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!

And nowhere has the OP said she wants to drink more than 6 drinks every day, more that they want to choose when to have their (paid for) drinks.

And this is the point most people are missing.

But this thread has given people the opportunity to slate AI holidays AND people who drink more than one alcoholic drink in one sitting.

Whilst understanding the wish to drink when you'd like on holiday, if the OP has not checked details before booking, then still no sympathy. In my view whilst different from before it is still all inclusive, and whilst not for me, I can totally see why for some people it is a choice they make. A week or fortnight not having to think about money would please many people.

People forget that many holidays may have been booked for the 2020 season in 2019 , then moved on to this year over time because of the pandemic. That's what happened to us , and we finally went two years later.
The op hasn't got back ( as far as I know) but it's probably too late for them to move the holiday now. The new rules may have came in 2020 , but might not have been enforced at that time , then everything shut down anyway as we know etc.
Changing holiday plans is also a nightmare and it's not easy getting in touch with your tour operators on the phone and you can't change the details on line if you booked it online without ringing them first ( a whole other thread there !) they seem to be ok booking things , but not answering the phones if you have a problem or whatever etc and the branches can't help either because you booked it up online ..

Why do people keep banging on about All Inclusive not being so if it's limited? It was ALWAYS limited!
Most AI's had/have set times for food, set times for drinks, local drinks only, tiny plastic glasses, no doubles, no cocktails, no whatever.....people are pretending like you could have anything you wanted 24/7 on All inclusive!?

This isn't new, it would have been in the T&C's when you booked. Yes its shit but if you didn't check the small print that's on you.

It is down to what limits impact you. I've just come back from a AI, and the only 'limit' that impacted us was that it was impossible to get a coffee before 8 in the morning. Maybe it was telling us we should get up later when on holiday.

Tiny glasses/no doubles are hardly an issue for example, as you just have more unless you are limited to 6 drinks per day at certain times.

I am with the OP that not being able to have a beer in the afternoon is a limit that would impact me.

I agree though that this isn't new and when we booked a holiday back in February through TUI it was obvious (hence why we avoided some hotels), but don't know if it was obvious to the OP when they booked.

There's no need to eat 24/7 because you would be stuffed. The times for food offer quite a good slot and it helps when you have kids I can see some people have a different type of holiday... when you have kids though the general sense is you cater your holiday to your child so you can all have a relaxing time. If this doesn't apply to you and your kids .. the no it won't matter to you however why be selfish just because its not the kind of package you need to book?

Technically you can have whatever you want and rightly so you have paid. It's a BIG difference between doing bed and breakfast and all inclusive by far!

Its not just the cost... if your on holiday for only 7 days I don't want to be looking for some where to dine for 2/3 per days of my holiday. I'm happy to do it a few times during the week but I want to relax on holiday!

@MissusMaisel I think the extent of the AI depends on what holiday you go on. We’ve never booked an AI where there are too many restrictions as it kind of defeats the object. Obviously night hours things slack off, but places we’ve been have had access to food/drinks/ice creams pretty much from bfast through to buffet suppers at 1am.

Interesting. When I booked my last/only package holiday, I deliberately chose a hotel which wasn't all-inclusive, as I was wary of being surrounded by people keen on getting value for money and potentially wasting food, possibly drinking too much. Perhaps I've misjudged people.

I don’t think you have. One of us doesn’t drink and the other just an odd glass of wine and there’s no way we’re going to subsidise people drinking to “get their money’s worth”. You only have to look at the people drinking at the airport at breakfast time to see which ones they’re going to be.

I think the problem is you are assuming everyone is choosing an AI holiday because they just want to get drunk.

We choose AI because we have a young child and it's the best way for us all to have a stress free holiday.
When DS was young it was great because we didn't have to worry about food for DS and the resorts we chose actually encouraged him to try new food - TUI do a great thing for kids where they get a lanyard and stickers for eating healthily or trying new food and they get a certificate at the end of the week. DS loved that and treasured that lanyard all week!

Now he's older they're great for snacks and drinks being available all day and they often have excellent kids clubs and activities which DS loves getting involved in. It means me and DH actually have an opportunity to at least relax and unwind a little! I imagine he'll outgrow these in a few years but at the moment they're the best option for us.

