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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

People reserving hotel sun loungers with their towels...

118 replies

MoreCatsForMePlease · 18/04/2022 19:26

Arrrggghhhh!

I just returned from a lovely week away in the Algarve.

I was not able to get a sun lounger by the pool during my entire stay! Every time I went to the pool, all of the sun loungers were reserved with towels/ books. There'd only be actual people on around half the loungers.

There were signs up everywhere asking people not to do this, yet every morning, without fail, a scrum of people would run out and do it anyway!

I'm not brave enough to tell anyone off or complain

Has anyone been at a hotel that has actually put a stop to this twattery?

OP posts:

SynchroSwimmer · 18/04/2022 20:07

The best I witnessed was a whole sunlounger, towel and book actually thrown into the swimming pool early one morning - when someone had obviously got up in the dark to reserve it. I think the book “might” have been German…

Original poster

MoreCatsForMePlease · 18/04/2022 20:07

Why have 30% of people said that IABU, yet nobody on here has actually justified that position in a post?

I am actually quite keen to hear people's excuse for this behaviour!

OP posts:

AtLeastPretendToCare · 18/04/2022 20:15

I agree OP it is infuriating. I live it when

Easy to say just move the stuff but I saw a big row break out on a recent holiday with threats and the manager having to be called when one family did this to another family’s stuff.

Mrsmch123 · 18/04/2022 20:18

Move the towels🤷🏻‍♀️ Fair enough if you have just went to get breakfast then are coming back but not to sit empty for hours. Fold towels sit down and when the people eventually turn up tell them the staff moved them or say there was no towels there when you sat down.

PlasticineMeg · 18/04/2022 20:22

We once went on a big family holiday (siblings, aunties, uncles, parents, grandmas) and managed to grab 2 sun loungers between 10 of us which was fine as most of us were gonna spend the day in the pool. But there were 3 unoccupied loungers nearby and so after 45 mins we pinched them, putting the towels on the wall.

2 hours later a family of 4 - mum, dad, 10yo boy and a tiny baby in a pram, came back. She went absolutely spare. Saying “we were only gone for lunch for an hour”. Er no you weren’t, you were gone nearly 3 hours. She argued the toss, and said “You’re punishing me for taking my son to lunch”. No dickhead, we are taking loungers you weren’t using. She was like some prima Donna, she actually shrieked and stamped her foot as people stared and her DH and DS were clearly dying of embarrassment. It came to light that she was still ranting and all of us had stopped listening, to which my SIL said “Who is she even talking to?”. My DH, who is much nicer than I am, agreed to give her 2 of the 3 back, which she begrudgingly accepted then spent the next hour moaning about us to her DH. FFS woman you’re on holiday! Her husband actually came up to me at the bar later and apologised. I said it’s fine it provided some light entertainment for our holiday

Kanaloa · 18/04/2022 20:34

I didn’t vote but I can guess a lot thought you were unreasonable for being incapable of moving the towels or going to the front desk and asking them to uphold their policy. I would just have moved the towels if nobody was there or asked a member of staff what they would do about people ‘reserving’ sun loungers since it’s not allowed.

Onthelowdown · 18/04/2022 20:43

Wish I was brave enough to throw them in the pool

Staffy1 · 18/04/2022 21:02

Who wants to sit round the hotel pool every day with a bunch of other tourists who are all either selfish if they leave towels out to book places, or whinging about people who have put towels out. Go to the beach and other sites.

Bryonny84 · 18/04/2022 21:17

@maddiemookins16mum

Brits are the worst for this too, despite the many ridiculous jokes about Germans.

First thing I do if I see it's one of those "reserve your sunbed" type places is make friends with the German guests. They always saved me a sunbed no problem.

The hotels in the Caribbean are quite strict on removing towels when the sunbeds clearly aren't being used. People really do get quite possessive over what they see as their property just because their book/towel/sun cream is on it.

HunterHearstHelmsley · 18/04/2022 21:17

@MissMarpleRocks

What if they’ve gone to the loo or for a swim? When the dcs were young no way could I’ve got to the loo & back in 10 minutes!

Someone did this to me once! I'd gone to get a drink. I perched on the end and smoked a cigarette.

HunterHearstHelmsley · 18/04/2022 21:20

[quote HunterHearstHelmsley]@MissMarpleRocks

What if they’ve gone to the loo or for a swim? When the dcs were young no way could I’ve got to the loo & back in 10 minutes!

