Or is behaviour at all inclusive hotels hilarious?

[inaminute23]

So in the last 2 months, I've been to Dubai, Cyprus and Jamaica, and now I'm in Greece, and 3/4 of those have been all inclusive hotels.

I've got to admit, and I'm as guilty as any, but it's so weird just observing behaviour at all inclusive hotels!

Getting up and starting to drink cheap and sugary cocktails straight away!

Piling 3 plates full at the buffets.

Getting up for 6.30am to nab a subbed before they all run out.

There are probably so many more but I'm just sat at breakfast, after going to get a second full breakfast (though I've had a gastric bypass so it is all relative) and it's made me chuckle.

I'd love to read any other weird behaviours typical of all inclusive holidays!

This is LIGHT HEARTED for those who soon enough will tell me I'm judgemental haha.

Makes no difference whether she said "travels" or "traveling" - it's still trying to imply that it's something more exciting/ adventurous than going to an AI hotel in Dubai.

I didn't get that from her OP. But hey ho, viva la difference!

I don’t find AI cost effective for us as my DCs get up late so we have more of a brunch than a breakfast and then a evening meal. DH are also not big drinkers. The extra cost we would pay for AI at five star hotels is always more than what we pay out for food and drink separately. We only go five star because I am a hotel snob 😂.

We almost always go B & B and eat dinner at a variety of places both inside and outside the hotel with the odd room service meal. We buy alcohol at the local supermarket for drinks on our balcony/terrace which saves money. However, AI is great when holidaying with a group of people as there’s no hassle over splitting the bill for drinks/food.

The sunbed situation depends on the hotel. There’s five star and then there’s five star. The more upscale ones rarely have sunbed issues!!!

Oh God I do a few things mentioned on this thread. I used to take the breakfast things to hand feed the fish underwater when snorkeling, later in the day.

We went to a “nice” AI earlier in the year and saw some awful behaviour, people leaving mess, rudeness to staff and breakfast drinking. One of the mums stole my DS’s pool toys, one of which was very distinctive and brought from home.

And this is why I point blank refuse to go to all inclusive hotels

Preach. Wanna be friends?

@ILikeHotWaterBottles no and no. Although if I could do any job I'd be a travel writer and photographer!

I can send you photos of my breakfast if you like so you can do to help to judge how I eat, which by the way is totally irrelevant. In fact, I document everything I eat and drink in a diary exactly to ensure that it doesn't become redundant.

Just so you're totally happy with what I chose to eat this morning... I had half an apple with some yoghurt and peanut butter. Let it sit a while and then had some scrambled egg and grilled tomatoes.

I paid for my surgery privately and sure as hell know that it can easily be reversed. Have you had the surgery?

@TheLassWiADelicateAir you're reading in to something which wasn't said as you've made up your mind about who I am as a person from one post.

I said travels. They are travels. I am
Travelling from England to different countries and I'd love to know how you actually know what I do whilst I'm there...

Like I said, we chose to stay in an all inclusive resort in Jamaica due to potential
Homophobia. I certain didn't spend 2 weeks in the hotel... so I could list exactly everything I experienced whilst there if that would help you?

But even if I did stay in the hotel for 2 solid weeks I've travelled there...

Take no note OP. Even fellow Jamaican people themselves stay AL. If your some where like Negril you would have to go AL its not UK its a 3rd world Country although its beautiful things are easily accessible nor in stock.

This thread was intended to be light hearted.

can i join?
I've never been on an AI and hope never to do so after this thread.
ooh apart from 4 days on honeymoon and we actually escaped down the beach to somewhere else feeling like naughty schoolkids!

We went to an AI this year, previously our holidays were villas, or self catering.

With self catering we’d eat out for dinner, but have breakfast/lunch/snacks in the villa. The sheer joy of not having to go to the supermarket, prepare food, clean up after food, get drinks (and then clean the villa at 7am on leaving to avoid losing our deposit) was absolutely worth it.

My teenagers drank their body weight in juice and ate dozens of ice creams daily (which if I’m honest we’re not the nicest).

