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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think sunlounger reservers are the worst

81 replies

Clearlynotmyname · 21/10/2021 10:36

We're on a sun holiday which is lovely in many ways but we can't get a space for love nor money by one of the three large pools, because of people saving beds when they are not there. This morning by 9ish, all of the beds at one pool had stuff dumped on them, and there was literally one person present, everyone else had gone off to have breakfast or whatever.

This gives us the fun options of: not having a bed, moving someone's stuff and inevitably having a fight when they eventually show up, or also being dicks and rocking up at 7am with our towels.

First world problem and all that and I know I am lucky to be on holiday but perhaps precisely because it's our first proper holiday in years that it's pissing me off so much. I have spoken to reception but nothing has changed. Aibu?

OP posts:
TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 21/10/2021 17:07

Take all the stuff off all the sun loungers and throw it in the pool.

Go and hide in your room.

Hohofortherobbers · 21/10/2021 17:20

Happened this year on holiday for us for the first time ever and I hated it. One morning I found the last remaining bed which hadn't been reserved and sat down. The wife of the man sitting next to me came up and started 'discreetly' telling him off for not reserving it for her. It was obviously for me to hear. She had a right go at him, swearing too! I didn't last too long there, felt so awkward

ppp4321 · 21/10/2021 17:44

We had a holiday like that. Either join the lounger reservers at 6am or have no parasol or sunned (we had a baby and toddler at that point). It was sufficiently frustrating that I now look on TripAdvisor and rule out any hotel with a review mentioning sun-bed reserving. It ruins the holiday for me and some hotels have good systems in place to stop it.

DixonD · 21/10/2021 17:57

Surely there’s more to being on holiday than sitting on a sun lounger all day long? There must be other things to do? So people really pay money to fight over loungers for a week?

I couldn’t think of anything worse than sitting around a pool for days on end, and I definitely wouldn’t be getting up at 6am to reserve one.

Hell certainly is other people. But this type of holiday is not far from it!

ppp4321 · 21/10/2021 18:01

I agree, there is more to life than sitting on a lounger. But when our kids were under 3, they were more amenable to tootling around in a warm pool and playing under an umbrella than sightseeing. Thankfully that changed as they got older.

fishonabicycle · 21/10/2021 18:06

This happened in Sorrento! We were dumbfounded. You'd get there about 9 and all the beds would have towels on, then the would use the beds from about 10-1, then puss off for long lunches, leaving the towels there, and come back about 4 ... It was shit

DismantledKing · 21/10/2021 18:14

It didn’t take long for the ‘you want to relax on a holiday?! How common. Tarquin and I like to explore; we’re travellers not tourists’ brigade to get involved on the thread.

DismantledKing · 21/10/2021 18:15

@TwoLeftSocksWithHoles

Take all the stuff off all the sun loungers and throw it in the pool.

Go and hide in your room.

Best idea. 6am Sun Lounger reservists are the pits.
BrilliantBulb · 21/10/2021 19:50

@DixonD

Surely there’s more to being on holiday than sitting on a sun lounger all day long? There must be other things to do? So people really pay money to fight over loungers for a week?

I couldn’t think of anything worse than sitting around a pool for days on end, and I definitely wouldn’t be getting up at 6am to reserve one.

Hell certainly is other people. But this type of holiday is not far from it!

Why would you go out of your way to write on a thread that you have no experience of or interest in? Your whole aim here is just to shit on people.
BashfulClam · 21/10/2021 19:57

I just move peoples shit. When they turn up I close my eyes and out headphones in. We tend to go to the beach instead though as lying by a pool crammed beside others isn’t something I enjoy that much. The cheekiest ever was a young couple beside us had their parents turn up from another hotel. The mother perched on MY sunbed whilst I was on it , to chat to them. I slid up to a sitting position,lowered my sunglasses and stared at her until she got uncomfortable and moved. Wtaf who sits on a strangers sun lounger whilst they are in it.

MrsSkylerWhite · 21/10/2021 19:59

Is there a beach? Go there?
(Bitter? Moi ? How very dare you Grin

BFCfairy · 21/10/2021 20:00

Yanbu. I can't remember how the policed it or where it was but I recall a hotel I stayed at explicitly banning this. Other hotels not been an issue.

