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.

We have only been on one AI holiday and that was in September 2020 during COVID where I was at almost breaking point due to the job I do and we just decided to book something and go. We went to Unico 2087 in Mexico. Adults only. Not a buffet or a plate of chips in sight. Really good food. No watered down drinks. Small a la carte restaurants with delicious food. I just needed a week of pampering and doing absolutely nothing before going back into the lion’s den that was my job during COVID. I would go back to that hotel tomorrow…

I had previously said we would never go AI because of the buffet dramas mentioned here but it doesn’t have to be that way. If we go to one again then it’ll definitely be a buffet-free, adults only type place.

We love all inclusive in the Caribbean, we do other holidays but two weeks on a sun lounger with organised entertainment hits the spot sometimes!

The sunbeam thing used to annoy me as a lazy 20 something but now in my 30s I don't want to spend all morning in bed. I'm up around 6:30 drop our towels on the sun lounger, grab breakfast and fill my cup up for the day then will bases myself on the sun loungers for the rest of the day. Who wants to carry everything around the resort all the time when you can just find a base for the fay

I don't want to see this behaviour especially the sun bed thing so its a no. My judgy pants would be fecking strangling me.

I would have a complete utter meltdown in an all inclusive. Worrying that I had my monies worth and coming home three stone heavier.

We had sun bed wars on this summers cruise. However the pool manager ( the brilliant Kenny who was the spit of Morgan Freeman) came round at 9.30am and he and his team put all the unclaimed towels and bags into a large bin bag for people to sort through.
DH and I nabbed two beds he whipped off. 20 minutes after that two very glamorous Eastern European women strode past, worked out what happened and stalked off glaring at us. Unbelievably they also had saved a double mattress bed right by the pool that hadn’t been cleared. I mean WTF , how grabby can you be
Spent the morning glaring at us. I smiled right back.

The Brits were great. They were either getting the pool guys to remove things or valiantly defending random strangers who had left towels. By the end of the cruise people were much better about not bagging stuff because people worked out there were always beds available if you didn’t.

Yawn.

I dont get going to another country and spending all day on a lounger by a pool

It’s pretty clear from this thread that there are varying sorts of AI holidays (quelle surprise!) and that people like different sorts of holidays at different points in their lives. I say - do what you enjoy!

We’re madly busy most of the year and I just crave relaxation and sunshine on holiday. I’m ok with a buffet and a bit of low-level sunbed competition. Most people were perfectly civilised on our AI holiday in Menorca this summer. Food was fine - not Michelin starred but interesting enough. The wine definitely was dodgy, but I just drank the sangria…

I’ll admit I didn’t go for “the culture” per se - but the kids got to see another country and, crucially, we knew it would be beach weather. You can’t get that in the UK, and neither can you get a fantastic water park!

Newsflash! You don’t have to get it. You just have to get that people are different. I could never go jogging at 6 am or eat artichokes. But other people enjoy those things.

Live and let live, eh?

@BishyBarnyBee

i like flying and I’m not going to stop 🤷‍♀️
i don’t want to die only seeing the country I was born in, I wanna see the world

I find a lot of people like you tend to have done lots of travelling in their younger days so therefore don’t mind uk only now. They’ve been quite privileged. I didn’t travel when younger so doing it now.

you and your pals can crack on with your trailers and reusable nappies

i like flying and I’m not going to stop 🤷‍♀️ i don’t want to die only seeing the country I was born in, I wanna see the world

We're all traveling too much & the world really does seem to be doomed.
I remember visiting various places in my teens/20s in the 80's and 90s and they were so much lovelier and less crowded than they are now. Paris, Venice and Positano for example. There's no pleasure in visiting these places anymore, even this summer, without the usual Chinese and Russian hordes, they felt unpleasantly overrun.

Well bully for you @susan12345678 , you've been there & done that so everyone should stop now
I'm going to keep flying too

God it's so boring how every holiday thread turns into a conversation about how people shouldn't fly.

Of course, people can fly if they like, but IMO it's become a really unpleasant experience. The queues and crowds are almost unbearable now.

@BishyBarnyBee I didn’t deflect. I was directly addressed the quote about being “stunned” that people still felt flying was acceptable. I just listed the things I was stunned at too.

I don’t disagree it’s not great and nor is going on a cruise. Both are being made more environmentally friendly but the reality is they will probably be replaced by another sort of travel eventually.

I do think travel is inherently human though. We have always travelled as a species. Maybe resettling a tribe in a different continent isn’t the same as a weeks AI in Spain but moving round the globe whether for necessity , adventure or holiday is something we’ve always done.

I used to think that. Then the pandemic happened and it was a case of "Be careful what you wish for". The problem may be fixed in a way you did not foresee.

Saying that I was interested in the pollution reports over the pandemic. The difference was remarkable!

