All inclusive holiday irritations....

[CupoTeap]

On holiday and in the restaurant......there is a huge block of butter put out each session with a knife to help yourself with.

I am getting more and more irritated by the people who insist on scraping a bit of butter off with this knife and then back to the butter to repeat before putting the knife down.

JUST PUT SOME ON YOUR PLATE.

Anything else I should be looking out for to annoy me

(I'm actually having a fab time and am very relaxed 😎)

Where was the AI you went with the smoothies and omelettes? I’m half dreading our holiday for this reason. Went to a big hotel last year. Lovely rooms but the food. Oh the food. Awful for me. Fine for my husband and kids. Billed as free Prosecco but the bottle appeared every day at dinner. And stayed unopened - just the one bottle
Dessert was awful pre prepared cheap cake
Nothing Italian at all aside from pasta option each night. My boys loved it but I was so bloated and sluggish after it. I enjoyed the lunches out we had so very much!

There is a huge difference between say AI in a 5* in the Maldives, where the food is served at your table, beautifully presented, gorgeous cocktails are available using high quality spirits, there is no limit on anything but oddly people know how to behave and not get blind drunk or order enough food to feed 10 people... compared with an all you eat can buffet in some grotty hotel, flies all over the food, where lunch is last night's leftovers and the alcohol is the cheapest available and people don't seem to be physically able to stop gorging and imbibing themselves all day long.

We booked a holiday just last night. We toyed with going Al and I was going along with it until I remembered that I find lots of people very hard and get frustrated when they're doing all of the things described above...so we booked self catering with a private pool and sun loungers. So much more relaxing and cheaper too.

thentherewascakes coeliac but a meat eater isn't that difficult at all these days, but it gets a little more difficult when you're veggie (I'm vegan) and/or have other foods you cannot have too.
And no, you cannot trust the salads in 90% of cases.
Especially if you're in more remote or far flung places where they don't have the ability to do things differently for one person or get things in for you. Even when you inform them ahead of time.

Just been on our first half board, never again! I'm veggie too and found the veggie dishes mixed between meat dishes in the serving areas, 5 meat and maybe 1 veggie dish and a tray of chips or green veg. Next station same so had to queue at each one for something I would only get 1 of whilst people were loading plates up from them all. I did walk to the front once to get a veggie dish and got tutted at but got mine and left without holding anyone up of even really pushing in! It really did my head in.
People being so greedy with the fruit as soon as a tray was put down 1 person would empty it onto 2 plates knowing I was waiting too.
The last straw was someone using a meat dish serving spoon in a veggie dish. We ate at a local restaurant after that, much more relaxing, nicer food and we sat together for it.

I like self catering - am fussy like this too

I. Hate. Buffets. I go on a lot of cruises...

If I can't be served my dinner, I'm not going. I can just about cope with a breakfast buffet (not on a cruise - sit-down breakfast, please) and can be dragged, mardy-faced into a lunch one if the dining room isn't an option (on cruises and they usually don't open the sit-down dining room if the ship is in port).

I would never, ever again go on a holiday where buffet was the order of the day for all meals.

@Whoopstheregomyinsides we have done Cuba and Mauritius twice AI.

MadamePompadour

fair enough
but for the sake of your poor daughter, consider more coeliac-friendly destinations in the future! I have been even in Egypt where the advice is not to brush your teeth with tap water, but in a decent hotel you can still eat the salad.

I can't imagine a week eating omelettes and chips every day for 10 days.

I don't even trust chips that easily anyway, most of them tend to have gluten unless the restaurant has confirmed they are safe.

People who let their kids stick their sticky, dirty fingers in all the food.

The toaster machine at breakfast time.

The repetitive ness of it all.

I think I need to pay more for a better All inclusive next time.

