AIBU to think there should be some all inclusive city breaks out there?

[NinjaInFluffyPJs]

We are not beach resort people but we REALLY enjoy city breaks.
But we always end up overspending on dinners and drinks because we have no proper self control on holidays🙈

Do any of you know of any all inclusive city breaks? Like the ones in beach resorts, but in or VERY near to big and interesting cities? I can't seem to find any and it's kicking my googling abilty self esteem down.

I dream of holidays when days are spent exploring nice cities and evening is in a nice hotel bar and restaurant which is included in the price. So does my bank account...

I go on about 4-5 city breaks a year with DP, and we're not especially well off, but we plan a lot, how we do it is:

1. AirBnB in a good location with shop bought breakfast (usually meats, cheese and bread, yoghurt, fruit juice) - cheap meal and no travel costs when there, walk everywhere
2. Sightseeing through day, grab quick snack of local street delicacy inbetween activities, maybe grab a beer or wine in the sun around lunchtime. Avoid sightseeing activities that charge more than a few euros unless they're absolutely essential, there are so many alternatives that are free.
3. Back to airbnb, quick nap, get ready to go out with some shop-bought wine
4. Dinner and a drink or two out after

If booze is racking up costs, there are cities where it's cheaper (wine in Spain, beer in Munich etc). I doubt you would get good value all-inclusive in cities.

Thank you all who mentioned cruises. I will have a look at them!

A lot of larger hotel chains do "Club/Executive" rooms that usually include access to a private lounge. Depending on the chain, they offer things like free afternoon tea, free wine/beer/cocktails for 2 hours in the evening, usually with some sort of buffet (can range from just "nibbles" to a proper small dinner buffet). One hotel I stayed at in Toyko had a buffet of some sorts going on all day with free soft drinks, except from between 7-9 p.m., when alcoholic drinks (including champagne!) were also free. Obviously the rooms were expensive, but in an expensive city like Tokyo I think it was worth it for the drinks alone.

Just bear in mind that it does tie you to sitting in the hotel every evening between certain hours and can become a bit monotonous (I mean in terms of the food, not the champagne part :)) if you are there for more than a few days.

Cities and all inclusive aren't compatible really - part of a city break is exploring places and eating in different places surely. You can book half board at most hotels though. I suggest b&b then learn to budget - we mix it up with cheaper places some nights

Ps we just buy wine and soft drinks from a local shop and take back to the hotel if staying in, spent many an afternoon drinking €2 wine by the pool, we just order one drink from the bar to get glasses!

Oh and look at cruises - Marella are all inclusive, there's others too. Not super cheap but you get nearly everything except ground transport (and yes we made a packed lunch from the buffet!)

OP

I think you may be on to something, but rather than AI a voucher system. So you would book your hotel for, say, 5 nights with 5 breakfasts and then when you check in get vouchers for a meal and a glass of wine that could be used in a number of local restaurants.

Clumsily reading between the lines, but what I think you're looking for is a free bar?

As PP said, a few hotels will offer club room facilities. I've stayed at one in Alicante, does that count as an interesting city to visit? (It is in my book and easy to fly to). Beer and wine available all day and at selected hours there are spirits too. Plus access to an exclusive pool. It's adults only but wasn't too pricey.

Mind me, it's more for the expensive countries. Never went over budget in places like Prague.

Even more expensive cities like Paris, London, Rome or New York have lots of options for cheap but nice food, I think you may need to up your research game! Also, if you want a couple of drinks in the evening, why not buy a bottle of wine / a few beers and snacks from a supermarket and find somewhere to sit with a nice view (Paris for example has tons of amazing picnic spots).

I personally have never fancied a cruise and DH and I always laugh about the European River Cruises when the ads are on the tv, but the other week I bumped into a couple I know well and they had been on one of the Rhine ones and absolutely loved it. Loads of opportunities to see the various towns and cities along the way but great food and drink on board.

Might suit you.

Honestly I never thought I’d want to go on a cruise either and ended up going on one accidentally to accompany my mum. It was AMAZING. In fairness we went on cunard and had a gorgeous cabin with balcony and and amazing dining package in a lovely restaurant so no buffets etc and we didn’t go to any of the “entertainment”.

Most days we had breakfast, got off to explore a beautiful new place, got back on, had a cocktail, had a lovely dinner and then woke up in another new place. Went to various parts of Italy, Sicily, Greece and a stop in Turkey, plus a couple of sea days to relax and do nothing.

Got to have a lovely lunch in whatever city we were staying in.

It was absolutely wonderful.

You can book Dinner, Bed & Breakfast in many hotels. The drinks are not normally included but you can just get a bottle of wine or whatever in the shop beforehand and have it in your room. If the room has a balcony and the weather is good it's paradise!
Also, keep in mind that all inclusive wouldn't be cheap in a big city, so you would feel obliged to come back to the hotel for meals. Then you cannot realy explore the city you are in...

Um, surely that is called staying in a hotel and pre-booking your breakfast and dinner? Although, I'm not sure why you'd want to do that.

We love city breaks and I set myself a daily budget and that way I don't overspend! If dinner out is more expensive than it should have been, we go to a supermarket the next day to get ingredients for packed lunches and if we've gone way over, then it is MaccyD's for dinner the next night.

I just realised that I was basically looking for a cruise but without the cruising😂😂😂

How about Dubrovnik? City break but they have resorts out at the beach too

@Tryingtoworkitoutagain on a list for 2020.

Try a city break in Grenada. We needn't have paid for a single meal when we were there as they brought tapas with every drink we bought (we drink a fair bit on holiday ) Some were just small tapas of prawns, iberico ham etc, others were big plates of meat & chips, salad etc . There was one particular restaurant that we wanted to try so had to refuse tapas that evening so we had room to eat. Fabulous place to explore as well.