I haven't said people shouldn't fly. I don't comment on every holiday thread. I've just said that flying for short breaks, and having multiple foreign holidays a year, is not sustainable.

I know most people will carry on regardless, but I think it's worth making the point. While we all carry on as usual, there is no incentive for government to fix this. If we are determined to live in the moment, so will our government be. Individual actions won't fix this, but a population that shows it cares might be able to persuade a government to take it seriously.

I used to think that. Then the pandemic happened and it was a case of "Be careful what you wish for". The problem may be fixed in a way you did not foresee

I had to travel during the pandemic. I even flew to Sydney at the height of lockdown and was one of only 7 people on the flight - I had the entire business class compartment to myself. Sydney airport was like the aftermath of an apocalypse. Even the vending machines were empty. I was there again recently and it was busier than ever - long crowds, lost luggage, canceled flights. The pandemic was a blip - the chaos and crowds will only get worse, especially when the Chinese begin traveling again. I will probably continue to travel for work, but it's just not pleasant. If I have the choice, I'd rather take my time and travel by train. Although Eurostar queues have been awful lately too!

@WhereAreMyAirpods yes I completely understand not using glass. Maybe they could give you some kind of reusable cup where you get here. Don't know

@susan12345678

that’s my exact point!

you travelled to these amazing places in your teens and twenties, I didn’t get that chance

you’ve been able to do it, you can’t criticise others who now want to see and do the things you’ve done

It is not a problem that is easily fixed. You sound like you travel a lot, I don't really and use the train where I can. You are making choices that suit your career, lifestyle and budget, as am I. Neither of us are better than the other. it is human nature to focus on your own life. But all the people on your busy flights, and airports are also just making the choices that we make. One solution would be continued expansion (this would meet a lot of criticism), another solution would be to make travelling uncomfortable so that it was less desirable, and therefore less people would use it. Another solution would be to increase prices, but that means a very human desire like travel would be inaccessible to many... There is not a right answer to any of it that I can see.

I think if every country invested in the tourist trade FOR their own country this would help. I'm Scottish but I rarely see an advert telling me of the options to holiday here. I know them, because I have always had Scottish hols (as well as other countries). The staycation needs to become something bigger than just the cheap option.

Anyway I'm just rambling now.

@susan12345678 But can’t you see how hypocritical that sounds? There seems to be a lot of people aged 40 or above who have travelled the world extensively aged 18-30, then had a few kids in their thirties. And now aged forty-something they’ve started wringing their hands about the climate crisis.

A 45 year old banging on to a 30 year old about the importance of flying less or having fewer kids, while singularly forgetting how they spend the last 20 years is not a good look.

People are determined to bring this back to my alleged hypocrisy, despite not knowing anything about my life.

Again, it's classic deflection. Because you choose not to make life choices on environmental grounds, you assume no-one else does it with any sincerity.

My eco credentials are far from perfect, and yes, I am very privileged compared to some. But I guess a thread discussing the downside of AI holidays is pretty much the definition of first world problems, so I suspect I'm no more privileged than most on this thread.

I went on my first flight at the age of 22 and didn't fly again until I was 30. Not for environmental reasons, more financial/family culture.

There was then a period of about 10 years where I probably averaged a flight a year. Some years doing a short break as well as a longer holiday, but some years using rail and ferry to get to Europe. Then we became more conscious of the environmental impact. We use trains and ferries, and had some great holidays using Bike Express, which took us and our bikes over to Europe. We've flown about once every three years since then. I would still fly to see family if that's the only option, and wouldn't rule out flying for an occasional main holiday. I flew for a friend's funeral. I actually turned down a chance to accompany my husband on a business trip to America for free one year as we had already booked a flight to Europe for our main holiday and it didn't feel right to travel unnecessarily a second time. I would definitely have accepted it otherwise though.

I also cycle to work - great in the summer, a right pain in the winter - and used washable nappies when my kids were small which was also a right pain. I'm not pretending to be perfect, just recognising that humans are having a terrible impact on the planet and trying to reduce my impact a bit.

Again, I repeat - I'm not saying anyone should stop flying. But I'd like to think we could be a bit more thoughtful about how often we choose to do it.

Totally agree with this

I always think it's the equivalent of telling developing countries that they can't do things that we did!

My pet hates at AIs are:

Very large groups being overly loud and going everywhere as a pack, re-arranging all the furniture to suit their party of 18 or whatever

People who are repeat guests thinking they own the place and bragging about it being their 20th visit or whatever

Facebook groups where the admins won't have a bad word said about the hotel

Papery wristbands
Tiny beakers in the daytime for drinks
Kids on ipads at mealtimes
Smoking around the pool areas
Having a specific song and dance at 3pm by the animation team (so cringe)