Not all AI’s were created equal but I do think it’s worth paying for 5*. My pet hate is people who are going out for the day and try to sneak out a days worth of food from the breakfast buffet. Particularly when if you read the guest information pack it clearly states that the hotel are happy to provide a picnic (and they’re bloody good) free of charge.

Also hate gluttony.

The Russian guests eating all the profiteroles. And I mean all.

The AI resort we are going to in October seems to be massively popular with Russians and I've heard similar from half a dozen people. If they want to eat all of the cake they'll need to fight me

Best was AI buffet was in Madeira in an adult only place.
Worst was Egypt where we all got food poisoning. That's when we could get any food and the Russians hadn't taken the whole lot. I was opened mouthed at breakfast when two of them took the whole bain marie of falafels out of the unit and back to their table

I would hate to go on holiday and have to constantly go to a buffet or a restaurant. For me the whole point of going on holiday is not having to bother with real food and just eating snacks in and around activities. That's why I always go selfcatering. Sandwiches for every meal! saves a bomb too.

@HairyFloppins we would never ever do a cheap AI. It really is a case if you get what you pay for.

My parents didnt have much money when I was growing up. We did a SC hol every year to Spain/Greece etc (no idea how they afforded it) but I was always highly anxious about ordering stuff. I never ordered anything I wasnt sure i would like because there simply wasnt the money to risk it.
I love being on a holiday where I dont have to worry. I can try a cocktail or a dish and if I dont like it it doesn't matter.

@Sallycinammonbangsthedruminthe you do realise that the only difference between full board and AI are that drinks and snacks are included in AI?

@thatmustbenigelwiththebrie that's why we go to AIs that will pack you picnics. Most do this.

I have no idea why MN is so uninformed and so snobby about AIs. Good for me I suppose, less busy hotels!

The way to get perfect enjoyment out of the AI experience - buffet for brekkie ad lunch then a la carte for dinner

I'm trying to balance this thread up with my experiences of self-catering, as I'm thinking of doing AL next year. I like trying different restaurants for dinner in the evening, but sometimes I find it a bit tedious having to wash up all the breakfast bits and make us a packed lunch (as though I'm still at home) and trek out every evening and have half an hour of the kids whining they are hungry whilst DH wanders around aimlessly trying to pick somewhere to eat. And the whole having to budget throughout the holiday to make sure I have enough money to last through all the remaining meals can get a bit depressing too.

I love self catering, getting up when I want, eating what I want
I think actually that's why some people like AI because you can literally whatever you want all day long.

It's like everything else about holidays, you get what you pay for.
5 with several restaurants v 3 canteen buffet.

Oh and go somewhere with lots of American guests. They are very demanding so the provision is usually great

If anyone can list their table service AI hotels- I would very much appreciate it. I'm sat today trying to find somewhere to go on an AI next summer... I always say we will. Then book Florida every year.

Intent to make a change next year

If they want to eat all of the cake they'll need to fight me

The point is though, if you have coeliac disease, or are veggie or have any kind of restricted diet, buffets just aren't safe to eat at.
Researching the hotel or asking questions isn't the problem, its the other guests who might unknowingly mix up the serving spoons, or drop crumbs into something by accident.

As for picking more coeliac friendly destinations, jeez I hope that was a joke otherwise I really have read it all on Mumsnet.
A beige diet for a week isn't going to kill you (I take multivitamins with me, and start them a month or so before going), missing out on the chance to see amazing places because you won't eat a beige diet for a few days is sudden death for the soul. Not being at all melodramatic, of course.

It’s not the All Inclusive that’s the problem, it’s some of the customers.

We went to the Heritage Awali in Mauritius earlier this year. Not every night was table service but the buffet changed every night and did things cooked to order so frankly we didnt care.
That was very kid friendly and had a great choice of places to eat at lunch. There was never a time you couldn't get something to eat if you wanted it.

God I want to go back.

Look at some of the Atlantica Hotels all-inclusive, they are superb and have a table service restaurant in each hotel (albeit you need to book your table daily).