We don't drink at the airport and don't spend the week 'getting our moneys worth' so you are being unreasonable to assume everyone choosing AI is the same.

its the timings of the drinks too that are far too restrictive. I don’t want 3 drinks at lunch!

I would normally have 1 at lunch but not every day. Then a cocktail or 2 in the afternoon. One whilst I’m getting ready and a few in the evening. You finish dinner at say 9 then no more drinks!

Do you avoid all buffets including for example breakfast ones included by hotels? Do you avoid any events where there is a free bar (work event, wedding, etc)?

If not why do you think an AI hotel would be any different?

Are they going to start li.itunh what you can eat at the buffet, because I for one never eat all I can eat as it doesn't interest me to stuff my face

*limiting

I don't even drink when I'm on holiday with my daughter (bar one maybe in the evening) and I love AI holidays!!! Infinitely easier and cheaper with kids

All of this.

@newname12345 It is down to what limits impact you. I've just come back from a AI, and the only 'limit' that impacted us was that it was impossible to get a coffee before 8 in the morning. Maybe it was telling us we should get up later when on holiday.

Wow. We're usually impacted by breakfast finishing too early 🤣

I was thinking everyone would be pissed at trebling their intake (going from 14 to 42 units and averaging over the week)

It takes an average of an hour to metabolise one unit of alcohol. There are 168 hours in a week.

Yes, it's not ideal to drink that much in a week (assuming each drink you get with AI actually contains one unit, could be more, could be less), but nobody is going to be permanently wasted on that amount.

OP, was there anything that even hinted at AI being restricted or varying from hotel to hotel on your hotel's page, in the Ts & Cs or in the FAQ? While the changes wouldn't bother some people, it's a significant issue to others. The travel company should have made people aware of the law via the website/brochure, on the 'phone or in person if they booked in a shop.

I don't disagree with the limit on quantity, but I don't think restricting the drinks to lunch and dinner is fair. It's a less relaxing drink if you can only have it at those times, rather than at a time you choose eg on your balcony mid-afternoon. However, the law is the result of tourists behaving so badly that the locals have had enough. Other changes (eg not being able to buy alcohol from a shop after 9.30pm or partake in happy hours, pub crawls or two-for-one offers) show it includes everyone drinking rather than just AI clients. While some people might be put off going to the resorts affected, the measures might encourage others to visit who wouldn't have gone before.

Sounds like you haven’t been on an all inclusive before but alcoholic drinks are typically served from 10am until 11pm/midnight, from bars and during meals. You can always ask for doubles, and they usually have an extensive cocktail list. They don’t serve in pint glasses but usually people will ask for two beers every time they go to the bar. Also, you’ll find you can eat from 7am right through to 10pm with light snacks, cakes etc served outside of mealtimes. I wouldn’t call them limited in any way. They’ve changed a lot in more recent years!

obviously from now on people will contact the hotel beforehand but it’s totally reasonable that people will be annoyed. I’d be gutted if I couldn’t have a mimosa for breakfast!

A lot of people are saying 6 is plenty for free drinks but in fact the drinks sent free. They are, naturally incorporated into the holiday price. I have just booked a half board holiday. If I has chosen the AI option the cost would have been considerably higher, especially if this is multiplied by several family members. I can understand people being annoyed if they have paid quite a bit more for the convenience of AI and now are limited to amounts and times of day to drink.

So how does limiting drinks in a AI hotel where guests stay on site for their free booze going to clean up the streets surely all that will happen is everyone will pile into the cheap bars and then go back to the hotel for their free drinks after 9pm.
Wouldn’t put it past people to order 6 non fizzy, alcoholic drinks during the day and decant them to a bottle to drink whenever

Interested to know how these bars will remain open. They will have struggled during Covid and now can’t get back to full capacity for the hours they were used to doing.

surprised if the OP could take her whole family to Australia or the US and cover all/most food and drink for £7.5k and the other places are only likely to be comparable in cost if you exploit the lower cost of living locally, or put a lot of research into finding accommodation in suitable areas where there is interesting things to see and do, which is something that people might not always want to do if their main driver is to just get away and relax

Probably might be able to do West Indies where AI means AI

Lot of triggered people in these comments….