The rooms were cleaned every day by someone that was not me.

They joined in (to my amazement) in water polo and other games, took themselves off to play pool.

The upsides of AI absolutely outweighed the downsides (buffet, queues) for me this year. I doubt I’d be as keen once our kids stop holidaying with us, but for the next few years I’d say it’s all inclusive for me.

I am stunned by how many people on here think flying for a short break and flying multiple times a year for pleasure is normal and acceptable

I’m stunned that people use unnecessary things like fabric conditioner and wash things like towels everyday, Or waste the earths resources on shops serving take away coffee and bits of cake or other everyday things you have at home anyway. I’m stunned people would rather eat vegetables from a sterile arable farm the other side of the world but think lamb reared down the down is ethically wrong

Flying is a couple of times a year is a perk of living in the era we do. In the same way coal was banned when the smog got too dangerous and alternatives were found, doubtless we will have an alternative at some point.

I’ve never cleaned a villa. Not once in over 20 years. The most I’ve ever done is supermarket shops for breakfast and snacks (I love Italian supermarkets), visit the gelateria a few times, load and unload the dishwasher. No cooking, no cleaning, no laundry, best of all no other people. Deep joy.

But again, you're trying to deflect the debate by assuming people who criticise frequent flying are doing those things. Whereas it's quite possible to be someone who tries fairly consistently to live a somewhat less damaging life.

Some of the things people I know are doing include:

• Looking for jobs within a bike/bus/rail commute
• Eating vegetarian and trying to reduce or eliminate dairy
• Buying second hand clothes
• Using a trailer rather than a car to do weekly shopping (not easy with a family, very do-able for a couple)
• Holidaying in the UK or using trains or ferries to reach the continent
• Insulating their houses and turning down the thermostat
• Using reusable nappies
• Installing solar panels
• Using Ethical Consumer to make better choices when replacing household goods.

No-one is perfect and you'd find inconsistencies in any life - but those people aren't going to be washing towels every day! Your argument just doesn't add up. You just like flying and don't see why you should stop.

And actually, I'm not saying anyone "should" stop, and I know some people will have very good reasons why they need to fly sometimes, but I am questioning the choice to fly frequently for pleasure.

agree, Harridan - it's an odd way to stealth-boast in this day and age, four medium-long haul flight holidays within 2 months!

We go adults only 5*, none of those issues at all.

We eat out a lot too but it's handy not to have to pay for every drink.

Went to a 3* one when the DCs were little. Cheap and cheerful and did the job, they loved the kids club and ice cream on tap.

I went to Lanzarote and I was a bit shocked to see absolutely no nobody beyond myself and my DS were English?

The entire hotel full of Spanish people and Germans. Very easy going and nobody bloody gave me 'looks' like they do at home (DS disabled). It was lovely but strange not to hear an English voice for so long

Eating literally all day long 🙈(me on AI holidays)

Oh the sun loungers! We've recently been away and if you hadn't put towels down by 7am there would be no good place to sit (no shade, no view of the pool etc). That's ok when you're two adults not necessarily needing shade but with a young baby and toddler, you need both shade and a view of the major hazard 🤣 despite all the signs saying don't reserve loungers, the management do nothing about it so you have to just join in.

What's more frustrating is that half the people don't then use those loungers until after lunchtime!

That was me. I’ll stand by my comment - McDonalds may not be gourmet, but it’s silly to say the food has no flavour. The appealing taste and mouthfeel of junk food is what makes it so popular. Whereas the AI I stayed at produced very muted food. I’m not claiming all AI food is the same, so there’s no need to take it personally and disparage me (with a rather confused and confusing comment).

Meh. Cheap AI is like going to Wetherspoons: you know you’re not going to be getting the best quality of anything but it’s a reasonable enough standard for the price and generally, whilst some of the clientele may be dicey, there will be enough people there who, like you, are thinking of their wallets and are happy to trade an enjoyable time on a budget for five star cuisine and surroundings. If you go expecting The Ivy, you’ll be horrified, if you know what you’re going to get you’ll have a good time.