Someone did this to me once! I'd gone to get a drink. I perched on the end and smoked a cigarette.[/quote]
It was a while ago. I'm not even sure you're allowed to smoke like that in Europe these days.

MintyGreenDream · 18/04/2022 21:23

Take them off then move the beds to another spot They won't be able to prove a thing

Notimeforaname · 18/04/2022 21:25

Yanbu. On holiday once, a couple had two beds and an umbrella. Right next to them was another set of beds with umbrella, they saw us walking their direction and the woman quickly leapt up, took her husbands towel and bag and put them on the empty set of beds beside her and stared at us like a proud gloaty 3 tear old 🤣We stopped at some other beds nearby and just laughed at her. People are fucking weird 🤣

Nobody ever arrived to sit on those beds and her husband had no towel to lie on 🤣

Notimeforaname · 18/04/2022 21:27

I'm not even sure you're allowed to smoke like that in Europe these days

In the last couple of years I've found the bigger hotels ask you to go to the pool bar/ away from the pool to smoke. The smaller places often have ashtrays on the little tables by the loungers

WhatsitWiggle · 18/04/2022 21:30

I've seen hotels in Cyprus that reserve you a sun lounger for your stay. If it's not in your preferred location, you ask the pool attendant when those sunbeds will be vacated eg 2 days time, and they swop you over on that date. Thought it was just one hotel but I was seeing a few (travel agent trip) and quite a few mentioned it.

Oh, just seen someone else mention Cyprus for this!

bestbefore · 18/04/2022 21:44

Definitely need to move the loungers if you remove the towels and then when they come back you can look suitably confused/ innocent! Drives me mad too. We had it in Portugal once and I was determined not to get drawn in but on the second day we had to do to otherwise literally no seats.
I do think hotels need to be more up on it, it can really spoil a holiday.

SockFluffInTheBath · 18/04/2022 21:49

We mostly stay in houses/gites but the Spanish Barcelos we’ve stayed in have the staff remove unattended towels. There aren’t hundreds of sun beds though so it’s easy to spot if the user is in the pool or just awol.

Talipesmum · 18/04/2022 21:57

@MoreCatsForMePlease

Why have 30% of people said that IABU, yet nobody on here has actually justified that position in a post?

I am actually quite keen to hear people's excuse for this behaviour!

I think the yabu are because people think you should just move the towels off the lounger yourself rather than not having a lounger all week and being cross about it!

OttimoMassimo · 18/04/2022 21:57

Laughing at all the comments about "throw the towels in the pool" or "just move them".

I've just come back from a week in the Canaries where people started putting their towels down on beds during the night.

Others left their towels on beds for hours while they went off somewhere else.

Not once did I see anyone take them to task, move their towels or throw them in the pool.

There were signs about not reserving beds, but they weren't enforced.

HangingOver · 18/04/2022 21:58

The smaller places often have ashtrays on the little tables by the loungers

While I am very glad to be an ex smoker for my health I do miss holiday smoking

User135792468 · 18/04/2022 22:00

For those who mentioned hotels in Cyprus that allocate sun beds.. are there any you would recommend?

PattyMelt · 18/04/2022 22:04

We stayed at one hotel that stacked all the loungers at night so the pool man could clean the pool area in the morning. People would be stood around waiting to grab a lounger and he would take his time, some days not starting to clean till 9am or later. Dd and I would sit on the balcony and watch the show. Then go off to breakfast and come back and he'd still be cleaning. Anyone going out for the day had left before he released the loungers.

Anonymous48 · 18/04/2022 22:04

I would assume that if there is a towel/book on the lounger then the person they belong to is in the pool, and would rightly be annoyed if someone moved them. What are you supposed to do with your stuff if you're in the pool?

HollyShit · 18/04/2022 22:07

@MoreCatsForMePlease

Why have 30% of people said that IABU, yet nobody on here has actually justified that position in a post?

I am actually quite keen to hear people's excuse for this behaviour!

Op… it doesn’t take much to imagine the ones who said YABU are the ones hogging the loungers through out the week even if they are hardly at the pool!

CeeceeBloomingdale · 18/04/2022 22:08

@maddiemookins16mum

Brits are the worst for this too, despite the many ridiculous jokes about Germans.

Agreed, I try to book places that aren’t popular with Brits. I once booked accommodation that was popular with Scandinavians and no one reserved beds, there was always plenty available at any time of day. There wasn’t a single towel out before 9am, people literally used them then removed their stuff before going out.

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