I'd talk to the hotel

Nectarines · 21/10/2021 20:07

The best system I’ve seen is one where the pool is monitored every hour. Unattended beds get a ticket placed with the time on. If you return to the beds you remove the ticket. If the ticket remains after an hour, your belongings are removed. Allows for quick meal/ drink/ toilet break but stops people putting stuff there early morning and buggering off til after lunch!

Finchall · 21/10/2021 20:11

I suppose we all cause this because we are all so accepting.

So my answer, we should all just move stuff.

If enough of us did, this reserving wouldn't be worth it because it wouldn't work.

Slightly tongue in cheek, but you know what I mean.

One answer is to move one set of towels, from the bed, handing them back to the hotel as lost property, then move towels from another bed, onto the empty one, rinse and repeat. Having moved a few towels around sit on the last bed you've cleared. It might not solve the confrontation but at least it will be entertaining to watch.

PresidentJoey · 21/10/2021 20:11

I once witnessed a poolside brawl between Russians and Germans over sunbeds, it wasn't pretty but very entertaining Shock

ThirdElephant · 21/10/2021 20:13

I blame Carling Black Label

Finchall · 21/10/2021 20:15

I will also add, having had a room with a balcony overlooking the pool. It was always 'hen pecked' husbands, arriving at 5.30am and leaving two sets of towels. Never the female.

Workyticket · 21/10/2021 20:16

I've no shame in admitting that we are really, really lazy holiday makers.

Life is crazy busy at home. Me, dh and ds like nothing better than to do barely anything on holiday.

Last time we went away (pre covid) we spent 2 weeks 5 star AI in Turkey. Massive hotel with slides etc. We left it once to go into the beautiful town, have a meal and a mooch around.

We taught ds to swim properly, played games, chatted, read, ate, swam. Bliss. Absolute bliss.

We've booked 3 weeks next summer and ds has already said he's looking forward to a lazy time. He's 9!

ImUninsultable · 21/10/2021 20:18

Move stuff off the loungers. Pick the loungers up and move them to a different spot. When the people come back, they wont know who moved their stuff or which loungers were "theirs" so they cant yell at you.

StoneofDestiny · 21/10/2021 20:19

Move the stuff off them and move the beds - job done

Mammyofasuperbaby · 21/10/2021 20:27

We had this on one hoilday, it was impossible to get a lounger most days and i needed to be pool side to watch my little sister who had just learned to swim and was contending with "high spirited" children in the pool so I spent much of my time sitting on the pool edge in the blazing sun while many of the loungers were empty but covered in stuff.
Hotel did nothing and just told me to get there earlier- I was there at 8am
Funny part was when an older woman was telling me that it was because of all the Germans at the hotel and they weren't as nice as our family (we are german but have English accents). That had us in stitches for about 10 mins and she was very confused.

Floogal · 21/10/2021 20:45

Went to Tunisia 10 years ago. The resort we were staying at confiscated towels left on sunloungers. Shame more places do not do that 😂🇹🇳🇹🇳🇹🇳🇹🇳

Bootikin · 21/10/2021 21:05

Why on earth aren’t the hotel dealing with this, FFS.

Original poster
Clearlynotmyname · 21/10/2021 21:28

DismantledKing
It didn’t take long for the ‘you want to relax on a holiday?! How common. Tarquin and I like to explore; we’re travellers not tourists’ brigade to get involved on the thread.

Couldn't have put it better myself! To all the holiday snobs who've posted, we actually do lots of different things on holiday, only spend a couple of days or half days by the pool. I still don't want those times to be super stressful Hmm
Loving some of these suggestions!

OP posts:
ThirdElephant · 21/10/2021 21:32

@DixonD

Surely there’s more to being on holiday than sitting on a sun lounger all day long? There must be other things to do? So people really pay money to fight over loungers for a week?

I couldn’t think of anything worse than sitting around a pool for days on end, and I definitely wouldn’t be getting up at 6am to reserve one.

Hell certainly is other people. But this type of holiday is not far from it!

GrinGrinGrin

Oh, Hyacinth, you do make me laugh!