nicest time of the day, especially in a really hot place. I then leave the towels while I go to breakfast and go straight back to the pool. We're usually done for the day soon after lunch and retreat somewhere else, it's too hot for me then.

ShinyGirl Best job ever

The only cheap holiday we went on was to Egypt and they had loads of sun beds. The subbed attendant would get a towel and put it down for you. They were always cleaning the beds and sweeping around. I don't think you could reserve a subbed, but there were plenty of loungers round the pool.

The place we went to in turkey was not cheap. It was expensive so we were rather surprised that there was towel reserving taking place.

NestOfVipers, that is really selfish of them, reserving 2 sets of sunbeds

Whirly, I agree, I love when it's quiet in the mornings but still warm. I don't even wake up late but most of the time all the sunbeds are reserved by 8ish.

Also when we stayed in a hotel in Italy there were 2 sunbeds allocated on their beach for each room. You had to take your ticket to the beach and show it to the inspector if asked (we were asked twice in the week) Fortunately we had booked a separate single room for DS so he got a sunbed too! Even if a hotel allocates 2 sunbeds per room there won't be enough if there are then children sharing a room.

I would still be asleep at the time when these idiots are getting up everyday and have far better things to do than reserve a bed so early.

We've done quite a few Med hotel type holidays but have never had areal problem getting some beds when we want them later in the day. OK. they won't be at the front by the pool and we may have to share 2 between 4 of us (2 DC),, but that doesn't bother us unduly. We never spend all day there so would certainly never bother reserving.

If I was going to remove someone's towel (and how do you actually know the bed hasn't been used for an hour by the way?), then I would place it by the bed and when the owner came back, get up and let them have the bed back.

Last two sunbathing hotels were Earls Regency, Kandy where we were sometimes only people by the pool and Mount Lavinia hotel,where chap set up sunbeds on the beach.
Otherwise all the UAE hotels we've used have a chap that sets up sunbeds and gets you an umbrella etc. Never had to reserve or squabble over sunloungers; it would definitely take the edge off a holiday.

Don't the hotel pool staff usually give you your towel and set up your sun bed? Why would you need to reserve loungers - aren't there enough for all the guests?

LOL I think your budget might be a bit higher than most people's for holidays!!!!!

GreenShadow, I notice because I generally go in the pool for ages, or grab a drink and sit on my towel on the floor until I'm sure it's just piss takers that have left towels down but clearly aren't coming back any time soon. I wait a good while. I don't give the bed back when people get there if I'm still using it, they were happy for me to go without a bed so that their towels could sunbathe for the day.

Yanbu. We've just been on a P&O cruise and the weather was beautiful but everyone had reserved sun beds for themselves by breakfast time and we couldn't find an inch of space anywhere on deck. Ended up sat downstairs feeling pretty pissed off as most of the beds weren't even being used. If everyone just used them when they needed there wouldn't be an issue!
I'd only ever been on villa/ gite holidays before so was really taken aback by this behaviour. It seemed incredibly selfish.

If they weren't around then fine, but if they're in the pool for a few hours I think it's a bit cheeky

That clip!

Makes me feel anxious just looking at it.

Nor baking next to some complete stranger for hours

I don't even like sunbathing. In fact I am shocked that people are so prepared to just lie staring vacantly into space for hours while turning bright red! But I was shocked that there was literally nowhere for us to sit on deck and read while we warmed up after a swim.
This was a short cruise so am wondering if it is less of an issue on longer/ more expensive ones? Or are other cruise lines better?

Exactly NotYoda !

Those of you who have experienced this in recent years - where were you? I remember it being like this in Spain in the 1980s but haven't seen it since then and I travel a lot.

I have to admit I do a LOT of research and would never book a hotel where this was mentioned as a potential issue, even though I am unlikely to lie by the pool for more than 2 hours over a week. I like to know that I could just wander down and get a sunbed any time I like if the mood takes me!

YANBU to take the towels off, but I would ask hotel staff to do it if possible, that way if anyone says anything you can say you saw the staff doing it and wave them away.

Anyone who does this is a rude and inconsiderate fucker.

Just talked to DH and he reminded me last year that we tended to discriminate between stuff and just a towel. Bags and stuff that was clearly being used we tended to leave alone, but chairs with nothing but a towel on were considered free. I think that's a reasonable compromise.