Currently on AI in Mexico. Coming home on Tuesday. Absolutely loving it. Very international, we have chatted with Brits, Americans, Dutch, German, Italian and Mexican. Mostly American to be fair, as it’s only 3 hours travel (or so) for them.

Have seen a few stacked plates, but mostly people take courses rather than all in one. We have the option of 5 different a la carte restaurants, but actually prefer the self service buffet. The food has been fantastic, yes there is a ‘kids counter’ with chips, burgers, nuggets etc, but we’ve eaten steak, sushi, shed loads of seafood, excellent salads and authentic Mexican (which is nothing like we expected!)

We haven’t seen subbed wars as such, but that’s because I’m up before sunrise every day naturally, so I’m on the beach or poolside before it begins.

we’ve done a trip every other day, mixture of ruins, water parks and cenotes/snorkelling and have had a couple of days ‘down town’ as well. Sometimes we want a holiday that is just relaxing by the pool, but this time we wanted to get out and about.

I love AI. I won’t do anything else now and I don’t care when the judgy people look down on me for it - I’m the one enjoying it and having a whale of a time, and they are being snotty and feeling superior - you do you hon 😂😂

(But then, I am about to go and voluntarily spend nine days camping in the Nevada desert with no access to running water or a refrigerator, drinking cheap vodka and eating things which can mostly be rehydrated in the packet, so my standards for any kind of AI aren’t sky high.)

I went to a very expensive AI in Egypt. There were no sunbed wars, plenty for everyone. No drunken loutish behaviour and people behaved nicely in the restaurants at meal times. Then at the weekend we had an influx of arabs/Egyptians, they behaved terribly. Literally grabbing platefuls of food, wasting 80% of it, leaving food all over the table and floor in the restaurant and being extremely demanding and rude to the staff. Badly behaved kids running riot everywhere, taking up 6-8 sunbeds ( unnecessarily) at a time. Leaving litter all around the pool and sunbeds. Come mon/ tues they all left and it went back to civilised and peaceful.... until the weekend came again.

Love a bit of people watching in hotels, there are some very odd people around!

I had a bit of a weird situation with one chap at breakfast who seemed to have the spatial awareness of a very elderly drunken moth - he kicked the back wheels of my wheelchair as he passed me to and from the buffet every. single. time. which causes me to startle, and jolt and triggers muscle spasms (or later on causes me to tense in anticipation of it which... causes muscle spasms).

I thought at first given he was behind me, that he was frail and elderly or wobbly in some way but actually when he bumped into me again at the buffet, this time from in front - he was at the hotel as part of a mens hockey team, was no more than 40 and perfectly fit and healthy! Just.. fucking clumsy and rude, and then my friend who was sat facing me, pointed out he had plenty of room to get past, but was CHOOSING to walk close to me... every time! Like he had some stealth mission to kick the cripple as many times as possible.

Do not know to this day what his game was, the last time he approached, friend gave me a nod and I said loudly (I mean not LOUD, its 7.30am in a hotel breakfast room... no ones LOUD)... 'PLEASE don't kick me again, it really fucking hurts and you've done it four times already' and he looked startled and shuffled out of the way...

Theres also the toaster wars to negotiate - there is a particular type of person who will take YOUR toast out of the toaster given the tiniest glimmer of a chance! I don't mean newbies who don't understand hotel toasters, or toaster etiquette... I mean they watch you put YOUR toast in, turn to grab some butter or jam or something, or go to pick up your cooked breakfast plate, and swipe your toast before you can return!

Breakfast in a somewhat fancier than normal hotel in Belgium was fun - huge buffet but not standard english nor french, which seemed to really baffle one family who were CONVINCED they were in France, not Belgium for some reason (I am not sure what they expected in France as it wasn't THAT unusual, I think they expected the british version of a continental breakfast, not an actual continental version). 'Why is there SALAMI...' ' I do not want cheese for breakfast.. the French are SO WEIRD...'