AIBU to be a bit peed off about the new all inclusive drinking rule in Spain?

[Pinkycloud]

Don’t want to come across a raging alcoholic but we’ve booked an all inclusive holiday (costing about £7.5k) for me DH and 4 DC and am peed off to see you can now only have 3 alcoholic drinks with lunch and three with dinner. I know six seems a lot but it’s more about being told when you can have them and how many you can have at a given time. We’ve been to this place before (Majorca) and used to enjoy lazy afternoons sipping a beer or three by the pool. Doesn’t seem like ‘all inclusive’ anymore and we’re paying thousands for the bloody thing!

@Frogslegsbigfeet
I can’t get past people writing “free drinks” surely no one is that stupid to think it’s literally free? Do these people book bed and breakfast and then go on about the free breakfast? Or that they get to sleep for free in the bed in the room? Or that there as a free shower in their room? That they had a free sea view! I assume they do.

exactly do they think all you can eat buffets are free food? All inclusive is literally what it says on the tin!
I don't generally go on AI and I don't drink 6 alcoholic drinks in a day (DH could quite easily and not become "drunk, obnoxious or anti social, or have any impact on anyone else's holiday) but if other people want to, that's their preference, as long as they are not impacting on other guests. We often go camping which I know is lots of people's idea of hell! (We might have wine in the evening but never incapable of looking after our own DC) I'm intrigued how all the people who dont do AI because they think they're superior know so much about the behaviour of the people who are there!

@Fizbosshoes To be fair most hotels offer a range of options, so they could have stayed BB or self-catering but in a hotel that also offers AI.

I'd never book AI in Europe but I've stayed in plenty of hotels that offer it.

To be fair I really don’t blame them, it must be horrific Having to put up with drunken Brits especially the rough ones. This should have happened years ago.

🤣🤣

It does make sense to me, because all inclusive should come with some restrictions. Also, Spain, Greece, Italy and all Mediterranean countries face many problems with policing tourists over-drinking during the summer season. Actually, UK sends to Spain police officers to help police UK citizens.
Also, alcoholic beverages may be included in all inclusive deals etc, but they do cost a lot for the establishments, and the costs can quickly add up. I do understand your annoyance but I believe that there should be a limit.

I don’t think anyone believes they are free in the wider sense but you’re being a bit disingenuous here to claim not to understand the point being made.

if people have to pay per drink they’ll typically buy less. Whether that’s a soft drink or alcohol. You mentioned a buffet - again, people will load up their plate at a buffet because they’re not paying for each item. That’s why some buffet style restaurants have signs up which say if you have big platefuls of food left over on your table they’ll charge you - because people take the piss and get greedy when stuff is “free”. There’s also a mentality of “I paid extra for this so I’m going to make sure I get my moneys worth”. Obviously sweeping generalisations as not everyone.

so yes, you pay a premium to have access but when you’re ordering the drinks, they’re free at that point - and that’s the point people are making.

I’ve got no issues with AI - I totally get why people choose it. Far less hassle to pay a fixed cost up front and then be able to eat/drink whatever you want rather than constantly keeping an eye on spending. But I understand what people are getting at when they reference “free” drinks.

I think this will have a bad effect, like people who might only have 3 drinks will now get 6 because they will want to make the most of the ‘allowance’

From what i can see it's just in certain 'hotspot' resorts in Mallorca and Ibiza. Not a blanket policy across the whole of the Balearics.

I'd be interested to see how it gets implemented as well. will they get tickets, like naughty children?

No people aren’t missing the point, whe people have a drink on all inclusive they have already paid for that drink. It is never free. None of it is free. It doesn’t matter if you pay In advance or at the point of consumption none of it is free. What a ludicrous thought.

and so what if someone buys less and drinks less, that’s like saying it soneone buys a double then they get the extra measure free, and the person who bought the single measure didn’t, they didn’t, every single drink is bought and paid for by that individual.

just like if you book a weeks bed and breakfast and pay in advance, do you then declare it’s a free breakfast!

hpw do people not understand it’s not free. It’s paid for. Just like the weeks breakfast.

All inclusive does what it says on the tin. All is included. You'd think that was a simple enough concept, but apparently not.

@Frogslegsbigfeet The average price difference between HB and AI at a Spanish 4* Hotel is in the region of £20-£30 per adult per day.

That's to cover lunch, snacks and drinks. Anyone drinking more than circa £25 worth of booze per day is therefore drinking for 'free'.

Those people have not paid the full value of everything they're drinking. Ironically by limiting the number of drinks to 6, they'd actually be a lot closer to having actually paid for them as you insist.

It largely balances out for the hotels in the end because some people will drink less than their £25 worth.

exactly! our last holiday abroad was ruined by a couple of families who did exactly this and let their feral kids run riot 'til the early hours. Love the week off from cooking with AI but can't bear the people who think that 6 drinks a day is perfectly normal behaviour. If you can afford 7.5k on a holiday than surely you can afford to pay extra for your excess alcohol intake.

I can't get over the outrage at 6 drinks, it's hilarious!

I am shocked by the price of this holiday! Is that for one or two weeks?

This OP....it's not what you paid for. Check your booking and those annoying T&C's....I think All Inclusive has the term 'unlimited' re drinks...sometimes limited to local brands but still,....'unlimited'

6 drinks a day ON HOLIDAY is perfectly normal behaviour.

Thank god for you!!

Indeed. And as those of us who have actually been on AI holidays have said, 6 "drinks" of beer in many AI resorts is about 2 pints.

When I read this first I was horrified because I don't drink alcohol with my meals usually. I'd MUCH rather have a sparkling water or diet coke or fruit juice or whatever with lunch/dinner. But I most definitely would want to have cocktails in the afternoon reading my book at the pool, or in the evening sitting around after dinner. The way this story read, they were limiting people not only in quantity but in time - with meals only, not in the afternoon/evening.

@Waxonwaxoff0 this is what makes me laugh though because probably half this thread are in agreement with me that its NOT normal behaviour and half are in agreement with you that it IS. It's not the likes of me that have lead to these resorts bringing this in, it is the result of people who don't seem to be able to behave or show any restraint around alcohol. Drunk badly behaved people ruin the holiday experience for other people, they are an embarrassment to themselves and teach their kids that excess alcohol is normal. Its like obesity or smoking- if you are from a family where that is normalised you don't recognise the health or social consequences .

I thought that all inclusive offered as a holiday package would not be much of an option after the pandemic , as much as the kitchen staff try to keep it hygienic , it really isn't in terms of people handling things at the buffet tables and now there appears to be rules about drinking allowances creeping in too. I bet it will gradually die a death over time or places will become half board only or just B and B.

If you are a "drunk and badly behaved person" on the equivalent of 2 pints of beer drunk over the course of the day, @2022calendar , I don't think it's Wax who has the problem.

@CharityShopChic But this has been brought in because people have become drunk or badly behaved having nailed 10 or 15 or 18 or 20 pints on unlimited all inclusive. Restricting the amount that is available in the package to a reasonable amount is intended to prevent that.

And above all of this, it only applies to 4 notorious resorts in the whole of Spain! Plenty of other choices for those who want their afternoon cocktail or post-dinner G&Ts as normal.

Because people with drink problems won't find other ways round it.

Incidentally, limiting drinks will not fix this. It will make people drink in the hotel before they go out.

As above, six beers is about two pints. Outrageous stuff.

I do love a mimosa with breakfast on holiday. Would that need to come out of my lunch allowance because there's very little cava in that.(or should I say champagne to impress the pearl clutchers?)