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!

Whether YABU or not depends on when the holiday was booked. If it was before the rules were introduced then YANBU and I’d be looking for some of the cost of the holiday to be reimbursed. If it was after the rule change and you haven’t read the t’s and c’s properly then YABU.

can you fill in the missing information op?

I’m a pretty enthusiastic boozer, but if you would actually consciously limit how much you eat so that a smaller amount of alcohol made you more drunk, I’d say you’re squarely in the frame of the kind of behaviour they’re trying to get rid of.

If it's only 6 drinks then it isn't AI.

I've just looked at TUI website, there is nothing about limits on drinks under the 'what's included' food and drinks. So they are either not limiting, hiding it in the T&Cs or just not telling people and saying it's a local law. I am sure they are not allowed to do this so it will be interesting to see what the fall out is when all those Brits go to the Balearics and are refused service after 6 drinks.

Is it just me who cries at how much people spend on holidays?

It's easy to drink more than 6 drinks throughout the day. 6 drinks is less than one every hour if you have a couple at lunch time. When I'm on holiday I start drinking at lunch, I'll have a couple with lunch, then some afternoon cocktails, then drinks with dinner and then evening drinks. It's not necessarily drinking 6 drinks in one go to get pissed!

I saw the fail article sorry but its all the alkies that have ruined it for everyone else-bet the hotel staff were fed up of all the brawling

Nice cold bottle of beer mid-morning beside the pool.

A drink with lunch.

A bottle of beer on the patio mid-afternoon while having a break from the sun.

A drink with dinner.

There's four already, spaced over the day, before you even consider any drinks at the evening entertainment.

I'm not a big drinker but even I think it's unfair to police people when they're on holiday and have paid for AI which is advertised as all (non-premium) drinks included.

Presuming that soft drinks are still unlimited, people will just buy a litre or two of spirits at the airport and mix their own.

A better policy would be tougher measures on public drunkeness such as on the spot fines/fixed penalty notices, a ban on opened alcohol containers outside of licensed venues/private dwellings, more power for businesses to refuse to serve alcohol to people who are obviously drunk, and penalties for business who do serve people who should be cut off.

I like to eat and drink whenever and wherever I want. But then I would never go on an all-inclusive holiday, so this won't affect me.

There is something very infantilising about it anyway - staying in one place, eating what is provided, passively being transferred around, not making any decisions or taking any risks.

It's not that surprising that they have decided to limit it if people were just getting smashed all the time.

Maybe the Spaniards have had enough of 'boozy brits' drinking all day until they need hospital treatment.
Countless daytime shows have shown how Spain has had to deal with drunken brits.

Because I have a child who is a fussy eater and constantly wants snacks, ice creams, drinks. Stop acting ridiculous with the faux "why would you go AI" stuff, you know full well why people do it, you just want to act snobby.

We are not a family of huge drinkers. Ds and I don’t drink at all and I think we would struggle
As someone said it is the control issue.
You go AI so you don’t have to budget for your food and drink when on holiday
You have paid a premium up front.

It would put me off going and I’m not a big drinker. On my last holiday I probably only had an alcoholic drink 5/14 days in the afternoon next to the pool and not with meals. I choose AI as it’s the freedom of having whatever you want when you want.

For YOU.

It's literally the opposite of that. You have to eat in the resort!

I’ve just read a news article which says the proposed changes were announced in 2020. So really, unless this is a long delayed holiday, you should have been told. I think it’s not very fair, as I know from my trips to Ibiza I went to a cheap hotel with no food included and paid for loads of drinks, which presumably will still happen and is the cause of a lot of the issues.

You don't "have to" at all. You can go out for meals if you want. But it's nice knowing that you don't have to pay for anything at the hotel.

The restriction only affects certain resorts, it’s not a blanket rule across the whole of the Balearic Islands.

The affected areas are: Magalluf, El Arenal, Playa de Palma in Mallorca and Sant Antoni in Ibiza.

@Waxonwaxoff0
You don't "have to" at all. You can go out for meals if you want. But it's nice knowing that you don't have to pay for anything at the hotel.

You mean you can go out and pay separately for meals if you want. When you've already paid for your meals at the resort. Why would anyone do that? Why would anyone pay twice for the same meal?

We are going to Majorca and I read that it doesn't have these rules. I agree with you, I like to have a few drinks on hols & don't want to be restricted to meal times.

Menorca is one of the Balearic islands

We go on day trips a couple of times, usually with lunch at local restaurants. Still book AI.

YANBU - I would be annoyed too
It's about being mis-sold (if you were not told) and also the rigidity of it

Some days I might want 4 drinks, other days I might want 8
I like a drink by the pool in the afternoon, or in a bar after dinner - it would annoy me that I am only allowed to drink with meals

Also, I would maybe spend 30-60 mins eating lunch, I don't want to drink 3 drinks down in that short period!

If they’re limiting to six drinks I hope they’re going to start giving decent sizes! One of the AIs we went to when the dc were little would have considered half a child’s party sized cup a drink. Two mouthfuls and it was gone, but that doesn’t matter when you can have as many as you want.

@Waxonwaxoff0
We go on day trips a couple of times, usually with lunch at local restaurants. Still book AI.

In one or two weeks, you leave the resort twice? 😟

Why would anyone do that? Why would anyone pay twice for the same meal?

Honestly, I think some people are being deliberately obtuse today.

You honestly can't think of any reasons at all why someone might chose to eat elsewhere, despite having paid a higher price to enable them to eat every meal at the hotel should they want to?