to think hen and stag parties are becoming the ruination of lovely weekends away

[user1485342611]

I'm just back from what was meant to be a nice relaxing break in a seaside town my family have been holidaying in for decades.

The usually quiet and lovely hotel we stay in is under new management and this weekend both a stag and a hen party were booked in. Cue no sleep at night, no relaxing conversation in the lounge with a glass of wine before heading out for dinner, no nice dinner in one of the local restaurants. Everywhere we went there was groups of loud shrieky hens, already pissed by 3.30 in the afternoon, or gangs of stags roaring, singing and shouting across the street at each other. The noise went on until 4am and no one else in the hotel got any sleep. We complained when checking out, as did other guests, and just got an apologetic 'what can you do' kind of response.

The last time I went away for the weekend with a couple of friends, a hens party were also booked in at the hotel and basically took over the place. They were sitting around the lounge from late afternoon drunk and shouting, then a big party bus pulled up outside playing music on top volume as they waited for all the hens to board, then they returned at about 3 pm with much shouting and laughing and swearing as they wandered around the corridors looking for their rooms. The following morning they were sprawled all over the terrace, shouting across to each other and having more drink and making the whole place really noisy and uncomfortable to sit in.

AIBU to think bloody hen and stag parties are taking over lovely country venues during Summer weekends, and bloody ruining them for everyone else?

My dad and his friends had been drinking in a quiet bar in a large UK city for about 40 years - when the sudden takeover by hen and stag do's turfed them out! The owner actually told them he had to let the hen and stags in because they bring so much money - so all the regular punters had to move on and find somewhere else to drink.

It's a horrible part of british drinking culture - ruination of places like Brighton/ Dublin/ Edinburgh even European major cities like Budapest.

We have a boat on the Broads, the number of all male and all female parties on these massive hire boats, crashing into other boats and going everywhere at top speed is quite worrying.
The hire companies never used to hire to single sex parties, now it seems they're out for any money they can get.
You ANBU OP

YABU. I roll my eyes and cringe when I see a group of guys on a stag dressed in something ridiculous or a group of girls on a hen do with more makeup on their faces then a Boots employee and at least one holding an inflatable penis.

*YANBU

Sorry about typo

I'm away to have a joint hen/stag do and plan on hiring out a whole place as there will be a bunch of us. Can't imagine anything worse than being part of a wailing, screeching bunch of "hens" in black "Bride Squad" t shirts and hot pink tutu's with big inflatable dicks and penis straws - let alone ruining someone elses weekend by having it in a pub/hotel type thing.

Fuck. That.

YANBU.

It being a stag or hen do is no excuse for being extremely loud/lairy and making it difficult for others around you to enjoy the facilities too.

If they want to behave like that that’s fine, they can go to a club or somewhere where it’s acceptable.

I’d have complained to the hotel when it was going on, and if they were incapable of getting the hen or stag guests to quieten down/behave a bit less antisocially, I’d have been refusing to pay/asking for a refund. It’s reasonable to expect that in a hotel you can relax and spend time in the common areas without drunk loud groups of people being out of hand imo.

And yes I’ve been on plenty of hen dos, somehow we were all able to act normally and respectfully during the daytime! And only ‘go nuts’ with alcohol and loudness in an appropriate place like a nightclub.

Hope you left a scathing review of the hotel everywhere you can to warn others not to stay in that hotel.

YANBU

Jeez, I hope I never encounter one of these groups.

Hopefully they don't bother with quiet little places in the New Forest, Cotswolds etc, which are the sort of places we go to.

YABU. We had a pleasant afternoon by the river ruined by screaming "hens" in glittery pink costumes waving enormous plastic penises around. Crass and selfish.

I'd ask for refund from the hotel too. It's not acceptable to allow guests to disturb each other to this extent and they need to let those booking know the type of hotel they are now.

YANBU, it is happening abroad as well in some of my favourite places. They bring in so much money though, I'm not sure what the solution is?

I had the misfortune to be going through security at Glasgow airport with a group of hens all in matching t-shirts loudly declaring that they were the Bride Squad off to Ibiza. They were loud and pissed. At 7.30am. Felt very sorry for anyone on the Ibiza flight.

I would only consider a hotel or self-catering place by the coast if it explicitly stated in the advert or description that it did not accept single sex parties.

A large proportion of the British population are uncouth, selfish, loud and not the sort of people I'd want to share accommodation with.

Stick to small towns and small hotels and you tend to avoid it, in my experience.

I used to live in York and even after we moved away DH and I went b k for weekends
We hadn’t been for a few years and so over the summer we took the DC.
It was bloody awful, we were Airbnb so no hotel issues but loads of single sex groups staggering around. I don’t want to explain to my son why the ladies all have big plastic willies on their hats !
Don’t remember the last time I went through an airport without a group of women in matching tshirts pissed by 9am. Luckily we haven’t had any on a flight yet, which must be a bit of a pain as there’s no escape

thats it, basically - it starts at gappie age where the Brits have a terrible reputation.

do check tripadvisor - I nearly made a big mistake going to Newcastle which is swamped by these skanks. dont stay in any of the central hotels. regardless of price.

I dont mind if I am just away with friends or my husband because I take ear plugs and im not fussed by noise throughout the day or evening. However, if we are going with the kids or if it were a big family weekend I only pick somewhere that doesnt allow hen or stag parties or parties over a certain size which it tells you on Booking in the terms.

It is rubbish for somewhere you have been going to change but im guessing thats what the new management is running with now sadly to increase profit and screw everyone else is their opinion.

My home town has become a Mecca for hen dos of a weekend. It’s fucking depressing. I really can’t see how there is any enjoyment in them.
I’ve been on one. And it was horrendous. But if everyone is spending a lot of money then I can see how it’s encouraged.
Welcome to austerity Britain. I bet most places would love not to have them. I don’t think they have much choice these days

Coming at it from the other side, I am currently organising my friend's hen do - we want a relaxing weekend with some daytime activities (not involving alcohol!) and then dressing up nicely for dinner and a few drinks somewhere. The last thing we want is a rowdy drunken weekend, but it's so hard to find somewhere nice that will accept a single sex group! Anywhere that advertises as 'hen friendly' is a definite 'no' for us, for the exact reasons the OP describes!

Having said that, I once stayed in a hotel that specifically said 'no stag or hen parties' in the T&Cs and when we turned up (at 10pm on Friday night) one stag party and two hen parties had taken over the whole bar and reception area! It was so loud we had to shout to check in!

I was in a quiet little place in the Cotswolds for my hen party a couple of weeks ago. When we went to places no-one actually realised we were a hen party. There were no inflatables, no sashes, definitely no shrieking and we spend most of our time walking, visiting lovely country pubs drinking lovely local wine and playing board games. We did nip into Bristol for the evening for an evening out at our favourite cheesy club from our University days but otherwise we were pretty low key.... it's crap that other groups ruin it for people for whom inflatables and strippers sound like a living hell!

X-post with hedghog - this is apparently what my friends were dealing with when they organised mine!

YANBU, it's part of the greedy culture imo.
You used to go out for a drink with a couple of friends in your home town.
Now couples have so much to start off with and need stag/hen holidays and feel out done without.
When I look back at what me and my friends had, it was nothing like today.
Cheapish night out, presents for wedding/ no money alternative.
Furniture given by relatives, that they didn't want anymore and a cheap honeymoon if you could afford one.
It's just another part of the entitled generation.

I was in Las Vegas a while ago and even there you could spot the British stag/hen parties as they were more drunk and antisocial than everyone else.

YANBU. DH and I took our DDs to the leisure club we are members of at the weekends and there were three stag and hen parties taking over the pool and spa pool facilities. Of course I understand that everyone who pays their money has a right to use the facilities but they were all over the pool messing around and bashing into people who were trying to have a civilised swim.

I think the fact they’re hen/stags are mostly irrelevant (apart from maybe they make them a larger more noticeable group?)

The type of group who behave that way do so regardless. I’ve had several weekends away ruined by selfish groups of people making unnecessary noise and resulting in me being unable to sleep. In a hotel in York we were moved at 3am as the hotel said they were unable to control them (Hilton).

On the other side I’ve been to many hen do’s abroad and at home, and you mostly wouldn’t have even known it was a hen party!

YANBU!!!!

I recently went and stayed in a 'romantic' luxury log cabin with my partner in a forest. Who was in the log cabin near to us? A massive joint hen and stag party. For the whole three nights. Loud music, screaming and shouting, singing at the top of their voices etc. Really ruined it for me !!